Bluestar RNB versus Commerical Vuclan V series

12 years ago

Hey everyone,

I just spent the last 5 hours cooking in a commercial kitchen for 50 people on a Vulcan V series range (28,000 BTU burners according to spec). I had two woks going at full blast, making dry mushroom duxelles, a balsamic onion reduction, and a few other things as well.

The burners on the Vulcan were round with removable caps, lots of holes around the outside, a couple rows around the inside.

Here are some conclusions I have come to:

1. The 22K star burners on my Bluestar heated up a wok faster-- no question. Having used now "both" styles I am more than convinced that the Garland style star shape is the way to go.

2. The Vulcan is definitely a non nonsense device! Spartan is an understatement. It puts out lots of flame, you don't ask it to do much else.

3. I appreciate my Bluestar about 3X as much as I already did. My Bluestar feels just like the commercial range. Heavy as all get out, no nonsense, burners the belch forth the fires of hell, all business looks, all business performance.

4. The Bluestar's enameled interior and indicator lights are "residential" changes. The Vulcan was 100% stainless steel everywhere but the grates (raw cast iron) and the knobs.

5. I am very happy I configured my Bluestar the way I did: burners on the left and right of a 24" French cooktop. The Vulcan, with six burners on the top, was crowded. I was using 12" woks and I could barely fit the two together. The Vulcan was adjacent to a Vulcan convection oven next to it, so that didn't help.

6. I wished the Vulcan had removable top grates like the Bluestar. That's a very handy feature and would have been used tonight if available.

All in all it was a fantastic experience, one that I will repeat in a few months. I very much appreciate that the Bluestar IS the closest thing one is going to get to a commercial range for the home.

-Stooxie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

deeageaux
12 years ago
Vulcan Burner

Culinarian Burner
John Liu
12 years ago
Interesting. I guess you didn't have any occasional to test simmer . . .

If you could install either range (so, putting aside code compliance), which you would do?

If you were to take price into account, which would you do? And why?

