I can't comment on that particular model but the reason I avoided Thermador was that the burners don't have a real simmer - they simulate simmer by cycling the burners on and off and they click everytime that happens. Now, some people aren't bothered by the click but others are. In that price range I would consider Bluestar, DCS, and Capital (also Wolf except that recently people have been having problems with the AG).

bumping this bc we are also seriously considering the 36' pro harmony but are nervous about the negative reviews about thermador here. we love the star burners w/ brass detail and stainless below and our appliance dealer has strong faith in thermador's track record... but we don't want to get something that just looks pretty and has problems. hope someone can give some positive feedback about the thermador pro-harmony! with thanks.

julia - went ahead and bought it anyway based on my dad's experience. I'll have it next week so we'll see. The simmer doesn't bother me - i've cooked a lot on his range and it's not bad. I too was nervous about negative reviews, but, as many have pointed out you can find bad reviews about every appliance, especially when your paying so much money. Given my druthers, i probably would've gone with the BS but the convection model is about $1K more, plus I've read a lot of concerns about the heat generated by the oven door and with little ones that made me nervous.

jtragic, thanks for the update and i really hope you'll keep us posted. funny that you mention the heat of the doors- that is one of our concerns as well and a previous posting of mine! we're still leaning towards the 36 pro harmony-- so would love to hear more when you've got it up and running! thanks again, julia

Double that interest in the 36",6 burner AG pro harmony thermador. About to order one tomorrow and am anxious to hear the good and the bad. I'll keep checking back........

can someone please explain the difference between the Harmony and the Grand? I know the Harmony is not self-clean, but is that the only functional difference? We really want a 36" 6 burner that is self-cleaning.

The Grand will set you back another couple thousand dollars over the Harmony, requires 240V instead of 120V, is 27" deep instead of 24", has an external oven temp indicator, and a 5.7 cubic feet oven compared to 5.0 in the Harmony (due to increased depth, I guess).

I was all set to order the Harmony until I went shopping and saw a Capital. ::swoon::

I do not have any experience with either of these, but I did read that Consumer Reports said the Pro Grand was good.

Just two more cents for the pot.

idrive65- check your specs on the 36" Grand- 120VAC. 36" is what the OP is talking about.

scotlandyard- it is good! You get what you pay for with the Harmony. PG is worth the money.

I am also looking at the Harmony AG range - but with the grill. My Aunt has a Thermador and raves about it.

Has anyone had any problems with the broiler lighting on the PH AG? I have had mine for about 8 months...great overall (PITA to clean, loud fan) but I do like it. The broiler just isn't lighting quickly lately, to the point that I smell gas and then there's an semi-burst loud sound when it finally lights a couple of minutes later...I was hoping for an obvious quick fix, but should I call for service? Keeping it open while I light it helps, as gas doesn't built up inside I guess. Any insight would be great.

arc1017:

When the Pro-Grand was introduced in the early 2000's, it came with a variety of functional problems. And, according to your experience, it appears Thermador is still having some issues with Pro-Range gas broilers on the latest Harmony series.

All brands have their own performance problems, but make sure you buy from a manufacturer with an adequate service network and customer service department to effectively assist you, should there be a need.

The attached link provides some ongoing customer experience with Thermador's Products and Service.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thermador Service

We bought a 36" 6 burner all gas pro harmony range and installed it last October. We adore this thing. I have not had problems with simmer -- the two leftmost burners do cycle on and off to get ultra low heat levels, but all four of the burners have a continuous simmer mode that really does deliver consistent, simmer level heat (in fact, it takes a little too long to slow cook garlic and often needs to start off a little higher before being turned down to simmer).

The major liability of the oven is something that has been mentioned on this forum before. For some reason, Thermador opted to have a cooling fan kick on to preserve the electronics when the oven is on, rather than putting in enough insulation to protect the electronics. It's not obnoxiously loud, but you are constantly aware that it's there, it stays on for an extra minute or two after the oven is off, and you notice just as much when it turns off.

Cleaning the star burners does take some doing, and anything that gets trapped in the nooks and crannies does need to be cleaned off before it gets burned in. We can get most of it off, though it does take some elbow grease. But I do like the fact that it heats in a star shaped pattern rather than a circle.

For the price point, it does remain tough to beat, though I suppose if you have budget for a more expensive stove, you could look at Dacor, Capital, Wolf, et al.

I bought a Thermador Pro Harmony Dual fuel range about three years ago and regret it, wish I had gone with a Wolf. The cooktop is fine, no issues. The oven is terrible. It takes forever to heat, indicates it has reached temperature when it hasn't (i use separate oven thermometer), won't maintain a stable temperature and won't reach high temps. I think there is a design flaw with the door that allows too much heat to escape, but the technician says the oven is operating normally??? I would like to save anyone from making the same mistake I did. This is a sizable purchase, and one that most will have to live with for a long time.

OK, working a kitchen remodel here in Northern Virginia. We are looking for a 36 inch range, with at least two 18k or better burners. We're asian-american and like wok cooking, plus my wife bakes some.

We've probably ruled out kitchenaid, even though they seem to have the biggest burners. We have price quotes on the dual fuel GE monogram ZDP366NPSS for about $5600 (six 18k burners), the all-gas Thermador Pro Harmony for about $5200 but they throw in a rebranded Thermador/Bosch dishwasher (six 18 burners), and a dual-fuel Elecrolux Icon for about $5200 (two 18k burners, two 14k, two smaller burners).

The monogram and thermador have more big burners and a bigger broiler. My sister likes her thermador which she's had for about a year, and the kitchen guys seem to be pushing GE. But the Electrolux seems to have fewer people complaining about reliability. It's probably unlikely that I can cook with more than two woks at a time anyway.

Thoughts, recommendations?

Also, it occurs to me that so many of these ranges and dishwashers which are failing have to do with busted circuit boards. From the sound of things, many of the failures have to do with the intense heat, particularly that caused by self-cleaning oven cycles.

Does anybody make a serious range which doesn't have all of this stuff that can break? I wonder why they don't just make ovens with knobs.....

Heckuvaguy, In terms of serious ranges without lots of electronics, have you considered an all gas open burner like Capital Culinarian, Bluestar RNB - both should have no trouble with wok cooking as they have burners in excess of 20 k, and the only electronics are to run the igniters, I am not all that familiar with American Range, but I believe they have something similar. If you are okay with sealed burners, and a much lower price point, look at NXR. If you stay with dual fuel, there are not many that have minimal electronics- one of the best loved is the Wolf DF - but just look at the popout display, and the way the oven control shows the digital temp on the knob and it screams expensive electronics.

Thanks for the follow up, Barry. I see now that I posted to an old thread, I meant to break it out as a separate topic. I looked at the blue star review on amazon, saw a lot of complaints about oven doors, workmanship, etc. see that one review with all the comments. That scares me. Culinary an sounds good but the nearest dealer to dc Sounds like Philadelphia. I di see am Madison is offering the dual fuel kitchen aid for about 5300. I know nothing about nxr. What do you cook on?

Thanks for the follow up, Barry. I see now that I posted to an old thread, I meant to break it out as a separate topic. I looked at the blue star review on amazon, saw a lot of complaints about oven doors, workmanship, etc. see that one review with all the comments. That scares me. Culinary an sounds good but the nearest dealer to dc Sounds like Philadelphia. I di see am Madison is offering the dual fuel kitchen aid for about 5300. I know nothing about nxr. What do you cook on?