Stooxie
Great review, thanks so much for posting. I will be getting a 30 RNB and am just delighted to hear that you are pleased with yours. I share your thought that having the versatility of the simmer burner is a good thing, much better than having all the burners at 22,000.

Was wondering -- does your oven door or the sides of the range get very hot? This seems to be one of the persistent complaints -- it seems that nearly every other issue has been taken care of.

The easiest way to attatch a picture to your post is to first download the picture to Flicker then grab the URL for the picture and paste it here like this (Copy and paste) (right where you are typing).

Gary

Hi Sayde,

I used my infrared thermometer to see what the temp of the oven doors was when set to 375. The warmest part of the door is the bottom, showing about 150 degrees. The rest is negligible, showing about 100 - 120 degrees. None of this bothers me in the least and I have 3 small kids.

Here are some pictures, btw:

Here is a link to more pictures in the set:

RNB48FTV1

-Stooxie

Wow Stooxie, that range is just beautiful!!!!! You must be just so thrilled! I know I am! The french top looks fabulous -- I bet it is great fun to use. I wish I had the space for that!

Thank you so much for the information about the temperature of the doors. That really helps enormously.

I cannot wait to get mine.

1. The CC gives you good concentration and distribution of heat. It is not only the shape of the burner but the angle of the holes in the burner.

2. The real benefit to the lower power burners is no wasted heat for small pots,particularly when simmering low amounts of liquid. The intermediate burners are a complete waste. The vestigual organ of sealed burner design. Simmering a tiny amount of liquid in a large pot over a 22k/23k btu burner is probably a bad idea.

3. Self clean is optional.

4. Look at Trevor's broiler videos.

5. Rotisserie and self clean are options on the CC

6. As the whole concept of open burners dictates you need a good supply of oxygen for optimum combustion. I have seen both in Chinese kitchens. Woks smothered by flame and sunken 100K+ BTU burners giving the flame full clearance before reaching the pan. Yes, BS offers wok rings for this very reason.

7. We can all hope this continues to be the case.

8. Both BS and CC have good gas ovens.

9. Fit and finish is just not up to class leading standards in the BS. The colors of BS are fantastic.

10. The French cooktop is not my bag but great for those that love it.

Glad you are enjoying your range.

Here is my wok setup. Works great for me, strong blue flames, hot as heck. I have plenty of gap between the bottom of the wok and the grate to allow airflow.

Another thing I really like about this range is the "flush" surface, the fact that the burners are recessed into the unit. I like having the entire top be one flat cooking surface.

-Stooxie

Thank you so much for your review and for the great pics. I am so glad you are happy with your Bluestar. The 48'' seems like the perfect size range if you have the room. I am embarrassed to say that I have never seen a French cooktop and don't even know how to use it. It sure is beautiful though!

Happy cooking!

OT but I want to say I LOVE the way you used the mosaic tile behind the range and the way the hood is just free floating with the side cabinets placed away from it and nothing overhead. Stunning. Can I ask, presumably the hood was mounted AFTER the wall was tiled, is that right?

I am also happy with my 30" BS (old model) now that everything is finally working & calibrated on it.

Ddeeageaux, can you let me know what I should be looking for on my Bluestar regarding fit and finish? I can't find a thing to support these claims of its inferiority in that regard. Mine arrived without a scratch, everything lines up properly, nothing was out of place, no unreasonable gaps, all edges and joins are properly welded and smoothed, etc. The powder coating job is impeccable, the porcelainized cast iron grates (V1) are completely coated.

Someone made a comment about the CC having no gaps between grates and the sides. I haven't seen it, but all this metal is going to expand and contract under high heat so "gaps" cannot be seen as problems. My Bluestar has gaps exactly where I would expect them to be. The French cooktop has no gaps on its outer edges because the expansion occurs at the concentric rings.

My observation is that much of this Bluestar talk is historical. Reading many of the very lengthy debates about these two products I see some cherry-picked information and many claims against Bluestar that have been corrected with V1.

