I've had my 36" range Bluestar for almost seven years and we have replaced every single ignitor at least two times, many three or more. We've also had issues where we have had to replace the entire burner because the screws had rusted into place (our original range was built without stainless steel screws ... oops) and then they've broken off when we tried to make the ignitor change. In addition, we've had to have the spark modules (ignitor control boxes) replaced twice on one side, once on the other. On several occasions, "shorts" (that's the term we were told by repair people), have caused the wires to melt and fuse together--meaning the ignitor wire that goes from the ignitor itself and then plugs into another wire that goes into the spark module fused--requiring replacement of not only the ignitor, but the second wire (which also requires removal of the front plate). We also continue to have issues with all of our burners clicking constantly, even when the lit burner is fully on, unless the flame is on full high. (But only on two of the six burners.) So, yes, replacing an ignitor is a fairly trivial, if annoying and potentially expensive prospect, IF you don't also have melted wires, rusted screws that shear off when you try to remove the ignitor or broken spark modules. Oh, and you can actually get Bluestar to send you the ignitors you order and pay for in the first place. That's never really gone smoothly for me, either. In my experience, 6-12 week waits are the norm for parts from Bluestar. Plus, once you get the parts, you better hope they're right. We've had at least four replacement ignitors that didn't work, right out of the bag: cracked in shipment. The fragile, unprotected ceramic ignitors are sent loose--hitting against each other, if you order more than one--in small bubble mailers. A little rough handling in route and you're bound to get at least one pre-cracked ignitor per-batch ... At $25/pop, for what I've been told by several service people is a "$3 part." (But we've also not found off-brand ignitors that fit the Bluestar without modification.) "Stooxie," and others, I'm glad it hasn't happened to you but the ignitor issue (no air quotes) is, or at least, was, NOT "nonsensical." It's possible they've addressed these problems in later models, but I can attest the issue is most certainly a legit one. I don't have one, but I was very impressed with the Capital Culinarian, for many reasons, but at least in part because they had a large metal shield covering part of their ceramic ignitors, making me think they'll be a LOT less fragile. Oh and, in terms of Bluestar issues ... I will also say that, it's likely these are not current concerns, but we were certainly not thrilled to need two oven door replacements (locking itself shut) and a new oven bottom (support collapsed) ... Just more "non-issues" experienced by myself and many other Bluestar owners of the same generation. When the range works, it's impressive, but the shoddy build-quality I've seen (mine also came with loose screws floating free and missing parts) and abysmal customer service means I would never, ever buy another Bluestar, no matter what their next, latest-greatest is. They may have cleaned up their act now, but they treated their early adopters like Beta testers ... Without the service and support such positions usually come with. EDITED TO ADD: I'm not saying no one else should buy a Bluestar, or that they haven't solved the problems I've described above in later builds (I haven't cooked on one built later than mine, but I've read anecdotal evidence seems to indicate at least some changes have been made). I'm simply saying that I, personally, based solely on my own experience, would not. This post was edited by applnut on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 8:57

Box Appliance services Sub Zero/Wolf products in most of the Bay Area. They know Sub Zero/Wolf products very well because that is all they service. However, they are pretty busy so sometimes it takes a while to get an appointment. However, if it is something urgent (like a refrigerator not cooling), they'll move their schedule around to fit you in sooner.

Both of these ranges are All Gas, and don't have many bells and whistles. I have a Bluestar and use a cheap CDN digital thermometer with a probe and timer ($20). Seems to work fine for me, and I'm glad it's not built in. I don't think there are any better gas ranges than these. You can add Wolf and Capital and that's about it. Capital has the most features (no digital timers etc, but is available with self clean option and rotisserie). My neighbor has an American Residential range, and I have a Bluestar. I think they're both very well made. The Bluestar has big,8-pointed, Star shaped, open burners- and these are the best there are. The American has a couple extra indicator lights, a broiler that shuts off if you open the door, and 2 fans for convection. The biggest difference is that the top is sealed and stainless with iron grates. (The entire top of a Bluestar is removable Cast Iron.) If I had to do it again, I'd get the Bluestar (again). For no other reason than the top burners. BTW, both of these have large, powerful gas ovens with commercial quality infra-red broilers. They take a while to pre-heat, but it's no fault of the oven burner (30,000 BTU's) What I can't tell you is if one is better insulated than another. Someday I'll get a chance to bake with the American, then I'll know more.

We owned a 48” Thermidor for 14 years and regretted it for 12 of those years. We put at least $2,000 into replacement parts over that time. And yes the oven fans were very loud and near the end they would stop working and then my oven would stop working. I spent over two years researching ranges and reading hundreds of reviews. Finally we decided on the 48” RNB. We considered the Platinum but I had the same concerns as M concerning the heat coming from the back of the oven only and the constant fan blowing. Convection isn’t always the best for baked goods, bread, cakes, cookies etc. After reading some reviews on the pros and cons, I decided to go with the RNB. I have no regrets. The ovens are so quiet that I had to check to see if I turned them on. I was so used to hearing a loud fan that at first I thought something was wrong. Took a little getting used to the quiet. I love these ovens! My Christmas cookies all came out perfect; nicely browned outside and moist on the inside. Cheesecake, brownies, bread, and pizza have all baked beautifully. Meats and casseroles bake evenly and on time. My old Thermador has not baked evenly in a very long time and often stopped in the middle of baking. The RNB small oven does a wonderful job. Both ovens heat up quickly. My old small oven was useless. It took nearly an hour to heat up and twice as long to bake. I baked two 9 x 13 dishes at once in my small RNB on Christmas day and they were both finished at the same time. I could never do that in my Thermador. The ovens clean up easily, if you just take a few minutes to wipe up after a spill. I did want the higher burners of the Platinum but the oven made the difference. Also I did not need to move the griddle around. I would have like a grill to but we grill outside whenever we want so that isn’t an issue. The rolled steel griddle is like a restaurant and so much nicer than I expected. You can turn it on and leave it while you prep with no concerns. I went to a restaurant store and purchased a cleaning pad like they use in restaurants. Cleanup is easy. Something else I love is the removable steel trays underneath the burners and griddle. I just stick them in the dishwasher every couple of weeks and the look like new! I would never go back to a Thermador. I hope this helps.