Elizabeth, looks great. . . Waiting for mine.

ifoco Well that generator solution was for someone with nat gas so they could choose electric appliances if they wanted. . . .For you there would be another solution. A homemade lithium battery powerwall and solar panels like boats, rvs and homes in Puerto Rico are using.

This guy dedicates his channel to diy powerwall building with sources and techniques. . . .Like induction it may take some thought and learning step-by-step because it's new. But anyone who puts in the effort will get their reward. For every problem someone has found a solution.

Wekick nailed the explanation of burner design - great photos.

Another fan of Blue Star open burners here. We downsized to an over 55 community last year and while the kitchen is significantly smaller we were not going to give up the things that made daily life enjoyable and convenient. We installed a 42" French door Sub Zero, Thermador wall oven, Bosch dishwasher and what turned out to be our favorite appliance - the Blue Star Platinum 30" (although the Bosch DW is amazingly quiet).

This is the day it was installed. We also went with a 1200CFM Prizer (BlueStar) hood and the appropriate MUA (Make up air) system.

I honestly don't have anything bad to say about it and the best part is that it has re-invigorated DH's interest in cooking. He raves about using the 25,000 BTU burner for everything from stir frying to searing steak in the cast iron skillet. It is great for wok cooking since you remove the grate and set the wok down on the burner. He has even started baking bread and is very happy with the temperature consistency in the gas oven.

Clean up hasn't been an issue. I also appreciate the lack of electronics and DH adjusted the simmer burner himself. In our previous home I never used the self-cleaning function on our Dacor oven for fear it would fry the mother-board. I had sealed burners on my Dacor and the stainless steel around the burners discolored from the heat and never looked clean. The same thing happened with the Thermador that preceded it.

have fun with your new build!

I love the look of induction, but chose a Wolf rangetop (because it was used - so you can’t argue with nearly free and it’s in excellent shape). I’m hoping the annoying induction issues like buzzing, etc continue to improve. Does anyone remember the fancy high-end induction company in the 80’s out of S. California. We’ve had it, it just didn’t take off.

Buzzing is a cookware issue with how encapsulated metal layers are joined. An aluminum core between two thicknesses of magnetic stainless is the cause. Solid carbon steel and cast iron plus better cookware take that problem off the table.

^^^Could be right, but just too many people reporting buzzing even with high-end cookware, and across all manufacturers. Plus that is just too finicky. My gas range does not object whether I use my Ikea $20 pan, my Demeyere $300 pan, or my grandmother's pan from Denmark of mysterious materials.

Of course everyone without a problem doesn't report. I see that as a much > than 1% and check your pans at a dealer with a demonstration unit for more personal info. No roadblock then and you can rely on yourself instead of rumors. I'm sure you didn't consider the noxious fumes rumors about gas and your indoor air quality.

Hi Dan

We actually had a bunch of solar panels, primarily to heat the pool in the winter. One of the hurricanes, don't recall which took care of the solar panels. Sometimes life can be challenging but always interesting. I get a little testy when someone says it is negligent if you don't prepare properly. We have never depended on local, state or federal gov to help us.

As I previously mentioned, we are self sufficient on our sail boat, solar panels that charge the house battery and the auxiliary battery. Water maker runs off solar power. Boat is stocked and ready for us to sail off in the sunset in case the house is blown to kingdom com. So I know all about solar panels etc but all of those things take a great deal of work to maintain in an environment that is hostile (salt water, humidity, and heat)

Happy cooking whether it be on induction, closed gas burners, open burners, or your back yard BBQ.

Inga

Elizabeth M

It's nice to hear how easy the range top is to maintain and the power it has. Would you mind telling me how many cfm your venta hood blowers are rated and are they terribly loud? I have 1200 cfm but the noise is loud. Ours was installed in 2000 and has only one speed. I think they have made some changes. (hopefully)

Thanks

Inga

Inga- they had different speeds in 2000. You guys must have missed that. You can get a variable speed control and retrofit it most likely, depends on the type of motor you have. . . . .Pool heater solar panels aren't the photovoltaic ones I'm talking about like you have on your boat. And like anything else that you do in prep you would need to take down your panels if a hurricane were coming to avoid damage. Then, after the event, when you are without power you set them up to help maintain your lights, frig and whatever. Possibly installing them at ground level on a rack would make that easier. Yes that's work but you'd have power.

