Wolf is synonymous with high-end luxury home appliances, and whether you love to cook or just want to make a statement in your kitchen with its iconic red knobs and pro-style good looks, a Wolf dual fuel range should be on your shortlist of stoves to consider.
But up until 2021, Wolf hadn’t updated its dual-fuel lineup in over a decade, and it was starting to show.
So much so for me that when I was building my new home last year, I decided against Wolf altogether in favor of another brand that had a more streamlined design and more advanced technology.
But now I can tell you Wolf stayed true to its pro-style roots while making improvements across the board, all for the better.
In this article, I’ll walk you through Wolf’s latest dual fuel range lineup and go over the standout features, including all the updates.
I’ll also share the configuration we recommend for most people and tell you all about the details that make it worth the investment.
There are also a few factors that might make you want to avoid Wolf altogether, so I’ll include those as well.
Table of Contents
Performance
Before we go too much further, let’s talk about Wolf.
People recognize its signature red knobs and know they stand for luxury and quality.
As a sister brand of Sub-Zero and Cove, Wolf delivers premium performance for a premium price.
So do its dual fuel ranges live up to its reputation?
We think so, for three reasons.
#1: Wolf was already one of the leaders in pro-style cooking with its dual fuel range—but this newest update brings their performance to a whole new level.
If you aren’t already aware, a dual fuel range uses gas for the cooktop, and electric for the oven.
This setup gives you the best of both worlds, the responsiveness of gas on the cooktop combined with the even consistency of electric heat in the oven.
Electric heat also opens up low heat cooking possibilities like proofing for dough or dehydrating for jerky, vegetables or fruit, things not possible on most gas ranges.
The dual fuel is Wolf’s best performing range version, but if you don’t have the ability to run electric or want the Wolf brand but are looking to save money, Wolf also makes an all gas range.
But if you can make it work, we highly recommend going with the dual fuel.
With this newest update to the dual fuel lineup, Wolf completely overhauled the oven, and incorporated the incredible Dual VertiCross convection system found on Wolf’s M Series built-in wall ovens.
Typical convection ovens have a fan that creates a circulating effect in the oven. This helps cook faster and provides more even heat. But unfortunately, this setup isn’t perfect.
A normal convection setup like this draws air toward the center of the back wall of the oven so you will still end up with hotspots depending on what rack you cook on, and front to back.
The Wolf dual verticross system is completely different. Instead of the fan being center, Wolf uses two column fans on the left and right side of the oven that create even air flow top to bottom, so no matter what rack you cook on you’ll get the same results.
I also really like the controls on the oven.
Some newer appliances make you use a touch screen just to start a normal bake mode. I find this to be cumbersome… and it slows you down in the kitchen.
The Wolf gives you easy access to the most common modes using the oven knob and it hides the rest of the modes in the fold out LCD display.
Just turn the trim on the oven knob to the desired setting and change the temperature up or down by turning the knob.
Super easy, even for your guests to use.
When it comes to modes, the oven has everything you’d expect.
You have quick access to convection bake, convection roast, regular bake, broil, roast, and clean on the control knob.
The more option reveals additional modes on the touch screen such as proof, dehydrate, stone, and connect.
We had a chance to test out the dehydrate mode and made our own jerky. It came out awesome.
This mode really shows off the wide temperature range of this oven. For dehydrate you can choose between 110 degrees and 160.
Like we said before, this extremely low temperature can only be achieved by an electric oven, and even most electric ovens aren’t capable of maintaining this low of a temperature.
This is just one example of how the Wolf dual fuel range unlocks possibilities you won’t find on other ranges.
The consistent heat and accurate control of temperature give you the confidence to try new things and expand your cooking horizons.
You may have noticed I mentioned “connect” as a mode before. This range is WiFi enabled, so putting it in connect mode gives you access to control if from Wolf smart phone app, from monitoring the status of the oven, to turning it off or preheating remotely.
Gourmet mode is a new addition this year and takes the guesswork out cooking. Just pick from a menu of recipes, and the oven does the rest.
In my opinion, the coolest part about this is how the oven can automatically change cooking modes.
Normally if you wanted to sear something and then slow roast it, you’d have to watch the oven like a hawk and change the mode at just the right time. The Wolf will automatically create a plan for how to cook your food and switch the modes at the perfect time to get an amazing end result.
This is especially great with expensive cuts of meat like beef tenderloin and prime rib that you may only really cook once a year for the holiday.
I’ll quickly explain how it works.
Turn the oven knob to G and the LCD screen gives you a menu of options, from meat, poultry, and fish to baked goods.
In this example we select meat > beef > then we want to do a tenderloin > and for doneness we’re going to pick medium.
