I wouldn't buy either one. I'd go to a Capital Cooking 36" or 48" all gas range (Precision Series). Designed better, manufactured better, works better, looks better. Far superior to both. See them at www.capital-cooking.com. Good luck!

I don't know how anything could cook better on the top than a Bluestar. But I would also think that the DCS or a Wolf or a Capital are all nice ranges. If you tried the DCS out and you liked the way it cooked, it sounds like the better deal.

I'd have to disagree with Vonzie, and agree with Alexr.

I've owned a BlueStar for several years, am a serious chef, have cooked on Wolf, Viking, commercial ranges, Dacor, etc. and don't have a doubt that when it comes to residential ranges, BlueStar makes the best cooking appliance, period. Quite frankly, if you're really into cooking, once you've cooked on a BlueStar, it's hard to cook on the rest. If high performance not your top selection criteria, size is more imporant, and you like the look of the DCS better, than that may be a better choice for you. If you're really into cooking and control of your heat and even distribution of heat in the pan, BlueStar is it. Good luck

dbsherwood,

That's good to hear you're happy with Bluestar. Nothing wrong with that. I personally don't like to have to clean those cast iron burners and the drip pans. I also like the ball-bearing rack rollers in the oven along with rotisseries and the rangetop infrared charbroilers that DCS has. I've tried both brands as well as DCS, Wolf, Viking and Dacor (I'm a builder-developer by occupation, as well as a former line cook in a dinner house 25 years ago). Cheers!

vonzie, alexr, and dbsherwood: thank you so much for your responses.

vonzie: thanks for link; will definitely look into it. Also thanks for the additional info on the DCS features.

alexr: "If you tried the DCS out and you liked the way it cooked, it sounds like the better deal."
That's the problem: I haven't had the opportunity to test out either DCS nor Bluestar. Thus, would the DCS be a 'better deal'? My concern is am I comparing the 2 like I'm comparing 1 Mercedes (Bluestar) to 2 VW Jettas (2 oven and grill of DCS)?

dbsherwood: "If high performance not your top selection criteria, size is more imporant, and you like the look of the DCS better, than that may be a better choice for you. If you're really into cooking and control of your heat and even distribution of heat in the pan, BlueStar is it."
Of all the pro-ranges, I'm not picky about the looks of the range.
My husband and I really do a lot of cooking/enjoy it.
I had a brief period where I got to use a gas range w/ a 16K BTU burner. Maybe it was too short of time frame, but I RARELY used the full power of all those BTUs. I mainly used it to boil water faster, and seared meat 2x. This leads me to question whether I need daily 15K and 22K BTU of the Bluestar...

thank you.

Huango,

All good points you bring up. What's nice about the Capital Precision Ranges (esp. in the 48" version) is that you get the high heat (19K Btu) on all 4 or 6 burners (depending on model), yes, they are sealed burners, but are easier to clean, you can have an infrared chairbroiler, griddle, or both, the ovens are self clean, they both have ball-bearing roller racks and the large oven has a built-in rotisserie. I have tested Capital, DCS, Wolf, Viking and yes, Bluestar.

If you don't mind cleaning the drip trays and cast iron burners on the Bluestar and do a lot of wok cooking, then maybe Bluestar is better for you. I don't consider these kinds of ranges "commercial-grade" because commercial ranges have 30K Btu burners on top. What what they really are, are "multipurpose" ranges that let you do a lot of different things.

Good luck!

Well, 48" would be nice if you have the room (or real estate as some folks like to say). The 36" is one big oven, and no matter what brand, will take time to pre-heat. Not a concern if you also have a wall oven.

Ranges like Capital are fairly new and if a retail store has just started to, or about to carry it, they may be 'talked' into giving you a discount.(More true last year than now) Even with Bluestar, a 48" will really add to the store's daily receipts-sometimes you never know if you don't ask.

I know its hard to find ranges set up that you can try-but if you are putting a lot of importance to this, you might ask if anyone here who lives in your area would let you check out a DCS or Bluestar.

