I'm getting a Bluestar range top. But, if I was in the market for a full range, I would be looking at the duel fuel Capital really hard. It has everything I require, big open burners, duel fuel and a rotisserie. What's not to love? I look forward to hearing feedback on it.

Please come back and review it. I don't think we have had any Connoisseurian reviews here. The idea of powerful open burners paired with an even electric oven in one unit is very appealing.

I too would be interested in how the Capital bakes. I would love to replace my Wolf DF but can't find any DF that I have confidence in.
" Posted by hvtech42
The idea of powerful open burners paired with an even electric oven in one unit is very appealing."
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This is the hard part.

In reading the manual, I have the following concerns.
This is repeated several times.
"IMPORTANT:
If the oven door is left open for a period of time while cooking or the temperature setting is increased by 150° or more, the oven will go into a rapid recovery mode. This is the same heating as PRE HEAT and uses intense heat from the BROIL, BAKE, and CONVECTION Elements as well as the Convection Fan to heat the oven quickly. This may cause foods to burn."

"Open the oven door only when required! Opening the door allows heat to escape and requires the oven to recover which
can affect cooking. Check food by using the oven light and viewing through the door glass whenever possible"
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I used to have an oven that worked that way and the problem was that if you opened the oven door frequently when baking cookies or batches of appetizers or you put something in the oven that was cold, the preheat could not come on to make up for the loss of heat like a regular oven. The temperature in the oven would drift down and the element would come on and off and heat just enough to keep the preheat from coming on and returning the oven to the right temperature. To get the preheat to come back on, you had to open the door and cool it by the 150 degrees. It was the same thing if you turned the oven up. It would take a long time to come up because the preheat would not come on. I suppose if you cook something without opening the door and the oven is well preheated, hopefully this would not be a problem.

Another consideration for me is that the convection does not have variable speed as some other electric ovens have. It is on and off. Bake convection mode often has a slower fan speed than roast.

The third thing is that the porcelain lining to the oven is only covered for at best 90 days or not at all depending on how you read the warranty. With my experience in porcelain, this is a little alarming.

I also think the marketing is odd.
What is the point of the Moist Roast or Moist Assist?
"MOIST Cooking- This feature reduces food drying during cooking resulting in some of the juiciest meals ever (primary oven only) Capital Exclusive"
"Moist Assist-Capital's latest innovation, combines the best of stable electric heat and the moisture of a convection oven."
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If you are cooking meat, the external moisture has nothing to do with how juicy the meat is, that is determined by the final temperature of the meat. Extra moisture in the oven would also inhibit browning. They seemed to have missed a major point of convection, which is the drying of the surface of whatever you are cooking so it can brown. If I baked a lot of bread, I would want steam injectors like KA has, Capital makes a point of saying the moist assist does not supply steam. It is optional so you don't have to use it but it makes wonder.

I agree with you about Moist Roast, I don't really understand it. It seems like it could be still be helpful for bread baking, even though it doesn't have steam injectors? I have the KA steam assist oven, and yes it works completely differently than Capital's system. There is no reservoir to fill, it is plumbed to a filter installed under my sink that needs to be changed every year or so. It has a boiler built in with its own electric element to generate the steam. It seems like Capital's setup just evaporates the water from the tray into the oven? KA has discontinued the steam assist oven now, maybe because it wasn't selling well or possibly because of reliability issues. The reviews of my oven I can find online are horrid, but mine has worked fine for almost 8 years now. Maybe I just got lucky?

I see your point about the preheat, but wouldn't it be bad for the food if it went back into preheat mode? My Electrolux induction range has icons on the display that indicate which elements are on at any particular time, and after I open the door I can see that it does not go back into preheat mode, it just keeps running the mode it's in and it seems to recover the temperature fine and bakes very evenly.

>I would love to replace my Wolf DF but can't find any DF that I have confidence in.

Have you considered replacing it with an AG range, especially since you already have an electric wall oven that you like? Since you like the Wolf sealed burner top of your dual fuel, but not the blue porcelain, it would seem the Wolf AG would be a logical choice. Less to go wrong too. Of course, I'm sure you're super enthusiastic about buying another Wolf product after your experience with them.

We just put a Connoisseurian in a second home and won't be there to use it for a few months.

