Boy I would get it. A friend of mine has a smaller version of that range and it has been great. Also, I am a strong believer in different sized burners, especially with sealed caps. Just my opinion, but burners all the same size are a big mistake, even if they all have a super low simmer. The problem is when you put a small or medium sized pan on and turn the heat up past low. When the burners are all the same size (too big in my estimation) the gas flames just shoot out the sides of the pan. It's annoying on all but your largest pans. Yes, you can simmer with a small pan, but you can't cook on medium or high. The smaller diameter burners allow you to turn the heat up and have expectations of it going into the bottom of the pan, and not around it. The arrangement Vickimp has seems to make good sense, medium burners in the back corners, that can do almost anything and provide parking for those things that you want to set aside on simmer or medium, a big back burner for pasta or a stock pot of soup, and a small burner in front of it for sauces or a quick egg, with the front corner burners for sautes/stir fry and big breakfasts etc.

Chances are that you would have the same problem with any high powered gas cooktop. Turn the flame down and consider getting new cookware. If you multi-layers on sides as well as bottoms) you are prone to getting hot spots around the edges. the layered sides distribute the heat more evenly on the sides of the pans as well as across the bottom. If you just have a layered bottom, the heat gets distributed and then hits the thinner sides and can scortch there. Cuisinart makes a less expensive version, Calphalon has one and I'm sure there are others out there. You can sometimes find them at discount stores like Marshall's or TJMax or look for a good sale and use a coupon ot Linen's & Things or Bed Bath & Beyond. I think you'll see a real difference. I had good quality cookware, but I had to replace some of my pans and got some great buys. It makes a difference.

I'm going to expand a bit on what GreenDesigns just said and reinforce it, too. There is no magic in burners being "open." It really and truly is function of design and build quality More efficient flame pattern? You mean like the star burners of Blue Star (formerly sold as Garland) and Thermador and the multi-oriface ring burners that Capital uses? Well, unfortunately for you, all of the brands you listed are using plain old-fashioned burner rings with "mushroom" caps --- much akin to the sealed burners you find on other major brand stoves. That capped design does not give you the benefit of a flame pattern that goes up rather than high-flames flowing heat around (rather than into) pots. As you note, a 9k btu burner is apt to seem underpowered and limited . My only disagreement with GreenDesigns' comments are that I think you can cook on these stoves if you have to For instance, if Hurricanes Sandy or Katrina came through my neighborhood and I had to rebuild form the ground up, would I refuse one those Premiers or Hotpoints? Of course not. I would be grateful for being given one. Just as I would be happy and pleased if, after the disaster, I were given a beater car to drive. I had a Premier 24" in a rental about 20 years ago and have seen (and used) several 30" models since then in places that friends have rented. I know I can use them to cook a very decent Thanksgiving diinner and have done so.. But, no way would I buy one for myself if I had other choices. A friend got 30" open-burner Frigidaire in the mobile/modular place he bought in our mountain town. Buying the place was a financial stretch. (Our state has a third world economy with first world real estate prices.) He is keeping the old Frigidiare. He can cook pretty decently and has made the stove work. I wouldn't say he was happy with it, the 9k-btu open burners being no great shakes for his cooking. These old, bargain-basement designs ere not easy to clean. The ovens are small and the manual clean versions are onerous to clean, at least in my experience. Except for Premier, they are all pretty darn cheap, in price and build quality just as GreenDesigns says. The Premiers (and Premier Pro models) are different only in that, as far I have seen, they retail for higer prices than the others. Perhaps Premiers are built better than the open-burner Hotpoints and etc., but the ones that I have seen did not seem any better to me. What seems particularly telling for me is that Costco.com carried the Premier Pro products for a few months, got a lot of pretty negative reviews and dropped the line. So, the conclusion for me is that, if you really want an inexpensive open burner gas stove, you may be better off fnding a used Garland on Craig's List or else acquiring and...

I now know more about pro gas ranges and european color palettes than I ever thought I would in this lifetime... no, I wasn't looking at unusual or custom paint formulas. BS has up to 750 (I think) with the extended RAL colors, plus custom matches, but there are 190 colors in the basic RAL palette. I was looking at those. The custom color body in a standard RAL # was quoted at $1250. Trim (knob rings, pulls) in another metal are $650, and colored knobs are $400. So, you can see how it mounted up. I have a custom tile mural backsplash so I thought it would look nice to tie one of those colors. Just a mock up design below. But, I digress... I am satisfied with the SS and a splurge on a color for the knobs. It will still pop. Best news of all (shhhhh don't tell anyone), my sales rep said order the RCS and if I want, they'll upgrade a couple of burners for me later no charge. Now I can't beat that deal! And, sounds like I could swap out a door for color one later down the road too if I want to upgrade. Never occurred to me. Crispy transcendent mushrooms are on their way! You guys are awesome. :-)