Has Viking improved its low-flame capability?
In a past life, when I was a food stylist, I used all brands of ranges, and remembered that Viking had large burners which did not allow for a very low flame. A friend of mine said that the Viking rep told him that their technology has improved so that it is now possble. Can anyone tell me if that is true or not for their new ranges? TIA.
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I got a Viking 6 burner range -started using it in March 2009- and yes, it does have a simmer option....but...it is located between off and hi , so I never remember to use it! Why couldn't they put it next to low???? And yes, i just checked, and a simmer can have a very small flame. I will definitely use it more in the future.
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re: Normandie
Fritter
Sep 25, 2009 03:58 AM
Ok here's a couple of shots of the Viking knob. Not the easiest thing to photograph or maybe it's just because I haven't had my coffee yet! :)
One photo shows the first setting on the dial which is simmer. Because of the close up photo and the fact that the knob is round up you can not see the "High" setting. If you were turning the knob "High" would be the next setting on the control as you turn the knob right. The second photo is the "Low" setting. On the Viking with Vari-simmer this is the last setting on the control so it is basically 180 degrees from the low setting. It seems many never notice the simmer setting because it is not next to "Low".
In either event I hope this helps the OP and others. I'm happy with my Viking and the simmer works very well on the units with vari-simmer. To be honest I never realized there were Viking units with out this feature.
You will need to click/maximize the photos to see the markings.
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re: Fritter
scubadoo97
Sep 25, 2009 03:22 PM
I have the 6 burner gas rangetop. Like yours it goes from OFF---------SIMMER---HI----MED HI---MED LOW---LOW. You can adjust the flame as low as you can keep it lit. I sometimes have a problem when the A/C is blowing down in the kitchen and I'm trying to simmer as low as I can go. The wind wants to blow my flame out. I should use my back burners more but I always seem to use the 3 up front.
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I don't have a range, Claudette, but I have a six-burner Viking cooktop. I don't know whether this will apply to your range question, but FWIW... I have good quality heavy cookware, and I find on the four highest BTU burners, it is hard (well, maybe impossible) to keep a simmer. They don't boil, exactly, on the lowest settings, but it's definitely faster than a true simmer. However, there is a true simmer burner that works beautifully--very trustworthy--and I can also maintain a simmer well on the second-lowest-BTU burner. As I said, though, I don't know whether my experience is representative of a Viking range.
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re: Normandie
Fritter
Sep 24, 2009 03:52 AM
You may want to double check and make sure you are putting your burners on simmer instead of low. My viking range gets so low on simmer you can litteraly lay a piece of paper on the burner and it will not ignite. I know that may sound silly but I can not tell you how many people I have seen with this complaint that fail to actually look at the knob and out of habit simply turn it all the way to the right assuming that LOW is the lowest setting. Look closely at a Viking knob and simmer is actually the first setting before high. The Viking has an infinite simmer which means you can simply adjust it to where you want. It's not a "Pre-set" so if it's too hot then you may not be setting the adjustment correctly. FWIW I have never seen or used a Viking product that has different BTU burners or a dedicated simmer burner so that may be the difference.
On my Viking range I can put a tiny butter pot on the burner and keep it at a simmer.-
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re: Fritter
I honestly don't know, either, if the cooktops (or at least my edition) are set up in the same way as the ranges. I'm pretty sure I have been moving the knob all the way over to the simmer setting, but I will definitely make a point to be mindful of watching that.
On these knobs (on the VSGU cooktop, five years old), the simmer is not next to high, as you move through the settings. IOW, the off position is a nine o'clock, high is *near* six o'clock, and then you turn the knob counter-clockwise all the way through the levels to get to simmer, which is at roughly 11 o'clock. So it sounds to me as though these maybe set up differently.
How do you set the adjustment for the infinite simmer, Fritter? Is this what Viking refers to as "VariSimmer"? I have a feeling that the cooktops may not have that feature, and the simmer burner was the compromise. Maybe? As I said, the two lowest energy burners *definitely* simmer well, and that's generally sufficient for me. But if I'm missing something and can do that with all the burners, that would be great. (Time to pull out the ye olde owner's manual. If I can find it.)
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re: Normandie
Fritter
Sep 24, 2009 10:44 AM
Yes Viking calls it Vari simmer. If any one needs/wants to see a photo of a knob of how low the flame goes just ask and I'll put a couple up. To work this on my range you turn the knob on high and the burner ignites.
To get simmer after you ignite the burner turn the knob LEFT . You can set this incredibly low and adjust it where you want it. I can get mine to the point where it's just barely on. It's actually what sold me on the range when I bought it. Mine is a VGSC if that helps.-
re: Fritter
Fritter, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind putting up a photo or two? That's nice of you to offer. I do know that my cooktop is billed with the Viking "infinite setting", and I'm getting the feeling that maybe I've been missing a feature I'd really like to be able to use. I think it would be helpful to see if your Viking's knobs look (and behave) like mine. At *your* convenience, of course.
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