THOR KITCHEN Pro-Style Gas Rangetop with 6 Sealed Burners 36 - Inch, Stainless Steel HRT3618U

I did a full kitchen renovation that finished December 2017, I'm writing this review one year later on December 14th 2018.When looking at 36 inch ranges I came across this Thor unit. Initially I was very hesitant as there weren't many reviews at the time. Thor is essentially a Chinese version of the Viking series at a fraction of the cost. I had considered other brands like Samsung, but I didn't want the electronics connectivity they were offering. I figured a smart device like that would probably fail since it was controlled via smart phone and digital key pads. I wanted something that would last and figured a traditional style gas range with manual valves was the way to go. I also wanted a range where the handles faced outwards from the cabinets instead of outwards from the counter top.In the end I wound up choosing this Thor unit over a Viking unit which was $4k+ at the time or the GE unit which was about $3k+ at the time. I figured even if it didn't work, I wouldn't be out that much and I could return it. Much to my surprise this unit has been an absolute champ. The unit was shipped via pallet in heavy duty packaging. The install was easy for my contractors, but make sure you read the instructions.The unit should absolutely not be flush with the counter top. This poses a fire hazard as it makes it easier for things to fall into the burners from the counter top. You will actually see there are screws around the entire unit that are there to prevent you from trying to mount the unit flush to the counter top. Please read your manual before installing.After one year the unit is still working great. We have enough burners to do large meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's an excellent buy and we've had no problems with it. The cast iron grates look great and the stainless steel cleans easy. I honestly would highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for high quality performance on a budget.

We love this cook top! It's an absolute beast and looks fantastic.The heat-out put is crazy. I'm pretty sure I could smelt iron with this thing. You can crank up all the burners to high and they all put out full power without any sputtering ( though I don't recommend doing this as you may combust any surfaces within 6 ft - it gets HOT).We love how much space it has. You can fit six 12in pots on top - we didn't see any other 36in cooktops capable of this.It has nice clean lines with sturdy, industrial-feeling materials. There is NO plastic anywhere on this thing. It is all stainless steel, cast iron, brass, and porcelain-coated steel. It's made in the USA and the build quality is great. It seems quite serviceable - looks like everything can be accessed and replaced by removing some screws here or there.Our ONLY gripe is the color of the LEDs when the burners are on - blue doesn't seem "right" to me. Plus, the wife has decided all accessories in the kitchen must be red. So now I'm considering swapping out the blue LEDs for red ones. Given the apparent ease of access to the guts of this thing, I think it might actually be do-able.Overall, if you're looking at a Viking cooktop but aren't hung up on the name, I say give this one a shot and save a couple grand.

My Dacor pro-style range developed Leaked in all 6 valves after 15 years. A new Dacor range would have been about $4000, and repairing the valves no cheaper, so I went with this. In some ways, it doesn't feel as substantial as the Dacor, but apparently the Dacor wasn't as substantial as it felt, or it would have held up better. And it's not just Dacor. The reviews on many of the higher priced, "better named" pro-style ranges are disappointing. So when you look at this Thor, you have to keep that in mind: all range tops have some shortcomings. As some reviewers have noted, the grille on the Thor seems to be higher above the flame than many other ranges, so the high BTU rating does necessarily mean the food cooks faster. The knobs felt very wobbly initially, but I removed the knobs and wound the knob stems with electrical tape to shim up the space between the knob stem and the too-large hole that it fits in, and now they feel just fine. The flames from the burners seem less defined then the flames on the Dacor burners were, and the burners seem to be made of a lighter material, but this doesn't seem, to affect the function. Note the dimensions of the stove. Compare the dimensions of the stove with your opening. Not all 36" stoves are the same dimensions or fit the same space. Although the dimensions of the Thor seem to be consistent with many other 36" pro-style stoves, my 36" Dacor fit a smaller opening, and I had a lot of cutting to the granite to install the Thor. Also it is not as tall as the Dacor was, and so I had to make a wood trim piece to cover the gap between the bottom of the stove and the top of the front of the cabinet. I did the whole installation myself, but I didn't do a great job cutting the granite, although I was able to hide the uneven cuts with a metal trim pieces on the sides. If I had to do it again, I would still go with the Thor, but I would hire someone for the install, especially the granite cutting.