I love my griddle on my 36" bluestar. However, I noticed that the temp would not go over about 375 degrees, so I called BS for service. They told me they redesigned the griddle plate to include a heat shield between the flame and the thermostat tube recently and are sending me a new griddle plate that includes this modification. They are so good about sending new parts while under warranty whenever something is upgraded. Now I've got to re-season the griddle though. No, it's not pretty, but it is so easy to clean if you don't expect it to look like new. I just scrape it after use. Takes about 30 seconds. You can't do this with a griddle plate over burners because you can't really lean into it to scrape it without it moving. The built in griddle stays put, and also has a drain hole for grease. I like it. Not sure what I'd do with 6 burners.

Wow, cooper--that's really a testimonial to that microhood. Amazing. That's really great. We started out getting a microhood (actually a convection microhood) but then the convection part was so pathetic I ended up returning it and having to fight for my money back...I decided we'd just have the microwave somewhere else and got a hood instead (it cost about the same, actually). Unfortunately, since we'd planned the microhood originally I had only 30" for the hood, and I can really see now why they recommend 6" over the width of the range for the hood. Oh well. I bought up (the 650) because I hated our range (we were keeping it at the time) and I was dreaming of the day we'd replace it with a decent one -- gosh, one of this girl's dreams has finally come true--backwards, sideways, and 4 years late, but hey...

[Information first compiled, written, and posted in the Appliances Forum by Colin (GW Member Page: cpovey) on 1-9 June, 2004. Many thanks, Colin!] ****************************** A Short FAQ on commercial ranges in homes (residential kitchens): One of the biggest trends in appliances is the "professional" look, meaning appliances made out of stainless steel. This trend was largely the result of Viking Corporation making the first "pro-style" ranges, meaning a range that looks like a commercial range but is designed for home installation. Some people, including myself, have thought of going all out, and installing true "commercial" ranges in our homes, because they are less expensive and produce more heat than the "pro-style" range. However, there are issues with installing "commercial" ranges in homes. This FAQ will attempt to answer these issues. To keep confusion to a minimum, I will refer to "commercial" ranges as the ones made for use in restaurants, and will refer to ranges made for home use as "pro-style". True commercial ranges are made by companies like Garland, Vulcan, Wolf, DCS, Comstock-Castle, Royal, Montague, American Range, US Range, Jade, Imperial, Quest metal works, Southbend, Blodgett, and the like, while the "pro-style" ranges are the ones made for home use, by Viking, Wolf, Blue Star, DCS, Capital, Dacor, Heartland, Jade, GE Monogram, Thermador, Imperial, etc. Yes, some companies make both. -------------------- Here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of these units in general. Pros of commercial ranges: Less costly than home ranges. Higher output burners (generally 25k BTUs on restaurant grade, while the "heavy duty" models come in around 35k BTUs). Ovens usually hold full sheet pans (see note 1). Very durable. Generally no electronic gimmicks to break. Cons of commercial ranges: Insurance and warranty issues: With many brands, the warranty is void in residential installations. Here is a quote from one manufacturer: "The use or installation of our products in Non-commercial Applications renders all warranties, express or implied, null and void." (the quote continues in this vein for nine additional paragraphs). Insurance issues: you may have problems with homeowners insurance, though probably not, if the range is installed exactly per specifications. Whatever you do, if the insurance company asks if you have commercial equipment installed, do NOT lie to them. Lying to them creates a "Material Misrepresentation" which will void your insurance and they can refuse ANY claim you make. Installation and service issues: In homes with natural gas, the gas supply line is generally insufficient in size for a commercial range. Having too small a gas supply line seems to void the warranty of every unit I looked at. Generally require 6 inch or more clearance from combustible surfaces, with some ranges requiring up to 12 inch clearance. This generally means lining cabinets, walls, backsplash, etc. with tile, which lowers the savings. It also means gaps between the range and the adjoining cabinets. Less insulation around the ovens, which may cause problems