There are work arounds for the pre heat and it isn't a concern for me. According to the manual the "PRE" icon will appear in the display when oven is preheating; will be curious to see how long the oven will have to be open before it drops 150F. It has a lot of mass and I can't think of many instances where I would have something cooking in the oven and the oven door would be open for more than a few minutes. My Wolf AG range takes several minutes to drop 150F when we're basting or moving around pans in the oven; the Capital may weigh even more and has a much tighter door seal and insulation.

I also found (and still do) the "moist feature" a mystery. The marketing aspects are even more baffling--a feature with no documented benefit? I put water occasionally in the oven when baking and roasting, usually because the recipes suggest it but can't vouch for any actual effect.

The benefits of the range outweighed these two issues for the types of cooking we do. Have always liked the Bluestar burners but some unique features of Capital drove the deal. Am looking forward to see how it performs.

I would run from an oven that goes into preheat mode to recover from the loss of heat from opening the door. The Monogram oven did that, and it was TERRIBLE for the results on baked goods.

I think it was the Wolf oven manual that warned it would take a bit for the oven to reach temperature again after something like the door being opened too long, because it would NOT resort to the faster preheat unless the oven was turned off and back on.

As it turned out, the Wolf lost less heat during door opening and recovered more quickly than any other ovens I've had. This made them the best for cooking things like several pizzas, that needed high heat, but meant opening the oven often, and I never had to worry about opening the door for a second. After awhile the glass tends to discolor and it's difficult to see a true picture through the door.

Anyway, I think you're wise to question that preheat-recovery, Wekick.

Hmm... that's interesting. It seems like designing an oven may not be so easy as it seems. Wekick had trouble with the oven losing temperature and not going into preheat mode, and rhome410 had trouble with a different one losing temperature, going into preheat mode, and ruining food. Opposite problems with equally bad consequences.

It's funny how you would think high end automatically means better, but my folks just proved that wrong with a recent upgrade. They got a Kenmore Elite made by Electrolux for around $2000, which is a lot of money, but when you compare it to what some of these brands cost it's a drop in the bucket. I tried it out myself and can confirm it performs exactly like the "name brand" Electrolux which I own myself - racks of cookies come out evenly, delicious pizzas with crispy homemade crusts and no overdone toppings... yum. No glide racks in the Kenmores sadly, but they use black porcelain in them so at least no Blue to worry about! It probably is no Wolf, but I wouldn't be surprised if it outperformed everything else at its price point.

Most Elux oven owners I've heard from, here or in 'real life,' since the 2009 electronics problems were remedied, seem just as happy with their ovens as I was with my Wolf. It does sound more and more like the best bet to me. Wish I'd given it a try along the way!

Am i missing something here?

1) Firstly if you leave your oven door open to long must expect to lose heat. 99 times out of 100 people open the door do what they need to do and close it before the temp drops significantly.

2) if you do leave the door open would you not want the oven to recover to your desired cooking temp as soon as possible?.

I just tested this function on our 48" dual fuel unit and it took over 5 mins for the feature of rapid reheat to kick in.

Can anyone think of a valid reason to leave an oven door open over 5 mins if you plan to use it again???????

I will say the message about the moisture feature is a tough one swallow, having said that how many people put a dish of water in the oven when baking bread or roasting meats? why do you do this ?...Many recipes suggest this to increase moisture within a cavity for various reasons. While I am not saying its going to make a huge difference it does introduce a form of moisture into the cavity, if it was not beneficial why would it be recommended by many recipe developers for certain foods.

I think we are missing a major point here from the OP...That being a Dual Fuel Capital open burner range costs less than the all gas BS Platinum which does not have.... Electric ovens, self cleaning ovens, rotisserie, 2 broilers, meat probes in each oven, Larger cavity oven, larger in oven broiler coverage, the small oven in the 48" range is far superior due to features, to mention just a few of the differences. And costs less than a Wolf DF with sealed burner range.

In my experience people buy dual fuel ranges or wall ovens looking for better results in the ovens or they want the self cleaning feature. On the other hand some people buy open burners for better results on the range top forgoing the perceived benefits in the oven department. Capital now has an option which meets both criteria in one unit. At a price that beats the major competition that been BS and Wolf.

As always just my opinion....along with some facts.

