Okay, not apples to apples, but I'll share what I saw at a local "closeout/scratch and dent/over-run store" on a 30" range. I've no experience actually using the unit, so take what I say with the proper grain of salt. The unit I saw was open burners@ 15,000 btu, no convection, 120v. Remember, this is a closeout store. Knobs were not secure, loose, plastic, ready to fall off. Backguard attached with sheetmetal screws, evident, 3/4 of the screw facing front. Bottom drawer a bit finicky. Have to pull up just right to close easily. No drip pan. Dis-assembly of the top fairly simple, but lots of nooks and cranies that would be a pain to access. On the other hand, lack of electronics means if I can't fix it, a buddy of mine that does appliance repair can. For 900.00 it's attractive. I really can't afford the close to 4,000.00 my ideal Bluestar would cost. I could see it as a work in progress. I could adapt knobs, re-do the backguard, re-engineer the latch of the bottom drawer. Can not add a drip pan under the top burners. Could minimize cleaning with creative tinfoil application. My opinion, worth exactly what you payed for it, is a question. How much are you willing to compromise? At least that's the question I ask. Other companies make products that are more tactily rewarding, better engineered, user friendly, ergonomic, etc. Will they cook food any better? I'm guessing that's still up to the cook. Sorry, no answers here. Mark

Hi Michelea! I'm actually new to appliances, since I just took a job in appliance sales here in Texas. I just got back from a GE Monogram training in Kentucky though, and one of the things they focused on was a feature comparison between their 48" range and a few others, Wolf included. We actually sell both Wolf and Monogram at my store, but not FiveStar. Basically what I've learned from our other salesmen here is that FiveStar will work, but it won't look pretty doing it, and its not worth the price. I'm told they're primarily commercial based, so you'll see them in a lot of restaurants, but because they're not seen by the customers they're not what you'd call "prettied up". As far as the other two though, one of the things it comes down to is the stylistic choice. Is your kitchen a place where company is going to be a lot? It doesn't sound like you'll be doing too much high level cooking, so while all those BTU's sound good and may be nice to have, it probably won't be fully utilized. Wolf is pretty well known for their big red knobs on the front, as well as the flip up screen so that you don't have crouch down to read or play with the controls. They do have the name as well which is usually synonymous with a high quality product. Personally though, I liked what I saw of the Monogram. It has a nice beveled finish on the front which I haven't really seen on any others, and you get more with what you pay for it with all the extras. For example, if you plan on having any large parties, the Monogram can fit a full size caterer's sheet in the oven, which is not something they all can do. Plus it comes with grill/griddle covers, a cutting board, and every grate on the top can be flipped upside down to accommodate a wok. Basically, they have it set up so that they're not bombarding you with extra costs, and their range tends to be cheaper to boot. As far as service goes, I can't really comment on how good/bad any of them are since I really haven't had to deal with it yet. Anyway, hope this helps a little bit! By the way, if you find out any of this is different, feel free to point it out. I'm still learning here, so I wouldn't call myself an expert! ;-)

I've had a Five Star for 4 years now. About 9 months after I started using it, I told the Five Star rep at KBIS (I'm a kitchen designer) that it was the worst appliance I'd ever owned. THAT got his attention! The service department had NO up to date info about service providers in my area, so at this guy's request, they ended up sending a factory guy out from Tennessee (I live in Virginia). The burners wouldn't light properly or burn evenly, they got soot on my pans, the ovens were highly unreliable in terms of temp maintenance, and the grill was USELESS (the griddle is acceptable). Their guy spend SIX HOURS at my house getting it fixed, and several days later it needed more work, because the oven wouldn't go on. Another guy from the factory came out and spent another four hours on it, and it's finally decent. I used an oven thermometer for several years, as well as a digital meat thermometer. I don't use the grill. It still takes 25 minutes to boil a large pot of water for pasta. I bought it because of the price, because I could have both the grill and the griddle (most companies don't have the interchangeability) and because the dealer said it was "as good as Viking, but they don't have all the marketing expense." They don't have the QA expense either, IMHO. The local distributor, Hadco, now describes the Five Star as a "good starter" pro-style range--but they clearly don't think it's in a class with the big guys. I'm a reasonably decent home cook, not a caterer, not Julia Child. It's now acceptable, but I wouldn't choose it again, in all probability.

