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tony_p57

36” induction range frustrations

Tony P
2 years ago

This is not about the current ridiculous lead times or even total lack of availability of major appliances - it’s about my frustration finding something that I’ll be happy with.

I’ve looked at the current lineup of 36” induction ranges from Wolf, Fisher & Paykel, Bertazzoni, Aga, a brand with a farmhouse look (Le something or other, wasn’t my style), Dacor. Haven’t seen a Verona yet, and some others, but here’s what I’ve found so far…

I can’t seem to find a range that will make me (yes, me… I do the cooking) happy. Either the ovens are too small or too shallow, the range operates completely via soft touch controls (not a fan of that), or widely available reports online speak of reliability or performance issues.

I’m looking for an induction range that will let me turn on and adjust the hobs if my hands are wet or dry, without guessing if I’ve touched the exact right spot on a control surface, will let me work the oven and the top without having to cycle through a single interface, will let me operate the oven itself without a needlessly complicated interface, will give me a usable oven capacity of at least 4.7 cu.ft. with the ability to go from proofing to 550 degrees, a top that will reliably let me work chocolate or butter - including the ability to lift the pan off the hob momentarily if I have to, self cleaning, dual convection, reliable control (no automated hinged panel interfaces), and ultimately - a quality unit. Cost up to the Wolf range is not an issue.

Does such a thing exist?

Comments (10)

  • Toronto Veterinarian
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    If you can't find what you want, you might have to go with a separate cooktop and oven. Is there a reason you're set on a range?

  • dan1888
    2 years ago

    You'll find more choices if you go with a 36" cooktop and wall ovens. Combi-steam oven is a popular choice for one in the stack. Miele has options.

  • wdccruise
    2 years ago

    The problem is that you're looking at the wrong size range. The sweet spot for induction ranges is 30" ranges. That's where manufacturers compete to provides the best products with the most features at the lowest prices. Thirty-inch ranges also have larger ovens than the surprisingly small ones on 36" ranges. Examples:

  • Tony P
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    Can’t go with separates, unfortunately. I won’t go off topic with why… just the way it is.

  • Toronto Veterinarian
    2 years ago

    "Can’t go with separates, unfortunately. I won’t go off topic with why… just the way it is."

    Well, then, something's gotta give, so expand your search to include 30" models. My 30" LG Induction range with knobs (and convection) has a 6.3 ft3 oven, bigger than most 36" ranges.

  • P. T.
    last year

    Hi Tony - What did you decide? I'm in the same boat. Thank you!

  • Mallory O
    last month

    I know this is an old post, but I’m also looking at the FM 36” Sofia Pro induction and can’t find a single review- can you please elaborate on your experience? How’s the induction- is not having a “bridge” option challenging or is the 11” burner enough? How’s the oven for evenness, preheat time, temperature control? I would really appreciate it.

  • Tony P
    Original Author
    last month

    Mallory, overall I’d say I’m happy with the Sofia Pro. The induction top works fabulously. The individual hobs have great control and also have fast heat settings when you want to get things going quickly. I only need more than one hob for one pan when making pancakes or French toast. In these cases I do need to place my griddle over both the center and one of the front hobs, so kind of going diagonally across the cooktop surface. I do not notice any problems doing this even though there is no bridge. Is the temperature in the middle of the griddle less than the parts over the two hobs? Yes, but not enough it seems to really matter - at least for the stuff I cook. It may be different if someone is doing something needing super-critical temps across the entire cooking surface.

    The oven is pretty good. Part of the reason I decided on the Sofia Pro is that it has one of the largest oven capacities among the 36” brands I looked at. And it does. It’ll take anything I can throw into it with room to spare. The gliding rack is a really nice feature, even if it does use up a bit more vertical space than a regular wire rack. It can always be replaced with a standard wire rack when necessary.

    Oven calibration works very well. If I remember correctly the range is -35/+35 degrees of calibration adjustment. Pre-heat time when set to Fast (a button press activates this when desired) is quite fast. Comes up to Bake 425 in about 10 minutes, give or take. Evenness is reasonable when using non-convection settings. I still have to rotate pies and the like to get perfectly even browning across the surface, but I can tell that it’s better than my old 30” KitchenAid gas range. Evenness for convection settings is better. Beyond that I can’t say much as I haven’t done critical temperature testing over the oven space.

    I have had a disappointment with the self-clean, however. Do a search for that here and you’ll see it. Apart from that I’ve been happy with this purchase. Hope this helps.

  • gardener123
    15 days ago
    last modified: 15 days ago

    Very helpful, Tony, thank you. Mallory, have you made a decision? Also in the same boat!

    Has anyone dropped to a 30" since there are so few good options?