The oven will tell you when to put the meat in and on what rack. Also in this case it will tell us to use the included meat probe.
The result will be a perfect cooked cut of meat without worrying about over or under cooking.
If you’re intimidated by all of these modes and features, don’t be. There’s zero learning curve to using the ovens’ basic features.
Even if you have guests or in-laws over, this is one of the easiest ovens for them to intuitively know how to use.
And if you want to expand your horizons, Wolf includes this awesome cookbook including recipes designed to help you master each of it’s cooking modes.
Not much changed with regards to Wolf’s cooktop performance, and that’s not a bad thing.
When shopping for a pro-style range, people tend to focus purely on how hot the burners can get, otherwise known as the BTU output.
Pro-style ranges have been pushing BTU output higher and higher over the last 10 years.
But focusing on just high heat is the wrong way to think about a cooktop.
Don’t get me wrong, the Wolf dual fuel range has incredibly high output at 20,000 BTUs on some of its burners, great for boiling quickly and wok frying, but that’s not the full story.
The more important aspect to think about is how versatile are the burners. While it’s nice to have at least one super high output burner for boiling water or wok frying, most of the time you’ll likely be operating in the medium to medium high heat range.
So what happens to that high output burner on most other ranges?
The problem is they’re only good at high heat, and unable to handle delicate tasks that require a low controlled flame.
Wolf solves this issue with their innovative dual stacked burner. Each burner consists of an inner ring and an outer ring that operate independently.
The inner ring is for delicate cooking and can go super low, perfect for simmering sauces or melting chocolate.
As you turn the control knob to higher temperatures, the inner ring will shut off and activate the larger more powerful outer ring capable of achieving maximum output, perfect for searing and boiling water.
This gives you maximum flexibility to use each burner however you want.
One of the things that’s most noticeable when cooking with the Wolf is how much control you have over the flame.
When you turn the knobs on some other brands, the flame is unpredictable and jumps in height across the knobs range of motion.
With the Wolf, the flame reacts and changes with even the slightest turn of the knob, making it much easier to dial in the perfect heat.
Design
Wolf’s already set the standard for what a luxury range should look like. This year the design looks better than ever.
If you have a farmhouse or traditional style kitchen, the previous Wolf dual fuel looked right at home, but some of its bulkier design elements clashed with the clean lines of contemporary and even transitional kitchens.
This year’s refinements hold true to Wolf’s heritage while making the range look and feel more luxurious and less industrial so it can fit into any kitchen.
I should also mention that you can opt for black or brushed stainless steel knobs instead of red if they’re more your style.
I’m gonna focus a lot on what changed this year so you can appreciate the incremental improvements.
But also I hope this guides you on what to look for in a range in general.
Often times its the small details that bother us in the long run, and I think Wolf worked those all out this year.
The first thing I noticed was the major improvements to the control panel. In the past, each of the cooktop knobs had a bulky trim around it.
The oven knob that you turn to select the cooking mode really stood out since it wasn’t in line with the others and had a protruding preheat light nub on top.
The new design slims down the trim around all the knobs, brings the oven knob into vertical alignment with the cooktop knobs, and swaps the oven preheat light nub for a flat light that’s embedded into the control panel.
If you’re a designer and notice details like these or just OCD like me, this is a major improvement. It gives the panel a vertical symmetry that was missing.
As a final added touch, the cooktop knobs now have an LED backlight that illuminates when the burner is on.
While we were focusing on the front of the range, we touched on this before, but this rectangular outline folds down to reveal the control panel for the range’s more advanced features, like the gourmet mode.
In the past, this control panel was basic, and you could only set timers, turn the oven light on and off, and manage the cooking probe. It also looked dated.
This year Wolf totally redesigned the control panel with the LCD touchscreen. It gives you access to the timers and oven lights and shows more data, such as the current set point of the oven and the current temperature in the oven.
But don’t worry if you tend to shy away from technology and all of this is sounding a bit complicated. You could never open this panel and can still use 95% of the range’s functionality.
The oven door’s glass also stands out to me as a major design improvement. The difference is most prominent on the 36” range.
The old model has a tiny window and the new one now has a much wider and taller window. This gives the new range a slightly more modern look and the added benefit of being able to see more of what you’re cooking.
Also the corners of the glass are less rounded and more of an eased corner, another little detail that makes the ranges look more modern.
Wolf made other more subtle design improvements. This massive gap between the closed oven door and the bottom of the control panel on the old dual fuel range was a bit of an eyesore since it revealed the intake vents for the oven.
The new design shrinks that gap and hides the intake vents for a much more finished look.
