I have posted quite a bit here about my Capital. I am very pleased with it - the only explanation I can come up with as to why there aren't more threads about it is there aren't any complaints! I am happy in every way with it. I must admit, I have not tried the rotisserie.

some Blue Star owners have described the workmanship as less than satisfying construction, with igniter anda couple of other problems

Actually I haven't seen mention of anyone recently having ignitor issues. It was an older issue with the ignitors that appears to have been resolved based on the feedback posted in the last 8 months or so.

As to workmanship - not sure where you are getting those comments from. The Bluestar is built like a tank. Some folks have commented it may be too "commercial" looking for some tastes (ie not "purdy" like some some high end ranges) so if your main focus is on aesthetics, then you need to see one in person before deciding. Personally I like the look of the Bluestar - but some may not

I own an older Bluestar, and there are some rough edges INSIDE, under the burners, or inside the drip tray.. not a big deal- . The knobs sometimes came loose on older models, I fixed mine by cutting a narrow strip of a soda can and sliding inside the knob. That was about it.

I think the 'fit and finish' is better now, there is a gliding oven rack and the ignitor problems seem to have gone away.

People seem to love their Capitals as well, but I haven't heard much about the bigger center burner, or the rotisserie that comes on the self-clean models. Large sealed burner caps are one thing you want to check out if you use small pans, but maybe Capital adjusts for that, I don't know for sure. For a short period there was someone who worked for Capital on this forum and they were called out for it. So generally it's only been owners and they've been kinda quiet lately.

Yeah that guy was samr and he still pops up once in a while. I look at the rate of repair gas self cleaning ranges have, the heat the odor when it is in clean cycle and I do not miss it.

I thought samr was the guy who was pushing the Electrolux.

Ditto to Coleen's comments. No problems so no need to post. I don't need to convince anyone to buy a Capital (or talk someone out of another brand).

The burners on my Capital work beautifully no matter the size of the pot. The only thing that bothered me was that the grill is difficult to keep clean, but that wouldn't be an issue on a 30". And no, for some reason, have not used the rotisserie. I have used the self-clean, however. Worked very well.

samr now works for Capital? LOL!!! Funny, last time he showed up he was accused of working for Lowe's. Even though half his kitchen was photo-documented as having been bought at Home Depot. And his IP address continually shows him as posting from a medical university in NJ.

I would be interested in hearing more facts about the repair rate of self-cleaning gas ovens. On this forum I have never noticed such a trend, in fact the only self-cleaning gas owner that I can think of as being particularly vocal here is Weissman, who certainly is happy with his range.

No, no - samr doesn't work for Capital (well, I suppose he COULD since I'm not aware of who their employees are) but, someone confused him with someone who used to post here and apparently worked for Capital. They are not the same person.

Thank you, responders. I am a little wary that the usually many and vocal Blue Star owners are conspicuous in their absence on the oven and cleaning it. I am not talking about the rangetop, but thanks for that info. I am not talking about the look, not aesthetics, not how "purdy" the range looks. I am a clean freak and concerned about the degree and difficulty in removing grease and grime if you use the oven for roasts and splattering items.

Cleaning an oven manually irrespective of brand is a royal pain. If self cleaning is important to you then there is no single brand that is worth going with out that feature. Even most self cleaning ovens still require some post cycle clean up.
The other issue you should consider with BS in a 30" model is the burner configuration and whether or not having a dedicated simmer burner will cramp your cooking style. This could be an issue on a 30" BS depending on how and what you cook.

Would your gagg cover the bulk of your daily oven needs? If so, and unless you plan on a lot of broiling, i say save your Bluestar for neater things like breads and Christmas cookies. If you only use your BS for messy things a couple times a year, then you will only need to clean it a couple times a year, right?

Cleaning my Bluestar oven is a cinch. Hey, the whole floor comes out along with the over racks and guides in about 3 minutes. I have some 'no fume Easy Off' but I've yet to need it.(I used it on a enameled French oven and it worked great).
\ Also, the oven and broiler work great. I bake breads and have had the oven temp up to 550 degrees. Yes, the lower front of the oven get hot.

