I'm buying induction as a result of all the tremendously good reviews in this forum. Most people who loved gas are switching or at least most of the ones posting here about their choice. Does your husband cook the meals or do a large part of the cooking?
I admit, my question is really not relevant to your questions but I'm amazed at your husband doing the shopping on this. Even if I wanted him to, it would be totally impossible for me to get my husband to the store without me. Not sure if I should congratulate you or offer condolences, LOL.

duplicate post - apologies

This post was edited by elphaba on Fri, Aug 23, 13 at 16:02

You'll most likely have to keep your burners a bit lower than you're used to. Things that you previously cooked on high, you'll now switch to medium. There's a little bit of a learning curve but you'll get used to it. On the plus side, you'll have higher heat for stir frying, searing and even boiling water. Also, the Wolf has dual stacked burners - so you'll be able to simmer and hold things much more easily. Have fun!

For my kitchen reno I bought a 48 dual fuel Wolf. My previous stove top was Ktichen aid (gas) and Thermador double ovens (electric). The wolf has higher btu's, so I have to be somewhat mindful when cooking. Other than that, no issues. I love the low simmer settings and also my griddle. The red knobs are my accent color throughout the kitchen :)

The BIG difference is that you'll have to vent differently now. Hubby only bought half of the needed appliance here. Do some research on proper venting and go back to the appliance store to complete the purchase.

Did he buy a vent hood too? Don't skimp.

Yeah, listen to the experts, adequate venting is not an optional upgrade. You'll now need to explore what solutions you can get that will fit your kitchen and the required ventilation. If your backsplash is not noncombustible, you may want to address that as well.

With my new range (not a Wolf) I caused my first ever oil fire while searing off some veggies! The olive oil literally caught fire as I was not used to such a high BTU burner.

We replaced our skillets and saucepans with All-Clad tri-ply after we started using our Wolf AG range (old style open burners). Our old, thinner, and not fully clad pans allowed food to scorch way too easily (near the edges of the pans), and the pans were very difficult to clean after use because of the scorching. The fully clad pans are more responsive, and allowed for more even heating and cooking, which in turn deters scorching, and makes for much easier clean-up. You don't have to get A-C, but it would be wise to invest in a few good, weighty pans.

Ditto on what others have said re: being a little more mindful (watchful) while getting used to your new, higher BTU burners. You'll get the hang of them pretty quickly! :)

My guess is there's a good chance you'll "have to" get used to much better control on the low end. That's a good thing. :)

As far as the high end, 15K is less than the "power burner" on many regular ranges these days, including a $1000 GE. The difference of course is having the flexibility of this power available on three of the four burners. (Reading into your post I'm assuming 30" range.) So if you're happy with your current ventilation then I'd expect you will continue to be happy if your cooking style remains the same. But if you start searing steaks on three burners simultaneously because you can or start using your broiler more then you might be in for a smokey house.

I've never cooked on a Wolf but I have cooked on other dual stacked burners. (DCS) and I expect you'll be thrilled with the performance and versatility. Good luck!

This post was edited by foodonastump on Fri, Aug 23, 13 at 22:11

Wow - lots of feedback! Thanks so much - I'm less worried now!

@beekeeperwife and @live_wire_oak: Yes, we've already ordered a new appropriate range hood to work with the Wolf. My husband is popular at the appliance store right now :)

@cat_mom - thanks for offering your experience with your cookware. I hadn't thought of that - most of our cookware actually is piece inherited from my folks, so this might be a good time to put new pans on my Xmas wishlist.

@elphaba - My DH is the weekend cook. We both are really dedicated to cooking at home, and he likes to spend hours on a single meal (more than I do), so I'm fine with doing the research and purchasing the appliances. I log more hours in the kitchen overall, so the layout of the new kitchen and subsequent organizing of the contents is what I care about more :) I was about 80% certain that he'd choose gas over induction.

@foodonastump - your post was helpful in many ways! Yes, just a 30" range, and I can't actually remember the last time I used more than two burners on any range simultaneously. I use the oven a lot, as it turns out ...

You will get used to it in no time. As said above some differences in power but you just watch the flame and you get used to the new power in a day or two.

Congrats on the great new range. I wish my DH would surprise me with stuff like that, lol!

This post was edited by taggie on Sat, Aug 24, 13 at 15:51

I wouldn't necessarily get rid of pans because they are old. I have old Revereware saucepans that were made in the fifties that are great because it has a lot of copper on the bottom. I also have old cast iron. Any of the pro styl ranges have burners that might be a little wider than what you are used to using. I have also collected all clad, some copper, some anodized aluminum. They all have different uses. You might enjoy the cookware forum on chowhound.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cookware

Hi - We went from an old gas range to the Thermador Professional range top just this spring. It definitely provides excellent cooking heat! I would say - like everyone else - be conservative. When I want something at medium, it's usually slightly below that. And, I do use the extra-low simmer often as my usual simmer.

My tip - look at the flame, don't really go by the knob. I've been using gas forever so I'm more used to that (in my old stovetop, I was making sure the burner was actually lit so we didn't die!) But, if you see the flame, you can judge if it's actually low on Low, etc.

One thing that I really enjoy is how well it will heat a dual-burner griddle or grill pan. It's awesome to have that pro power beneath it.

Did you get a baffled vent? That was the advice from our appliance store. We went with the Zephyr Monsoon II and are very pleased.

I think you'll adjust but just be conservative those first weeks! Good luck!

Great to hear that DH got both the range and appropriate hood. Happy cooking!