New PowR Oven⢠provides 40% faster preheating and 30% increase in oven efficiency.

I guess Bluestar found some magical insulation no one has ever heard of before.

More streamlined and functional design including smoother front edges, easier to clean rangetop burner system, and larger glass oven door.

Sounds a lot like a range I am quite familiar with.

I wonder how they can improve on the ease of cleaning the rangetop burner system?

>New PowR Oven⢠provides 40% faster preheating and 30% increase in oven efficiency.

>I guess Bluestar found some magical insulation no one has ever heard of before.

I don't think any kind of "super insulation" was mentioned or even hinted at. Its quite clear that the "PowR Oven" is (what appears to be) the true convection element leading to these upgraded specs not insulation. Although improved insulation may also have been added, who knows?

>More streamlined and functional design including smoother front edges, easier to clean rangetop burner system, and larger glass oven door.

>Sounds a lot like a range I am quite familiar with.

I can't wait to see one of these in person because from the video anyway, the attention to detail is in a new league with the embossed bluestar flame on the handles etc. I'm glad to see they have addressed some customers and potential customers conncerns by giving it smoother edges while still retaining an industrial feel and not a bulbous one. The silver knobs (which I'm sure one could spec black or any other color) and the small oven window somewhat take away from the industrial look, but not a ton. Seems like a very good compromise.

>I wonder how they can improve on the ease of cleaning the rangetop burner system?

Huh? As someone who actually owns a bluestar I can attest that there are no issues with rangetop cleaning. It is much easier to clean than my old open burner Viking was because there is no shiney enamel parts to keep clean right by the heat source which bakes any spills and splatter onto the surface. Is there a way to improve? Ya likley, I think almost anything can be improved but it wouldn't be with putting stainless steel or shiny enamel near the burners that's for sure. The debate between which is easier to clean, open burner vs sealed, or bluestar vs other open burner, is an age old debate with no "correct" answer, it really comes down to preference but from what I can tell, it seems bluestar owners are pretty much as happy with ease of cleaning the rangetop as any other group

One thing I am very curious to see, is if they have changed the ignitors. I know they do seem to be fragile for some owners, although I'm at almost five and a half years and have not had one break, but non the less, it does seem to be an issue for many.

I think the new oven has a built in heating element within the convection fan so that's probably how the oven preheats faster.

As to cleaning, I'm not sure what they meant by that. Perhaps the glide tray under the burners? It does seem slightly different in pix than prior models as the platinum model has two small handles protruding from the front. I have the RNB with no such handles, but I prefer the more streamlined look of the RNB in that regard.

Maybe they do have better ignitors or at least lets hope so since the new 25k burner head has additional gas holes on the interior of the inner most ring. So the ignitor will def be exposed to higher heat than in older models.

I wonder if they're going to make the interchangeable grill/griddle available for sale to RNB owners....

I don't see why that contraption isn't compatible with the RNB or even previous models...assuming that the burner grates are the same size on all models. I'm not sure but I think they're all the same size.

But who knows whether it'll actually be available to non-platinum owners. Already bluestar won't allow an RCS owner to upgrade any burner to the RNB 22k burner.

But if they were smart, they should allow all bluestar owners the option of purchasing the interchangeable grill/griddle combo. They've got real competition now with the capital culinarian so keeping a vice-like grip on these very cool options won't go over well with current or future customers.

I was in love until I saw it only came in 48" or 60" sizes. Ah well.....

I'm with you zeebee. I was disappointed because my 36" RNB is less than a year old and I would definitely have gone for the platinum. I was thinking that had I known it was coming out, I might have waited to do my remodel to get the platinum. But then I realized it didn't come in 36" and somehow that made me feel better, since I did not have room for a 48".