I never understood the appeal of a dual fuel range. I've had many all gas ranges, and had a few electric ovens. I think the idea that an electric oven is better than a gas oven is put forth by the manufacturers' marketing departments. The supposed superiority of an electric oven has been accepted as gospel via years of hard marketing and advertising. In 30 years of cooking and baking, I have never had an issue with a gas oven. I would never pay MORE for dual fuel, because you are also adding complexity which means there's more to break. That people would be happy to pay more for that is, to me, the proof of the saying "there's a sucker born every minute".

Am i missing something here?

1) Firstly if you leave your oven door open to long must expect to lose heat. 99 times out of 100 people open the door do what they need to do and close it before the temp drops significantly.

2) if you do leave the door open would you not want the oven to recover to your desired cooking temp as soon as possible?.

I just tested this function on our 48" dual fuel unit and it took over 5 mins for the feature of rapid reheat to kick in.

Can anyone think of a valid reason to leave an oven door open over 5 mins if you plan to use it again???????

I will say the message about the moisture feature is a tough one swallow, having said that how many people put a dish of water in the oven when baking bread or roasting meats? why do you do this ?...Many recipes suggest this to increase moisture within a cavity for various reasons. While I am not saying its going to make a huge difference it does introduce a form of moisture into the cavity, if it was not beneficial why would it be recommended by many recipe developers for certain foods.

I think we are missing a major point here from the OP...That being a Dual Fuel Capital open burner range costs less than the all gas BS Platinum which does not have.... Electric ovens, self cleaning ovens, rotisserie, 2 broilers, meat probes in each oven, Larger cavity oven, larger in oven broiler coverage, the small oven in the 48" range is far superior due to features, to mention just a few of the differences. And costs less than a Wolf DF with sealed burner range.

In my experience people buy dual fuel ranges or wall ovens looking for better results in the ovens or they want the self cleaning feature. On the other hand some people buy open burners for better results on the range top forgoing the perceived benefits in the oven department. Capital now has an option which meets both criteria in one unit. At a price that beats the major competition that been BS and Wolf.

As always just my opinion....along with some facts.

My experience is that gas ovens produce more moisture than electric. I thought electric ovens were vented as well. It is true that electric is a cleaner fuel in the kitchen.

Electric ovens too are vented, but not to the same degree as gas ones. It is true that the combustion process in gas ovens creates more moisture than electric resistance heat (hence the condensation you sometimes see after turning one on), but the greater ventilation throughout the baking process to support the combustion cancels that out.

"Posted by hvtech42
Have you considered replacing it with an AG range....
Of course, I'm sure you're super enthusiastic about buying another Wolf product after your experience with them."
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Yes but I am not giving them another nickel.

"Posted by Sahmmy
I never understood the appeal of a dual fuel range.... The supposed superiority of an electric oven has been accepted as gospel via years of hard marketing and advertising."
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I would agree that marketing often says "electric is better" but very few sales people know why this may or may not be.
hvtech42 mentioned some differences and aside from the difference in gas(dry) and electric(moist) heat, these are features some find appealing in some electric ovens.
-the performance of being able to direct the heat. It might be from the top for roasting but some ovens have many different modes
-the boost of the third element when the oven is full decreasing the amount of tending and turning and switching
-speed of fan(s) tailored to what you are cooking-lower speed and less drying for baking-higher speed and more browning for roasting
-more control of the humidity-easier to keep added humidity in the oven cavity for bread baking and some other baking
-less heat released in the kitchen
-wider range of temperature available, some measure in 1-5 F precise increments
- a more narrow range of temperature kept by the oven
-self clean(present in more electric ovens than gas)
-broiler might be wider and is often hotter than a regular gas broiler
Admittedly, it is a learning curve and these things may mean more to those who do a lot of baking.

benefits to gas ovens
-simple controls and less to go wrong
-dry heat good for roasting and the last half of baking for bread and cakes
-might have an infrared broiler which is narrower but might be hotter

"Posted by trevorlawson
1) Firstly if you leave your oven door open to long must expect to lose heat. "
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Typically you will lose 50F each time you open the oven. Even if you only lose 25F, for me it is the cumulative loss when using the oven opening the door every 5 minutes.

