Need to purchase 48' Range - Your help is so greatly appreciated

13 years ago

My wife and I recently purchased a home, with a gaping hole between the cabinetry (for a 48" range). When I started researching 48" ranges, I quickly realized that they are 1) expensive and 2) hard to find information about. Thank goodness I found your wonderful forum. The members are unbelievably helpful, and I have read through your posts for hours upon hours (probably days). Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and expertise with those of us who know far less.

We want to keep this purchase at the lowest insane cost we can. We both love to cook, but have never purchased the more expensive ranges and other cooking appliances. With that said, we both love to cook and want to learn more. We are leaning toward the Capital Culinarian, and I will say Trevor has been incredibly helpful to us (yes I know he is a salesman). The gas cooktop seems to be very good, but I have not read much about the 48" range ovens. We love making pizza, but most of the ovens in 48" ranges seem to max out at 500 degrees in bake mode. I don't understand this, since my junky current range ($650) gets to 550. There seem to be varying views of how gas ranges bake. I am curious to learn from all of you about baking in various 48" ranges, especially pizza (since we make it about once a week). Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. We so greatly appreciate it.

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Comments (9)

amcook
13 years ago
The Culinarian has a self clean model so there certainly isn't any problems in design that prevents it from being able to do 550F (i.e. insulation etc.). I think it's just a matter of available thermostat ranges and a choice of parts. Also the 50F difference probably won't make a huge difference in your pizza making. You're probably using a pizza stone and with that, it's more important the oven maintains a constant temp with good recovery time when you open an close the door to put the pizza in.

An old trick you might already know is to wait until the oven is in its "on" cycle to open the door and put in whatever you're baking. That gives the oven burner a head start before losing all hot air. If you're impatient, crack the door a little until the oven cycles on and then close it for a minute before opening it wide.

My wife and I went through a hummus phase where we were making fresh hummus. Of course with hummus, we had to have fresh pita so we'd crank out about 3-4 dozen fresh pitas at a time. First time we were fighting the oven to reach and maintain temp. Eventually, we got in sync with the oven cycles and worked with it. Results were noticeably better and took less time.

BTW, I just ordered the 48" CC myself.

Good luck and happy cooking.
tsiegler
Original Author
13 years ago
amcook,

Thank you very much for your help. I have read many of your posts, and really learned a lot and appreciated the most recent observations of the Culinarian. The tip on making certain the oven is in the "on" state, when you open it fully is great advice. For me, pizzas come out better when the oven is super hot (550-650 is really nice). I am leaning toward the CC and look forward to hearing from other experts like yourself. Thank you!
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I don't know how this would look, but what if you removed the soffit and the cabs on the sink wall? Switch the sink wall cabinet to the range wall--you have 23" between corner and window. That might provide more balance to that wall--there's something about it that looks off to me. I think it's all the height and bulk in the middle of the wall and the unevenly-spaced windows. Or could the stove and window be shifted down and that wall be made more symmetrical without the soffit? I'm not sure about keeping the single cabinet over the DW, but I think two shelves for mugs and coffee supplies could work. Then that corner becomes a coffee corner. How tall will the crown be on your cabinets? When I add 36" base cabs + 18" between counter and bottom of upper cabs + 48" upper cabinets, I get 102", the height of your ceilings. I think those 48" uppers aren't allowing for crown. I am concerned that all your wall cabinets will look very tall and skinny and not really hold much. I can't believe how many times I edited this post! I must need a nap! This post was edited by may_flowers on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 20:35
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I liked looking at the total picture, though some of it was hard to read. I agree that if you can post it bigger, you will get more responses. I still think 54" is too big between perimeter and island and then on the other side which is a major walkway, you only have 42". Also within that major walkway is a major appliance which will make things busy there to begin with. I assume your small children will use the backdoor that leads to the mudroom and then into the kitchen. The other thing that bothers me is that it looks like a long walk to get to the outdoor dining from the kitchen. I see you have double hung windows for a pass through but a slider could be easier. Personally, I don't like the prep sink bisecting that island, I'd want it a little closer to one end. You want that big island space for homework, school projects, cookie making, etc Since you are building a custom home, you want to customize it for you. Think about how you live. Do you live in Maine and the outdoor dining will only be used a couple months of the year so access is not that big a deal or do you live in California where you might use it everyday and direct access from the kitchen would be important? Where will the kids be playing, will you be able to see them if in you're inside? Think about your daily routine and how you will move through that house as well as your kitchen. Does it make sense to put a backdoor where the pass through is? Does it make sense to switch the office area with the pantry? Only you can answer those questions. I wouldn't be afraid to beef up that island -- make it deeper, it looks like the space can take it and it might seem more appropriate too just food for thought
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Right off the bat, I see some potential issues, but until I have more information, I can't be sure. The cooktop appears to be in the middle of what will be a busy aisle as people enter from the Mudroom, turn left, and proceed to the rest of the house. The Cooking Zone is too far away from the Prep Zone (which is next to the sink) The DW is in the way of the Prep Zone (the range side of the sink) There isn't enough prep workspace next to the sink The island is not very useful as a Prep Zone b/c there's no water in it and it's not oriented so it faces the cooktop The ovens open directly into the Mudroom door, a safety issue. To put groceries away, you will have to walk through the Mudroom & Kitchen to get to the pantry. Would it be possible to put in a door b/w the Mudroom & Pantry? Are those open shelves flanking the hood? If so, I would reconsider - that's where you will get the most grease/steam/etc. from cooking. No hood is perfect, so there will be some errant grease splattering, steam, etc. They will land on the shelves and their contents - and all will have to be cleaned frequently! I don't know if your aisle widths are sufficient - I need a fully measured layout to check Without more information, I would: Switch the cooktop and sink walls. Add a prep sink to the island Switch the refrigerator and ovens
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athensmomof3
13 years ago
I don't know how the price compares but you may want to look at the GE Monogram. When I researched it a while back it appeared to be a rebranded Dacor. The fit and finish on the Dacor is excellent so I presume it would be the same on the monogram. It is a fair amount less expensive than others.