in a home, especially with small children. You may have problems getting service (some commercial service companies do not carry liability insurance covering their service personnel in homes). Most are more than 24 inches deep, meaning they stick out from regular cabinets. Since most are deeper than 24 inches, custom hoods are generally required, again reducing the savings. And with the heat these things can produce, you need a good hood. And commercial hoods tend to be noisy compared to residential hoods, and often require makeup air, reducing the savings still more. Most require multiple pilot lights (generally one per burner and one per oven) consuming a lot of fuel, and eliminating over a few years the rest of the up-front savings. A typical 36" commercial range has seven pilot lights running all the time, wasting a lot of gas and producing a lot of heat. A 48" range with double ovens has ten pilot lights! Cooking and other issues: They generally don't simmer home size amounts well (i.e. they make too much heat) without a separate "flame tamer". Pros generally make larger quantities of stuff than people do at home, so the larger "simmer setting" is not a problem. No broilers in commercial ranges. Pros use a device called a "salamander" which is a broiler that is mounted at eye level, generally above the range. The advantage of this is that the cook can watch the food while doing other things, and it frees up the oven. Note that cooking things like steaks, hamburgers, etc. is NEVER (in my professional experience) done in a salamander or broiler in a commercial kitchen. They don't get hot enough, and they don't put grill marks on the food. That's what the grill is for. Salamanders are sometimes called "cheese melters", which is more descriptive of their common function. No option for built-in grill or griddle on most units. Not the easiest to clean - Pro kitchens have a dishwashing crew of very hard working people who get paid to clean things, most homes don't. Not the prettiest to look at. Most do not have stainless sides. Since they are usually deeper than most cabinets, this may not look good. Few, if any, are available as "dual fuel" models, most are all gas or all electric. No self cleaning units. Pros of good quality "pro-style" residential ranges: Elimination of all the problems mentioned above. This means they have sufficient insulation for zero clearance installations, they simmer home sized amounts well, have no insurance issues, contain broilers, often have options for grills or griddles, many come in dual-fuel or gas ovens, many have self-cleaning ovens, are never deeper than 27 inches, etc. In other words, they are designed and engineered for residential use. Most have no pilot lights, resulting in lower operating costs, lower energy wastage, less pollution, and lower electric bills when running AC. Note that in a loss of power, most if not all will allow the burners to operate by using a match or lighter to light the burners, but may not allow the use of the oven. Some brands available in multiple colors, instead of just stainless steel. Cons of good quality "pro-style" residential ranges: More expensive than commercial ranges. Not as much heat as commercial ranges. Most "pro-style" home units run around 12-15k BTUs, with some going up to 18-20k BTUs. This is sufficient for most people at home. Note that the "normal" home gas ranges typically top out at 9-12k BTU burners. Ovens may not hold full-size sheet pans (though some will - check this carefully before purchase) (see note 1). Some have electronic widgets (timers, etc.) that can fail, causing repair problems down the road as the required electronic parts are discontinued because of changing technology. Notes: 1 - A full-sized sheet pan has interior dimensions of 18 by 26 inches. A full-sized layer cake with two layers will feed 80-90 people. Half-sheet pans (also called jelly roll pans) are 13 by 18 inches, and a two layer half-sheet cake will feed 40-45 people. The reason that these pan sizes are important is that many recipes are sized to fit these pans. -------------------- How to get more heat: A partial "work-around" to get more heat for less money is to get a commercial (i.e. Garland, U.S. Range, Vulcan, etc.) cooktop and residential ovens. Many of the problems with commercial equipment in a home are related to the ovens, not the cooktops. Buying a used one avoids the warranty problems. However, the too-hot simmer, the gas supply issues, and potential service problems still exist. Another and probably better option is to install a residential wok burner (DCS, Thermador, Viking and others make these) or a heavy duty induction burner (CookTek and others) along with a residential range. Both of these options provide roughly 30k BTUs, in an easily