I watched the video of Trevor cleaning the CC burners. Two layers of drip pans to clean? Three bars to remove? It's not for me, thanks. I prefer the much simpler setup of the Bluestar.

I don't have heat bellowing out the sides of my ovens as others claim (doors updated for V1), I haven't managed to crack any igniters, a gallon of water boils in 10 minutes, etc, etc.

I am just trying to provide some objective data without having any financial incentive.

-Stooxie

Stooxie -
Thanks so much for all this information. As I eagerly await my sapphire blue 36" RNB Bluestar (delivery next Friday!) I constantly rethink my decision, only to have you calm my nerves. I can't wait!

Hi, Tina,

Thanks for the nice words on the backsplash.

The hood is directly on the drywall, not on top of the tiles. What you see is the contractors rather excellent tiling job making it look like it is in top of them. A good diamond wet saw goes through the tiles like butter.

The Bluestar hood is 54" wide for better capture. With the 1200 CFM blower the LOWEST setting is plenty for just about anything. The amount of noise at that level is also minimal which is nice. If I am wok cooking I turn it to about half way.

-Stooxie

Great looking range. Glad I'm not the only one out there saying good things about using a BS with a wok.

FWIW, on the backsplash, ours is behind the hood also. I have a piece of 1X lumber (forget if it's X4 or X6) cut down to work with the mounting holes for the hood without sticking out from behind it. Then the piece of lumber is screwed through the drywall into the studs. The hood is screwed to the 1X. The tile goes up to the edge of the wood mounting strip, and the strip makes the hood sit about 1/4" off the tile.

If you were building from scratch, you'd probably put blocking between the studs to do this.

Stooxie - the range looks fantastic. While I anxiously await my CC, I'm glad to hear the new V1 is a good looker as well as a good performer. When I was deciding between the BS and the CC, I finally came to the conclusion I could not make a bad choice. The showroom I visited that had a few new V1s did a poor job of displaying them, and they were not live. I loved the design of the burners and grates. A few things put me off, so I went with my gut.

I have a slightly different question about your backsplash. What tiles do you have either side of the range? They look like something I've had in my head. I'm wondering if you had them cut from larger field tiles.

Cheers,
Jon

stooxie: loved your post. we are 1.5 month owners of a new v1 30" rnb and i am loving our 'beast'. i've started baking in it (had to use up all the green tomatoes in our garden before the frost and made green-tomato bread (instead of zucchini) and have been doing a lot of roasting. last night made roasted ratatouille and yipped with joy when 2 sheet pans of veggies fit side by side on one rack. (my old 1953 oven barely fit one). the oven temp holds beautifully. i lined the 2 drip pans with alumninum foil and check last night...just a few crumbs...and i've been cooking on the burners pretty regularly. the wok sitting in the flame is beyond anyone's dreams. so much better than a wok ring.
love your blue ... i wanted that but husband didn't want to wait for it.
here's our wok experience (the kitchen/backsplash wasn't even in yet)

Hi Jon,

We used "Chairo vein cut" tiles which were already cut to 2"x18". They are a filled Travertine tile from the Tile shop which is a national chain. Filled is key for a backsplash!

We wanted a stone look but specifically didn't want the classic brick proportions (7x2.25). The nice long tiles were perfect and quicker to install.

The wife was a little concerned about their porosity but they sealed up just fine with tile sealant.

-Stooxie

Here is a link that might be useful: Travertine tile at the Tile Shop

I'm so envious of you!!!! I want a Blue Star oven and cooktop SO BAD!!! So glad you are happy with it, it is beautiful!!!

Stooxie, we, too, are waiting on an RNB48 and I appreciate your post so much. Congrats on your purchase and hope you enjoy it for many years to come!

Like sayde, my main hesitation-besides booming ovens-are the hot door temperatures. I am so hopeful to hear you find that the door heat issue seems to have been improved- there was a recent BS 36" (it may have been a 30") owner who posted her oven door was still screaming hot.

