Well turns out I have a 600CFM blower with the old 1995 48” range. Really should be more like 900 and with the new 48” range (based on total BTUs), they recommend a 1200cfm. Problem is I have a 7” duct to the outside wall. This is only about an 18” path from the hood to the outside air! So if I use a new 48” range, should I upgrade the hood/blower? I believe I read somewhere on houuz or possiblu other articles where some feel you don’t need the full 1200cfm because you aren’t typically using all burners at once. Advice please! Thx

Oh and the 1200cfm blower will require a 10” duct and I’ll need to cut my brick exterior to accommodate an extra 3” in duct.

And it would require a makeup air system

Pc6103 ive never heard of a makeup air system so I googled it. My kitchen is about 500 square ft so I’m not certain I need one but I will look further into it. Thx.

2015 IRC M1503.4 Kitchen Makeup Air

M1503.4Makeup air required.

Exhaust hood systems capable of exhausting more than 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s) shall be provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate in excess of 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s). Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with a means of closure and shall be automatically controlled to start and operate simultaneously with the exhaust system.

Exception: Intentional openings for makeup air are not required for kitchen exhaust systems capable of exhausting not greater than 600 cubic feet per minute (0.28 m3/s) provided that one of the following conditions is met:

1. Where the floor area within the air barrier of a dwelling unit is at least 1500 square feet (139.35 m2), and where natural draft or mechanical draft space-heating or water-heating appliances are not located within the air barrier.
2. Where the floor area within the air barrier of a dwelling unit is at least 3000 square feet (278.71 m2), and where natural draft space-heating or water-heating appliances are not located within the air barrier.

Great thread and looks like it's still active so I'll post here, both my comments and questions. We have a 48" FiveStar all gas range, specific model is FiveStar TTN5107BW. I don't know exactly how old it is - we moved in 4 years ago and it was here. They did a big kitchen remodel about 3 years before that and put in the stove, probably new at that time but not sure.

First the questions, both having to do with the gas oven:

1. Is there anything I can do to make the ovens distribute the heat more evenly? This isn't a question of temperature in general (my husband did replace the temperature controllers and we have calibrated the ovens), it's the issue that EVERYTHING on a pan gets burned on the bottom. It seems that the heat coming from the gas flames just below the oven floor are not evenly distributed around the box. I have to cook things on the very top rack (regardless of what the recipe says) and if I use two racks at the same time, have to remember to swap the items on the racks and maybe take the lower one out for a bit until the top is done and then put it back in the top. This is frustrating enough that I have been looking at finding a used stove and replacing it. I'd of course prefer to "fix" this. I have wondered if something would work to dampen the "blast from the bottom" effect and turn the oven into more of a hot box rather than a blowtorch on the bottom of the pan. I've thought about trying to line the floor with firebricks or something like that - any ideas? It works fine for casseroles and roasts on a rack (mostly), just nothing that is in direct contact with a pan (yes, have tried different pans and typically use a Silpat). Marginally better when I've used an air gap cookie sheet but that doesn't work for everything. I really miss our old Dacor electric wall ovens.
2. The broiler. Uggh. How are you making the broiler work? I don't love the idea of crawling on the kitchen floor to try to fit a pan into that little slot, with no variability in height and making it work, but even when trying, it seems the food is too close to the flame. [Note: on my model, the broiler is a separate compartment below the ovens, small door flips down and there are shallow slots to slide your item onto.] We tried to use it one time at Thanksgiving a few years ago and it immediately flamed/burnt the item - marshmallows on the top of the yam dish...scraped it off and tried again with only slightly better results. Any tips and tricks?

Now for the comments, in case it helps others:

• In general the burners are great - they certainly get hot enough, and I've had to remind myself not to automatically go to High when sauteeing. The griddle works well, and it's nice that it has flat on one side and ribbed on the other. Only other comments are that simmer is still not low enough sometimes but a simmer plate can help that, and I really wish there was a setting or variability between Low and Simmer. Low is often too high but Simmer (where it shuts off the outer ring and only uses the smaller inner flame) is too light. Mostly an issue when making a pot of soup/stock/stew and you want to keep it at a light simmering boil. I'll have to experiment with the heat diffuser to see if that helps (kinda doubt it since I have heavy/good pots).
• Not sure if all have open burners, but ours does. We do have to take the grates and metal catch plates off all the time to clean below. I can't hit a basketball hoop to save my life, but somehow I can shoot little thing through that hole all the time.
• Re: the hood, we have a good one that the previous owners also put in. We do not have a problem with the hood being too low - husband is 6'5" and he said he doesn't even think about it...so not sure why that might be an issue for some (we can see and reach everything and don't consciously have to avoid anything).
• Also about the hood - the previous owner mentioned that he ended up having to run a special air duct for "makeup air" because it wouldn't pass inspection - so if you do a powerful vent hood, beware that you may have to have special venting (probably not a FiveStar specific problem, but powerful stove led to powerful vent hood...).
• As mentioned above, there are no electronics, which is generally good from a reliability standpoint.
• Pluses and minuses on the service. On the plus side, as mentioned above, super nice and helpful people on the phone in Tennessee. They emailed me manuals and documents and even a scan of the wiring diagram for when my husband replaced the temp controller. But we did try to start with finding a service person in our area (Seattle area). They gave us two names - one company didn't exist any longer and the other number I never heard back from...their message said they were only working on commercial equipment, not for residential (the way they phrased it wasn't professional vs. residential level stoves, it was working for commercial businesses and not individuals). I called a few other appliance repair companies and they didn't know the stoves and said they didn't service them. Knowing now after my husband did the repair, I think for any future problems I would: (1) Call service and try to get any relevant diagrams and part numbers for whatever problem I was having, then, (2) Try to coax the good appliance repair company out and trust that their general knowledge plus diagrams/parts would allow them to fix it, and (3) know that likely diagnosing and fixing would be a two-step process since they likely wouldn't have parts with them.
• As I ranted in the question section I really, really don't like the ovens or the broiler. Likely would feel different if it had the electric ovens/broiler.
• No oven self-clean, and at at least so far, there's been no me-clean :-) . Really need to tackle that glass one of these days...

Quite an impressive response! @riettas

So, yeah the broiler is low. Same as on our 36 inch. Little door where you have to kneel down to use. Most broilers ive seen are in this configuration but not sure if 5 Star is lower than most, maybe to capitalize on oven space? I havent found it to be too bad to use. It does work fast. Like you can melt cheese on a tuna melt in like a minute. When I use it, I stand by the oven and check every 30 sec or so to make sure things arent burning. I think thats just how it is. Maybe on your marshmallow dish some tin foil on top would help the browning process be a little more gradual than straight to a burn, but yeah it works very quickly.

Not sure about the oven issues. Is it the same on both ovens? It looks like your model has two compartments. Does both sides have the same issues? Does your model have the convection fan blower? It looks like an add on feature so maybe that isnt blowing the air around properly?

We havent had any issues with the oven cooking unevenly. We do not have the convection feature and it performs just fine. Maybe take a look at the base to make sure it was installed at the facility properly? Like maybe it doesnt have uniform vents at the base for the heat to rise evenly?

Is the bottom of the oven open? I know when our contractor was installing the oven and finishing the cabinets they tried to have the base board go over the opening below the broiler where the oven legs are. I let them know it had to be left open in order for the oven to work properly. If you look at the pics on my original post you can see that air intake. If its not that, then maybe the air vent for the oven at the back of the stove top is somehow blocked?

The oven door and window is always covered in browned fat droplets. I cleaned it once with Bar Keepers Friend and worked pretty good, but its a pain in the ass regardless.

I have sealed burners so havent had the same issues with what you described except I wish the burners got a little lower for really gradual simmering. My rear center burner works the best at the lowest setting because it is tucked in the back and doesnt get any air disturbances from the AC vent in the ceiling blowing the flame around. If I use the low settings for simmering on the front burners, simply walking by makes the flame dance and makes the ignitor click which gets annoying.

We also have one guy to repair our stove. I hope he doesnt retire any time soon or we'll be in the same boat. Hope some of this was helpful.

Thanks very much @Mike Wash. Well, it's good to know that maybe the oven issue is something fixable, although what it is doesn't jump out at me yet. To answer your questions: yes, on our model we have two same-size ovens without convection and the problem happens in both. The base is open so no air-flow restrictions happening. I'll have to look at the floor of the oven more to see if it looks like anything is amiss. My guess has been that there's fairly thin enamel coated metal on the bottom and the flames are pumping onto that so the heat is just going straight up from the bottom. That's what had me wondering if putting something on the bottom of the oven floor would dampen that effect, but maybe not...and didn't occur to me that it could interfere with how it works.

And good for you that you do have one repair person - we never were able to get anyone out. Hope we don't have something big go, not sure my husband wants to learn that much about how to repair a range :-).

I have read all the comments and reviews I can find on this site regarding the Five Star Ranges...just curious: if given the opportunity would you purchase one again?

