" Posted by bally70 The sealed burners only cook at the edges of normal sized pots. The flame is not evenly distributed. We're very displeased. Vendor is also not willing to exchange. Who thinks of these designs. The problem is pretty obvious when cooking. Can't the highly paid engineers figure this out. There's youtube videos on the problem as well." What is the diameter of what you consider to be a "normal" size pot? Is this on all heat settings? I have Wolf sealed burners and regularly use a 7 inch (diameter) saucepot. I make caramel on moderate heat which requires heat to be even as you don't stir. I have a couple of 1 qt pans that are smaller but if I need them for some reason, I use the smaller burner. Most likely any of the burners would be that way that are bigger than the regular residential burners. If you look at Bluestar and CC you can see that the burner heads are wider. The platforms are about 11-12 inches so you can see how much of the width they take up. Here is the culinarian with the flame on. You can see its size relative to the bigger pans and even the smaller saucepan. It comes with the territory sealed or unsealed. They have also added a "small pan" burner. It is pretty easy to replace a couple of saucepans with something a little wider and keep the smaller ones for use on the small burner. Culinarian I would call Wolf and make sure your burners are operating correctly and if they are, consider getting sauce pans that are a little wider and something that conducts heat well. I recently bought a pan that is thick aluminum, for heat conductivity and the inside is lined with stainless for nonreactivity. It is a little adjustment to bigger burners. One of the things I have enjoyed is being able to use my big skillets with plenty of room, front to back.

I'm on the side of open burner gas. I think the optimal arrangement is a range top and separate wall ovens. If you have to have a range, I suggest the BlueStar due to the burners. You use those more than anything else on a regular basis. To answer your question about open versus closed burner, open wins hands down every time. It's not difficult to clean. In my past, I've had open burner Wolf, Viking and BlueStar in a residential setting. My closed burner experience was with Thermador. It's been quite the adjustment moving from a BlueStar range top with open, star-shaped burners to much lower power Viking round open burners. I miss the BlueStar. I will also opine that while power is important, the shape of the burner is the most important feature. I don't like using the griddle in a residential setting. I find myself pulling out my old griddle pan. I go out side to the grill. Both features make a big mess inside and I don't like having to clean them up. Grease gets everywhere. That's my personal preference. You have to make that decision for yourself. Most people only see one of these in the showroom when it's shiny and new. Use it for a few years and see how they hold up. I do use the griddle burner for a warming tray. So, it does have a use. I don't think you need to dedicate a burner side for a grill or griddle. But, that is just me. I loved my BlueStar and I miss it.

I won't be much help in your question on comparing the sealed burner vs open burner models. But, I'm in the same boat as @stars26. Our kitchen remodel is nearing the end and I have a open burner 36" RCS waiting to go in. I also have a 21K burner upgrade that I will be swapping into one of the 15K front burner spots. From what I've read lurking around the forums here, most owners are very happy with the BTU upgrade from "standard" range models when buying a BS even at the 15k specs. Any BTUs over 15k are just cherry on top for an average home cook is my understanding - not that you wouldn't notice the heat difference, but more that it may not be a necessity depending on your cooking style and menu preferences. I was looking for the extra BTUs in at least one burner, but wasn't able to afford to pay the premium to go up to an RNB. So am going the burner replacement route. I'm looking forward to having the range in place soon and in use hopefully not long after.

@M. Abbott i asked about which ovens you have used because there are some differences that people say in the baking and cooking pages I read. I did not pay all that much attention to it in all the ovens I have used and often attributed to other things like the brand of the oven or the recipe. These are not good or bad because what might be good for one, might be not as good for someone else. In reading cooking and baking forums over and over there are things people say over and over. -Gas ovens are better for roasting or they brown better. -it is very hard to keep added steam in a gas oven, for something like bread baking or even a pan of water used to add humidity -Electric ovens are better for baking -going from electric to gas,” my cakes don’t rise as well and they look dried out” -going from gas to electric,this oven has too much steam -There is a lot more heat and moisture from a gas oven in the kitchen. For a long time it was taught that gas ovens have moist heat because water is a byproduct of combustion. This is still taught and is even on some manufacturer’s web sites. This is not the only source of moisture in the oven. There is moisture produced by the food cooking. Because you have combustion, a gas oven has a much bigger vent and it’s purpose is to get rid of these products of combustion, moisture and other gasses and some heat goes along with it. Added steam and the moisture from food cooking are all vented at a much higher rate than in an electric oven which has a small vent. As for better browning in gas, we started understanding more about the Maillard and other chemical reactions that cause browning, we can see that you must have drier conditions to increase browning. As long as you have moisture on the surface, there is evaporative cooling. As soon as the superficial moisture finishes evaporating, then the temperature rises to allow browning. This the same principle as you have when using a wok. If you have too much food, the liquid can’t evaporate so it won’t brown until it can evaporate. Why would people say electric ovens are better for baking? Some say it has better temperature control. Meh, some have a lot worse because of the way the temperature is controlled by the computer boards. With some electric ovens, you have modes that direct the heat from different directions, maybe more from the top for roasting and more from the bottom for baking. some electric ovens have the ability to control humidity. These would be some of the best combination steam ovens that can vent steam out or add moisture to provide the optimum humidity. They are also built to withstand steam. Thermador is the only one to have it in a range I believe and it is 48”. Some have “true” or European” convection which is oversold on evening out the heat in an oven. Some cause a direct, high fan speed air current with a heating element around the fan so causes over browning on the side facing the fan. This can happen with any type of fan assisted convection so manufacturers use dual fans, baffles or even fans that reverse periodically to break Up the air flow. Most electric ovens have the hidden bake element so You do not get the same radiant heat that you get with the open element on the bottom.. you can read the manual to get some idea about how the ovens you are considering do any of this. As far as the increased humidity in an electric oven, this promotes Starch gelatinization. It can give things that rise a little bit longer time to do that. It also changes the type of crust. This is why bread bakers add steam. Check the broiler size on the ovens. The infrared gas is hotter but may be a lot smaller than the electric one. I will I’ll try to post on burners after while.