The design of the cooktop surface received some minor changes as well. On the old 30” and 36” dual fuels, there was this huge piece of stainless steel trim on the left and right side of the cooktop surface that effectively cut down the width of the cooktop surface by 3” on each side, almost the width of 4 fingers.
To me, that was almost a deal-breaker on the old 30”—it just made the cooking surface too small.
The new 30” and 36” ranges have a much thinner trim on the sides, which allows the cooktop surface to be larger.
Resale Value
And finally, when it comes to adding resale value, Wolf can’t be beat.
When you’re remodeling your kitchen, we recommend going with brands that have a strong reputation.
Wolf is at the top of the class. Just look at high end real estate listings and they’ll highlight by name Wolf appliances and their sister brand Sub-Zero.
It’s truly a selling feature of some homes and signals high quality finishes.
Range Size & Burner Options
Now that we’ve covered the main reasons to consider a Wolf let’s get into the lineup.
Wolf’s dual fuel ranges come in four widths—30, 36, 48, and 60 inches – with different cooktop configurations available on the 36” and above.
30”
The 30-inch range has four burners, 20,000, 18,000, 15,000 BTU, and a 9,200 BTU burner in the back.
As I mentioned before, if you’ve looked at the older 30” Wolf dual fuel and thought the cooking surface was too small, Wolf has fixed that issue this year and shrunk the side trim to give you wider grates.
That was a deal breaker for some in the past so this is a much welcomed change.
36”
While the 30” is a great range, if you have the space and can work it into your kitchen, we recommend going with at least the 36” range, 30” is just too small in our opinion to make a pro-style range stand out.
With the 36” model, your possibilities really start to open up. On the cooktop, you can choose between either 4 or 6 burners. If you prefer 4, you can incorporate an infrared charbroiler or a griddle that takes up the middle of the cooktop.
The infrared charbroiler is like having an outdoor grill inside. It does get a bit messy and smokey, so for that reason the griddle tends to be the more popular option. The griddle is ideal for dishes that need a smooth surface, like breakfast items such eggs, pancakes, or french toast. But it’s also versalite enough to sear meats, scallops and cook veggies.
48”
The 48-inch model is our favorite size if you have the space, and gives you 4, 6 or 8 burners and even more flexibility to mix and match a charbroiler AND a griddle, or even have a double griddle.
It also gives you a second smaller oven. The smaller 18” oven gives you all the same features as the larger oven except the convection is a standard fan and not dual verticross that we talked about.
It works basically like a supercharged toaster oven. It’s the kind of thing you’ll use every single day, whether you’re baking ziti or reheating pizza slices.
And It’s bigger than you think.
60”
Finally, the largest dual fuel option is the 60-inch range.
You get six burners – note that there’s no option for 8 or 10 – two 30-inch ovens, and your choice of a charbroiler and griddle, a dual griddle, or a French top.
Now, what’s a French top?
The French Top is a 22-inch surface that’s the hottest in the center and cools as you move toward the outer edges.
Similar to La Cornue’s French plaque, it lets you bring pots to a boil at the center and slide them to the outside to simmer or just stay warm. It’s really unique and worth researching if you are looking to up your cooking skill set, but for some it may be intimidating.
Cons
Obviously, we think Wolf’s dual fuel ranges are great. But they do have some shortcomings.
We want you to have the full picture before you make a decision—we know it’s a big investment.
For starters, you have to love pro-style commercial design The new, larger oven door makes it look somewhat less commercial, but this is an industrial-style appliance.
It’s going to stand out in your kitchen. This range has a bullnose front that’s going to stick out past your countertops and won’t fit perfectly flush.
So if you have an ultra modern kitchen it’s hard to picture this fitting in perfectly, but it can still work.
You can customize the knobs, but you can’t customize the color of the range.
The body of a Wolf range is stainless steel—that’s your only choice. If you’re looking for ivory or another color, or for brass trim, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Adding color to your range is becoming a big trend in kitchen design, so it’s a bit of a disappointment Wolf can’t be customized.
The burners are extremely powerful, topping out at 20,000 BTUs, but there are still brands that go higher.
I think the Wolf has enough power for just about all levels of home cooks, but if you’re a professional chef and truly want the restaurant style cooking experience at home, something like a BlueStar Platinum series range with it’s 25,000 BTU open burners might be more for you.
But if you’re not coming from that chef background, Wolf’s burners are plenty powerful and the control they give you is hard to beat.
They can’t fit a full size commercial baking sheet. Again this is another chef inspired feature some other brands have, and really only applicable to 36” ranges.
Commercial baking sheets are 18”x26” and give you a huge amount of room to bake tons of cookies, pastries, or even very large 1 sheet pan meals.
This is by no means a deal breaker but it’s nice to have.