I started researching appliances & reading this board fall of 2009. Trevor's videos at eurostoves influenced us in our decision to go with an open burner design. Seeing a live bluestar sealed the deal for us. Of course Trevor now advocates the Capitol Culinarian, but as someone already said here, I think both the Bluestar and the Culinarian seem overall like excellent units. We love the more no-nonsense look and feel of the Bluestar to the more refined shiny Capitol, too.

We ultimately decided we would only purchase something we had seen/played with in person, so since we had nowhere locally to see the Capitol, for us we were between the Wolf all gas or the Bluestar & went with the BS.

For anyone else shopping for a range, I'll link to the videos. I found discussions of the sealed vs open burners (more even heat conducted through the pan on open burner and cooler pan handles); the oven (maintains very even temperatures & you can take the bottom out and bring it to the sink to scrape/soak,) and how to clean the burners (regular soapy water then turn them off to fully dry the cast iron) and how to adjust the flame and change an igniter (intimidating, but not so intimidating) most helpful.

I don't know the man/company, but in my opinion, Bluestar was stupid to lose their relationship with eurostoves. These videos made us choose a Bluestar.

http://cst.clickstreamtv.net/mpi/cst.html?account=eurostoves&clip=&flashVersion=9&playlist=Bluestar_Play_List&realVersion=&route=2&cstSessionID=531373&sessionID=M20091019136512C140C&server=&speedZone=300&wmpVersion=0&referenceID=&emailCampaignID=&recipientID=&fileID=

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestar videos

Hi Smokie,

I don't know how sensitive people are to this oven door issue but I just don't find it a problem. The hottest part of the exterior is right at the bottom between the oven door and the kick plate. I have three small kids, a dog and an au pair and so far no one has said (or barked) one word about hot oven doors.

The thing would never be approved to sell in residential kitchens if it was a danger. I would say the evens themselves are extremely efficient because they retain heat for many hours after being turned off.

This is the reason I started this thread. The retailers have got everyone second guessing themselves for purchasing a truly outstanding piece of equipment!

If you want to make yourself feel a lot better about everything Google "paradox of choice" and watch the video. Truer words are rarely spoken about the way we buy things these days.

About Bluestar and their relationship with Eurostoves, don't be too hard on Bluestar. The purchase of my range ended up being a rather complex story and I communicated quite a bit with the distributor that Eurostoves uses. Without airing any dirty laundry suffice it to say that the relationship seems to have gone south for a number of reasons to which the Internet is not going to be privy. I think that relationship was dissolved from both ends.

I was treated very well and professionally by Trevor and Karen, and I thank them both for their tremendous efforts. I am not nervous about Eurostoves not recommending the brand any more, although obviously it would be nice if they did. My range works great either way!

-Stooxie

Stooxie, I can't thank you enough for posting the information about the Blue Star. It has gone a long way to putting my mind at ease. I think I decided to get a Blue Star after going to see one live. When the CC came along I went through a long deliberation but ultimately came back to wanting the Blue Star.

After reading this forum and every thing I could get my hands on, I've come to the conclusion that most, if not nearly all of the "problems" that Blue Star has had have been the people, not the range. In the early days they had major service issues and these have gotten addressed bit by bit as they replaced people and put the White Glove process in place. Trevor was a major
help as an interface during the worst of these issues. But even lately it seems that there are fixes such as the oven calibration, that are right there inside the knob of the stove, but the processes and procedures are not always getting communicated to the service people and customers. I think things are getting better and better but there are still "opportunities for improvement."

I ordered a color sample on October 14. Just a painted panel. I have not received it yet. Annoying. I may not be able to order the range in time to have it for the holidays. I'm sure I'm going to love the range when I get it and I suspect I will have my share of hiccoughs and annoyances along the way.

stooxie,

your blue BS is making me tear up. It's beautiful.

Great detailed review! You saved me the trouble of posting a similar overview of our new 30" BlueStar V1 in Jet Black. The BlueStar reminds me very much of the old Garland I worked on when I was a line cook at a steak house many moons ago, and that is something no consumer range I have ever used has gotten even remotely close to evoking!

