"She loves the look of the Wolf, thinks the burners will be much easier to take care of, baked on coating being easy to care for. She feels the cast iron is an unknown factor. She worries we won't take care of it properly, and we'll have a stove she hates and hate herself for choosing."
There's your answer.
(btw, after much research, we bought a BlueStar rangetop and are thrilled with it!)

Hi castironcook2,

Thanks for your response. Can you tell me specifically why you are thrilled with it? For example, is it easier or harder to clean than you thought it would be? If you have cooked with other burners before, what makes the Bluestar burner better, not in theory, but in actual usage?

You will not get good Bluestar feedback on this forum, the forum is filled with a Blue Cult following and they will defend the range till death.

I have had a Bluestar for several months. In regards to the burners...whoopie. It cooks, like any other range. Am I in love with the burners...no. Does it make my cooking better or easier...no.

Actually, there is only ONE thing about my range I like over other ranges. It is the cast iron pieces (grate and burner dishes). They are indestructible and quite easy to clean. You can use those green scotch pads on them and do not have to worry about everything getting scratched. You can do anything with them. Do not consider this an "unknown" risk factor. The known is they will clean up well. After they are oil seasoned, most times a towel clean up is all you need.

Is this range nicer looking than the Wolf...NO.

Would I buy either the Wolf or Bluestar...NO. Why, I feel they are both overpriced. I was looking at the NXR which makes more sense cost wise, but got the Bluestar in my home purchase.

We looked seriously at both stoves and in the end chose the 30" Wolf Dual Fuel. It will be installed (we hope) this Friday. As you say, it is a huge investment and I hope we made the right choice. (I'm still debating whether I should have gone all gas, open burner, or 36" -- but the decision has been made.) The Bluestar does look like it is easy to clean. But after cooking on an open-burner, 1938 Chambers stove for the past 12 years, I wanted something different with some bells and whistles. I'll post a review after I've done a little cooking on the Wolf this weekend. Best wishes with your decision.

Thanks fall and francoise47,

Thank you for the useful feedback.

My wife was sooo worried about the cast iron as she has never even used a cast iron skillet (she loves her cuisinart multi-clad ss).

We looked at Wolf DF, it is unfortunately quite a bit out of our price range. I look forward to your review, however.

Thanks.

P.s. I tried to talk my wife into the NXR, but said no way. At this point I am grateful to keep her in this price range.

One last question fall,
If someone cooks on it 5 or 6 days a week, how long before the cast iron is seasoned. How much work is it? I saw Trevor oil his, but his is seasoned. Did you oil before your first use? I hate asking all these questions, but I need to know....Thanks

We cook on ours every day. Have had it since before Thanksgiving. Obviously, from my handle you know that we are familiar with and comfortable with cast iron. That being said, all I've had to do is take a green scotch pad to it and dry with the burners on. Best cooking machine we've ever had.

And no, we are not "cult" members. Fact is, it's just a damned good product.

Thanks castironcook2,

I don't know if you cooked with a stainless cooktop before, but if you have, would you say that it is noticeably easier to keep clean?

I have been cooking on my Bluestar range for about a month now and I absolutley love it. I agree with castiron - it is an awesome cooking machine. The clean up, in my opinion, is EASY. So far I have only had to wipe the grates over with a blue scrub sponge and push any small bits down into the drip tray. I am sure I will eventually use the dishwasher for the grates and then I think it is important to dry them like Trevor shows by turning the burners on. If anyone has any info about using oil to season I would interested too as I am wondering if I need to do it.

We have a Wolf AG and at least to us it looked a little more civilized than the BS. It cooks fine and is built like a tank. The cast iron grates look used and I can't envision how they wouldn't if you cook a lot, and if they looked like my seasoned wok or cast iron pans, I'm not sure that would be an improvement. However, if I were making the decision again I'd definitely test drive a BS simply for the 22K burners as we stirfry and to get a good char the wok has to placed directly on the burner cap on our Wolf. Other than different looks, the only other possible deal breaker is the charbroiler on the Wolf--it is remarkable.

When we were contemplating putting in our BlueStar, we had a choice between a drop-in cooktop and a slide-in rangetop. The drop-in has cast iron grates (but not cast iron bowls) and cast iron burners, but on a stainless base. The slide-in has grates, bowls, and burners all in cast iron, just like the freestanding range. I posted a question here about any difference in cleaning between the slide-in and the drop-in. Trevor responded that the slide-in (which does NOT have the stainless base) is easier to keep clean. We went with the slide-in and have been very, very pleased, both with cooking performance and with ease of maintenance. Buffalotina has it right. We would do it again in a heartbeat: best kitchen improvement we could have made.

