48" with 24" Griddle Rangetop Questions - Bluestar vs Wolf
Shaun and Tanya
8 years ago
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Russ Barnard
8 years agoShaun and Tanya
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Wolf 48' single or double griddle & paneled fridge questions
Comments (14)SZ is very old technology compared to the Jenn-air and apparently even the Kitchen-aids. The Jenn-air since 2005 or possibly before, uses the variable speed compressor. Apparently the Kitchen Aids, as well as most of the other Whirpool Fridges use that too, (according to a poster here). The poster even put up the operation of how the Variable compressor works--Hopefully you can find that post. Liebheer also uses that variable speed compressor. "To me", comparing the technologies of the SZ with a fridge that has the VSC (variable speed compressor)is like compairing one of my Dodges (1959 or 1964) to the latest cars built. Yep the Dodges are a blast to drive, but for efficiency, safety and state of the art----as much as I hate to admit it---(The Dodges lack a bit). As far as I know, and Antss can correct me if I'm wrong, SZ does not use the VSC's. An old style compressor is like a light that can only be turned on/off (no in between or dimming) so the compressors are either all the way on or all the way off, and at least according to a post here, the compressors run quite a bit of the time and according to SZ's Operation Manual, "humming" is normal whilst they run. Not that you would need it, but I believe the Jenn-air Specs that the temp will hold within half a degree. No way the SZ can do this as it "Purposely" has to run until it is a bit colder than "set temp"--otherwise it would shut off and then start right back up again, where as the Jennair will at first increase the speed of the fan, if it still calls for more cold, it starts up the compressor (if it's off---or speeds up the compressor if it is already going (Isnt this just a bit more modern than just straight on/off (and maybe between the 2 compressors, --not that much off?) I've had the JA 48" built in for 5 years now. It is NOT flimsy inside, nothing has ever broken, bent or whatever. The lighting is great, and we like the digital controls and readouts that allow for 3 different temps in different areas of the fridge (Chrisper, meat keeper and main fridge). You can not tell (or at least I can't) when the fridge is running, and No, i'm not deaf---I have no problem hearing the Elux wine fridge run. Not all buyers look for the same thing in buying a house, I have read enough on Garden Webb, Consumer Reports, Epinions, Actual user reviews, etc etc that if I saw a house with all SZ and Wolf Appliances---I would tell the Realtor, "Next House Please". Good luck with your pending choices! Gary...See MoreBluestar Platinum 48 range or Wolf Dual Fuel 48 Range? Help!
Comments (49)We owned a 48” Thermidor for 14 years and regretted it for 12 of those years. We put at least $2,000 into replacement parts over that time. And yes the oven fans were very loud and near the end they would stop working and then my oven would stop working. I spent over two years researching ranges and reading hundreds of reviews. Finally we decided on the 48” RNB. We considered the Platinum but I had the same concerns as M concerning the heat coming from the back of the oven only and the constant fan blowing. Convection isn’t always the best for baked goods, bread, cakes, cookies etc. After reading some reviews on the pros and cons, I decided to go with the RNB. I have no regrets. The ovens are so quiet that I had to check to see if I turned them on. I was so used to hearing a loud fan that at first I thought something was wrong. Took a little getting used to the quiet. I love these ovens! My Christmas cookies all came out perfect; nicely browned outside and moist on the inside. Cheesecake, brownies, bread, and pizza have all baked beautifully. Meats and casseroles bake evenly and on time. My old Thermador has not baked evenly in a very long time and often stopped in the middle of baking. The RNB small oven does a wonderful job. Both ovens heat up quickly. My old small oven was useless. It took nearly an hour to heat up and twice as long to bake. I baked two 9 x 13 dishes at once in my small RNB on Christmas day and they were both finished at the same time. I could never do that in my Thermador. The ovens clean up easily, if you just take a few minutes to wipe up after a spill. I did want the higher burners of the Platinum but the oven made the difference. Also I did not need to move the griddle around. I would have like a grill to but we grill outside whenever we want so that isn’t an issue. The rolled steel griddle is like a restaurant and so much nicer than I expected. You can turn it on and leave it while you prep with no concerns. I went to a restaurant store and purchased a cleaning pad like they use in restaurants. Cleanup is easy. Something else I love is the removable steel trays underneath the burners and griddle. I just stick them in the dishwasher every couple of weeks and the look like new! I would never go back to a Thermador. I hope this helps....See MoreBluestar vs Wolf rangetop
Comments (11)@Rachel Lindy Brady BlueStar star burners are great for cast iron unless you mean a 16” pan. Cast iron doesn’t conduct heat as well so the star disperses the heat. There are other choices for an overlay griddle if you don’t like the aluminum. As I mentioned Chef King is steel and it comes in a 4 burner, 23x23” Or 2 burner. It is much heavier. The aluminum and steel are the same thickness.. https://www.dvorsons.com/ChefKing/Griddles.htm There are some brands that are a little more fitted so smaller. There have been people who have ordered the griddle in a customized position In the past on an RNB and the burners are customizable too. Call BlueStar directly to check how it works. @B Carey These are the materials that the various brands are made of. Wolf built in-rolled Steel BlueStar RNB built in- rolled steel, per Trevor Lawson who used to sell them and was well known on this forum. The cover is stainless steel. If this has changed, one of the benefits which is the ability to season is gone. I doubt that it has because the user manual gives instructions about how to season it