Oh, forgot to mention that although the 22k burners don't got down to a truly low simmer like the simmer burner, it does go quite low. For low temp cooking in a wide pan like crepes, omelets, or poaching, the 22k burners are perfect. I think what you need to look at more than the power is the heat distribution. The low setting on a stock 22k Bluestar burner produces low even heat on larger (12" or larger) pans. If you do a lot of wok cooking, you will love bluestar. One of the main reasons I wanted to junk our old viking was because it sucked at wok stir frying. All of the heat was distributed in a ring around the edge of the wok. To the point where after 5 years of use, my wok actually developed a ring around the edge where the uneven heat discolored the iron. I found myself constantly pushing food up to the edges to cook them. With the Bluestar working the wok is a dream. It's about as close as you can get to one of those 60k btu jet burners in restaurant kitchens and not burn down your house. I have the drop-in cooktop so I can't simply remove the grate ring like with the range but even with the included wok ring (I know.. I swore I'd never use a wok ring again but..) the heat concentration in the center of the wok is intense. I'm considering modifying one of the grates to lower and support the wok into the burner bowl and still provide some gap around the edge for air to flow. Rest assured the burners have the greatest overlap of functionality I've ever seen. All of the burners can provide even heat any of the pots and pans (except for a few of the smallest 6" or less) and they all cover the mid to low range quite well. To be honest, I think the lowest setting on the Bluestar 22k provides evenly distributed heat that is lower than even the smallest burner on the old viking.

I actually owned the BS drop-in and it was great. It wasn't the easiest to clean but it also wasn't that bad. The only pain was having to remove all the grates *and* the knobs to lift the top. That said, I wouldn't have traded it for any sealed burner cooktop. I looked at the Capital and the power wok burner but the sealed powerwok suffers the same problem as every high powered sealed burner I've seen... it spreads the heat to widely. I demo'd both prior to buying the BS and the powerwok burner had all the heat going up the sides of the wok and the center wasn't getting much heat at all. I don't think they've redesigned that burner significantly so I wouldn't recommend it if you are really serious about wok cooking. If you get the BS, get an extra grate so you can modify it to accept a wok without the wok ring. Also, the grates on it are continuous, unless you have a different definition of that than I do. There are a couple of things with the BS to make it better: 1. get the extra grate and modify it. 2. ask if they will replace the rear center and rear left burner to simmer burners. They come with the 15k burner but it looks like they used the same 9.5k orifice they use on the simmer burner. If I recall correctly, this was due to fire certification because they didn't want to put a 1" back on it. 3. make sure you get the "white-glove" warranty extension. Not sure if they still offer that but you get an extra year and a BS tech out to check things out. 4. open up the top first thing and put foil under the burner bowls. I used foil to form little catch cups that I put into the support riser to the burners. Bits of food and liquid that fall down the center hole of the burner will fall into this area that is almost impossible to clean without slicing your hands. The catch cup prevents the need to get your fingers way down there. You'll know what I mean once you get in there. IMHO, there's nothing else on the market today that can even come close to the BS if you are looking for a drop-in cooktop. As a consumer, I'd love to see another player enter the market here... hint.. hint.. BTW, the comment about loosing drawer space is because the open burner design of the BS make it vertically thicker/deeper. The BS extends about 2-3 inches lower below the counter top than average sealed burner cooktops. Good luck with your decision.

I'll second what cooksnews said, but add a couple of additional comments. First, it seems to me that you've pretty much answered your own question. Second, the supposed difficulty of cleaning a sealed-burner stove is, it seems to me, a function of the cooktop surface and the depth of the burner wells. My old GE dual fuel, with its shallow burner wells and burner plates required a lot of attention and frequent applications of Barkeeper's Friend. My new pro-style NXR with its stainless cooktop surface and deep burner wells is much easier. Pull the burner grates, spritz with windex and wipe with a microfiber cloth. As for whether you would be "happier" with a 15k to 17k burner configuration than with the 22K-plus open burner Blue-Stars, ARs, or CCs, who knows? There are a really wide variety of reasons why some folks are passionate about high-powered open burners. Some want to use round bottomed woks and get closer to the "true taste of the wok" or something they feel is reminiscent of street-vendor pad-thai. Some feel that, without an open pro-style burner, they cannot get sufficient low temp burner evenness to make the exquisite sauces they make. Some of them need or want to be able to blast three or four shrimp in tiny pans heated to very high temps. Some of them feel their cooking style really benefits from the higher btu-hr power. Some are like car junkies for whom there can never be enough horsepower. Some of them need the high hp or btu to supprot elitist snobbery and feel superior to us peasants who tastes and skills are far less refined than their own. Some just like the look better. Some people will have a mix of some or all of the above reasons. Personally, for my cooking, I have absolutely no regrets or problems with having sealed 15K-btu-hr burners for what I cook. My NXR burners will heat my cast iron pans hot enough to burn off the seasoning if I choose to do that, although I could also do that with the 12K btu-hr burners on the old GE. Personally, I don't feel that a steak has to be seared at temps sufficient to melt lead. I have not owned a round-bottomed wok for a decade and do not feel bad because I do not have one. The NXR's low heat settings, like those on cooksnews' DCS, are plenty low enough for me to melt and hold chocolate in a small pan for hours. There is one difference I have observed between my stove and cooksnews' DCS. For high heat applications, the burners on my stove work better with pans larger than eight-inches in diameter. For example, boiling six quarts of pasta water will take me 22 minutes. Doing this with a 10-inch-diameter pot will bring the time down to less than 15 minutes. In a 13-inch diameter kettle, it takes less than 14 minutes. That said, I have no problem searing steaks or sauteing in 10 and 12 inch fry pans. For me, making blackened fish or chicken does not require more heat than I have available. Also, I certainly can and do use small pans. Boiling water for morning oatmeal takes 3 minutes in a 5-inch sauce pan. I can melt and hold chocolate for hours in that small pan, too. Frankly, I find cookware construction makes a bigger difference to evenness than the burner design for what and how I cook. Now, if I had one of the open burner stoves, maybe I could boil that pasta water in 12 minutes instead of 14 but that is not a big deal for me. But, again, whether you will be happy with a "lesser" stove is such a subjective judgment that, except for bragging rights, it will be hard to say how "happy" you will be.

the "burner" consists of a few parts, most of which cannot "break". the burner itself is just a big hunk of round metal with holes in it. not possible to break. diagnostics--are you getting gas flow to the burner? to find out, turn the knob on and try lighting the burner with a stick lighter or a match. if it lights, your burner is fine, but your igniter is broken. also--when you turn the knob, does the igniter click? if yes, do you see a spark? the BS burner apparatus are among the most simple things money can buy. gas flows in, the igniter sparks, the gas burns. you can find more info in the appliances forum, where the BS igniter issues have been discussed at length.