I've had a cooktop and now have Wolf rangetop. As mentioned, the knobs on a cooktop take up cooker surface space. AND the knobs require constant cleaning because they're always collecting spatters and dust. Vs the rangetop where the knobs are on the front of the appliance & w/ the Wolf, tucked in under a ledge (don't know about the BS). We've been using the Wolf for several months and I've yet to clean the knobs! The Big Factor that pushed me to a rangetop was Cooker Surface Real Estate. I'm a stovetop cook primarily, have a garden and do some canning. With the rangetop, I can fit two large canners, front to back. Have a 36'' 4 burner rangetop w/ center griddle so, theoretically, I could fit a large pressure cooker or water bath canner on every burner. So far, I've had only two going at one time with the other burners occupied (lids on one and large stockpot of pasta sauce or tomatoes on the other.) I've not had any regrets yet about chosing the griddle over a 6 burner cooker. Griddle, when not in use, makes a good landing spot for utensils, etc. A drop in cooktop has a more streamlined look and the countertop is continuous unlike a rangetop that slides in and you have the space between the appliance & counter that can be difficult to keep clean. I've not had much problem with that...counters are temporary. When I get real counters, I'll look into those little bridge strips that fit into the seam to prevent crud getting trapped between. If you're just a casual cook, probably none of this matters but, since you're looking at hard core appliances like BS, I'm assuming that you're a pretty serious about cooking.

What is a "local safety officer"? What do you mean "a bunch of back and forth" with your "local safety officer and Wolf"? What prompted you to use your CO meter to test the levels? They are employed by our BC safety Authority who are the regulators for all regulated work, gas and electrical and such. As a licensed gas fitter I hold my ticket through them and they are the final say when it comes to appliance safety. Permits and approvals for equipment go through them. I chatted at length with him about the stove and he did agree we can’t do anything because it meets ANSI standards being below 800ppm, but he did say he wouldn’t have it in his house. His advice to me was if Wolf won’t do anything to then adjust the burner input by under firing the appliance to bring the CO back inline. I went to Wolf with this information and they said ‘based on your requirements I don’t think Wolf products will be right for you, would you consider a buy back’. Checking CO is very common here in Canada especially when commissioning an appliance. I didn’t mention the CO alarm going off because it never went off, however it did show peak levels in the 15-19ppm range after cooking for a short period of time. Enough to make me concerned with a pregnant wife and 2 yr old. This is what will happen if you in a room where the CO levels are 800 ppm. The ANSI standards are referring to the CO levels in the air coming out of the range vent. 800 ppm air coming out of the vent does not translate to a room concentration of 800 ppm. Especially if you have your ventilation on. Now, if you were getting 250-300 ppm where the cook was standing, that indicates a concentration of way more than 800 ppm out of the vent, and thus a violation of ANSI standards. Either way, those readings were way too high and Wolf's response was poor. Yes, I agree, somewhat. The stove should never be operating at the ANSI levels, your house would build up to a dangerous level of CO over time ie. When cooking a turkey for hours. Our utility will actually shut down any gas range over 540ppm during normal operation. Also they shutdown any other appliance if its over 250ppm while operating. I agree we need ANSI standards but as new homes get built tighter and with less makeup air having a cooking appliance pumping 800ppm at the vent/flue is insane. Consider this regulation was put in place in 1926, buildings have changed considerably since then. So, what happened when you tried adjusting it? Was 250-300 ppm the lowest it would go? That would surprise me, I have adjusted several gas ranges and have usually been able to get them down to 30-40 ppm from as high as 500 ppm. I knew this question would pop up, but yes I went through the full range of what is reasonable on a brand new appliance. Below is what I went through, to try and reduce the CO: Tested inlet pressure, adjusted within 1”wc of manifold pressure. ‘Wolf recommends having inlet pressure within 1” for proper operation’ – no change Checked flip top regulator and it was set to natural gas Checked manifold pressure on stove it was at 5”wc Verified orifice was correct as per spec sheet supplied by Wolf Adjusted air shutter, no change was actually higher and this was the lowest I was able to get the stove to run at CO tests were done after 10-15 minutes of operation and the burners were warm Clocked meter to verify burner input is correct Verified no blockage in burner tube Verified all secondary air ports were free and clear House is still very drafty, so not a lack of air within the house The only thing I never did was under fire it, as I didn't want to go down that road on a brand new piece of equipment. Wolf blew me away with their service and willingness to make a customer happy. From a cooking standpoint however, it will be Bluestar for us.

We have had the 36" Blue Star range (model RCS36SB) for about 5 years and would not recommend it. The knobs get very warm and we have had problems with the convection fan as well as ignition (gas would build up in the oven while it failed to ignite), both problems required multiple service visits The latest problem, the oven knob broke off and Bluestar said they no longer manufacture the part. Bluestar said they changed from a mechanical thermostat to an electronic thermostat and the ”upgrade” would cost $350 to purchase, not including installation (total cost estimated at least $500). I assume they redeigned the oven knob/thermostat because they had so many problems with the knob, convection and ignition. Even though it was under warranty and the knob broke due to faulty design, the service manager refused to provide a replacement part. I guess you can expect problems to occur with any appliance, but I do not expect them to provide such poor service, especially when they know it broke due to their own design flaw. It takes them days to follow up on service questions. Best to stay away from Blue Star.

They should at most get uncomfortable hot, not burn instantly hot. Might actually be a good learning tool to get them to pay attention near cooking appliances!