Wolf seems to have a much better rep for customer service, and I've been very pleased both with how they back up their appliances and with the technology used in their ovens, which also has a nice, long history that helped me feel confident in buying my E Series double oven. I sure haven't been disappointed. The most even and consistent baking I've ever experienced. We bake almost daily. I am happy with my Wolf rangetop. When shopping for ours, I wanted 8 burners, which eliminated the Thermador, although I heard good things about the star burner. I remember reading complaints that Thermador burners click audibly because of the cycling on and off during simmer. Will you have natural gas or propane? I can't remember if Thermador was one of those made for NG and adjusted for propane with an associated loss in BTUs. If you have natural gas, it's not a concern, but was for us with propane. At the time we got ours, I think BlueStar and Wolf ...and maybe Capital... were the only ones with different models made for the different types of fuel. I think there are more now.

jackster writes: "Tinyhomebuilder -have you had any problems with BS - door, etc? i just read on another post that you had problems out of the box - are you happy now that issues were fixed?" _______________________________________________________________ YES! : ) We couldn't be more pleased with our little stove as well as with BlueStar's excellent customer service people. The initial issue with gas valve was quickly and easily resolved, and since then there have been no other problems Our oven door operates perfectly. It's flush and square. It opens and closes as smoothly as a door on a Rolls Royce and seals like a bank vault. It doesn't get overly hot even when the oven is blazing at max temp. Whatever door issues BS might have had in the past, ours sure has ~none~ of them. We used our wok for the first time last night... and WOW does it work great! Just lift out the grate and plunk the wok into the hole. Don't turn on the heat until everything is completely prepared for cooking because the wok heats instantly over the blowtorch 22k burner. On HIGH it got way too hot. I found that it stir fried best at about half way between LOW and HIGH and only took a couple of minutes to prepare the meal. The veggies came out perfect, and tasted ~exactly~ like they came from a Chinese restaurant. This is what has surprised us the most... how FAST you can cook everything. Our old stove had 8K burners and you could read a novel waiting for water to boil. (lol)

First, I must say thank you to all who share their knowledge! I have learned so much...maybe too much.:) I too am in a quandary about appliances... researching my life away! I value your experience! Essentially everything we eat is made from scratch. My husband and I both enjoy cooking- he makes magic with a wok and anything in the fridge! I love to entertain and serve elegant meals that I know our guests would never put the effort into or enjoy making. My Italian heritage also requires that I make lots of comfort food-eg. BIG pots of "gravy", risotto etc! I can't imagine cooking with out the availability of "simmer". I host 5+ course sit down holiday dinners for 5-15 people. With that in mind, here's my situation: For a whole house remodel, I am deciding between a CC or BS range top. Probably 36" due to space issues. Either 6 burners or 4 w/grill. Here are my questions: 1. Love the CC but am concerned about having only 22K BTUs and the simmer reviews. 2. Love the BS but had ruled it out due to service issues. I am a rural 2 hrs drive from Reading PA. and initially thought BS proximity might be a plus. Just put them back in the running since I read their service has improved. Really? 3.A bit of a clean freak, I vowed never to have a hood but have decided to deal with it in order to have the CC or BS range top. I read another thread to learn about cleaning a baffled hood like a Modern Aire. OK- I can do it - when I'm not cooking I'm cleaning so what the heck? BUT: With heavy cooking, how often must they be taken apart to clean the fan and degrease? Does the SS lining discolor after a year or more, or turn that "cooked grease brown" (like what happens on sealed burners). My 10 yr old Viking cooktop looks terrific but it takes time and elbow grease (especially post a DH cooking extravaganza!)I am wondering how painful it will be to keep it up to my standards.(sparkling clean and no odor) How does one keep the grill clean and free of gunk and greasy odor? Thanks in advance for your advice and for helping me set reasonable expectations. I am so afraid of making a very expensive mistake!

Please check on Thermador customer service reviews. I contacted them several times trying to figure out which part numbers I'd need for an ng to lp conversion and was not pleased with their customer service, at all. That's been a few years ago, so it's possible things have changed.