I think all you mention are good ranges, and you'd likely be happy with whichever you select. I will chime in though and say that cleaning my Bluestar is basically a breeze. The cast iron grates mean things never look dirty, even when they sort of are and the open burners have been MUCH easier to clean than any sealed burners or smoothtop I've ever had--stuff just drops through and if you line the tray with foil, you just ball it up and discard now and again. (I've been using mine for two months now and still haven't changed the foil.) Sealed burners, and my old smoothtop, MUST be cleaned after each use, or they look/work like crap. The Bluestar is much more of a low-maintenance machine. I was really worried about cleaning before I purchased, but now it's one of the things I've really loved.

Just my two cents.

-Susan W.

If you are looking at DCS, you should look at Capital as the Capital ranges are made by the folks who used to be DCS. Capital has a lot of cool features and the price is nice as well. If cooking quality and cleanup are your top two priorities, I'd recommend the BS. Someone above mentioned that they don't often use the highest power burner capability, but that said, they did use it. If you don't have it, you can't use it.

The one thing I would say, however, is that if you want a larger oven, go with the 36" BS instead of the DCS. Generally, 48" ranges have 30" ovens and among the brands you mentioned, I believe the BS 30" is the only one that holds full size baking sheets.

huango, what did you decide?

I'm trying to decide between a 36 in 6 burner Wolf or Blue Star. 't seen Capital yet. I cook a lot and want the best. Any comments?

Sher-lbi, I don't think you can go wrong with those choices. Of course, the pro-open-burner camp will warn you off of Capital's sealed burners, but I am having a time deciding between those 3 manufacturers' rangetops for our new kitchen. I'm not really sure if I am a 'take-it-all-apart-to-get-things-clean' type of girl, or if I want to scrub the sealed surface. I need to go stare at them in person, and, hopefully, see them turned on and in action.

I never realized that sealed burners were a negative. I had a problem with sealed burners on a Thermdor because they were almost impossible to remove when there was a problem but I thought that was unique to Thermador..Why are the open burners better?

That's one of the big discussions on many threads here. The open burners are liked by those who appreciate being able to take things apart to thoroughly clean each piece, and spills and crumbs are allowed to fall through rather than sit on the surface right under the grate and burn on. The flame goes straight up, instead of out to the side, so some will argue that it's more efficient, and better on smaller pans,since the flame will come up underneath, rather than up the outsides. The BlueStar has very open (and star-shaped for efficiency) burners and Wolf offers both sealed and their version of the open burner, which is sometimes referred to as 'semi-sealed', or is it 'semi-open,' because there are tighter tolerances than on the BlueStar, so it's kind of in-between...Not everything can fall through and lands in a kind of a bowl right under the burner. With open burners, you can take components over to the sink for scrubbing and soaking. With sealed, you just scrub and wipe in place. I've read that they often stain or collect gunk right around the burner.

Others love the sealed, don't want to take their cooktops apart, and say a bit of Barkeeper's Friend deals with anything that's baked on or trying to stain.

This is just a quick synopsis of what I remember from the many discussions I've read. I have no experience myself with either one, but will soon. I wish I could try both for awhile to know which I really prefer, but that, of course, is not an option.

You can go to the appliance forum page, go to the bottom and do a search for sealed or open burners and probably get links to many, many previous threads to read.

I am not sure if the OP still needs any input, but I would go for the 48" size. Extra oven and burners come in really handy around big parties!

Besides, how much more money would you need to spend on that extra 12" on cabinets and countertop? It could come out even.

sorry: didn't know I had more responses.

rhome: I think I decided Bluestar for the following reasons:
1. I really THINK I want open-burners. I had a sealed Kenmore Elite, and boy, was it a pain to clean, especially when I didn't clean up spills right away. I'd scrub FOR A LONG time and still had trouble removing all crud.
2. I would like the star-shape; I had originally thought of Thermador star-shape, when I didn't know about Blue Star.
3. I want the bigger oven, to do all my cookies/cupcakes all at once. And when I don't want to heat up a huge oven, IÂve decided to look into/get ?Advantium.
4. The thought of the grill in the DCS 48" is a great IDEA, but really, my awesome Weber is just steps away. (Truth is: I ÂLET DH grill  so that I have to cook less.)
5. Due to my kitchen layout/expansion, getting the 48" range would really mess up my plans, since weÂre re-using the current cabinets (w/ some additional cabs).

Yanalg: thank you very much for your response. ThatÂs a great point about the extra cost for the cabinet and counter, since my rainforest brown granite will run ~$135/sf (just 1 quote so far).

thanks bunches.