Good point, ya think. My gagg will be for daily use. My Blue Star oven for large roasts, dinner parties and the holidays. A dedicated simmer doesn't bother me. I just want a true simmer. The Capital has a high burner - 22k, but closed burners which, I've read here, greatly reduce the true power. I do a lot of searing. So there are pros and cons with both ovens; however, I am happy I've narrowed it two these two gas ranges.Thanks to both of you, cdave and ya think.

>>>The Capital has a high burner - 22k, but closed burners which, I've read here, greatly reduce the true power.

This is misinformation - a burner rated 22K will give you 22K BTUs regardless of whether it is open or sealed! The flame patterns of open and sealed burners are different and there is a difference of opinion about which are easier to clean. Bluestar star burners are certainly outstanding but a Capital 22K burner will still give you 22K BTUs.

Really, weissman? Well, that is a minus off the Capital column because I actually like the center burner of the Capital having the highest btus since the burner is slap dab in the middle of the venthood - a prestige 1200 cfm. Thanks!

Yoyopa, I just posted my experience with cleaning the large oven in a 48" Blue Star. It's no big deal, easy to keep clean.
I did have a few issues with igniters and spark modules that have hopefully been solved with the service call this morning. Trevor Lawson from Eurostoves and Matt Schutte/John Ditizio from Blue Star Service responded right away to my emails. I've been pleased with the customer service I've received from them; my expericence with the local repairman was not as good, but I'm hopeful my repair issues are over. Even with the problems, I'd buy another Blue Star.
When I was stewing over which range to buy, one of the things I didn't like about the BS was the looks. I don't know if it was the style, finish, edges or what, but I thought that looks were low on the manufacturer's priority list. I decided to have it painted glossy black, and I can honestly say, it's a thing of beauty.
About the only thing I don't like are the indicator lights on the oven light and convection buttons. The large, easy to see lights were replaced with rocker switches with tiny blue lights that are virtually useless. The convection fan can't be heard over the noise of the exhaust fan and the light can barely be seen. I'm hoping they get enough complaints and design a proper switch. But really, that's the only thing I can find to complain about.
Good luck; let us know what you decide!

This is misinformation - a burner rated 22K will give you 22K BTUs regardless of whether it is open or sealed!

Now, now - actually this comment may be mis-information. This has been a debate on this site for who knows how long. Here is one good thread discussing NTUs in open vs sealed burners:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0713441332733.html

Now, if you read that thread, the consensus seems to be open burners are more effective in delivering their heat to the pan - so a 22k open burner would outperform a 22k sealed one.

here is another article - by an appliance dealer that sells both:

http://www.selectappliance.com/exec/ce-tidbits/sealed

Here is an exceprt from the article:

Sealed burners have a bit less cleaning, but there is a compromise. Remember that BTU's are an input rating. Then even fairly high BTU's like 12,000 in a sealed system may not burn as hot. The reason is supply air. The burner ports need supply air to burn. In a sealed system, they are right on top and very close to the bottom of your cooking pan, sitting on the grate. The flame may seem a bit lazy (or cooler) compared to a burner sitting lower with plenty of supply air around it. Usually the open system burners burn more aggressively (or hotter) than sealed systems.

Now - I am sure some will want to debate this. People like to defend their choices. My suggestion to the OP is the only way you will know for sure is test both out in a showroom and compare the results. My bet is you will see you just can't go by the BTU rating and say 22k open is as effective as 22k closed

You can actually perform a crude BTU measurement by boiling fixed amounts of water on both burners and timing the results, I think. You can find info on how to do that if you search on the web - BTU is a well defined measurement.

Some people on this forum have a "my BTUs are bigger than your BTUs complex".

