The best thing about Bluestar is the burners. So it would be an easy decision for me.

I don't speak from experience, but... I might be a little apprehensive about buying a Bluestar range with grill and griddle, but if all I was looking for was a 30" rangetop I wouldn't hesitate for a second.

Wolf maybe. I know they make open burners in their pro-line. Model number R304 is one I found. American Range Co. has a restaurant line with open 32k burners! Probably not available locally so won't help you. I think if you can only buy from a local dealer, then you have to go with Viking or Wolf. If you prefer Bluestar, you might call your local Bluestar distributor to see how close they are. Might satisfy your husband if he can talk to the distributor or even meet them in person.

Good luck.

Amcook - I believe the OP is seeking a rangetop (the Wolf R304 you mentioned is a range). Unfortunately, Wolf does not make open burner rangetops in the 30" size the OP wants.

Out of the 3 the OP mentioned, I'd immediately cross off the Thermador. Not only because it doesn't have the open burners you want, but also because its simmer setting has an annoying clicking noise. That's just the way it's made, and the click doesn't bother some people, but does bother others.

So that leaves Bluestar and Viking. I know that there are people on this forum who like their Viking rangetops, and feel they've gotten a bad rap. A lot of the bad rap on Viking has to do with their ranges and ovens, but you are just looking at the rangetop which should be less troubleprone. And Bluestar as you've pointed out also has performance issues. There is another thread I just read where Trevor at Eurostoves said he's seen fewer problems with Bluestars lately due to the White Glove service Bluestar offers upon installation, and perhaps Bluestar has improved quality control (I don't know).

To me, happy husband = happy life. If your DH is going to grumble about the Bluestar, maybe just go for the Viking and be relieved of that, and also the dreaded "waiting for the shoe to drop" angst that DH will have over the Bluestar. Are you certain though, that there is reliable service for the Viking in your area?

Thanks shannonplus2. Yes I missed that in the heading. Sounds like Bluestar or Viking then. I would not go with a sealed burner again. I gave a Viking sealed burner a try because 8-10 years ago, there were no drop-in open burner cooktops. Hated it from the start and grew to hate it more and more. Even today, Bluestar is the only one that has a drop-in open burner AFAIK. I'm very happy with the Bluestar so I never looked back. Honestly, I did have some problems during initial install and in my case, things actually went smoother when the local dealer connected me directly with the Bluestar field service person. My dealer handled things well and did what I needed but I also spoke with Bluestar service and the distributor and feel they would have done just as good a job as the dealer did in addressing my problems. I worked with Viking service in the past and my experience with Bluestar was much better.

am
We have a 36" AG Viking range - open burners - LOVE it, yes Viking is a brand that gets LOTS of bashing here - somewhat of a scapegoat, as many of the bashers have no 1st hand experience
that said - I would rec you go to a appliance store that has them hooked up so you can see the simmer - I went to a Viking dealership that had not only Viking but lots of competitors side by side - I loved the paper plate of chocolate chips on the burner turned on simmer - that helped

good luck

jejvtr,

I don't have any particular issue with Viking. My problem was with the sealed burners. I will say that I did have a good experience cooking on a sealed burner cooktop in Siena of all places. That one had the burners raised a bit more which provided a flame more like an open design so it can be done. The only negative thing I'll say about Viking (and Wolf for that matter) is that as their brand gets bigger and they start producing models intended for a more brand oriented rather than performance oriented consumer, *some* of the models tend to be geared more for "looks" than performance. I'm sure if Bluestar ever gets as big or get's acquired (as in Wolf's case), there would be a similar shift. I think all of these are good brands but even good brands put out a dud model sometimes. That's why it's important to do the research if you care about real performance. Sounds like you did your research and liked Viking for you style of cooking. As I said, my choices were limited. Would have loved to test an open burner drop-in cooktop from several manufacturers but that just wasn't possible.

Thanks to all who commented. My belief that nobody but Viking and Blue Star makes a 30" rangetop with open burners seems to have withstood the scrutiny of this august board, so I'll suspend my search for obscure brands.

I like the Blue Star burner design and would buy one in a heartbeat, but it seems there is nobody anywhere near Tucson who sells them. We called the distributor who promised to have the person who handles the brand for all of Arizona call us back. That was two days ago, and we have heard nothing.

Tomorrow we need to approve the slabs for the new countertops, and the fabricator needs the rangetop to cut an opening that it will fit into. I don't have any time left to try to track down the elusive Blue Star dealer network, so it looks like I will go with the Viking.

I am a bit reassured by jejvtr's experience with simmering on a Viking, so thanks for that.

Well yeah, if you're allowing yourself a 3-day timeframe ("That was two days ago, and we have heard nothing"..."Tomorrow we need to approve the slabs for the new countertops, and the fabricator needs the rangetop") then you're clearly better off with a mass distributed, if not off-the-shelf, product.

Yathink,

My thinking is that if they can't get a sales person to return a call within two days, when there is money to be made, how hard might it be to get someone to call back should there be a problem requiring service?

Close to impossible, I would guess.

