I liked the Dacor when I was looking in that price range. Actually, now that I think about it the Dacor I was looking at was a 36" one.

Well Misha16, I feel your pain.

I need to decide upon a 30" stainless steel gas cooktop or I can't move forward. I have made lists of BTUs and read reviews all over. There doesn't seem to be a clear front runner. I recently posted a similar query with 'Dacor' in the title. I am in love with the layout of their Distinctive 30". The nobs are lined across the front and seem to be angled down. There is little info outside the Dacor website, no real reviews. No one seems to carry it, though they will order it. Just makes me wary - I want to see it and know I can get service if I need it.

The nobs are what many people complain about in a 30" size, especially 5 burner where they are clustered in the center front. Many are plastic and melt or get very hot when the front burners are used. Pans can also make access difficult. It seems that when the center burner is used, the surrounding space really suffers for other pans. If I settle for a four burner, I don't want the nobs off to the side, as the burners are crowded in that configuration, too.

The others in the lineup include Bosch at about $1000 for the five burner with center 16k BTU. I read a couple of reviews that stated that the grates were very much above the flame source, causing heat loss. Nobs probs, too. I need an adapter for liquid propane and it's an annoying extra $100. The Electrolux had the same nob problem. That is about $1100 for a 4 burner, one is 14k BTU. The five burner has an 18k BTU and is about 1300. Next is Kitchen Aid. I saw a few complaints about the surface scratching very easily. May not be a high quality steel. I think they are attempting to 'enhance' the durability rather than upgrade the steel. They have two five burner models with the same specs. One has a 'clear coat' for an extra $400 (msrp). Are you kidding me? Makes me not want to do business with them. The center burner is 15k BTU. The uncoated one is about $1200. There is also LG. I became dizzy at all the specs by this one, but they have two very similar models with five burners, center is 19K BTU, about $1100. I think I recall that people were pleasantly surprised that a griddle was in the box??? Did note a complaint about the burners being too close for using multiple pans/burners. After all the drawbacks, I took a look at Thermador. The basic 5 burner can be found for about $1500 with a 16K BTU center. Amazon had some bad reviews. I became depressed and stopped shopping.

It's really disheartening to realize that the quality of consumer goods is so junky. I don't want to cut a hole in a slab of granite to install something I won't be happy with.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!

thanks