In this video, you'll learn how to buy
a professional range from sizing to features,
along with a few problems like reliability and service based on 40,000 service calls
logged by a service department just last year.
By the end of this video,
you'll have a much better idea of what brands and models to choose from.
But let's start with three misconceptions.
Despite all the marketing, there is no one best pro range for everyone.
It's not possible.
Some brands are more cleanable, others have higher output.
Some have elaborate integrations with recipe apps, while others,
including the 75,000+ La Cornue, have no advanced controls at all.
As you watch this video, you want to pick the best features for how you cook.
I'll ask you that a few times during this video.
A lot of companies like Bertazzoni,
ZLINE, Hallman, Ilve and others talk about pro-style ranges.
They even have the larger 48-inch range sizes.
They lack the output capacity and features of a pro.
They are far less expensive to buy.
But if you like performance, they are not the range for you.
For pro ranges, you'll be placing an average of 70,000-150,000
BTU of heat, plus possibly a grill or griddle.
You have to vent properly with good CFM
and capture area depth of no less than 24 inches.
Then you need to vent straight up or back.
If you cannot vent for any reason,
we strongly recommend an induction or electric range.
We have other videos on venting we'll include at the end of this video.
We'll get to the problem of reliability and service at the end of the video.
For now, let's narrow your choices starting with size.
Your first step is looking at size.
You can buy pro ranges with single ovens at 24, 30 and 36 inch.
If you want two ovens in a range,
they even offer 48, 60 or a larger customizable range from La Cornue.
You can also have a steam oven, speed oven
and warming drawers instead of the two ovens
and different combinations at the top that you'll learn throughout the video.
An open burner typically is hotter than
a sealed burner because there is more surface area for oxygen flow.
But that difference in output is narrowing.
BlueStar and Capital both have open burners that are 25,000 BTU max
output in a few burners.
Viking, Fisher Paykel and SKS have the
highest with the sealed burners at 23,000 BTU.
Most pro range sealed burners are 15,000 to 20,000 BTU.
Hestan and Wolf have models with larger 30,000
and 35,000 BTU burners, respectively.
But you lose a set of burners behind those higher output burners.
Thermador has the best advertised simmer
burner, and 100 BTU's on two of their burners.
But those burners turn on and off for that average temperature.
The new SKS Ultralow has two consistent
simmers at 100 BTU, while Wolf has a 340 BTU
simmer on all their burners.
If you're buying this range for a simmer, then there's another option you should
consider and we'll learn about later in the video.
In terms of cleaning, sealed burners keep spills on the top,
making it easy to wipe down, but you have to scour the burner.
The easiest seal burner to clean is
the Thermador star burner because it's raised
from the surface for easy cleaning underneath. You can disassemble an open
burner and clean it in the sink just as easily.
However, with larger spills you do have to clean more underneath.
There are tons of different types of griddles.
Griddles powered by gas heat up faster.
However, JennAir, Viking and SKS have a chromium
finish and are easiest to clean than any other.
Thermador and JennAir are electric for consistent
temperature, but electric takes more time to heat than gas or infrared.
You can always buy a portable griddle
for almost any range, but a built in griddle will perform better
because it maintains a more consistent temperature.
You can buy a griddle at 12 inches
starting at 36 inches or 24 inches in the larger 48 and 60 inch sizes.
The infrared style is the best grill
for a professional range due to its intense directed heat and sears quickly.
They're exactly like the sear element of a high end Lynx grill, just smaller.
Infrared is also much easier to clean than a gas or electric grill.
Drippings are evaporated rather than you having to clean the burners.
Viking and BlueStar progrills are regular
gas, while Thermador uses electric. Miele, JennAir and Wolf and plain infrared grill.
Once again, you can have a 12 or 24 inch depending on the size of the range.
Remember, you must have a more powerful
hood with an indoor grill to ventilate your space properly.
French Top professional ranges look like
griddles but have one big burner in the middle.
Unlike the griddle, the French top is designed to be
inconsistent with cooking multiple items at different temperatures.
While a griddle is consistent.
You also have the food in the pans
on a French top versus placing the food directly on a griddle.
Wolf, BlueStar and La Cornue all have French tops.
Sou Vide cooking achieves precise internal temperatures through water immersion.
It's precision boiling in a bag.
Sous Vide has become popular in cooking shows for its even temperature.
Right now, only SKS offers sous vide.
Induction is magnetic heat.