@Kathy Moore after 5 years of daily use, I would purchase again for sure. unless I had an unlimited amount of cash, in these past years Ive become familiar with some boutique brands I would consider purchasing but they are in like the $15,000 - $20,000 range. But for the price range Five Star is in, I would definitely purchase again.

@riettas can you take a pic of the oven floor? Curious what it looks like and if its any different than what we have...

Thanks @Mike Wash. Here's a picture...as I said, haven't cleaned it recently, sorry for the mess. It is a relatively thin piece of enamalized metal. The slits at the sides are open to below (not at the back) - slipping my fingers thru you can tell it's just a thin piece of metal. Would be interested if yours is different. As long as I didn't block the sides, I'm guessing I could put something on the bottom (fire bricks?) to line the floor and maybe dampen the blast effect, but I have tried putting our pizza stone down there and didn't feel like it helped.

@Kathy Moore I would not buy this range again (but we didn't buy it in the first place, was in the house we bought). That said, I do like that there's not a lot that can go wrong with it with no electronics. The burners work great. If you could get a dual fuel version (electric ovens) that might be a winner.

I just really, really miss (and didn't give enough credit to) my Dacor wall ovens - electric and convection.

@riettas so yeah, thats the same that we have. and mine needs cleaning as well but thats for another time. does the flame bar in the broiler area have the same v-shaped diverter running along the length of the bar? also, is the vent in the back of the oven open as you can see in my pic?

Ours is the same thin enameled pan that you have, and just realized taking these photos can be removed from the oven, which I think will make for easier cleaning. Its really curious why your ovens are performing so different from ours, when they appear to be exactly the same.

Do you have an oven thermometer in there and even when at temp for lets say roasting @ 350 degrees, you still have uneven cooking and scorching? When the oven is being used, how big is the flame coming from the flame bar? Wondering if maybe the gas line feeding the unit is too large and using too much gas?

@riettas

@Mike Wash Great info and thoughts, thanks for helping me troubleshoot. And this whole thing got me icked-out enough with my oven doors that I took them off today and spent a looong time scrubbing them - found out there's glass in the middle ;-). Still have to tackle the box and racks.

Anyway, yes, have the same type of v-burner below, and my vent in the back is open. Ours look just the same as yours except the back of our ovens don't show the rectangular indent? panel? you seem to have. I'm not sure if my pic is loading, will post separately if not.

Your comment about the gasline got me to thinking - husband says there should be a regulator on the stove itself, but maybe that is bad. I also pulled up the manual that the nice people in Customer Service sent me the last time we had issues. Reading there, came up with a few more things to check - don't know if it's possible they set the regulator to LPG (we have NG)...looks like that's just one part of the regulator that can be flipped. Also, I see it says that the flame in the oven should be blue and 1 1/4" in height - so that must mean that it can be adjusted. I don't see info about how to adjust that, but maybe it's evident. You mentioned that the floor can come off, that would help with the adjusting. Wouldn't that be awesome if that were the issue and it is easily fixable. Also did some research on the fire bricks, and may try that...but first will see if there's a tuning setting for the gas.

@Mike Wash

@riettas Thats funny I was reading the same manual online from the 5 Star site and noticed the LP vs NG gas nozzle thing as well. That would be great if it was one of those things that could be fixable. Does the flame from the flame bar resemble what the manual says it should look like?

Keep us posted, and good luck.

We have a 48” 5 star dual fuel range that someone else previously owned. Suffice to say she/he did not embrace cleaning the stove. There is grime below the enameled catch plate - we can see it! Have no clue how to remove those enameled plates to get to the gunk underneath. If anyone has insight, please let us know. Thanks!

@Linda where did you get your diffusers to use with Fivestar to simmer?

@Mike Wash are you finding that ignitor modules go out often? When was that and how long did it take to get the parts from Fivestar? We are starting a remodel and are considering Fivestar 36 or 48 duel fuel. It will have to be LP because we do not have natural gaslines by us.

I haven't asked Fivestar who can service in our area, but if there are no bells and whistles, how hard can it be for a seasoned repairman to fix it if something goes wrong? Looks like it's got a 1 year warranty. Did your ignitors go out after the 1st year? Should we pre-order parts that commonly go out?

If we decide to go with 48 instead of 36, does that change the gas lines we have run?

@Robin Butterfield did you get the 48 duel fuel? How has it been? Do you have a photo?

I bought Kuhn Rikon Energy Saver/Flame Protect 9.5-Inch from Amazon

As for the ignitor modules going out, we had them repaired under warranty in the first year and have not had a problem since. That was in 2017.

@Covenant Engineering do you have a pic? Just saw your comment, dont get notices unless tagged in the comment. Do you mean the actual enameled stove surface under the burners?

