Wanted to say thanks to all who posted here and raised other perspectives, offered suggestions and in general made me think about things I probably had not thought of before. Very helpful and very appreciated. I managed to go out and see some empty tubs today but even that helped me see some things. At this point I am going to visit with my contractor to see if there is any reasonable way to fit a 66 inch tub into the bathroom. I am 6 ft 1 and while I can fit inside the 60 inch it is an easier fit to go one size up. Sometimes seeing is helpful! My list is now fairly short: Kohler Underscore Aquatic Serenity 35 Mirabelle Edenton 36x66 or 36x60 I had thought about the MTI Andrea 11 but pricing there starts to climb rapidly and there just comes a point where I have to say "enough". If I spent 60 minutes every day in the tub an in line heater, arm rests etc might be a good idea. One thing about the Serenity that was good to see is how high and wide the borde rof tub is. Definitely will require a long reaching faucet and I wonder if climbing out an dover will be difficult (tub I saw today was not yet set up in its box) The Aquatic certainly looked ok. As did the Mirabelle (lowest price option). I did not see the Edenton but one similar. Overall I am probably somewhat partial to the Kohler underscore "look" but then it wa salso undermounted. I do prefer an under mount appearance but not sure I want to go there. Seems more involved for the installation. I also need to see what the 240V aspects will cost for the install (not sure I have space in breaker box). Still deciding but the list is very much smaller now! Water depth on all of these tubs is more than deep enough.. 17.5 to almost 19 inches to overflow.

AFAIK there is only one GWer that has owned both BS and CC. Amcook. He owns a 48" CC with grill. I can't find one of his latter post but be he likes the CC burner better than the BS and CC overall but by a small margin. Below is one of his first post on the subject. BTW Both the CC and BS offer 30k btu 24" thermo-griddles. While there are significant differences between the grills I don't there is much difference between the griddles. _________________________________________________________________ I have to agree with Billy here and say that until the Culinarian, Bluestar was the only game in town when it came to open burner for the home in the high end market. The excitement that we are seeing now has nothing to do with the BTU rating of the burners or the fact that Trevor is behind it frankly. Sorry Trevor. :) It has to do with the fact that those of us that have been on the side of open burners have been starved for so long. Yes, Capital is a new comer in this market and yes I will grant that BS should be given some credit in providing the only open burner on the market when everyone else jumped on the sealed burner bandwagon. That said, you can't blame those of us who have been die hard open burner "followers" for being excited that there is another player on the field. In Bluestar's defense, I have never observed any edge boiling or edge heating affect with my BS cooktop. To answer foodonastump comment about the apparent change of opinion by some here, I submit that it's not so much as a change but a re-evaluation of expectations. The Bluestar burner *was*, hands down, the most even burner in the residential market. I've said in the past that I feel that has less to do with the star shape and more to do with the fact that it's a true open burner design. Frankly, I went into this very skeptical of Captital. When I first heard about the Culinarian, I was quite skeptical and basically told Trevor that I'd have to have to be absolutely sure that the CC burner was at least as good as BS. It's hard to argue that the BS oven and build quality is better than Capital so for me it came down to the burners. I exchanged probably two dozen emails with Trevor asking questions, requesting tests and pictures, and making suggestions regarding what I'm looking for. I was still skeptical enough to want to look at it first hand before making my decision. Once I saw it in person, I felt that the the burners are indeed at least as good as the Bluestar. I would say it is a bit better with regard to heat distribution and efficiency. I'm sure Surjit Kalsi would love for me to say it was a blowout but I can't. Having said that, I think BS set a pretty high standard and meeting it without sacrificing in other areas is not a small feat. I'm not talking about the extra 1k BTU or the faster boil time. I'd be buying induction if those are my primary concerns. I'm looking at a complete package, and yes, that does include fit and finish as well as cooking ability. Personally, I'd throw fit and finish out the window if cooking ability was significantly better but in this case, I think the Culinarian beats the BS on all points with the sole exception of the wok grate. Since then, I've gotten personal assurances that this is a top priority with Capital and they have a solution in mind that sounds pretty close to perfect IMHO. Let's face it, no home range will compare to a true commercial range so comparing Bluestar to Garland is a bit naive. Just as