As odd as it may sound I agree to some extent with both Berryberry and Weissman on the sealed Vs open burners. I do believe the open burners are slightly more efficient but 22k is indeed 22k. There is rarely any appreciable difference between open and sealed and what little difference exists on a sealed Vs closed burner of the same BTU is absolutly nominal. A very small difference yes, a significant or appreciable difference no. For aguments sake I think the most you could loose with the sealed burner is the equivelant of a few hundred BTU's. Will this really matter when you start with a 22k burner? Probably not for most.
I'm not at all familiar with Capital but if they have a self cleaning oven then don't get sold solely on the open burner.
You may also want to note that many on this thread are likely new BS owners or don't use their ovens as much since they haven't done a full cleaning yet. Roast a few turkeys or some prime rib and then at least for me self cleaning ovens really start to shine. Then consider what condition the interior of your oven will be five years down the road. I clean mine about 4 times a year. If you get lazy on the EZ off then the longer you go the harder that crud gets baked on in your oven and the bigger the cleaning chore becomes.
BTW That fume free easy off works great to clean burner bowls and the SS backsplashes or the exhaust area of your range.

The Bluestar is a little tough to clean, and this is coming from a fellow clean freak. The grates all rusted for me very quickly, even though I cleaned them carefully. Bluestar says they can be put in the dishwasher, but the one time I did--even though I hand dried and even turned the flame on when I put them back on--they rusted. So, that kind of sucks on such an expensive unit. After a battle with Bluestar (the unit was only eight months old) they sent me new grates, but I now wash them by hand (dish soap and soft brush only), frequently, and it's time consuming and heavy and, yeah, they are already showing rust bits, again. It works a LOT better than my old smooth top, but dang, it's a LOT harder to clean.

But, on the positive side, the open burners make big spills easy to clean up (just keep the drip tray lined with foil). I also fear the non self-cleaning oven and use my 36" range oven infrequently, partly because of that and partly because it's slow to heat and the temp isn't particularly accurate. I've never cooked anything super messy in it, on purpose (I have lots of other ovens), so I've only had to wipe it out at this point. (But, then again, I've only used the oven about five times in the year and a half I've had it.)

The Gagg combi steam, which I also have, is a REAL pain to clean. Huge project each and every time you use it to do anything but steam plain veggies or defrost meat, at least in my experience. (I did a chicken once and it took as long to clean as it did to cook the chicken. I said then, never again.)

-Susan W.

Yoyopa,

I've got a 48" RNB. The fit and finish have surprised me on the plus side, given some of the comments I've seen posted here. Mine is in red, with brass bezels and handles, and I've had nothing but WOW reactions when people see it. My one complaint on finish is that the covers for the grill/griddle have rather sharp edges on three sides so I'm careful when I move them - the fourth edge is rolled, so it's not a problem.

I like the open burners and have found they clean like a charm. I run them through the dishwasher and they come out totally clean and look completely new. My prior set up included a gaggenau cooktop with sealed burners and I found that was difficult to keep clean. I was never able to get the visible parts totally clean. Grease tended to burn on and the underside of the burner caps (which were cast iron) retained moisture and would start to rust, especially in humid weather). So, with the BS burners/grates I've been pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to keep clean and how good they look out of the DW.

I've also got a Gaggenau combi-steam in my new house and use it nearly everyday. It's great to be able to cook things in the summer without heating up the kitchen - corn, veggies, amazing baby back ribs, etc. For everday use, I just wipe it out, which is enough to get most spills. Occasionaly, I do a more major clean-up. I spray the interior with 409 and let it sit while I do something else. It may be on for 30 to 60 minutes. Then I run the cleaning aid cycle - I have an older model but the new one you'll get also has a cleaning cycle. The default is for 30 minutes but you can opt to run it for longer. When it's through, I wipe the interior with paper towels and I've found that any grease or burnt on material comes right off. Then I run a short rinse cycle to get off any cleaning residue - maybe 10 or 15 minutes- and then wipe it out once again. It's the sort of thing you can easliy due in the course of any evening and it certainly doesn't tie you up.

Have fun! The BS and the Gagg are both great tools to enhance your cooking skills!