But I guess that's the thing with new models. There is always something better around the corner. You can't always wait for the best and newest or you will never buy anything. At least I waited long enough to get the SubZero French door fridge, which I ordered a week after it came out. Before that, the only choice was the Liebherr which we did not like. So we scored on that one.

i'm in the same boat as you NYC. only have room for a 36" and i got the RNB a year ago.

although i, too, was pining for the platinum, i think that i could get most of it's cool features for my RNB. for the burners, maybe bluestar will soon start selling the 25K burner heads, with the extra gas holes on the inside of the circle. and hopefully, they make that grill/griddle plate available for sale as well. there's nothing i can do to upgrade my oven, but that's ok. i rarely use it anyway.

I think the 22K burners are pretty powerful already. I am not sure I would upgrade, personally. I have the charbroiler, which I use several times a week. It's a real treat for those of us living in apartments! I don't have a griddle and have been thinking about whether I could use one but I'm not sure about how much I care about having it built in . I was thinking about just getting a separate one and laying it over two burners, or even over the grill itself. The issue I see with the interchangeable grill/griddle is that they get greasy. So you end up storing a heavy, greasy component in a drawer which seems pretty gross to me.

I thought the refinement of the lines of the range were pretty cool though. And I also thought the oven improvements were nice. I'm with you, though, I don't use the oven very much. I use my 24" speed oven which heats up so much more quickly.

As I read threads like this I sometimes wonder, are there any appliances other than Bluestar where the manufacturer is expected to provide parts to turn older or cheaper models into current or more expensive models?

What do you do when you buy a car and the next year's model has 50 more HP? Start shopping for performance parts? Do you buy a regular Mercedes and expect them to sell all the parts to turn it into an AMG for cheaper than you could have bought the AMG?

Maybe they should do what cell phone companies do: offer discounted upgrades every two years?

i hear ya. but an iPhone 5, no matter what you do, cannot be upgraded to the 5s with the fingerprint sensor. nor can a Mercedes be souped up as there are signinficant changes made to the design/engineering.

i think that people's complaint with Bluestar is that these upgrades are: (1) feasible; and (2) actually very easy to do. The rub is when the company refuses to help you out in doing so, especially when you've plunked down a few thousand (or more) for the product.

If it were my company, I'd try to help a customer any way i can, especially with a company like Bluestar, who doesn't do advertise the way Viking, Wolf, etc. do. They rely nearly exclusively on word of mouth. So you'd think they'd bend over backward to make a client happy.

I see your point. Anyway I emailed my dealer (not that I'm interested beyond looking at it at this point) and they haven't been given release date yet nor pricing.)

I think they're afraid of liability issues - you're dealing with a gas appliance. Sure there are some people who are able to do the upgrade themselves - but what if someone screws up and the thing explodes? The manufacturer wants no part of facilitating that.

@foodonastump: you're either disingenuous or bad at analogies.

Bluestar took their older product (RCS) and made it worse performance-wise (old version had one 18kBTU burner, new one has only 15kBTU burners), reserving the high-BTU burners for the much more expensive model. This is a sleazy move, period.

Oh, and regarding your analogy, the burners are more like tyres. Fully exchangeable between different car models if their physical size is the same. Bluestar's are.

This post was edited by gigelus2k13 on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 13:45

They can sell whatever the heck they want and you can buy it, or not. Offering an RCS with BTUs on par with much more expensive brands is generous in my book. If you find a better value elsewhere, go for it. Not like they forced existing owners to trade in their 18k burners for 15k. Bluestar can be faulted for many things over the years, but their choice to further differentiate their high and low end offerings is the least of their sins IMO.

ps - bad car analogies abound on this forum, I was just playing along.

This post was edited by foodonastump on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 15:36

So much malice and from the usual suspects. :) I am glad I stopped trying to define my entire life by posting about my range. I knew as soon as I saw this thread that deeageaux would be post #2.

Foodonastump is correct (as usual, if memory serves). To continue the car analogy, look at BMW. Their "328" is a "330" with different headers. THE NERVE OF THEM! The Pontiac GTO has a Corvette engine with detuned headers. BASTARDS!

