I think it’s time to replace our 20-yr old Dacor dual fuel range. I am interested in the Viking 5 series 30 inch range. If you have this model, would you recommend it? I cook most days and like to cook and bake. I see that the gas cooktop/gas oven is a lot more expensive than the dual fuel model. I’ve never had a gas oven before-how are they for baking?
In case you’re not already familiar with it, there’s an appliance forum and a kitchen forum on the Houzz site (formerly GardenWeb) that might be helpful. Just fyi - sometimes it’s easier to search their site using google than their own search function.
I can’t speak to Viking specifically, but my experience with a gas oven was not great. I understand they’re very good for bread baking. The one in H’s rental, years ago, was temperamental and singed off my eyebrows one day; fortunately, my glasses protected my eyes.
Anything but Viking. That is what our realtor said.
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I don’t know about that particular model but I had a Viking gas stove/oven for the past 25 years and hated it. It was brand new when we bought the house so I learned to work around its faults as best as possible. I love a gas oven and gas stoves (way more than induction and electric) b/c I find they give me more control - but my viking oven heated really unevenly, making baking difficult. For some things, moving position/turning through cooking time helped, but overall, I would not recommend.
I think Viking is a case that looks great and has pedigree - doesn’t mean it is great (as people are saying). But if you are selling a house and it has a Viking stove, it means those people stepped up.
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I’ve had a 36” Viking dual energy stove for the past 20+ years. Works great, looks great.
But Middleby bought Viking in 2012, and I believe QC went downhill.
Thanks everyone, very helpful responses.
Sounds like Viking may not be worth the money.
Does anyone have recommendations for another brand? I want gas stove, electric oven, pro-style. My Dacor served me well for a long time, but I would not get that brand again. The oven and electrical panel were always a bit wacky but the stove part was great. So no Dacor for my next range.
I will check out the Houzz forum. I did not know about that resource.
I have had dual fuel Wolf ranges in my last two houses and have loved them. Zero issues. I had my first one for 13 years and it was still going strong when we moved.
I did research other brands before buying my current one but stuck with the Wolf after lots of research. No regrets.
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I have two family members (3 Viking stoves due to a vacation home) and all have had issues, and more than once. Also, most professional chefs recommend gas stove/electric oven. Gas ovens don’t cook as evenly as electric.
ETA: we’ve had a Kenmore Elite dual range 5 burner stove/2 ovens for 20 years with no issues, but I don’t know if they’re still being made. Fun fact: found it at a tag sale brand new (people had purchased it for their previous house but then had to move and it didn’t fit in the new house). It was brand new and exactly the model we were looking for (and we saved about $800).
I encourage you to check out Consumer Reports rating for a Viking 5 series range if you can. The 30" model scored a 42. The 36" model scored a 59. The both got 1 (the lowest) ratings for Predicted Reliability and 3 ratings for Owner Satisfaction. Bosch, Thermador, KitchenAid, and Cafe’ brands ranked highest for owner satisfaction in their ratings, but none of them got great scores in the performance categories.
Note that they did not evaluate Wolf ranges. I have no idea why.
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We had two Kenmore refrigerators. One lasted 20 years. Now on our second. I just looked at their ranges, but they no longer make the dual fuel model.
I will take a look at Wolf.
Just completed new home construction and got the GE Monogram 48” Dual fuel range so only about a year old but happy so far. Also had a Bosch for 17 years with no issues.
Another vote for Wolf. Love my 48" dual fuel. DS and DIL have the 30" dual fuel. The ovens take a while to fully preheat, but boy do they hold the temp really well.
Viking rage—it’s a thing!
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I was just reading this month’s Consumer Reports - they rate 28 appliance brands and Viking was dead last, scoring 33 of 100. What timing. They had 5 product ratings - refrigerator below average, dishwasher below average Ranges - this topic - bottom, Cook tops below average and electric wall oven average.
So Ikea was #4. Admittedly if I was buying a home and they had an Ikea whatever or a Viking whatever, I’d much prefer Viking thinking those people buy quality. That’s because I’d equate more money to better.
But I guess in this case that isn’t true. Same with Kenmore - to me, that’s a cheap, old person’s brand and yes, i know that Whirlpool and Maytag make their stuff. VIking is super high end…but apparently super crappy…or people just have super high expectations. While Kenmore is solid, does anyone really want the neighbors coming in and seeing you have Kenmore stuff as opposed to Viking? Not if you’re a snob 
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Me too! I totally thought it said Viking rage. lol
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I had Viking rangetops in the '90s and '00s and they were great, but I have also heard negatives lately. When I redid some kitchen appliances, our local store recommended their extended warranty on everything except the Wolf range because they are simple and ‘bombproof.’
I love ours, we use the griddle all the time, apparently ‘everyone’ wants to buy the griddle model because they look cool, but many people don’t use them. I will say, if you go with the griddle, you need to season it, which means you don’t clean it to be silver, you leave it that seasoned brown color, which makes it cook better. There is a silver colored piece that you can cover it with if the seasoned color is annoying to you.
I have a Wolf range (gas) that I love. It’s the one high-end appliance that has never needed a repair since we renovated our kitchen 17 years ago. I also have an induction Miele in our vacation place. (Too expensive to put in a gas line.) If I were getting a new stove, I’d get the Wolf dual fuel range.
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