(I'll guess the Vulcan is $3K or so, and the Bluestar is whatever you paid.)
Related Discussions
morton5, Are you happy with your choices?
Q
Comments (6)
Andybp, the 120v Advantium I have does have convection bake. It can also broil/toast. I don't dislike the Advantium, and it sure looks nice on top of the ZET, but if I had to do it again I think I would go with a regular microwave. I just don't need that third oven and the speedcook feature. Two ovens are enough for me, and the ZET preheat is only 5 minutes longer than that for the Advantium. If I have to broil something it is easier to pop it in the Bluestar or ZET rather than change out the pans in the Advantium. Maybe if I had been a heavy toaster-oven user in the past I would appreciate the oven/toasting capabilities of the Advantium more. I use a slot toaster for toasting bread. I'm very happy with the Futuro hood. It is vented to the outside. The duct goes up, makes a 90 degree bend, and travels about 10 feet out through the ceiling-- the 6" duct made it easy to vent. It is effective, relatively quiet, and easy to clean. Fit and finish is great. Of course this type of hood does not have the capture area of a chimney hood, so that is why I oversized it. As long as I get a good draft going before I start any stir frying or searing, capture is fine-- I may miss a whiff of effluent under very smokey conditions, and perhaps that could have been avoided if I had mounted the hood lower (it's 28.5 inches above my cooktop). For most cooking it is more than adequate. I love the Samsung fridge. Capacity is great, and the crisper drawers are bigger than most. Love the deli drawer-- it holds a ton. There is not that much storage for tall items, but I guess that is to be expected when you get a fridge with a dispenser. The stainless steel finish is one of the easiest to keep clean in my kitchen-- something about how they brushed it, I guess. In comparison, the Bosch DW shows water spots. I also like the beefy handles (that also are functional, because they break the suction when you open the fridge or freezer) and the hidden hinges. Love the LED interior light. Oh-- and it keeps all the food cold just great! It does make a bit of noise when the compressor is running-- kind of like the whine of a fluorescent light fixture. Bosch DW is amazing. I had a Kenmore Elite before, and had just assumed that no DW could remove tea stains in the bottom of mugs. Well, the Bosch takes care of that and more. I put a wax-covered crystal candlestick in the glass care cycle, and it came out sparkling. The glass care cycle was the main reason I got the 9-cycle version-- I hate handwashing stemware after a party. Plastics do come out damp, but I do not find this to be a big deal, I just unload with a dish towel in hand. I'd rather have to hand dry a few things than rewash stuff. I have the stainless front and got the display, which I like. The display is a burnt orange color, which might bother some people, I guess, but is fine for me. Okay, after all this writing now I must post a pic of 4 of the new appliances (Bosch DW and 24" LG fridge not pictured). I got the Euro handles on the GE appliances and think they look fine with the Bluestar. All of the kitchen lighting is not yet in. Also, I left off a couple of trim pieces on the Advantium:
...See More
Forum members ratings on Bluestar - running tally
Q
Comments (62)
Who knew deciding on a range was so tough? We agonized for months during a new build and finally found the BS. We had looked at all the regular ranges, plus Bertazonni (we thought it felt cheaply constructed) and something else I don't even remember. I drove quite a distance to see a BS in person and never looked back. Final decision came down to BS or American Range. We did NOT want electronics that would fritz out on us. Glad we went with our gut on that. We hope to never buy another stove. This thing is simple, straightforward, attractive and a dream to run. 12 months now into a 30" RCS. We were concerned about 15,000 btus, but it has never been an issue. Cooking is a pleasure. Total control. There were a few minor adjustments needed at the outset and a tech came far, far out of his way (we live in a rural area) to tweak it to perfection, and teach me the tweaks, too. It was set up for natural gas, but we run propane and since propane is heavier, it sinks before ignition and sparks need to aim down slightly. The tech/rep adjusted this with a needle-nose wrench and there hasn't been a single issue since. The local distributor said it was set up for propane. But... not. Miscommunication at that level, but otherwise complaint-free. One clicker got killed by a boil-over. BS sent a replacement and a spare overnight and it took about 3 minutes to install. I love the stove's simplicity. It is easy to clean. Good baking. Great stovetop. Drip tray is great. Very large oven for a 30" range. I love the darned thing! We are glad we did months of research because I had never heard of this make before. Never thought I'd be a big fan of a kitchen appliance. But go figure!
...See More
All-gas vs. dual-fuel vs. induction - 30" range
Q
Comments (28)
So I'll update this, as we still haven't made a decision. Induction: I bought an induction burner and like it, although it isn't as life-changing as I sort of expected. (I realize the power is much lower than a range or cooktop would be.) We also had an electrician examine our house, and he thinks we can put one in. My dad (also an electrician) and husband agree we should do a max load test before we put 40 or more amps on the panel, though. (Long story short: we have a 200 amp breaker but 100 amps coming into the house, so we need to put in a smaller breaker.) So it's still a bit up in the air. Gas/dual-fuel: I went to look at the Aga Legacy today and really liked it. I'm also going to look at a Lacanche soon, at a Lacanche ambassador's house. Both of those are, frankly, more than I wanted to pay, but I really love the looks and some of the features a lot (ovens on the Aga, simmer plate and large burner on the Lacanche). I've also considered a BlueStar or Big Chill Pro Style (rebadged BlueStar), but there isn't one local to me. The price, features, and availability of the color finish are good, but I'm a little nervous about all the issues people have had. I think I've looked at nearly every option out there, but I'd love to hear more if anyone has ideas!
...See More
Gas range: want pro-style with temp readout and timer
Q
Comments (22)
I think it is possible to go overboard, or be lured overboard, by the grooviness of a ''digital'' oven temperature setting. When you set the digital oven control to ''325F'', most ovens don't actually hold 325F, they turn on and off and the temperature swings around. ''On'' at something like 300F and ''off'' at something like 350F. That assumes the oven is perfectly calibrated which often isn't the case. With that much error and fluctuation, the apparent precision of setting the digital control to ''325F'' versus the apparent imprecision of turning a knob to ''325F'' is - well, it is an illusion. If precise oven temperature really matters, you'd want to use an oven thermometer placed in the same spot as the food. But does it matter? Does the food really care if the temperature is swinging around in a range of 300F to 350F, or would a range of 285F to 335F, or a range of 315F to 365F, work just as well? I really doubt it matters. You're not going to cook anything to an internal temp much over 200F anyway, so the oven temp just determines how much time it takes to get to the desired internal temp, and how browned the exterior gets by then. But those are very much influenced by the food (size? thickness? moisture?) and the cooking method (covered pot? foil? rack?). Bottom-line, the fancy digital temperature controls may sell ranges but I don't think they help cook food. I'd personally not care about that feature. The timer feature would be more important to me, not so much for cooking food but to ensure that I don't accidentally leave the oven on all night.
...See More
sayde
12 years ago
Interesting review, thanks for posting.

