1. The black rangetop finish is hard to keep clean
2. There' have been a few recent problems with the gas burners not working properly when the oven is going.
3. wood hoods above any of these ranges should have similar specs. They may not be the same, but they should be. The wood needs to be protected from flare-ups, by either being higher, or the bottom edges covered with stainless.

I agree with alexr - all three ranges have powerful burners - you shouldn't be able to mount a wood hood any lower with a Wolf range than you would with a DCS or a Capital.

I completely agree with you both, the specs should be the same, but for whatever reason they are not.

Here is the one from the Wolf's document: 30" min from countertop to combustible material, 36" min for charbroiler

And here is the one from Capital's document: Caution, 36" min to combustible material from cooking surface (as defined in National Fuel Gas Code ANSI Z223.1, latest addition)

Alexr, a couple of questions about what you wrote above.

I have never seen wood hood edges covered with stainless, is this a common practice?

Also, I've been reading on the appliances forum about the black finish being hard to clean. But then other people say they don't find it that hard. Can you share how long it takes you to clean it on a regular basis?

Washing the parts in the sink is easy enough, though I admit to going as long as I can if I haven't slopped up the range top while cooking! I'm a messy cook, so if I've cooked using the burners, I usually end up taking the top apart to clean it at once every week to 2 weeks.

It's easy to take the grates off and pop out the burner pans for cleaning, and you do develop a routine pretty quickly. I spray some Dawn Power Dissolver gel spray on the burner pans and the grates and let them sit a little while before washing them in the sink with a soapy blue scrub sponge (in my 30" X 17" sink, I do the grates two at a time, the pans, one at a time). After rinsing, I let the grates air dry upside down on paper towels on my counter (when I put the grates back on the range, I let the paper towels dry out and use them as needed for other things). I dry the burner pans with a regular dishtowel, going over any smudgey spots with a microfiber cloth if they need it. They do come out nicely when I wash them.

The grates are a bit spotty looking (grease?) even after cleaning, but I figure it'll blend into a patina over time, and they're burner grates anyway--who really cares? I don't clean the burner caps/rings unless something spilled and burnt on. Again, they're burner rings and not meant to look pristine IMHO.

For spot cleaning or a quick spritz/wipe, I've been using Perfect Kitchen most recently (blue spray bottle at BB&B). I found out about it at the Wolf/SZ showroom. It's touted as being residue free (for no streaking) and it says on the label it's good for granite as well. I have to agree--so far it's the best thing I've tried for spot cleaning the range top without leaving it a smeary mess, and it does a nice job on my granite tabletop (which sometimes gets all hazy when I use my SCI cleaner).

cat_mom, thanks for such a detailed report, what you decribe doesn't sound too bad

No, it's not common. But a few years ago someone had this problem. The range company was called, and they said, "Ah, sure, we said 36", but 32" is O.K. But the building inspector said NO WAY, not in this town.. It's got to be 36" with those burners. So, the moral of the story is- check with your locals.

I've also heard or read of folks covering the lower outside of the wood hood with copper (matched the wood) and they still had a stainless liner.

The complaints about the black porcelain is that it spots and won't ever completely clean. The stainless tops seem to be better. I don't have a Wolf,...the range I have has thick cast iron with porcelain that never is a problem.

I guess you're not getting a grill- but depending on your style of cooking, why would you trust the manufacturer about whether your house is going to burn down?? Do you think they would allow wood covered hoods in a commercial kitchen even if they were 48" above?? No way. The wood dries out and turns into tinder. Just ready for a grease fire. And the grease stuck on the inside of the hood doesn't help either. The wood itself will likely be coated with a fine layer of grease, and what's to stop a stove top fire from catching except more distance?

I know where I live there are regulations about wooden mantles above fireplaces for the same reason.

So, I would check with the city, or county...And let prudence be....

Anna,

I have a Wolf AG and am very happy with it.

The black enamel does show wear after a 1 1/2 years of use. But, frankly, it doesn't bother me. It doesn't look bad, just used. I'm actually happy that it looks used. If it looked pristine the judgement police would assume I bought it just for looks. ;-)

I had a Dacor cooktop with a brushed stainless finish around the burners, at my previous house. I found that much harder to clean. The brushed stainless showed every little scratch and held onto stains.

Hope this helps.

I have one and have no trouble cleaning the top where the burners are- it looks great. I just hate not having a self cleaning oven. Other than that I am fine with it. I wish I went with the duel fuel, though.

Anna,

I have owned a 36" AG Wolf range for about a year and have been very pleased with it. My other two contenders were the Bluestar and the DCS and I have no regrets I chose the Wolf. I'd choose it again. Plenty of firepower for me; I can't imagine needing more for my cooking style. My main adjustment has been to learn to manage the high-powered burners. I've been very pleased with the performance of both the rangetop and the oven. The infrared broiler is wonderful. I like the fact that all burners are equal in output and capable of low simmer.

Yes, the black top shows splatters and fingerprints but it's quite easy to clean up/polish with hot soapy water and a microfiber cloth. I use one cloth to wipe it down and another to polish. Periodically, I remove the trays from the top and wash them in the sink - a benefit of the open burners is you can remove all the components to clean if so desired. I'm pretty fastidious with my range top and I have NO staining, no cooked-on spots. I simply clean up the spillovers as they occur. I put my grates through the DW when they start to look bad and they come out looking like new. And I cook extensively on my range every day.

I would say that it depends upon what type of cook you are and how fastidious you are about the way things "look". I wouldn't have been happy with the Bluestar grate system's eventual "patina" - I like that I can shine mine up so that it looks "new". I would have been struggling to take apart all of that heavy cast-iron top to clean all of the time. This isn't a knock on anyone else; I just know how I am. However, others who don't worry about silly things like a new-looking rangetop may prefer the well-used look, don't want to spend time polishing/cleaning, and need the firepower of 22K burners so they choose the Bluestar.

The black top sections are easily removeable and measure around 23 1/2'', front to back. I plan to make sure I have a sink large enough to hold them. (My Wolf rangetop is sitting in the living room.:(

Guessing that the difference in clearance to combustibles between Wolf, Capital, etc. is the different BTU ratings on the burners. All Wolf (standard) burners are rated at 15K. With Capital, for instance, the standard burners can go up to 19K and the wok burner is rated at 25K.