comparing a range with a spouse is a bit of a stretch (and perhaps more than a bit sad). > It's an appliance. A tool. Just an object in the house to make life easier and more enjoyable. Don't know about anyone else but my wife means a bit more to me than that. So, yes in the case of an appliance, sometimes newer is better. Sometimes, older is stagnant. A company that never had any competition in it's niche has the option not to improve. A new comer has to prove they are better and in many cases, the succeed because the incumbent has ignored complaints or problems. I speak from *no* personal knowledge but it is certainly possible that Trevor has had problems with BS with regard to issues that has caused him to look elsewhere. He has proven that he's loyal to his customers first and even those who are not his customers (like me at first). If he doesn't feel a manufacturer is taking his customers' issues seriously then I, for one, blame the manufacturer for that. Keep in mind that even after they cut him off, he has not bad mouthed BS or aired his grievances except to say that they decided not to keep him as an authorized dealer. To put this in perspective, the logo badge on my cooktop broke off after about 3 months and I contacted BS no less than 5 times through their online comments page and email. They never once acknowledged my request for a replacement badge. This is probably a one dollar item for them. On a whim, I emailed Trevor to see if he could give me a number to contact and his response was, "I'll take care of it for you". This was before the holidays and I didn't think about it until a couple of months later but it still hadn't arrived. I sent Trevor another email and he immediately sent an email to Matt Schutte (copying me) saying basically "please send one out like you promised" A week later, I got it. Now keep in mind, I did *not* buy the cooktop, or *anything* from Eurostoves. Don't know about anyone else but to me, it was obvious who was doing the right thing here and who wasn't. It certainly shouldn't have taken 5 emails from me and 2 from Trevor to take care of something as simple as dropping off a small part in the mail for a customer under warranty. Say what you want about the known risk vs unknown risk but I'll put my trust in Trevor's proven track record of exceptional support above any manufacturer be it Bluestar, Capital, or otherwise. In the end it's for each of us to make our own decisions. Good luck with whatever you choose and happy cooking. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've chosen the Kohler Archer soaking tub. 60 x 32. Reasonably priced (especially on line) and nice looking. There's also the Kohler Devonshire in the same size and price range. The Archer is more rectangular and an inch deeper due to a neat slotted overflow. The Devonshire has an oval basin and is a little more classical looking. I'm paying about $420 shipped for my tub. If you can find a local retailer who doesn't need to special order it, you might be able to pay even less. We had an American Standard Americast tub (regular 60 x 30 shallow type, the Princeton) in our last house and I liked the solid feel of it, but if you poke around here and on other forums you'll find a lot of people who really hate the Americast product. We only lived with ours for a year and it was fine but I have heard they can chip badly... That said, if there'd been one a soaking tub in the size/price range I needed now I would consider it, but I didn't find any.

Proline are rock bottom priced Chinese made hoods that use 430 SS instead of the much more common and more expensive 304 SS. 430 SS uses less nickel therefore is a little darker and more prone to rust. You need a 60-66" hood with at least 1200 cfm. You will not find another company that sells cheaper. Maybe a new Chinese company selling something equivalent. In 2010-11 about 10 people on GW purchased Proline Hoods. Five were satisfied including one that was very satisfied and posted on every thread that mentioned Proline extolling the virtues of the hood. About three were unsatisfied with the lights. Either they were too dim or would not turn off. One got a free circuit board but got the run around about getting reimbursed for labor. Two had major problems. Not getting the right parts and another(if I remember correctly) too many holes drilled into the hood and duct cover. One complained to the better business bureau and the BBB closed the case with an unsatisfied rating saying the company never answered. This person would also post in any thread that mentioned Proline. The other just grew frustrated and posted so again and again. Eventually, people on here stopped buying Proline. But if you want something of better quality and reputation with the correct size and cfm you will have to spend significantly more. Do you want two remote blowers or just one for the outdoor hood? Fantech budget but kinda noisy remote blower. Probably not a good idea if you have neighbors close to your property line. Abbaka considered the best remote blowers. You have to maker sure blower is compatible with hood. If it is single speed I don't think they make those anymore. 3 Speed or Variable speed.