I have sometimes wondered if I made a mistake getting the 30 RNB instead of the 36. The 6 inch grate in the middle seemed like a silly waste (just to make the range conform to a 30 inch slot) when for 6 inches more I could have had two more burners. But your comment on having space between burners -- just space, pure and simple -- so that you can use large pots side by side, made me remember how useful that "wasted" grate space can be. And four burners is really enough for me.
Thanks again for sharing . . .
stooxie
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi johnliu,

I did actually test the simmer. I played with the knobs to see how low the flame would go and I did have to keep some things warm.

The outcome?

The lower flame settings were useless in that environment where the exhaust systems are moving enough air for the burners to not stay lit. I would guess that's probably normal, and also why the saucier's station is often separated from the main hotline.

The few things I had to keep warm I just placed over the pilot lights which did the job nicely. The pilot lights have a strong but very small flame.

What you say about price is hilarious and absolutely true. The commercial ranges are $2500 - $4500 yet the residential stuff is 3X. Would I opt for one? Hard to say. A true commercial range is NOT designed to be resource friendly, they use a ton of gas for pilot lights, have zero frills (most not even oven lights) and very often require regular maintenance schedules. They are also designed to be surrounded by nothing flammable. No wooden cabinets nearby, no hardwood floors.

So, I guess if I were designing a kitchen/house from scratch it would be a different story, but short of that it would probably be inviting some trouble.

Again, I was just immensely impressed at how similar the Vulcan felt to my Bluestar. I was sort of expecting to be blown away by the power of the Vulcan but I wasn't at all. That doesn't mean the Vulcan is not a fine machine, rather it speaks to the purpose-built nature of the Bluestar.

I mean, this is basically my Bluestar with more powerful burners:

Garland 48"

-Stooxie
John Liu
12 years ago
I've cooked on a commercial Wolf and a commercial Jade, and a residential Garland (predecessor to Bluestar). The residential Garland (now Bluestar) burners were plenty powerful, I liked that range an awful lot. Wish I had one!
mojavean
12 years ago
Fun report! Thanks for the observations, Stooxie. Great point about the simmer not being a big factor when you are under a thunderous hood. Most of the chefs I have seen (in the cheesy restaurants I frequent) seem to be adapted to working with big fire and short timeframes. There never seems to be much time to nurse a delicacy over a fire not much warmer than body heat. Still, the food comes out great.
stooxie
Original Author
12 years ago
Mojavean,

I couldn't agree more regarding what "real" cooks do. You look at a buzzing kitchen and all the burners are going at full blast all the time. You heat your food up to whatever degree you need and take it off the flame. Done. There's not much they do that would relate to cooking a sheet of paper for 20 minutes. For that kind of stuff they have hot plates (i.e. French Cooktops).

That's why I find all this debate about which is "best" laughable. You have to WANT a restaurant cooking experience at home and all the good and not-so-good things that go with it. The further you get from that Spartan fire-breather the further you are from the commercial experience. It's not for everyone and that's ok!

Boy, it sure is for me, though. I'm still giddy! :)

-Stooxie
djg1
12 years ago
Sayde, if your range is working for you then you didn't make a mistake. FWIW, I think that BS did an especially good job with the burner layout on the 30" range -- relative to many competitors, the burners are very nicely spaced such that your less likely to over-crowd the top with a couple of large pots or pans. And you've got solid, continuous grates across the top, so the gap is a non-issue.

Bluestar RNB versus Commerical Vuclan V series

Comments (8)

deeageaux

John Liu

Related Discussions

sayde

stooxie
Original Author

John Liu

mojavean

stooxie
Original Author

djg1

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Bluestar RNB versus Commerical Vuclan V series

Comments (8)

deeageaux

John Liu

Related Discussions

sayde

stooxieOriginal Author

John Liu

mojavean

stooxieOriginal Author

djg1

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

stooxie
Original Author

stooxie
Original Author