Like you, I do not agree with these claims of inferior fit and finish of the BlueStar product line. I think the cooktop portion is fantastic and I love the heft and weight of the cast iron grates which weigh close to 20 lbs each NOT including the grate for regular pots and pans that sit on top of the main bowl grates. You do need a few millimeters of space between grate panels for expansion on a stove, so what the non-owner/user may perceive as fit and finish issues is totally normal and absolutely necessary if you know anything about high heat cooking. Otherwise, you would need a screw driver or a crowbar to pry up a grate to get it off, which would be ridiculous!

Before I ordered mine, I was almost talked out of the purchase by many of the negative threads on this forum, but I suspected most of them as being hearsay or agenda driven. I am SO GLAD that I trusted my gut and went ahead with the purchase and after receiving the range, happily discovered first hand that what I suspected about those negative opinions were true... UNFOUNDED third party conjecture and speculation from NON owners, owners of VERY early production units or owners of other brands with an agenda. ;o)

Although I can't discount some of those horror stories about the lack of customer service, I do suspect many of them as being legitimate based on my personal experience with the BlueStar factory which was a pleasant 180 degrees opposed to those negative reports. They answered the phone on the first ring, connected me with warranty service, who's staff then expedited a few cosmetic issues in a timely and professional manner, going far beyond the level of service I normally expect from most companies.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase and would do it again in a heartbeat! Our stove is the envy of our circle of friends. Everyone is talking about it, especially those who have been invited over to dinner to taste the results.

There has been a lot of talk on here lately about the new Culinarian ranges...

I am sure that the Culinarian can cook a meal just as effectively as a BlueStar of similar size, but after looking over some of the photos of the range, I would still have bought my BlueStar instead. I prefer the star burner pattern over concentric rings, the impressively hefty cast iron cooktop with its Bowl Grate design for seamless Wok cooking, as well as the choice of colors for the oven door, knobs and kick panel. And lets not forget how it reminds this old chef of his days working the line on a Garland! ;o)

These new Culinarian fans are welcome to their opinions, but don't bash another brand you don't own and have likely never used in order to make whatever point you are trying to make about the differences. It does a disservice to potential buyers who are looking for FACTS, not misinformed opinions. ;o)

Goldengoose7...glad to hear you are as happy with your BS as I am with my CC. The BS is a great product. I wish you many tasty meals for years to come. Jon

You too RocketScience!

The bottom line for both camps is that we have a REAL TOOL to cook the perfect restaurant caliber meal! A tool should be a transparent ally that doesn't get in your way and does what you need it to do without complaint, and I feel that both the BS and the CC deliver that in spades! :o)

The service guy just left having replaced a minor. Flawless execution from both Bluestar and the local service shop. I will post in another thread.

-Stooxie

Thank you so much for this information. I am building a new home and deciding on the range seems to be my biggest decision. I had decided on BS till I joined this forum and had been convinced that the CC is superior.

Now What! A fun dilemma for a serious cook.

WHich broiler seems superior BS or CC and why?

Hi Sitelifer,

There are a lot of differences between these two units that cater to different styles and requirements. The best place to start is to ask yourself what you want from a range. I honestly don't believe there is a clear winner 100% of the time. If you want an internal rotisserie, your choice is obvious. If you want a french cook top, again, only one choice.

Neither of these ranges covers the same set of requirements so see if you can weed it down by that.

To answer your question, my understanding is that the broilers are different. The CC has better coverage while (I think) the BS broiler gets hotter. The BS broiler is hotter than Hades at high noon in August. They claim 1800 degrees and my infrared thermometer tops out at 1000 degrees which it hits instantly when pointed it at the broiler.

I browned a 12" fritatta a few weeks ago. Had the pan about 10 inches from the broiler and the coverage was great. I wanted to roast the tomatoes that I had resting on top and that happened very nicely. If you are toasting a baking pan full of croutons expect to have to rotate the pan.