installed appliance. These units are also not that expensive. -------------------- With permission, I have also included here a posting from another site (an online newsgroup). This article is from Adam Finkelstein, a dedicated and resourceful person who has installed a "commercial" range in his home. I edited it some, for reasons of length, but I tried to keep all the essential elements intact. "I currently own and use a Comstock Castle Six burner 36" restaurant range in my remodeled kitchen. I opted for the commercial for financial and practical reasons. Since I cook seriously and use tools functionally, after researching commercial ranges and using them in friends' restaurants, I arranged to have a Castle stove made and order it through a restaurant supply house as per Castle's recommendation. I had them modify a front burner to run at 45K BTU for Wok cooking. The stove arrived and we had it installed per code with all clearances etc. I had the stove approved for use before I purchased it. However, I'm still having a problem with the final building inspection since the stove is not a "residential" stove--pure bull, but a hassle nonetheless. My GC is going to iron this out eventually. These stoves are HOT. No messing around. I can have a saucepan (1 quart) of water boiling in ~60 seconds. I can make Asian food almost as if I was using a wok jet. Cooking is much faster and more precise. But, there is no room for error. If I neglect anything for a few seconds, stuff is overdone. I have had to adjust all my recipes to compensate for the change in actual cooking time/done-ness. Points to Consider: I have burned myself several times getting used to this stove. Heat radiates up and around the utensil and reaching across to adjust food, one can get seared/scorched. Any utensils that have plastic or composite handles will not last very long on a commercial stove and you will need to use pot-holders or dish towels to manipulate utensils. The stove makes lots of amazingly rich smoke. If you want one of these stoves, you'll need a real hood. Mine is 42 inches and has a 600 CFM internal fan. My 600 CFM hood/fan removes 75% of the most nasty greasy smoke from searing meat or serious Wok use. I was hoping for 100%, but I had to compromise (because of the maximum size ducting I could install). You'll need either a natural gas line or propane--propane burns less hot than NG but is still okay--what I have. You'll also have to wrangle with the company to have a 120 Gallon (400 lb) tank installed. We go through an 80 gallon load in two months: 40 gallons a month. This has been fairly steady, more in the Winter when we bake more. The line needs to be to code with shut-offs and disconnects. Not a huge deal but more details to manage in a remodel. Lastly, after being approved by house insurance and the local building code, you'll possibly run into some cretin-like inspector who will arbitrarily decide that your stove isn't allowed. But, if you have installed to code and specs you should be able to work this one out. I wouldn't want anything else after using this stove. Someone else posted awhile back that after owning and driving a high-performance sports car, why drive a sedan: this is true. If you want to save money and cook like you work in a restaurant (weird desires huh) get a commercial stove. If you have any doubt about high heat, necessity for serious ventilation, detailed gas line installation, and potential skirmishes from building code enforcers, do not consider a commercial stove. If you can deal with those factors and you want to use an amazing tool to make excellent food, then by all means, install a restaurant stove." Notes From Colin Povey (FAQ author) on the commercial range installation by Adam Finkelstein: Like most commercial ranges, this range is deeper than "pro-style" or normal ranges that are 24 to 27 inches deep. This range (per the web site) is 30.5 inches deep. Coupled with the offset requirement, the front of the range must sit 32.5 inches from the wall. Standard base cabinets are 24 inches deep. One way of looking at it is that this commercial range is 8.5 inches deeper than most cabinets, the width of a standard piece of (US) letter or legal paper, or approximately the width of a piece of A4 paper. The range sits on 6 inch tall aluminum legs or optional casters, with no front "toe kick" cover. Toe kick covers are not allowed on commercial equipment, because they make it hard to clean behind. You can get this range with griddles or grills. However, it would seem that the grill (charbroiler) is very hard to install in a home, since the literature says that: "Charbroilers are approved for use in non-combustible locations only." This means all surfaces around the grill must be non-combustible, meaning you cannot have wall cabinets real near this range, and you must have a non-combustible backsplash. The literature on the range also says that "All controls are tested and confirmed in good working order. Calibration and adjustments are the responsibility of the installer." -------------------- I hope this FAQ helps with your decision on getting a "pro-style" or "commercial" range. Colin Povey Clearwater, FL, USA With many thanks to Adam Finkelstein ****************************** [added to Appliances FAQ: 11 June 2004] [last edited: 28 June 2004]