The magnets of the induction burners excite the metal molecules
in the pan, and the pan cooks the food.
It's faster boil with a better simmer than any extralow pro gas burner.
It's also safer and requires less venting.
Thermador and SKS have two induction
burners on a few of their pro range models.
Fisher Paykel has the larger 24-inch size
with four burners in their larger 48 inch pro range.
You can also buy a larger 36-inch just
induction range from Wolf, Dacor, Fisher Paykel and Viking.
We covered gas vs.
Induction in other videos as well as on our blog.
Oven controls run the gamut from having no
controls like BlueStar, Thermador Harmony and La Cornue to having
controls completely accessible through your phone.
Like Jennair SKS, Wolf, Monogram and Thermador.
Some ranges have entered the age of WiFi and smart functionality.
Wolf, SKS and Jennair have guided cooking to calculate time and temperature.
All you have to do is input the food,
the food type and your preferred doneness level.
The range calculates time and temperature for you based on those factors.
Wolf even calculates rack position.
Gas is better for roasting, while electric is more precise and better for baking.
Certain gas manufacturers have hotter
infrared broilers like Thermador Wolf and Miele being the best.
It's also a bit more complicated when
you're comparing straight gas or electric for pro ranges.
Certain manufacturers like Wolf,
Thermador, SKS and Miele in dual Fuel offer better features than their all gas
models like better convection systems, controls or steam and speed functionality.
But you have to assess how you cook to choose the best oven type for you.
The best oven may be the La Cornue with its
arch top with natural convection flow
and temperature. In the larger La Cornue stoves.
You can choose both gas and electric ovens in the same range.
Wolf has reengineered their convection
to be a blower style. Blowers deliver more air than fans
for more even baking. Other ranges employ
either twin or single convection fans. In gas ovens,
BlueStar has its probake convection or
element behind the fan to blow the heat across.
Probake is more efficient than the traditional method of a baking element
generating the heat from below with the fan distributing the air.
Miele, Dacor, Thermador and now SKS have changed the standard for pro range
features. In the Thermador pro grand 48 and 60 inch ranges along with SKS in 48
inch, you have the steam oven option. By adding moisture,
steam does not bake nutrients out of the food. Instead it adds texture and flavor.
Thermador was also the first to add a warming
drawer for keeping food warm for up to 3 hours.
Miele's dual fuel pro range adds steam
assist for bread baking. On their 48 inch pro range,
you also have the speed oven and a warming drawer.
Speed ovens will cook faster than a steam
oven by using a microwave and convection combination.
However, food prepared in a steam oven will be more flavorful.
Again, it depends on what you value and how you cook.
Most pro ranges come in stainless steel
only, like Miele, Wolf, Thermador, Monogram and JennAir.
BlueStar however has 1,000 assorted colors and 10 trim styles.
La Cornue can be customized too with 50 colors and available trim options.
Both companies will allow you
to customize to your specific paint color as well.
Viking has 16 colors and brass trim options and Dacor has a black finish.
Now let's talk about the final problem,
reliability in the service and availability.
Pro ranges have a higher service rate than
any other appliance at 15.5% just in the first year.
Then again, a pro range can be equivalent to one and a half or two ranges,
in some cases in the larger size. They require proper installation,
minor adjustments and training after you start using one.
Still, you should understand who can service your new range before you buy it.
Pro ranges are more complicated than
a regular range, so not every service agent can fix them in your home.
And Thanksgiving is not the time to discover repair
appointments are 6-12 weeks out due to a lack of technicians.
Along with features, you must consider the brand with the best
service. Spend time googling best reviews for service in your area.
You may have difficulty buying a range
with every possible feature, unless you want to customize a La Cornue
with a gas and electric oven plus whatever you want on the top and spend 75,000 or
more but still have no clock time or controls.
So let's ask the only important question what is the best range for you?
How we use the range? Do we use a grill, griddle, sous vide,
french top? How about the oven?
Do you roast, bake or broil a lot?
But now, availability will continue to be
an issue for appliances into 2024, 2025 for luxury brands.
Many brands are 8-15 months to order, so plan accordingly.
Lastly, service needs to be vetted as well.
After considering the differences between
all the brands, consider which company has the best service agency in your area.
Click the link to download our Free Pro Cooking Buying guide.
Unfortunately, all all know someone who's
been talking to buying the wrong appliance.
Don't that happen to you.
Over a million people have found the right answers in a Yale guide.
Thanks for watching.