@Denise Meyer we had the ignitor module go out 2 times now. One being a module we had already replaced and then now another one. It seems roughly every 3 years and wasnt covered under warranty. I would imagine any decent repair man could fix them provided they order the right part directly from 5 Star. The manual and schematics available are pretty detailed, I may actually try to repair the modules myself since I watched pretty closely how my guy repaired it originally.

There arent many bells or whistles. Pretty basic stuff which is what led to the purchase of this particular unit.

Not sure about needing a larger gas line for the 48 over the 36. We had to get a larger feed for the 36 anyways, I cant imagine you would have to go even larger than that, but take a look at the installation schematics and it will show you the necessary gas line feed size.

Mike - we did finally figure out how to remove the top cover to clean up the beast. Our new question is how to configure a simmer burner. Everyone I've talked to says they burn everything on it due to the high flame. Also, we have to use propane (LP?). Does it need a complete refit for LP vs Natural Gas? Thanks!

@Covenant Engineering what do you mean by high flame? Like the flame is too high on the burner even on the lowest simmer setting? By refit you mean can you use a Natural Gas oven with an LP hookup?

Mike - yes, when I told my sister that we were going to use gas, she said she always burned food because when she tried to set the burner on the lowest setting, it was either too high or the flame blew out. And the used stove is currently set up for natural gas, but we are using propane. I understand that there is a refit kit for supply, but do we have to modify the burners for propane too?

@Covenant Engineering I have no idea, I would call 5 Star customer service to answer that question. As for the burners, you can modify the flame height by adjusting the screw inside the knob. You should be able to remove the knob, there should be a little screw you can turn with a flathead to adjust the gas flow.

Denise, we did get the 48" dual fuel! We've been in the house for just over a year and in that time our 5 Star has done a lot of work. I cook for church Wed nite dinner and other larger functions, so the 48" is truly appreciated. I use many burners + ovens all at the sametime and have no complaints. I do know that propane gas and natural gas have different type "apertures" in house heating systems as ours all had to be re-tooled. Possibly that could account for some of the issues other folks have had with their burners? I really have had a wonderful 1 year experience without complaint with our range. Would do it again in a heartbeat without reservation. Not the best picture and in the middle of spaghetti dinner prep for church, but here's our installed 5 Star

@Robin Butterfield that is gorgeous!! We are trying to decide between the 36 and 48...ugh, I go back and forth. We have the room, but do we NEED it lol?

I like how your handles are rounded at the ends where they connect to the oven. I don't think they are like that anymore from photos I've seen.

Can I ask what size hood insert/how many CFM you got? And from where did you purchase the insert?

I'm shopping for a new stove and am considering a 48" FiveStar. It's disconcerting how little new information there is on the web about it. Seeing the posts here is reassuring.

I purchased a white 36" FiveStar dual-fuel range in 1999. I'm still using it. One ignitor *might* be going out, the oven is generally 50 degrees hotter than the setting (a repair visit a few years ago only fixed the problem for...maybe that day...), but it still works.

I have a matching FiveStar hood. I love the heat lamps, and the swing down food trays. But...I am able to rub the paint off with rubbing alcohol. Fortunately, the enamel on the range seems find.

@thefeltedfox I agree about being little information on the internet about 5 Star which is exactly why I started this thread. My oven temp varies from day to day, the knob never indicates the actual interior temperature which is why I have a thermometer inside the oven. Never been an issue.

Lucky about the ignitor though. Ive had to replace them. Maybe the older ones were more reliable than who ever they are sourcing them from currently. Good luck!

I was a user of Five Star since 1997 and therefore had planned on going with Five Star again when we downsized to a smaller house (not the kitchen) asnoted in a previous commenton this thread. I did some seraching around and had still planned to go with Five Star and then I found Z-line. Great reviews and so similar to the Five Star-very simple, no extra bells and whistles-but the price was about $4k less than Five Star for the 48 inch. No kidding. I have now been cooking on this beauty for over a month and love it. Super easy to diy reset the burners if you want less flame. And no kidding this range is so heavy duty. I thought the grates weregood on the Five Star-this beats Five Star, hands down. So-if you are looking for a range and aren't quite sure, I urge you to check out Z-line. The company is listed as one of the up and coming luxury appliance companies. I'm a believer.

Thank you, @Amy Crenshaw, I'll look at them in further detail.

@Amy Crenshaw interesting. They look nice and appear they sell them at Home Depot? Will have to go check one out in person.

Rick Bayless still has his FiveStar Range. And seems very happy with it.