Part 2 griddles. With a built in griddle, most people will pick the burners and then you get whatever the griddle is, but if you pick the griddle first, here are some considerations I posted recently. It compares Wolf and BS but also add on griddles. There is more to it than a thermostatic control. Look below at how these two griddles are heated. While these two griddles are made of steel, built ins can be made of many different materials. This is a really good site with great info on cookware. It is important to understand what the heat transfer properties are because a griddle is a big space. https://www.centurylife.org/a-no-nonsense-guide-to-cookware-materials/ Aluminum has better heat transfer properties than steel. Some griddles have electric elements. Some have a chromium "infused" surface that is supposed to be depending on the manufacturer like nonstick or at least easy to clean. I have seen lots of complaints about that. Do not buy a built in with a nonstick coating because we know what happens to that. Looking at a built in make sure it is truly thermostatically controlled if that is what you want. Sometimes you can find this info in the use and care manual but you might have to call the manufacturer to get this info but ask -what material the griddle is made of and how thick -any surface treatments and how to clean -size-usable sq inches -the source of heat -is the griddle truly built in or an overlay ------ -There are several differences in Wolf and BS griddles but both are thermostatically controlled. The Wolf on their website is either 1/2” or 3/4” rolled steel depending on where you look. The BS has been reported on this forum to be 3/16” or 3/8”. Both can be seasoned like cast iron. BS also has their own add on griddle available but it is porcelainized cast iron which cannot be seasoned and they recommend taking oven cleaner to it when it gets cruddy. The thicker plate takes longer to heat up and adjust if you need to but has the potential for heating a little more evenly. The other difference is that Wolf has an infrared burner that heats over the entire surface. This is the burner with BS Even with the thicker plate and infrared burner, Wolf warns the griddle is hotter towards the back. You can also consider an overlay griddle. Some people like a built in because it is more stable and with the thermostatic control, it is more consistent in that If you set it for a certain temperature, you will get that every time and continuously as you cook, but there are advantages to an overlay too. Your burners can be always there to use. You can take the griddle off to clean or put away. This may be an important benefit for a 30-36" rangetop. You can use different metals for different purposes. Aluminum conducts heat really well so it heats evenly. You can buy an overlay that is coated to be nonstick or uncoated. The uncoated one can season but not as quickly as the steel. They are pretty inexpensive. http://royalindustriesinc.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_22_48 These are steel add ons which season like the Wolf and BS and hold a lot of heat, but can hot spot or create zones of more and less heat which some people like. http://www.dvorsons.com/ChefKing/Griddles.htm This is is more of a fitted add on. http://www.dvorsons.com/ChefKing/Broilers.htm Consider how much space you need. A built in is typically about 11x22 so 242 sq. Inches. My aluminum add on is 15x23” so about 345 sq. inches. Some add ons cover 4 burners. An an add on allows you to have a lot more heat if you need it. You can have up to 2x 22-25K burners or 2x15K, compared to 15K total for a built in. There was one poster here that stir fried on his griddle. There are lots of choices but no one universal best. I have an overlay over two burners and I don't have any trouble adjusting the heat. It is just like adjusting a pan. I know what the heat will be by looking at the flame. I love my aluminum griddle for grilled sandwiches. Because of its large size it can hold a lot and everything cooks pretty evenly. You can get a nonstick griddle as an add on for eggs or pancakes because when they go bad, they are inexpensive. Other people find the thermostatic control to be the most important feature.