That's one of the big discussions on many threads here. The open burners are liked by those who appreciate being able to take things apart to thoroughly clean each piece, and spills and crumbs are allowed to fall through rather than sit on the surface right under the grate and burn on. The flame goes straight up, instead of out to the side, so some will argue that it's more efficient, and better on smaller pans,since the flame will come up underneath, rather than up the outsides. The BlueStar has very open (and star-shaped for efficiency) burners and Wolf offers both sealed and their version of the open burner, which is sometimes referred to as 'semi-sealed', or is it 'semi-open,' because there are tighter tolerances than on the BlueStar, so it's kind of in-between...Not everything can fall through and lands in a kind of a bowl right under the burner. With open burners, you can take components over to the sink for scrubbing and soaking. With sealed, you just scrub and wipe in place. I've read that they often stain or collect gunk right around the burner. Others love the sealed, don't want to take their cooktops apart, and say a bit of Barkeeper's Friend deals with anything that's baked on or trying to stain. This is just a quick synopsis of what I remember from the many discussions I've read. I have no experience myself with either one, but will soon. I wish I could try both for awhile to know which I really prefer, but that, of course, is not an option. You can go to the appliance forum page, go to the bottom and do a search for sealed or open burners and probably get links to many, many previous threads to read.

Yep, have to take into consideration the size of the pans, 2 large (12"+) pans and they'll need to be offset, can't be side to side or front to back inline. One of the reasons I like the 22k's so much are that the flame pattern is larger in diameter and covers the bottom of a pan better, any pan. I have them adjusted so that they'll all simmer quite well, the reason the 8k gets used so little is that it's pattern is quite small and I don't use REALLY small pans that often. My DW likes it better as she has her 'egg' pan which is about 6" across and she tends to get things a bit hot on the other burners. She too actually reads directions and figures the dials are accurate, so has some issue w/the big burners unless she really intends to burn something (hard sear). I tend to look at the dials as a guide and 'read' the flame, I know how hot I want something so make the flame wherever I need it regardless of what the dial says. After a while you should know how far to turn the dial to get what you need without looking. I did have a learning curve, I've been using mine about 18 months (36" RNB) and have a better handle on it now. As far as the dials getting warm, I've never had that issue. Now the space in front of the griddle when it's on a higher setting gets freakin' hot! I'm surprised no one has ever mentioned that, you only need to put your hand there once and you'll remember not to do it again :)

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.

A traditional wok burner is a jet aimed dead center in the bottom of the wok that created levels or heat with the most intense being in the center. Since the burner on the Bluestar is round, it creates a ring which you can clearly see in the photo as I was seasoning that wok. This ring which may not seem like a big deal is about the exact size of the amount of oil, ginger and garlic that most recipes start with. It is not a huge issue and it still works great once you get more food in the wok. The griddle is built in, it is one lone burner underneath and is temperature controlled. All the Bluestars can take the Interchangeable Griddle Charbroiler accessory There is some movement when I cook in the wok but not a ton. You can really move the food around easy since it is so large. I have the 36" so that picture is it in the front right, the center is the griddle and 2 more burners on the left. I do not think I use anywhere close to the 22k when I use the wok. Anything past medium and the flames are wrapping up the sides.