Time will season your grates, But if you are looking for a product to start the process or a product to treat your gates after a really good clean I would recommend using a product called "Cast Iron Conditioner" we use it occasionally on our 60" when we have a photo shoot or a corporate event / party.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cast Iron Conditioner

Hi,
Thanks to everyone for their helpful responses!
DW is also an avid baker. While everyone talks about the cooktop, nobody talks about the oven. Is it also a great baking tool? Does anyone have any complaints/praises about the oven's performance?

How is the oven on Bluestar...OK. Does it cook better than cheaper ranges I had in the past...no. Is it a "great" baking tool...no.

I am sorry to hear that, fall, but thank you for the response. I appreciate the negative as well as the positive.

vincent11, have you considered putting in a gas rangetop (cooktop) and then using electric wall ovens? We have that combination and feel it offers the best of both worlds.

Well castironcook2, we would love to be able to consider that as an option, but no matter how hard we try it just would not work in our small galley kitchen. Our apartment used to have more room. So, a range is it.

Moving from a cheaper dual-fuel range, I prefer the Wolf range oven. Most of our smaller baking/roasting tasks have been taken over by a convec/micro, but for larger roasting, baking and broiling (the gas IR broiler is great) it's been fine. Cleaning is a twice a year event. The gas heat seems moister (at least on preheat as you can see the condensation before the inside of the oven warms up) and with the flat bottom the pizza stone can be placed on the bottom (picked this up from Alton Brown's show) and makes great pizza. We can't figure out why, but the oven is faster than others and the temperature is accurate--cakes come out about 25% quicker, as do breads. One minor issue is when the oven is run hot (550F) for longer periods (over an hour) the upper outside of the door and handle gets a little hot, but not to hot to touch. Young kids might need a few learning trials on avoiding it.

Thank you teachmkt, for the info. It seems as though both the Bluestar (looking at videos on Eurostoves web site, and the Wolf both are able to keep an even temperature despite their disadvantage at being gas only.
This is good news for those of us who love to eat home made baked goods.

Vincent11, regarding the "disadvantage" you mentioned - it's a fallacy that modern gas ranges do not keep as even a temperature as electric (assuming both are equivalent quality, i.e. not a $600 Hotpoint and a $4000 Wolf). The only difference one would find in baked goods between electric and gas is that electric is a dry heat and gas is a more moist heat. Even then, with a high quality gas oven you'd be hardpressed to find a difference in baked goods from electric or gas. A gas oven does keep roasted meats moister though.

I have an all gas Dacor range and have baked a wide variety of things in it, including delicate souffles. All have come out equal to or superior to my previous electric oven.

A couple of posters here have mentioned that it's good marketing strategy on the manufacturers' part to emphasize a difference between AG and DF ranges. That way they can justify their big upcharge for the DF ranges.

Sorry to veer away from the original topic. Vincent11, can you and your DW look at the Bluestar in person? It will be so much easier to decide whether you like the cast iron top if you can see it for yourselves.

Akchicago,
We have found a place that carries the bluestar and will go look at it this week. I am hoping that it wows both of us in person, or the other way around. The Wolf AG has already impressed us with it's build quality and fit and finish.

Thanks

The fit and finish is "OK" on the Bluestar..nothing spectular by any means. If you really look closely, you will notice panel gaps on one side of the range are different than the opposite side for example. All small variances on the range...not really noticeable unless you really inspect closely and are very anal to some degree. Another, when I pulled all the grates off the top, there are stainless screws inside that were loose, so I tightened mine up. I would assume you will not find these issues on the Wolf. I compared at a local store the NXR, and found that build quality better than the Bluestar (in regards to panel fit). The Bluestar look is "so so". I dislike the 8" vent on mine...too high and makes the range look unattractive.

Thanks for your response, fall. I am a little puzzled by the 8" vent. I don't know what that is. Obviously, I am not the cook.

Trevor - if you are still looking at this thread, do you have to bake the grates in the oven after applying that conditioner? Also, does it get used on the center filler pieces (the ones with the diamond shapes) as those seem to have a different finish than the grates/bowls? Thanks.