"Sorry for your sad experience. One in 10k I'm sure."

While I agree induction has positive attributes that its fans love and wouldn't be without, it has its negatives too. As does every type of cooktop on the planet. The issue I've seen on this forum is that for some reason people who love their induction cooktops don't often allow that others do not. That's the difference here - other appliances of all types have their fans and detractors, and both sides are pretty accommodating of the other side's preferences, just not induction.

The statement from Dan1888 I pasted here can't possibly be statistically accurate. What I suspect is the impression of induction happiness is skewed on this forum because people who haven't liked induction don't want to voice that due to the amount of pressure applied by the induction fans. It's just not worth the flaming responses and the back and forth when there are so many more interesting and not hostile threads to participate in. So Dan1888's impression of one in 10k is consequently incorrect.

Induction is definitely the easiest to clean. Its appearance is sleek and current. There is no gas effluent to have to exhaust. And it is fast. But your cookware may or may not work. A pan needs to be the right size for some burners or it won't work, some of the digital controls can be finicky, there is often a buzzing issue, and people converting to induction may have to pay an electrician to upgrade their wiring.

I guess I missed the boat:)) Not changing anything in this house. It's a beautiful home everything done. It's for sale. Next remodel will have BS rangetop most likely Vent a Hood ventilation. It worked quite well but getting the covers off of the blowers is a challenge for me. I'm tempted to look for something else but why get something unknown when this worked so well other than the noise.

And Dan, believe me it would be best to remove solar panels before a hurricane. However, you have no idea the preparation it takes - one has to start a week before each of us has certain tasks. When you have a house, a shop and a boat, you don't worry about taking off solar panels. In fact, I don't think anyone does. Then after all of the prep, the hurricane drifts off and you're out of danger good thing but you just spent an incredible amount of time and energy preparing During 90 degree temperatures with humidity the same. You can die of heat exhaustion for sure. Solar panels are very low on the list.

Inga

ifoco - about noise levels - depending on your ductwork you can have sound baffles installed or a remote blower motor. My Prizer hood is 1200CFM. At the highest setting it is definitely louder that on the lower ones but not enough to drown out conversation.

maire_ cate,

Thank you can't find the thank you button my 1200 CFM would be enough to stop me conversing with people. Although often it was OK as I don't like to chat when I'm busy trying to finish a complicated dish. Thanks for your input

Inga

To get back on topic to the OP's original question: GAS range top, open vs sealed burners?...
I love my open burner Bluestar! I have never cooked on a more satisfying and rewarding stove, and I've cooked on everything and anything that can cook food. I've had my 36 RNB over five years, use it daily and it still puts a smile on my face every day!

ifoco , friedajune, wekick, john, elizabeth m, cookncarpenter et all... thank you so much for all the information and opinions. wekick, thanks for posting those fotos showing the different burners as well.

you have all convinced me to take a look at the bluestar now! its not a well known brand amongst the people that i know, and not really recommended by any of the kitchen appliance stores i have visited. i find all appliance stores have been pushing different brands.

although induction would be easier to clean, i dont feel like investing money in new pots/pans - prefer to put that money into the range top. i definitely want a 36" model, and now need to look for the "quietest" hood insert as my kitchen and home lean towards a modern style. my cabinet person seems to think 1000 cfm is plenty, and my HVAC guys says a 6" pipe is standard ( not 8" ! he said stay away from 10")

soooo many conflicting opinions. lol

now i just need to find a hood insert that is approx 36" x 16"deep, so that it fits within the cabinet, then life will be great!

thank you again for all the help. going to read up on bluestar tonight!

giovanna

"my HVAC guys says a 6" pipe is standard ( not 8" !"

Please please insist on the 8" diameter duct! And you may want to think about finding a different HVAC guy. The fact that he said that is troubling. I swear to you that a 6" duct is not sufficient to pull 1000 cfms. No way. That is going against the laws of physics. You would be pulling too much air through a too-small space, which results in greater noise and poor efficiency through no fault of the hood. Your HVAC guy doesn't want to make the effort for the 8" diameter duct for whatever reason. I cannot emphasize enough that a 6" duct is too small.