"2) if you do leave the door open would you not want the oven to recover to your desired cooking temp as soon as possible?."
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Yes you would. Most ovens do kick on a more gentle preheat, usually the bake element as soon as the temperature falls below about 25F below the set temperature. The preheat only has to stay on to bring the temp up to the upper limit of the thermostat which is about 25F above the set temp. If you are losing heat and you have to wait until it drops 150F or more before the preheat comes on and the preheat is more intense, it is a problem for me.

"I just tested this function on our 48" dual fuel unit and it took over 5 mins for the feature of rapid reheat to kick in.
Can anyone think of a valid reason to leave an oven door open over 5 mins if you plan to use it again???????"

Well I guess you will have to leave the door open for 5 minutes if you plan to bump the temperature up 50F, to meet the 150F threshold for the preheat to kick in. Either that or turn the temperature up by 150F and watch the temperature carefully and turn it back when it reaches the new setting. Again for me, it is not leaving the door open but the constant opening and closing I sometimes have to do. The oven can also cool off if you put something cold in the oven. Five minutes is a long time for the preheat not to come on with the door open. It takes even longer to come on when the door is closed most of the time but overall there is continuing loss of heat.

"I will say the message about the moisture feature is a tough one swallow, having said that how many people put a dish of water in the oven when baking bread or roasting meats? why do you do this ?...Many recipes suggest this to increase moisture within a cavity for various reasons. While I am not saying its going to make a huge difference it does introduce a form of moisture into the cavity, if it was not beneficial why would it be recommended by many recipe developers for certain foods."
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There are many things in cookbooks and even written by chefs that are not true. Adding moisture to prevent dryness in meat...
Food Lab's Myths
Steam is beneficial for some baking but Capital says this is not steam.
Maybe it might be a benefit in keeping food from drying out when keeping warm or reheating. That is the only thing I can think of that would benefit from a small increase in humidity. It's been marketed all wrong!

"I think we are missing a major point here from the OP...That being a Dual Fuel Capital open burner range costs less than the all gas BS Platinum which does not have.... Electric ovens, self cleaning ovens, rotisserie, 2 broilers, meat probes in each oven, Larger cavity oven, larger in oven broiler coverage, the small oven in the 48" range is far superior due to features, to mention just a few of the differences. And costs less than a Wolf DF with sealed burner range.
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It has a given set of features, but there are many differences in the way electric ovens work and I think it is very important that cooks understand what the ovens will and will not do. I'm sure this range would be great for some but others might be better with another choice. There are times when the cheapest option is not the best value. Aside from the blue chipping enamel,here are going to be people that want all the features in the oven of a Wolf DF range and are very happy with sealed, capped burners.

"In my experience people buy dual fuel ranges or wall ovens looking for better results in the ovens or they want the self cleaning feature. On the other hand some people buy open burners for better results on the range top forgoing the perceived benefits in the oven department. Capital now has an option which meets both criteria in one unit. At a price that beats the major competition that been BS and Wolf."
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"Perceived benefits?" "Better results" "beats the competition"
I look at that a little differently. I don't believe that the benefits of the choice of an electric oven are just "perceived".

It is a much more complicated choice than simply getting "open" burners and an electric oven. I think there are all kinds of benefits in cooking appliances that have to be balanced to get what is "better results" for you. You have listed entirely different types of appliances as competition. Hopefully people would look at more than a cursory list of features and the price. People have all kinds of priorities and what one person sees as a benefit others see as a drawback.
In the world of burners-
-sealed vs open vs semi sealed-everybody has opinion what is easier to clean
-capped vs uncapped -it is key to consider the pans you use
-BTUS low and high-again it is key to consider what you cook
-shape/configuration of the burner star vs ring vs multi ring vs dual stacked again consider size and type of cookware
-configuration of cooktop -depth and spacing of burners, burners all the same or different

oven
-gas vs electric
-simplicity vs being controlled by computer boards which may use a third element with the convection fan, direct the heat and make the fan speed variable. The big question is how it all works together
-broiler-narrow gas infrared vs wider electric
-self clean or not
-rotisserie
-size-How is the space usable? There are slightly more cubic feet in the CC oven but some might find the BS to be more usable in that it holds a full sheet. I don't think the CC does. It is key to look at the size of the racks rather than the cubic feet in the oven.

People have to give weight to each option to come to a good fit.

Other considerations would be level and availability of service.

I have to say I am a little leery of new features like the gas burner in the back of the Platinum until they get worked out too.