You pay to play, so it goes with a free market. I will absolutely call Bluestar to see if I can upgrade my burners to the 25K ones but if the answer is "no" it's "no." I have better things to do with my life than harbor ill will against a small American company for wanting a viable business model.

Enjoy!

-Stooxie

I don't think any kind of "super insulation" was mentioned or even hinted at

Increased speed(40%) and increased efficiency(30%) does not hint at far superior insulation? LOL

Huh? As someone who actually owns a bluestar I can attest that there are no issues with rangetop cleaning.

Evidently Bluestar itself disagrees. They found a need to upgrade.

This post was edited by deeageaux on Sat, Sep 28, 13 at 18:38

Improvement is necessarily an admission of inadequacy?

Right on stooxie! I'll also be calling to see about upgrading to 25k. Seems that the only difference is that there's those 8 additional gas holes on the inside ring, just at the where the arms start to branch out.

But you're right. If its a no then that's that. I'll just have to live with "only" the 22k burners lol

Nothing to add about the Bluestar, but I loved the Yoda reference...

I'm a new poster to the GardenWeb though I've been reading posts for a few years.

I have a new BlueStar RCS-30 on order. And one of the reasons I bought this range is the lack of a computer, and the fact that you can hot rod it. Yeah, I hot rodded my 180hp Cummins powered Dodge to 450hp because I could, it was pretty easy, and I'll be doing the same for the BlueStar. I will find a way if BlueStar gives me grief about requiring a Serial Number.

Now, reading about these $27 igniters annoys the heck out of me. I plan on taking one of these igniters to an appliance parts store, and getting more viable but cheaper alternatives. BlueStar can continue to charge these crazy prices for a consumable part, but I think it's going to end up biting them in the behind.

Sure seems that BlueStar could make all their stoves "entry level" and beyond fully customizable. This fills a much needed niche for those folks who need to go beyond a mass produced box store electronic computerized stove that isn't going to last much beyond a few years without major repairs.

Big Burners! Wok Burners! Griddles! Bring em on!

Guldam, I wouldn't sweat the ignitors... : )

Last month, our new BlueStar came with two extras included. And I'm with you on no computer. That factor alone moved the BlueStar to the top of our list. Besides the simple functional heavy duty oven and burner knobs, there are just two robust positive actuating switches for the oven light and fan.

Guldam.....you can use viking ignitors...they are cheaper, easier to source and apparently you can get them closer to the burner for theoretically a smaller simmer flame. Some one made a thread about changing to viking here on gw a few years back.

Let me know how your hot rodding goes. I too would love to hot rod my rnb. Too bad there wasn't a large hot rodding community for pro ranges like there is for cars.

I would really like to have a part number on those Viking ignitors. So far, neither I, nor any of the repair people I've worked with, have found a replacement ignitor that will work on my mid-2007 Bluestar and getting them from Bluestar intact, when needed, remains an expensive PITA.

Guldam58, I'm not sure how much you should worry about it. I dunno, I've had my BS for almost 5 years now and having to replace an ignitor has yet to enter the realm of possibility. The only time it even crosses my mind is when I see posts about it.

My BS has been one of the few big purchases I have made where the thing just does what's supposed to do every time I use it. Maybe I am lucky. I don't even read these boards any more, I am happy with what I have and that's good enough for me.

(I stopped by here today because I get email follow-ups on this thread).

Best of luck to all!

-Stooxie

Applenut......viking igniters

Here is a link that might be useful: hope this helps

Thanks. That spark module change out is above my mechanical pay grade and I'm assuming it's not just plug and play to change the ignitors and continue using the existing modules, is it?

But some really good advice on that thread about rusting ignitor screws, which I've suffered from mightily, and why they keep happening.

Could it really be gas moisture, so out of user's control. I've had rusted tight screws on burners I have never once boiled water on, yet Bluestar keeps blaming "boil overs" as the only reason they would ever rust. (Of course, Bluestar has also told my repair people that I'm the only one this has ever happened to so ...)