Hello again, and thank you all for following up. alexr, susan and mark: The broiler problem may actually be our fault. We had been placing our steaks too far, perhaps 4-5 inches from the broiler. Also, I can see if you need it to be that close, it is probably critical that the area of your food isn't larger than the broiler size, which would account for any uneven broiling. Another thing that throws me off is that we are supposed to keep the door closed when grilling--if the food is that close, don't you have to check it more frequently to make sure nothing chars? I haven't had a chance to test it, but will try to do so this weekend. I may be back Monday! alexr, I just went over some notes from a posting I made in February, and you told me how to adjust the burners to get a lower flame. I haven't been able to do that because I couldn't get the knob off and I was afraid I might damage it if I tried to pry it off. I just tried pulling off ALL the knobs and was successful with 2 so far. I will be more persistent with the rest. Susan, I read your post re your BS problems, and I feel bad for you, but at least you finally got them to admit there is a problem. My case, so far, is "user error" until I can determine I'm NOT doing something wrong. I think most of these issues didn't have to become issues if BlueStar invested in a technical writer to write a proper instruction manual! Does anybody know if there is any third party documentation? Not to beg the question, but does anyone have problems with uneven grilling in the 12 inch grill, or do yours work well?

This is an ancient thread. But it's the one that pops up when searching for Bluestar and counter top heights. So, let me add what I discovered. A standard counter top height is 36" from the floor. This is the default configuration that Bluestar assumes, and in this scenario, the stainless steel body of the range is going to be 11/16" higher than countertop (i.e. 36 11/16" from the floor). That provides extra protection from heat, which could otherwise damage the counter top or the cabinets. The cast iron grates are even higher than this. If needed, the legs on the range can be adjusted another 1" up. So, in case of an uneven floor or if the counter tops are installed at 37", that can be adjusted for. I am not sure how much the legs can be shortened. But if in doubt, there is no harm in having the body of the range even higher than 11/16" above the counter top height. In our kitchen, the counter tops are even higher than the maximum height that Bluestar anticipated. They are at a non-standard height of 38". Most dealers don't seem to realize this, but Bluestar does have a custom set of legs that can adjust between 37¼" and 39". Anybody who needs this should tell their dealer to order HIGHLEG-4. Alternatively, Bluestar customer support can also sell directly over the phone. That's what they ended up doing for us. This is a much cleaner solution than putting the range on a ply wood pedestal. That's the solution that is otherwise quoted online, and I never really liked that idea.

I have the RNB30, as there wasn't more space in our kitchen. I would kill for a 48", but that will have to wait until we remodel the kitchen, assuming that ever happens. I reconfigured the burners so that we have two 22kBTU and two 15kBTU burners. I find that I personally don't use simmer burners very often. I use a single 22kBTU burner about 50% of the time. Two 22kBTU burners 30% of the time. And three or all four burners the remaining 20% of the time. Every once in a while, I cook larger dinners, and I really would like to have more burners, though. I can leave a stew or a soup on the 22kBTU burner to simmer slowly, and I can even make things such as sauce hollandaise without setting up a double boiler. But the latter does require a little bit of skill. So, your personal preference might be different and maybe you'll really like the simmer burner. If I was fortunate enough to have a six burner range, I probably wouldn't have bothered about replacing the simmer burner, but as is, I am very happy with our configuration. We've had it for about five years now, and it replaced a Viking that came with the house -- what an unbelievable step up! The 22kBTU burners are awesome. Food cooked in the wok finally feels fried and not just steamed. It still doesn't get quite the same "burned" taste that restaurants manage, but I think that requires a lot more BTU than can be installed in a residential kitchen. Also, I have a couple of pots/pans that kind of require that I heat them up to full heat once, before I can start cooking (e.g. my rolled carbon steel skillet and my cast iron pots). With the 22kBTU that happens in no time and I don't even need to think about it anymore. I use the full size oven all the time. If I had two ovens, I probably would find good use for the smaller oven, but as is I have gotten used to needing a minimum 20min pre heat time; it just requires planning ahead.

Get Bar Keepers Friend powder. You will need it to clean the stainless backsplash because most of the ranges you will notice a brown/black heat stain behind the right rear burner. Dump a small pile on your counter and mix in some water to make a paste, than scrub away. I also use Astonish cleaner with similar success. I use oven cleaner inside. I found nothing else works to get it shiny new clean, especially the glass. I am not sure how soap and water would ever work? You will need to learn how to disassemble this thing. From separating the door to clean the inside of the glass and removing the entire top grate assembly. You will notice grease gets between the door and fouls up the glass. I find my range gets gunked up pretty quick. I spend at least several hours each month cleaning the range.