You don't mention if you need/want a dual fuel.

I am not sure what the fit or finish is on the Culinarian, but I wasn't at all impressed at the fit/finish on the 5 star. The one I saw had a piece of metal wrapped around the end which could develop a sharp edge or which you could catch your sleeve on while you were reaching for a pot. It concerned me.
amcook
13 years ago
tsiegler,
Happy to be of help. I'm no expert, just a vocal enthusiast who loves to cook. I'd encourage you to email Trevor about the max temp on the Culinarean oven. For me 500F is enough but certainly agree it'd be great if it could go higher.

athensmomof3,
The fit and finish on the CC is top notch. In some ways it might be a bit too refined for old kitchen dogs use to seeing sharp corners and exposed plumbing. Just keep in mind that the Culinarean is an open burner top and the Dacor is sealed. In my experience, the two are fundamentally different and people either want one or the other.
gbsim1
13 years ago
Jumping on this thread and I hope that I'm not derailing it....

I'm in the planning stages of a home with an architect and am now almost convinced to get the 48" Capital Culinarian. Is there anything that I should be aware of as far as design/space/planning for the CC?

I know there were some quirks that people had mentioned with the BS gas hookups, depth etc and was wondering if there was anything to be aware of that I should bear in mind for design purposes that might not be obvious from the specs.
dcunited_2009
13 years ago
I would highly recommend the BlueStar range. Trevor has lost his interest in selling BlueStar due to it not being available through internet retailers. Since Capital allows internet sales (as of today), Capital is his brand of choice.
BlueStar (since 2001) is a proven product (Capital's new open burner range is not available and must pass agency approval's before they can begin production) and offers more power and performance than anything in the market today. BlueStar was spun off of the Garland (Commercial) products in 2000 when Garland exited the residential business (built by Prizer-Painter/BlueStar). They offer 22,000 and 15,000 btu burners and a 130 degree simmer burner as well as a 1850 degree broiler. The oven burner is 30,000 btu and has a 550 degree setting. They are avialable in 190 colors and 6 different trims.
Visit the link below and "Build your own BlueStar". It is a lot of fun and you will like what you see! Good luck.
Dennis Costello

Here is a link that might be useful: BlueStar
amcook
13 years ago
gbsim,
You might want to consider starting your own thread unless the OP says they don't mind sharing. It's a very good question however since I'm waiting for the installation spec to be posted. I suspect the hookups will be similar if not identical to the current precision line but need to have that confirmed. The exact hookup location shouldn't be necessary for drawings for permits so you should have some time to figure it out. I'm hoping to start construction in about 2 weeks so I'll need that shortly.

There is no standard mandating where the gas or electric hookup is so I think it's just a matter of a specific location of gas/plug in a home that just doesn't match where the range needs it. With new construction, it's pretty easily solved by the contractor at time of running the gas and electrical. Also, quite frankly, many installers don't take the time or have the experience to figure out a solution when problems occur.

Trevor, do you have the installation manual for this range yet or can you confirm that it is the same as the Precision series of ranges? If not, can you get an ETA from Capital?
Thanks.
amcook
13 years ago
For the sake of full disclosure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Golden West Sales site
PRO
Trevor Lawson (Eurostoves Inc)
13 years ago
The Culinarian will go to 500 degrees in the main oven on the 30" 36" one the 48" ranges the smaller oven will go to 550 and the main oven 500.

AS usual Dennis is incorrect.

1) The Capital Culinarian has passed ETL approval and has a certification number.

2) The Culinarian now holds the highest btu's in the US residential market.

3) Bluestar trying to stop internet sales is not my reason for not promoting Bluestar anymore

4) Having said that the Bluestar is still an excellent cooking range.

Amcooks...... the specs are the same for the Culinarian as the Current Capital Precision

Need to purchase 48' Range - Your help is so greatly appreciated

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amcook

tsiegler
Original Author

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Need to purchase 48' Range - Your help is so greatly appreciated

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tsieglerOriginal Author

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tsiegler
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