@wekick - thanks for the info. Commercial ranges - no thanks! They require a large gas line and more venting than I can have in my place, plus the always-on pilot. To say nothing of probably illegal. I like the way that unsealed burners work - I've been known to take the caps off of "regular" stoves in order to use my 33-year-old wok - and decided that since the pro-styles are available and hopefully refined by now, that's it time to spring for what I truly want. The first reviews I read about BlueStar were dated (I think) 2010 or so. Lots of complaints about the hot exteriors, uneven baking, etc. The most recent I've been able to find (2014-very early 2016) seem to show that improvements have been made and it's finally ready for prime time. I don't recall any complaints about the burners, though, except for an occasional rant about the igniters' fragility. The Culinarian reviews have been largely positive, and for some reason, I can't find much of anything about the Performer. As for my cookware, I have some tri-ply and have begun to pick up a piece of copper here and there. Because those are very dearly priced, I will be sticking mostly with the plied stuff. I have a few pieces of All-Clad that I've had for well over a decade and am very happy with. And thanks for the info about the star burner. This may sound a little odd, but the BS burner looks more "complete" than the CC. I must admit that while I'm leaning towards the BlueStar, my budget is much less enthusiastic about the idea. And that's why the Performer and Culinarian are on the list. And thanks for the info about the star burner. This may sound a little odd, but the BS burner looks more "complete" than the CC. I must admit that while I'm leaning towards the BlueStar, my budget is much less enthusiastic about the idea, which is why the Performer and Culinarian are on the list.

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.

I have a Bluestar 30" RCS v2 and a Zephyr Napoli 36" island hood (ZNA-M90CS). The stainless steel color match is very good. To my eye, they look as if they were made from the same batch of steel and brushed with the same tools and technique. I really love my Bluestar RCS but I have mixed feelings about the Napoli. It looks really nice but it is a lot noisier than I expected. Technically, the noise volume is relatively low and to spec -- ranging from about 40dB(a) to 66dB(a) depending upon the fan speed setting. The problem is not the noise volume, but rather, the quality/pitch of the noise. It is not the low frequency sound of air rushing through the baffles. It is a higher pitch whirring motor/fan sound right at ear level.. You can easily talk over it with normal conversation, but it is quite irritating to listen to. Also, as an island hood, its flat bottom capture area it is not very effective. If I place a steam kettle with its spout directly under the center of the hood (the baffles are 33" above the burner grates), a large portion of the rising steam hits the baffles and then just rolls around and up the sides of the hood to the ceiling. There is no effective storage volume below the baffles to capture and hold the effluent long enough for the air flow to completely exhaust it into the duct. In retrospect, I would rather have an island hood with an external blower and deep recessed, angled baffles.

Viking: Don't know if it's been changed. Was not hot enough for a good sear and was uneven. But, have never been a Viking fan. Wolf: An IR beast and very hot. Great for searing and flavor. Often used it for sear and then a fast oven finish. Did not use sous vide back then but would be good for finishing. Needs to be disassembled to be cleaned (the surrounding frame pops out, clean it in sink with BFK and SS scrubbie). A task but not a chore. Never stopped me from using it. Spouse claims still was the best tasting grill we've had and that's a long list. Some posters insist on posting that the temp can't be modified which is false (and misleading--clearly they've never used one). Mine came with a SS "blankoff plate that covers about 70% of the IR honeycomb radiator to reduce the radiant heat--will still grill very well with it on which gives an idea of how hot it is. We got a second one, cut it into 2 different sized pieces and had a modified two temp grill (albeit for relatively small size portions). For most cooking we just ran it without the plates which we referred to as "torch." Fish and meats that would have a 125F or so pull temp and rested are the sweet spot. For what we cook the grill was my favorite part of the whole range. One the caveat: once the grill is on it has to cool before you can switch the plate. Capital: Don't use the grill that much as our climate promotes outside grilling and sous vide and some related approaches have reduced grilling use. The Capital is the most flexible of all I've used: heat is adjustable, grates flip with a grease draining, small width grate for steaks and the like and on the other side a wider grate size to better support thin cuts like fish filets (I've never used it). Not as hot as the Wolf, but seems to have both some convection and IR heat that does a serviceable job on burgers, chicken and steaks. I can get a decent crust on a medium-rare rib eye if that helps. It's close to an outside gas grill in the house imo. For entertaining, is great for grilling apps while people are milling around. Inside grilling, hood with warming lights and someone prepping food helps congregate the guests and does have a certain wow factor, truth be told. Cleaning usually involves putting a disposable aluminum cooking pan upside down over the grate and running it on hi for about 10 minutes to burn it off (an old Wolf grill trick), let cool and a quick soak and a wire brushing in the sink. 10 minutes max. Would be interested in hearing about the BS grill in the event you get to play with one.