I wanted high heat as opposed to maximum coverage. Coverage is something I can affect, the max temp is not. That's my personal preference.

-Stooxie

This may seem minor to some but was important to me -- I wanted the rolling rack in the oven but I did not want self clean. Nor did I want the rotisserie. On BS you get the rolling rack. On CC you have to go up to the self clean rotisserie model to get a rolling rack. Cannot get it on the manual. At least not when I ordered.

But the major factors for me were the star burners, easy clean-up, clever grate design for wok cooking and simmering, overall appearance, choice of colors and having a real simmer burner -- I like having the different BTU burners.

CC is superior? Hmmmm... Doubt you will find any BlueStar owner that would go along with that opinion. ;o)

I was a professional chef for many years and often worked with Garland equipment. I bought a BlueStar because it was the closest thing to a restaurant Garland cooker that I could find. What little info was available on the CC at the time of my purchase wasn't enough to change my plans, and now that the CC is out and all the specs and photos are known, I would still go with a BlueStar. I prefer the grate design BS uses for one thing. It just feels right, does what I want, when I want and doesn't get in my way when I am preparing a meal. Basically providing me with what any good tool should provide.

Haven't used the broiler in a CC, but the broiler element in my BlueStar has been excellent and I use it often. Have never had any problems with coverage or evenness in cooking a wide variety of dishes that call for broiling. Gets hot real fast and does a great job as far as I am concerned.

You can waffle over a choice forever, but at some point you just need to make a decision and stick with it.

The Culinarian's broiler actually cooks at a higher temp per the test done by Eurostoves. As a side note, the surface temp of the broiler is not a relevant yardstick of measure since you will not actually be cooking on the surface of the broiler element.

Here is a link that might be useful: CC vs BS Broiler

Ontherocks, so what's your experience been with both broilers?

I'd also like a bit more explanation on how the surface temperature doesn't matter. Broilers cook by radiant heat but surface temperate produces that radiation.

-Stooxie

The reason I stated that the surface temp is not relevant is because, as you stated, it is the radiant temp which does the actual cooking, not the surface of the broiler. I sited the link as an example of how a higher BTU from a broiler does not emit more radiant heat. 15kBTU yielded 483-degrees from the Culinarian versus the BS that puts out 18kBTU, but emits nearly 100 less degrees.

As for my experience. I unfortunately do not have room nor the finances to put numerous stoves in my house, but i have had the opportunity to visit Eurostoves a few times and have taken the equipment for a spin. While there, I did get to use the broiler in the Culinarian, Wolf and BlueStar. They all broiled well enough, however the consistency and "evenness" of the broil was easier to control in the CC.

"You can waffle over a choice forever, but at some point you just need to make a decision and stick with it." Well put golengoose.

We ordered the little(er) 36" version with six burners this week. At the last moment we added the cobalt blue to the order, originally written up as all stainless -- not even a factor in selecting the range, but the more pics of this I see, the more I'm psyched about the color.

The unfortunate thing about your picture is that my wife now thinks we should find similar tile for the wall behind the range -- I'd thought I was getting away with a sheet of stainless steel.

Ontherocks, the site you linked is a reseller that has strong financial pressure to promote the CC. The broil temps were just one of the stats that changed when they switched from flogging Bluestar to CC. They measured the BS broiler way hotter before they figured out some different way to measure that showed in favor of the new product. Numbers may not lie but benchmarks can always be tailored. We call them "micro benchmarks" in my industry.

I think you summarized it perfectly, actually! You tried them in person and the differences, while present and legitimate, don't have much to do with heat output.

I chose the smaller broiler that gets stinking hot because that offers me more possibilities than a broader one that will brown a big plate of toast but not do much for searing a steak.

-Stooxie

Here is a link that might be useful: For the curious

Djg1,

Tileshop.com ;)

In all honesty nothing cleans up quicker than a stainless steel backsplash. We decided to put our faith in grout sealer and went with the tile. So far so good! (crossing fingers)

-Stooxie