November 2021 Kitchen tour: https://youtu.be/GV6V0v8drXo

April 2015: https://youtu.be/2UeCNc5qVIQ

October 2011 FiveStar Griddle/Grill: https://youtu.be/lI6MPlKuLNM

@thefeltedfox yeah, he cooks on his home range on his TV show all the time. 5 Star is a sponsor.

:-) I can't tell if they're still sponsoring him? His picture is on their home page, but it appears to be 10 years old. I assume if they weren't sponsoring him anymore, they'd remove his image... (Today is the first day that I've watched any of his content.)

Here’s 5 Star’s youtube channel featuring Rick Bayless using their oven. Strongly considering their 48” dual fuel.

@Mike Wash we were considering zline at one point but once I found their houzz discussion, I decided against it. A lot of upset customers (as opposed to the identical glowing reviews across their online distributors). I tried calling zline three different times and never had a human answer, waited 15 minutes each time in order to leave a message in which they would call back the following day right before 5 pm when I'm trying to leave work. They seem to have a heavy presence in the houzz discussion group to do damage control.

@Denise Meyer I agree. Since I started looking around it seems their customer service is very poor based on customer reviews. The others seem like fake glowing reviews that seem fishy or bought. At least I know when I call 5 Star someone actually answers.

@Robin Butterfield I am considering 5 star dual fuel, but can’t find any information on the purpose of somethi g that looks like drawers under the oven. for all gas, they say its a broiler element, but what’s there in a dual fuel range?

In the dual fuel, the smaller oven on the left has a broiler element under it. The larger oven on the right has a seperation on the vertical face that looks like a drawer (no handle), but does not open. I believe it is designed to look like a drawer for the symmetry it provides, but I'm pretty sure it covers oven parts. It does not open and is not usable storage space. My experience with our Five Star since install 1.5 years ago has been outstanding. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

@Yelena Moshkovsky see above ^

Sounds like you do some serious cooking- what kind of hood vent do you have how many CFMs etc

My 48" five star dual fuel is pushing 25 years old. I love it. Does anyone know of a service that will come in and clean it and the hood?

This thread is super helpful!! I have been looking for a 36" rangetop with integrated griddle because we use ours constantly. After reading this thread, I was worried about simmering. I called to ask about it, and they said maybe in about late 2021 they made a change so that the back burners are a little smaller and better for simmering. Huzzah!

I have been researching for months for a 36' dual fuel to replace my Premier all gas. I am down to a FiveStar or Forno. They are different price points but seem very comparable, so I can't decide if the FiveStar is worth it. Big question, what does the burner look like under the griddle?? I haven't been able to find anything anywhere. Is the griddle as great as it looks or would it be better to just set a griddle across two burners? The burners we have are tiny and make a griddle useless.

I am very nervous to shell out so much more money but I really haven't found many bad comments on FiveStar which is incredibly rare at this point. Seems to good to be true.

I really appreciate your review. I can relate on so many levels. We looking to purchase and I am definately leaning towards the 30" fivestar in black w/ brass accents. Our problem is making sure it fits into our island space. Can you tell me....the guard at the back of the range....how high does that extend from the top of the stove? Also...we have a bar that hangs over 2 1/2 inches at a height of 4 inches above the range (see picture below). If this was your island, would you feel okay w/ having that w/ this five star range? thanks so much! rsuer@hotmail.com

Leah, the burner is a long burner that fits under the griddle instead of 2 burners. We've had both and much prefer the long one (we've had the long version on two ranges and it makes a big difference with the heating). One thing I didn't know ahead of time about this griddle is that it does take some time to preheat, just like a restaurant cast iron griddle. Once it's hot, you're cooking quickly! I love it - just keep in mind the preheating. Turn on your vent, turn on your griddle, then go do something else for a few minutes. Super happy with this rangetop so far.

I've had the 36" five star duel fuel range, bought new in 1993, it's been great. In 30 years of service, I replaced the lower element in the oven about 8 years ago, and have replaced two igniters. The stove is easy to work on and if you have issues a call to browns stove works, (five star), they can walk you through the repairs. My only disappointment is that the oven thermostat went out the latter part of 2021, and about January of 2024 it lost all control. SO, I called five star and the replacement thermostat is no longer available. Made by Harper wyman, I have spent a month researching and there is no universal replacement for the particular thermostat, really, there is none on PLANET EARTH. Looks like we're gonna have to buy a new range, and at this point, I'm still going with the five star, monty

Ack, @HU-358968983! Good to know about the oven thermostat. Mine still works, but you saved me a ton of future research time! My 1999 36" Five Star is still functional, but it's good to be prepared.