I love my Viking duel fuel! Mine is a 36 incher, but I am sure the 30 inch is just as good. It has worked like a charm since I renovated my kitchen in January. Even better, I purchased mine for nearly half price! If anyone wants to know where I purchased, feel free to e-mail me. Cheers....

I looked at all the above mentioned range tops when I was shopping. I finally settled on the Blue Star... and like you, there was no local dealer for me to use, so I ended up purchasing off of the internet (with crossed fingers, sweating brow, etc). It was the only "big ticket" item that I have ever purchased sight-unseen.

I do not regret it at all. I did have a few minor problems in the beginning with the Blue Star (a cracked ignitor and a leak in a fitting), but they authorized a local repairman to fix the problems, sent the new ignitor immediatley....

Have no regrets whatsoever. It's been three years and I love every single minute of cooking on my Blue Star Range Top.

A dealer's reason for not carrying a brand that offers unique and desirable features is usually pressure from current suppliers to keep the brand off the floor. A line such as Bluestar is a primary target in this regard because a live demonstration of the product on a dealer floor will put most other brands to shame. Nothing will change a dealer's thinking faster than losing a few sales on the line he has been bullied into not carrying. If you want a Bluestar or other unique product, contact the local distributor or factory representative and arrange to buy it from the nearest dealer, even if slightly out of your normal shopping area. The manufacturer will arrange for service, if needed. As the dealers in your local area begin to realize the opportunity they are missing, they may stand up for themselves and decide to carry the line.

Am bumping this - like Ellen I am considering Viking and BlueStar as they are the only ones that make a 30 inch open burner rangetop.

Have read the discussions. Leaving the oven aside as I am looking at a rangetop, it seems that Blue Star has had problems-ignitors and adjustments --- but they have been easily fixed. Viking has problems but cannot tell if they are across all models. Have the Viking open burners experienced problems?

I can buy Viking locally; I cannot buy Blue Star locally. And, at the moment, at least on the AJMadison site where I have looked at prices, the Viking 30 inch open burner gas rangetop is significantly less than the BlueStar.

So-- for a Viking open burner rangetop, is there as much cause for concern as there might be on the range? Since I don't need 22000 BTU and would prefer to deal locally if possible, I have to consider Viking.

Bluestar has the higher burner, smaller simmer and the better flame distribution compared to Viking. So from a functional perspective Bluestar wins.

You may not need 22k btu burner but I think everyone who has 22k btu benefits from having it, maybe your style of cooking doesn't need high heat.

Bluestar has had problems with Modules not ignitors, but those are for the most part in the past now, that's not say it may not happen, but the chances of it happening are smaller than the posts on the GW suggest.

As for buying local it sounds like Viking fits the bill

Trevor would never say this himself but forget any other online dealer if you decide to go with Bluestar and just buy from him (http://www.eurostoves.com/). He's extremely active on this forum and has come to the aid of many here to solve their problems with a manufacturer even though they didn't buy it from him.

With regard to the burners on the Bluestar vs Viking.. One thing you should also consider is that the combination of the star design and being open produces heat that is extremely even. AFAIK, Viking burners, even on their open models, are the traditional cap design. There is no center ring or even center air flow opening which would help to pull the flames towards the center. That means on the larger BTU burners, the heat is still more towards the outer edge rather than in the middle. Granted this is much improved with the open burners but in my experience, Bluestar still wins on even heating. Add to that the higher BTU, you've got a cooking machine. Now I've never owned a Viking open range and only cooked on one a few times at a friends house but I did cook on a restaurant range that supposedly used the same burners as the Vikings back then. Comparing what I remember from then to what I have now, I actually like my Bluestar more than that restaurant range. Bluestar is an absolute joy to cook on.

Good luck with whatever you choose and have fun with it.

Go with the Bluestar, the burners, the grates, the bowls are much better and easier to clean - nothing gets 'burned on'.

I was making the same decision and am getting ready to buy a bluestar. I would make sure it's true there are no bluestar dealers in your area-- actually call the company and ask them. The website isn't super-accurate about dealers, I've found. Also, I would ask them what happens if you need service if there is no dealer around. From what I understand, people have had perfectly good luck just calling the company when they need service.

In my experience the local dealer thing is overrated. I've use the super-high-end store in town for the service, and they sent over the least qualified people I have met (next to the best buy guys, but that's another story). If the company assures you there are local folks they trust to fix the bluestar, that's all you really need.

If you look at the bluestar and the viking I bet you pick the former. It is so clearly great-- at least to me. The viking is a touch prettier, but the bluestar has the coolest burner design, especially for wok cooking.

I've had both BS and Viking. My Viking is ten years old and I'm thrilled with it but it has not been problem free.
The BS was a major headache. It doesn't do any good for BS to ship new iginition modules out over and over when they continue to be defective. My oven door also seized and I see BS now has some info about that on their web site. We had a lot of difficulty with service so I agree totally with the OP about wanting a local dealer. Make sure you have local service available as well. There are a ton of BS ignition complaints out there so this is not an issue just a few people have had with the product.
Viking does make an open burner as well. I'm no fan of sealed burners no matter who makes them.