Vincent11 - Please do look at Bluestar and decide for yourself whether it fits your needs in both function and decor/style. Personally I like the look of the Bluestar (and the 8" tall vent/backsplash which is optional) and I am thrilled with its performance. I cannot compare with Wolf but it is night and day cooking on it vs my old electric cooktop and on a regular sealed burner gas range I used last summer. Everything heats so EVENLY which I think makes a huge difference even when doing something as simple as heating up canned soup. I am finding that the food comes out much more evenly cooked/heated. I have not tried a wok yet as I am plucking up courage after a near disaster seasoning it in my oven (oil spill), but even without using that the 22K burners are very useful. I thought they might be overkill but they are not. Good luck with your decision.

Thanks buffalotina, your comments are very encouraging. My wife is starting to lean towards the bluestar after paying very close attention to how she cooks on her present sealed burner range. She is starting to be aware of how much effort she puts into dealing with uneven heat distribution. She constantly adjusts the flame, moves the pan, etc., rather than just paying attention to the actual dish she is preparing.

Blue Cult? I looked and considered many choices for ALL my appliances. I ended-up with the Gagg plumbed combi as well as the Gagg electric wall oven.For my stove and gas oven, I went with Blue Star. I love it. I love the simmer capapbilities and I love the high sear. No regrets at all.

Now things have really changed. My wife is thinking that because we are now going to host holiday dinners for the extended family, she needs more oven room. If the stars align, It will be the 30 inch Bluestar range with the 24 inch Bluestar wall oven. If she doesn't change her mind in the next couple of weeks, I think we have a winner.

If you get the Bluestar 24" oven, I would be very interested to hear your impressions. There doesn't seem to be much information about them here, yet.

I am thinking about that 24" single oven for my remodel-to-be.

The Bluestar range would be my personal choice if I were getting a pro-type residential range. But I've only done a little bit of cooking on one, so that's only a quarter-cent worth of opinion . . .

We have had our BS RNB 30 for about 5 years now. I have occasionally wondered if I wouldn't have been happier with a Wolf, but overall I have been pleased with the Bluestar. Here's a short list of what I like...and don't like:

Like:
The huge oven and the way it bakes. I'm so glad I didn't buy a dual fuel or self cleaning oven. When I was looking at ranges, I asked a pastry chef friend of mine if I should get a dual fuel. She snorted and said, "What do you think they use in restaurant kitchens?" The answer would be gas. I bake lots of cakes and they come out beautifully. I have convection, but I rarely use it. The baking is very even without it. I was accustomed to cleaning electric ovens, which is a pain. Cleaning this one is incredibly easy. You can just pop out the bottom panel and clean it...or clean it in place.

The open burners (I have never seasoned the grates and I throw them in the dishwasher.) The open burners have a lot of power and if I spill something, which I often do, it just goes in the flat pan below, which is incredibly easy to clean.

The lack of fancy electronics. I specifically wanted a gas stove so we could cook in the event of a power outage. The power went out once when I was in the middle of cooking dinner. I was able to proceed as if nothing had happened.

What I would change:
I would like to have wheels on the range, so I can easily pull it out to clean the floor. I think Wolf has those?

I would very much like to see better customer service. I had to replace the ignition module (we did it on our own) and I could never get BlueStar people to return calls so I could order the part. I ended up ordering from AllVikingparts.com and following the very useful instructions by people on this forum.

I would like to see more attention given to fit and finish. It would seem that the structure that supports the iron grates is not strong enough. As a result, our grates don't sit quite level anymore.

I had to re-order a burner knob because the numbers were all coming off, even though I had never scrubbed it or used harsh cleaning agents. When I received the new one, I noticed that the numbers (which are silk-screened on the knob) come off easily with a light scratch of the finger nail. And since there are no indentations for the numbers, once they're gone, they're gone. Also, the new knob didn't quite fit. I called Bluestar about this and they promised to send a return call tag. They never did, and I eventually chiseled away at it a bit so it would fit.

I don't know how the customer service is at Wolf, but at Bluestar it's abysmal. The only upside is that hopefully you won't need them often.

The only other thing I constantly want with the Bluestar (and I don't know if other stoves have this either) is variable adjustments in the rack placement. This is particularly the case with broiling, where I often feel like the top rack position is too close, but the second one is too far away.

In short, I like the stove and I'm not sorry I bought it. I'm just sorry to see that the company doesn't support their customers the way they should, particularly since GardenWeb seems to have done most of their marketing for them.

Those "lose stainless screws" under the grates that "fall" tightened up are the leveling screws! They are supposed to be lose. You should adjust these screws until each grate sits perfectly level and then they will not rock at all. It is a fantastic feature, but unfortunately, not well publicized.

Originally I thought the same as pdxchristine (that the supports under the grates were not right or bent), but then I discovered these screws. What a difference!