I own a 36" Wolf DF and am one with porcelain issues. I love the burners with a great low heat and the oven is wonderful. I am looking to replace it though. After dickering with Wolf they have agreed to provide the part and $350 in labor. The problem is the labor starts at $800+ because they don't know what they will find and the time may vary depending on how fast the guys work. They will only guarantee the part one year. They used to replace ovens with this problem even when 4+ years old for a small fee. Most posters here and elsewhere have had more than one replacement and the replacements don't last as long as the one before. I don't want to risk inhaling or ingesting tiny glass shards when the liner starts to degrade. "I thought electric was a more consistent, and therefore better, option for baking/roasting? " "gas is better for roasting because of the moist heat. " Consistency has nothing to do with gas or electric, but bulk for thermal stabilization (providing radiant heat), air movement within the oven chamber(providing convective heat), placement of burners and accuracy of thermostat. Some companies seek to improve this by adding among other things,more insulation, more bulk, fan(s), a third and possibly a fourth element with computerized controls and and a thermostat with a narrower variance from the set temperature. When looking at humidity in an oven, you have to look past the immediate heat source and look at what happens with the oven and the cooking process. In general a gas oven has more ventilation through the oven chamber so the water that is a product of combustion is vented out along with more heat, so the heat is drier. Electric ovens are not ventilated as much so hold moisture from cooking. The moisture in the electric oven is beneficial the first half of baking breads and cakes because it allows the dough/batter to expand a little more, promotes starch gelatinization and allows better heat penetration of what you are baking. "Dry" is better the second half of the baking process. People seem to pay more attention and it makes more difference for bread. There are many ways people use steam for bread. "Dry" heat from a gas range or using the convection mode on an electric stove gives crispiness to a roast and may be better for some cookies, pies etc. External moisture has nothing to do with internal moisture of a roast. The amount of internal moisture is due to the temperature of the meat. Plus you have to pay a huge premium for dual fuel when in fact it does not cost the manufacture a lot more to make. You pay a premium for the additional elements, fans and the computers to make them run correctly. It would be up to the individual to decide what is huge and if it is worth it. They have fantastic 23k btu open burners with very even heat. No need for high maintenance tin lined French copper pots. What the heck does this mean??? If you have a burner with a flame pattern of 5-6 inches wide, if you use anything wider than 8 inches, you will benefit from a pan that has good heat conduction. Best is heavy gauge copper, lined in tin or stainless. Not everyone polishes. You can also get plied cookware with copper that goes in the dishwasher. Cheaper is aluminum available in several configurations including plied cookware. This is a very biased statement from a sealed burner owner that thinks dual stacking makes any meaningful difference. The purpose of dual stacked burners is to provide two separate burners each with its own range of heat. You would have to look at the range of BTU output for each burner to see the benefit. Rating by temperature is meaningless. I might have a BTU output of 325 and the temperature of what I am cooking could be 190 or 80 depending on the pan and what I am cooking. CC's 23k btu burners are capable of 145 degree simmer which is more than reasonable. Other than raw foodist, virtually no one needs or can use Wolf's 100 degree simmers. This is unbelievably presumptuous to pontificate about what other people should or should not find useful in their kitchen. I use low heat daily for -cooking a whole dinner or pot of soup in a LeCreuset pot using minimal energy -serving off the range, no worries about any scorching pastas, mashed potatoes etc -a short term sous-vide -anything that used to require a double boiler A few weeks ago I was making a syrup that had to be held hot while another step in the recipe was completed and even with the low simmer, it would not stop boiling. I could have "used" even lower heat. There is a whole big world of people that cook in many different ways. Wolf's sealed burners will not give you a decent stir-fry or Pittsburg steak while the CC will. Cooking is about the temperature of the cooking surface. The source of heat is just one component of this. A cook who understands how the properties of cookware work as well as how what you are cooking comes into play will be able to combine these things to come up with the right temps for the cooking surface on both high and low end. You can find blogs where cooks preheat cast iron to extremely high temps by low powered burners to cook pizza. Some restaurants cook a steak on a rock table side with no flame underneath. You just need to understand how to accumulate heat in your cooking surface. How are those pictures representative of the burners referenced? The CC is way off. I have cooked on many different open and sealed burners over 50 years. I agree with weissman that ease of cleaning burners depends on the build and also has a very subjective component. I think you have to avoid generalizations. Even the black enamel on the Dacor range we had was much more difficult to clean than the black on our current Wolf. This, an observation from my husband.