Sounds great! Good luck and enjoy. I recommend Demeyere cookware. It's a little pricey but you get what you pay for.

Thank you VERY much for your review! This is the unit I am planning on getting within the next few months and it is nice to have a little more information!

Is that deal at Home Depot over, was it unique to your area? Tell me more!

Thanks for the great review...can I ask what the cost was before the discounts?

Thanks for the post! After reading that you were getting one initially, I kept wondering what your impressions of it would be, and I was going to post a question asking just that. I wonder if Oskiebabu has the Monogram yet? What sort of set up do you have for underneath your cooktop?

dlspellman, as I understood it, the gift card was a deal Home Depot was running with GE. I think it is over. The 10% off might still be going on or you can always open a charge account and get 10% off your first purchase. I tried to get another 10% that way, but a sharp-witted clerk told me the discounts weren't stackable. The free shipping was a rebate and I didn't catch the dates on that promotion.

moose_2007, I don't know about the monogram but I did see pictures of it and they have what looks like nice blue circles to mark the burners. I thought about waiting to see one but then the HD deal came up... I also have to get my KD final choices here very soon so I decided not to wait. I will have drawers underneath the cooktop. The install instructions still show a 12" clearance to combustibles, so I may put a shallow dummy drawer and then a deep real drawer. It'll just have pots and pans in it. I haven't felt the unit get hot at all while I use it, but maybe after prolonged use with all the burners going it might pose a hazard.

Two weeks ago I finally made my decision and bought the GE Monogram 36" ceramic black frameless induction unit and had it installed in a 50 amp circuit. It looks great and seemlessly melds with the island granite. It took the electrician a short time to install the 50 amp plug in outlet and make the appropriate changes in the garage switchbox.
I had been struggling between buying this model and the De Dietrich DTI 309x. The UL label and just having confidence in GE's large network of reapair work was enough to make to make the the decision for me--as the power and configuration with the DTI 309x is extremely close. The pricing on the 309x from Salon Blue Ridge in NC is still excellent, although it has risen to almost $2,300, as the dollar is so beaten down and the old $1,900 price is history. Salon gives their own 2 year warranty as opposed to the GE 1 year warranty, but I bought a 5 year warranty for $199.95. As I bought the unit for $1,784 I have very little to complain about.
The GE does have a timer, but it is not associated with any burner. So while it alerts you, it doesn't shut down any burner.
Originally I thought the timer not being connected to the burners would be a big deal but it isn't. I've had expensive gas rangetops with no timers at all, so unless you are drunk and pass out I don't see an issue, as the timer goes off quite loud. It is just one timer--so you cannot be timing numerous dishes simultaneously. Again, no big deal to me as I've never used a cooktop that even had a timer before. If a timer is a big issue to some of you, buy a separate timer that can give alarms to various burners. Most (if not all) induction units with 4 or 5 separate timers are significantly more expensive and mostly much less powerful.
The biggest advantages I see over the Wolf gas rangetop and my sisters Thermador gas rangetop is the speed of boiling, the incredible power for searing meat, and the even more incredible ability to simmer at a level that is almost imperceptible. I've never been able to do that with a gas rangetop with any degree of control, nevermind having total confidence that the gas will go out.
The set-up of the controls are excellent and are obvious which burners they control. The configuration is great too, with the big 3700 watt burner alone in the middle. Each burner has a minimum size pan or pot you can use: the two on the left are 5.75" diameter each, the center is 7" diameter minimum (with up to 11"), the top right is 4.75" diameter, and the bottom right is 7" minimum diameter. These are all minimums--you can go higher.
The heavier and flatter the bottom of the pan the quieter and more efficient the usage. Get a flat bottom pan, pot, or wok and make sure your cookware is bone dry, particularly on the bottom, as any water will cause the pot to dance and make noise from the heated metal, as it gets momentarily trapped between the pan bottopm and the burner under the ceramic unit.

I designed my kitchen island with cabinet doors under the induction cooktop (Canac Signature Polo in cherry espresso--somewhat expensive, but it's frameless and beautifully grained and looks great with the Golden Eagle granite on the 94" long island). The rest of the kitchen has the more expensive Canac Cellini line in Monaco in Bird's-Eye Maple in Honey high gloss. A very gorgeous modern look that requires no handles and looks particularly amazing with either Galaxy Black or Absolute Black granite on top.

Ever since I installed the Monogram frameless cooktop I can't keep my sister from coming over and abandoning her Thermador gas rangetop. She has tried her favorite recipes and is totally sold on it and has told her husband that she wants to replace the gas rangetop with this unit. Unlike the Thermador, which cycles on and off to simmer she is able to get various low simmer temps with no problem. She made a huge chicken stock and couldn't get over how quickly it came to a boil how great it could be set to a perfect simmer. Also she told her husband, can you believe how easy it is just to wipe and clean this cooktop as opposed to how messy a gas rangetop gets and is a pain to clean.

I'll let you know in a couple more weeks a more complete assessment.

Greg

Oskiebabu
Sounds great! I'd love to see some pics. You wrote on another posting that the Monogram was cheaper than the Profile. You wrote that it was probably because the Profile had the stainless trim. Were there no frameless Profile's available when you went to check them out, because that is what is offered online.

Greg, you made no mention of the wiring. Did your electrician install the proper gauge wire? You cannot just change a circuit breaker and be off and running. You will overheat the wire and start a fire in your walls. If you did not change the gauge of the wire to match the 50 amp breaker, I strongly suggest that you refrain from using the unit, shut off the breaker and call in an electrician (a different one) to correct.

