If you're sure you'll be selling the house in a few years, why would you spend the money on sub-par "pro style" range? You won't get your money back out of it, as appliances generally never add to the resale value of the home.

I'd put in something basic and let the new owners spend their cash...

I hope you get an answer to this question, since I've wondered how many BTUs are needed to do the things we want, including searing, like you mention, and stir-frying. I have only ever had electric ranges, so think it would be easy to have an improvement...But how far to go and how much is enough?

I think it would be a waste to get a 'cheap' range, planning only for selling, if you would hate it for the next few years, and maybe more if your plans change. You could possibly take a nice range with you and get a lesser model if you want to when you do put the house up for sale.

That's a tough question to answer. For most things 14K will be more than enough. Until recently, I think most regular home ranges had 9K burners or less. Early pro-style ranges had 15K burners and many still do. Then came the great BTU competition - 17.5K, 18K, 22K, 25K, 30K ...

Unless you're stir frying LARGE quantities of food, 14K should be fine - BTUs by themselves aren't the entire issue - heat transfer is important - how efficient are the burners, how thick are the grates, what kind of pans are you using, etc.

I was talking to a few places about Five Star, and the whole BTU thing. One really important thing apparently is the burner pattern.

Until talking to this guy, I though that the gass flames just came out.. Well, I guess that all manufacturers use different burner patterns (flame patterns). From what I hear both wolf and viking are somewhat inefficient, allowing a lot of heat out around the edges of most pans. Five Star on the other hand have a far better burner pattern, so you actually get more heat from less BTUs as such.

If I were planning on selling my house in a few years I would select a generally recognized brand. The kitchen is a very important factor in selling a house. Many buyers are apprehensive about appliances with badges they don't recognize.

That doesn't mean you have to have a Wolf or whatever. What brands are most typical of your neighborhood? I'd go for good middle-of-the-line for the area.

Carol

Sorry, joe_blowe, I did misconstrue/misunderstand...I thought you were wanting to give up performance because he's planning to sell. But I see now that you were, instead, taking issue with the particular choice and with whether he's getting good performance for the price and lack of favorable reputation. Good point, and, again, sorry.

No need to apologize! I tend to shoot from the hip in my initial responses -- if they aren't clear, I always rely upon kind GWers to provide further insight and discussion!

Thanks for all the replies chaps.

I didn't realise that Five Star had a bad rep on this board. So far (outside of this board) I have heard nothing but good stuff about them. I will have to look through this board, and see what the opinions are.

I should note that this isn't just for resale. I do a heck of a lot of cooking (I am writing a cookbook in fact), and am replacing a really terrible electric hob stove. I will be cooking on it every day. From what I heard, Five Star had a solid build and decent performance, but I should read this board more!

I cooked for 2 years on an old Kitchen Aid 4 burner gas cooktop. The big burner topped out at 14K and was more than enough for what I wanted/needed to do which included searing, stir-frying, etc. You don't need more than that, but that doesn't mean it's not nice to have more than that. Just don't be swayed into spending more than you actually need to by this fixation people have with power.

"Until talking to this guy, I though that the gass flames just came out.. Well, I guess that all manufacturers use different burner patterns (flame patterns). From what I hear both wolf and viking are somewhat inefficient, allowing a lot of heat out around the edges of most pans."

Matt, what you got was a sales pitch. Not facts. Maybe a fact or two thrown into the mix, but you did not hear unvarnished truth from a salesman. From years of reading this board, I have learned that sales people will say just about anything they think will make a sale (expecially on a line that is offering incentives to the salesman, whatever they think you want to hear, or they make up things on the spot. We've often run a thread here on "They said WHAT?" to list the outrageous statements heard in stores.

Keep reading here, and you'll get a lot of great info.

My Kenmore elite 40" dual fuels 'big' burner is rated at 13k, and its not enough to quickly boil a big pot of water for pasta or seafood, and it's not that great for my grill pan, either. Still, its decent for most things, and sometimes a whole month goes by without the lack of heat really having an impact.

BUT I live at 5400 feet, and use propane instead of NG. Both these factors lower the actual delivered output way below the manufacturer's rating. If you are lower and on NG, your results will be better than mine.

OK.. I am looking at the BlueStar range series also. They seem to have great reviews here, and good solid construction.

I should note that I am not the kinda bloke that wants a "pretty" looking range. To me it is a tool, and I want to get the best operating tool available. I was unimpressed with Wolf and Viking when I twiddled with them. The wolf knobs felt really cheap, and Viking.. well, they are a marketing machine. I am sure both are good ranges though.

A couple of questions to bluestar owners -

How is it working with an all gas range? I have always used an electric oven, however I mostly do roasting so a gas oven would be a lot better I guess. Anyone had any problems with the gas oven, and how is cleaning it?

Is there a certain model that people would recommend? I am looking at 30", and I know they have a few options there.

Any suggestions would be well received.

Matt

I don't have NG, so am concerned about loss of BTUs with certain rangetops on propane. I think some (BlueStar, Wolf?) make the adjustment when made or at the factory so that there isn't a discernable loss of power, but on the DCS website they make a point of saying their BTU ratings are only correct for NG. US-Appliance has a chart for the DCS, that lists their big burner at 15K on LP instead of the 17.5K they boast about for NG. The Monogram cooktop output on the large burner drops even more for LP. This has made me nervous about other brands that don't really seem to say...And it was in VERY small print that the DCS output would be different, so it's not something they want to advertise and make easy to discover, I'm afraid. This makes me particularly hesitant to get a cooktop with BTU ratings lower than the Wolf, BlueStar levels, because they actually might end up quite a bit lower than listed.

My sister in law has a FiveStar gas range. She loves it and has never had any trouble with it. We eat at their place a lot and my BIL turns out some great meals. He used to be a professional chef and seems happy with this range.

We are debating range/cooktop for our own kitchen redo, but if we go range, we will be getting a Five Star. They don't have a ton of bells and whistles but they are efficient.

Not sure where you get the over $3K pricetag. We were given a price of $2500 CDN for the 30" FiveStar by Coast Appliances in Vancouver.

kailleanm's post prompted me to look at universal-akb.com for pricing info. They have the 48" under $2000 and the 36" at $1729, so yes, quite a bit below $3K. But for me, there's also bad news, because they also list max propane BTUs at 12,000, instead of 14,000.

You enjoy cooking, you cook a lot, you will be using it at least a few years. (that's a lot of cooking) Get what you want, a range with the BTU's that satisfy your needs and you can afford.

http://www.selectappliance.com/exec/ce-product/fs_ttn275-bw - this is the dual fuel range.

If I was going to go FiveStar, this is most likely the range I would get. The BTUs for a gas fivestar oven is only 18,000 compared to a Blue Stars 30,000. Plus, the bluestar has an infra-red broiler.

I am really torn between the two to be honest. Half of me wants the bluestar, with its awesome power, and the other half wants a dual fuel, which would be the fivestar. Because I have no idea where gas prices are going, dual fuel sounds like a good option, but then a gas oven will cook better for what I do (roasting).

The five star's BTUs are only 14,000 for the open burner, which isn't amazing. The BlueStar is a whopping 22,000.. but that might mean I would have to spec a more expensive range hood.

Kailleanm - did your BIL get the open or sealed burner? The sealed is rated at 21,000, but I am not after a sealed burner.

Duh...Sorry, I forgot you were after a range, and I only looked at prices for the rangetops.

I'm pretty sure it's open burner, but I can call and confirm. They went for the gas oven too, not dual fuel. BIL says it makes a better roast.