Please try to find a hood that is a canopy shape, not a flat shape even though a flat shape might look more "cool". The canopy shape corrals the smoke and grease better. Please also try to find a hood with baffle filters, not mesh filters. The mesh filters quickly can become clogged with grease, and curtail the hood's efficiency unless you are cleaning the filters very frequently. Good deals can be had at Costco.

ETA: I just saw you are looking for an insert, not an entire hood. My recommendation for baffle filters still stands, and of course, the 8" duct.

Your hvac guy is lazy. 10" with a remote blower may be necessary depending on the run length and number of turns. 6" for 1000cfm is incompetent on his part. Induction has an added benefit of requiring less cfm because you do not have waste heat to deal with. 800 cfm run at a lower setting relative with less need for make up air is the benefit. You save on that. Kinda offsets any new cookware cost. Miele has a hood and maybe an insert that communicates with their cooktop.

No way a 6" duct would work well for 1000 cfm. Take a look at several hood/insert manufacturer's specifications for ducting.

For example, on a 1000 CFM unit, Thermador/Trade-Winds specifies a 10" duct with no more than 50' run length. Monogram's vent hoods, which are only 500-600 CFM are designed to be installed with 10" ducting, although on the 30" and 36" hoods they allow transition down to 8".

dan1888 - enough with the induction in this topic. That is NOT what the question is about and you're hijacking the OP's topic.

Read the whole post Michele. The OP would like to consider induction for its ease of cleanup but doesn't want to invest his money in new cookware. My response offers facts that would save him considerable on hood size and make up air. Gas needs more expensive exhaust capability. He could then use the savings towards some new cookware, if he wants to. So why don't you concentrate on contributing your valuable facts and . . . .

Chantal 21 ceramic coated has copper and titanium in the base for quick response. The linked 7 piece set is 220 and I use it.

ifoco - I have a Vent a Hood JPH-C2 600 CFM / equiv CFM 900. It has Zephyr brand make up air attachment and a massive fresh air intake outside and is connected to my HVAC. For a 36" hood, I don't think VAH goes higher in CFM's for just a 36" hood. I remember doing back of the envelope math on the size of vent hood I needed. I know many people on here will tell me that I am wrong in that I did not order a higher CFM for my vent. I hesitate to write that I **only** did a 600 CFM/900 equiv CFM for my Blue Star but this hood is so powerful that I don't know what I would do with even more CFM....maybe it is the law of marginal utility. Note that I have an incredibly short, straight run to be vented externally and the vent works awesome for me. I don't think it is super quiet, but it does not bother me, and perhaps I need to look at that further and talk to my appliance store and talk to my contractor. It used to be quiet, then my contractor spoke to the VAH regional rep to hookup the MUA and now I think it is louder but the MUA is working (it was not working at first and was more complicated to get installed). It was a process to get where we are today.

As I mentioned above, I enjoy a nice scary hot sear on some of my food and smoke has never left that immediate area (and I am always checking). Occasionally, I keep the hood on when running my oven too (which is probably why I never do a separate range top as I like a vent with my hood). There was one day that I was making a butterscotch streusel banana bread and some butter got on the oven floor (even though there was a silicon lined baking tray on the rack below). Since my hood was not running, there was a fine trace of smoke everywhere, which drove me crazy to walk in my living room and see smoke. So now I try to run the hood anytime I use my stove or oven, I love my vent and love externally venting things. It works perfect for my Blue Star. I tell the story about my banana bread just to show what having zero ventilation could do in my house.

Dan1888 - I realize you will always try to get the last word no matter what, but, sigh, I am compelled to correct something you said, for the benefit of the OP (who BTW appears to be a she, not a he, from the name). It is a myth put forth by induction manufacturers and fanatics like Dan1888 that induction cooktop means you can have lower cfms than with a gas cooktop. But if you are stir-frying, frying bacon, searing a steak, or similar smokey greasy things, you will need a lot of cfms, it doesn't matter if cooktop is induction. While a gas flame has gas effluent, it is not sufficient to equate to significantly lower requirement of cfms. The cfms should not be lower because the cook is using an induction cooktop.