Mine is a frameless Profile model. The only real difference I could see is that the Monogram has blue circles for the burner outlines while the Profile has speckled circles. I haven't seen the Monogram in person so I don't know about other differences. Also, the Monogram is available in white.

I currently have a 40A service so I am concerned about the 50A requirement. I'll have to have an electrician check the wire gauge to see if it is sufficient for 50A, but I'm betting not. I bought a 50A plug that uses 6 ga. wire, but I don't know what's in the wall. I checked the power consumption (counting revolutions at the power meter outside) and the big burner on H came in at 3.8 kW. I roughly calculated that with all burners on 9, the total current draw was near 47A. Hopefully Greg's electrician checked that the wire is the correct gauge.

I believe that 6 wire is good for 50 amps but I'm not an electrician. When I was 12 my house burned down due to aluminum wiring so I'm very careful about all my electric.

My contractor and electrician were overly cautious and found some fairly expensive 4 gauge Belden wire. I'm sure it is overkill as the odds of a 10,800 watt cooktop using every watt simulataneously without sharing must be close to nil. The 4 gauge is good to a minimum of 75 amps. 6 gauge is good to 47 amps,which I am sure would have been more than adequate.

Living in the Charleston, SC area where most well-made houses have at least a 4 foot crawl space underneath it was an easy job for the electrician as the kitchen island is no more than 20-25 feet from the garage switch box. It's a suprisingly supple wire for being 0.2" thick. The 50 amp oulet cuoff switch was far more expensive.

Greg

Greg

Just a note on Home Depot and purchasing GE Profile appliances: I am currently getting ready to order my appliances. HD says they will MATCH internet pricing. So if you find it cheaper on the internet (I suggest using www.Epinions.com - they'll list a half dozen or so dealers pricing) - print it out, bring it to your local HD store, and they'll match. I was lucky enough to find a web site that was not only loads cheaper than HD, but offered FREE shipping. (http://oneclickappliances.com/store/). Home Depot says that they'll match. PLUS - no $59.00 delivery fee from HD. I like the idea of not having to order from some unknown on the internet - and ordering it from my KD at the local Home Depot. I haven't actually placed the order yet - so it remains to be seen, but thought I would post this info in case anyone else could use this info.

We've had our 36" 5-burner GE Profile induction cooktop for about 2 months now, and I LOVE it for all of the reasons mentioned above. Two things anyone might want to consider when deciding on which induction to buy:

1. SERVICE--DH didn't get around to installing the hood until AFTER the cooktop had been installed. He dropped his hammer on it from a height of 2' and cracked the glass. Yes, I was angry, especially since I knew he was tired and I'd tried to get him to stop before he made any mistakes! But he called GE, the repair guy called us immediately, and ordered any parts he thought might have been damaged (the control panel was right under the glass where the hammer hit). He had them FedEx/UPSed to us, and told us to call him when they arrived. We did, and he came the SAME day and did the repair. The control box had not been damaged, so he returned it.

2. SS RIM--If you've ever had something boil over, having the stainless steel rim instead of only the smooth black surface will keep most things from overflowing onto the counter or floor. I can't count the number of times I've cooked rice and had a considerable amount of water boil over--including yesterday. :o) I'd forgotten I'd put it on power boost (do NOT leave the cooktop while this is on), and walked to the other side of the kitchen to get something. Over it went out of the pot, but it stayed within the boundaries of the cooktop because of the SS rim, although the mess spread over three burners. Easy to fix. Turned it down so it stopped overflowing immediately, picked up the pans on the three burners and wiped them and the cooktop off, and was back in business in a couple of minutes with the rice simmering away at the perfect temperature.

No matter what I've cooked, there's been a perfect simmer point. The placement of the different sized burners also works well for me. Soon the real test will come, when DH and DS both stir fry on the two front burners. There's room for the 14" stir fry pan, the 12" extra deep 6 qt saute pan, and the 13" French skillet in the back on Low to keep things warm. I LOVE this cooktop!!!

I also love my new pots and pans. Up until we got the induction cooktop, I'd cooked for decades using a few not-so-good ones. While researching pans, I ran across explanations of what each kind of pan can be used for, which were helpful in making choices from the many AllClad options. I ended up getting the Kitchen Aid pans recommended by Consumers Report (partly because I like glass lids), and several larger AllClad pieces from Williams-Sonoma that were a lower price in their catalog as well as some that went on sale in their store after Christmas. I also got some from the AllClad outlet in PA via the internet. Several of the W-S prices were cheaper than the outlet! I'd looked over the pans in the reduced price collections of the various stores, but had determined that most of the ones I wanted were not included in those offers. Although the AllClad is expensive, I especially love cooking with their large pans.

Anne

I don't have time right now to check the code, but I vaguely recall that plugs and outlets have to be overrated for their intended current under certain conditions that may apply here. For example, a 60-A rated plug might be required. I'll try to be more specific when I have time to look it up.

kas

I noticed most postings are not current. Has anybody done a comparison between Kenmore vs. GE Profile induction cook tops recently?
Also, is there a quality cookware other than Demeyere? It is very pricey. I have five fractured bones preventing me from standing for long periods of time and I truly believe the induction cook top is what I need. Funny, in the 60s, at a Home Show in San Diego, induction cook tops were the "in" thing to have...then they faded from view. Moral? Just wait long enough it will come back.

Bump....I'd love to hear how gw'ers like their induction cooktops a couple years on. Am thinking of putting one in my remodeled kitchen....thanks in advance for your words of wisdom!