to avoid rust. BlueStar Platinum which is an add on, cast iron This explains the advantages of the thermodynamics of aluminum vs cast iron or steel. http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/120/Common-Materials-of-Cookware Each person has to weigh benefits vs risk for themselves though and these are my thoughts. Usually the thing that gets you is something you never thought about. Most people are worried about aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. As far as safety, once it has seasoned a little, your food isn’t really in contact with the aluminum. This is also true of aluminum bakeware. You build up a layer of polymerized or carbonized oil that gets in the pores and surface of the metal like cast iron. I mix materials in my cookware/bakeware because you can find something that could be toxic about any of it except pyroceram. It is pretty inert but horrible cookware. Cast iron? New ones are made from recycled materials which can be old engine blocks. Some people think stainless leaches toxic metals out. Have you ever seen pitting in a stainless pan? Where did that metal go? Do you know how to hopefully avoid it? I try to buy cookware from the US or Europe and avoid it from China. I have a lot of vintage cookware. Aside from that I’m a nurse so very interested in the safety of cookware. I’ve read quite a few papers on this and they can show that Alzheimer’s patients have more aluminum in their brains but cannot show why. They are really looking at many other things. . This is from the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. People who have a high intake of Aluminum don’t have an increased incidence of Alzheimer’s. https://alzheimer.ca/en/Home/About-dementia/Alzheimer-s-disease/Risk-factors/Aluminum The Alzheimer’s Association is even more dismissive. https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers/myths There are known risk factors and some are modifiable. https://alzheimersprevention.org/alzheimers- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447 I look at these and try to control what I can with these....See MoreThermador Pro Grand, Wolf, or Bluestar 48 in all gas range?
Comments (34)@Lisa “I think that Bluestar can be out, I'm feeling that the BTU's are just overkill for my needs” There is more to it than the BTUs. Bluestar also has a 48” range with ring, capped burners and a sealed burner tray, the RCS. Most people buy BS for the star burners though and they have one in the 36” that is lower BTU than the RNB and it is the star burner but that doesn’t help you. There may be some other things on the RCS that would be benefits. You mentioned the griddle. One of the big problems with griddles is getting them evenly heated. There are two things you can do to help this. You can make the heat source over a greater area and/or you can make the griddle of a material that conducts heat well. Thermador has done both. They have a cast aluminum griddle which has very good heat transfer properties and the heat source, which is electric is wide. It is supposed to be nonstick though so durability might be an issue. Wolf used rolled steel which does not heat as evenly as the aluminum. They do try to provide a more even heat with an infrared burner. Wolf depending on where you read on the website has a 1/2 thick surface. VVVV This is BlueSta,s burner. The griddle is half as thick as the Wolf griddle. I would also consider an add on griddle. It leaves all of your burners open if need be. They are very inexpensive. This would be more of an issue with a 36”/6 burner. You can use whatever metal you want as the griddle. I know some who have aluminum, aluminum nonstick and rolled steel. You can have almost 50% more cooking area with a 2 burner add on than you do with a built in. Some people use these as a holding area or like a French top. This is the Royal Industries version and Chef King makes one about like it in rolled steel. I have picked this griddle up full of food and and put it in the oven. This is why the built in is smaller. The size is constrained by the burners next to it. The add on kinda steals a little space from the neighbors being 15” wide. You also have a lot more heat available because the BTUs for the builtin griddle are around 15K total and the Thermador is a little more. The heat for the add on can be whatever the heat of the two burners is combined. 30K + The built in does give you a way to consistently have the same temperature. When you turn it to 350°F, it heats to the same detergent each time. The add on griddle is like adjusting a really big pan. The aluminum add on adjusts very quickly. Wolf takes a little longer. As as far as simmer BTU ratings, BS does not disclose It. Wolf and Thermador are both very low but the Thermador does that by clicking on and off. Wolf has the dual stacked burners. As to these types of burners on prostyle ranges, they are wide. If you can find a place to see how they are with your pans that might be helpful. This is all of them together. The top two are capped burners. This gives you more flare on high heat. The Wolf is stacked so it seems like the flare is not as bad as some. The BS capped burner would have a little more flare but check it out in person. The bottom two are a triple ring burner by Capital and the BS Star. As you turn up the BS, the flame stays more within the footprint of the burner because the flame goes out from the sides of the star rays. The Thermador is more like a modified ring in that as you turn it up, it flares. The star has better heat dispersal if you use cast iron or steel which are poor conductors of heat. The capped burner can leave a cooler middle in the pan unless you are using heat conductive pans like heavy aluminum or heavy copper. The open burner tray just makes it easier or more difficult to clean depending on your perspective. Check the oven size. The BlueStar has enough room, that you can fit a full commercial sheet pan or 2 half sheets side by side. Check with Thermador, I don’t think the 30” oven on the 48” is big enough. Wolf is not that big. Check the broiler size. These are infrared and tend to be smaller....See MoreRuss Barnard
8 years agowekick
8 years agoShaun and Tanya
8 years agoE R
3 years ago
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