The above might make Dan1888 apoplectic. In my best Star Trek Scotty voice - I am picturing Dan1888 - "the engines, they're going to blow captain!".

I switched to baking bacon. Way easier to clean up.

Dear Shannon We have an expert on ventilation I rely on who posts on the boards. kaseki. He posted this today.-

"The cooking plume rises in a conical shape at a velocity determined by its temperature. If only the pan is hot (induction) this temperature is that of the pan base or of steam where applicable. If gas fired, the hot gas combustion products increase the flow speed. Plume speeds are in the range of 0.6 to 1.2 meters per second! When the flow gets to the hood filter or other hood parts, it will reflect due to conservation of momentum unless the flow into the hood from the blower is high enough to cause it to keep rising into the hood and past the filter. Hoods suitable for kitchens work by inducing the plume when it reaches the hood to be pulled in farther; kitchen hoods do not cause much pull velocity at the cooking surface." Emphasis added.

So you need ventilation for stir-frying and bacon, sure. You need more power and would benefit from a wider hood if you cook the same thing with gas. Because the added heat from the gas fire speeds up the plume more no matter what you're cooking.

I did read the entire post Dan - the OP said they were only considering gas. While they did mention in a later post that while they might agree that induction could be easier to keep clean, they weren't interested in going that direction.

I have only had sealed burners so can't directly comment on open versus sealed. I am not a fan of the look of a Bluestar's open burners, but that's just my personal taste. It's a little too industrial to me, but that's just my aesthetic preference.

I have found a dark enameled drip area easier to keep looking reasonably clean than a brushed stainless one. I had the former in my Dacor and Monogram rangetops and the latter in a Gaggenau. Every drip showed on the stainless Gagg and you had to put more time into cleaning all the nooks and crannies as a result. Dark enamel hides a lot ;-)

For those concerned with the sound of their blower, consider an exterior blower. They are more expensive to install, but should be quieter.

We definitely are spending a lot of money to get our bluestar and hood/MUA set up (1400cfm Abbaka blower and Modern Air Hood). I don't plan on having a gas grill outside (just a Big Green Egg or 2). I want to be able to char things like peppers and flat bread, so having gas somewhere is a must. Not sure about what the price difference between doing an outdoor gas grill with gas line ran outside + high end induction range + lower cfm blower + new pots vs gas range with gas hook up + high cfm blower/MUA. But it doesn't matter because I don't have the space outside for a gas grill and BGEs, and we are BGE addicts. Also our blue bluestar and custom hood will be the showpiece of our great room, so you can't discount the aesthetic value

Btw, I totally get that induction is more efficient, so just explaining how sometimes it still isn't the right choice.

There's no argument with gas for it's unique charring capabilities. But I can produce an analogy for the aesthetics.

It's like the time when a big rear projection tv took up one end of your den or living room. Or a deep cabinet hid the Sony. Now those are all gone. And some of those cabinets with the fold back doors were excellent quality furniture no argument. Better than what I see for kitchens because they weren't meant for or get daily use.

But I understand the industrial beauty in the large gas range as a centerpiece. Not so much a range top like the OP.

I have a 48” grill with infrared outside, but I live in CA. I have a 36” Wolf with a matching downdraft inside. I get the charred peppers. Nothing like fresh charred peppers.... yum. But I do that stuff outside. I’m related to the fire chief and if my fire alarms go off, I’m in trouble.

most definitely, i am female :)

aside: a quick general rule regarding italian names/objects - if it ends in a or e, female. if it ends in o or i, male. ( yes there are exceptions )

back to the post:

i am reading up on the Blue Star range top - thank you to everyone! and i also came across the Capital range top , which seem to be a bit lower in price. thank you rainyseason for letting me know that the simmering is a bit of an issue with the capital cooktop.

also i had a chat with my contractor , he agrees i need at least 8" duct work, so we will revisit that with the HVAC fellow

this exterior blower sounds interesting, and am just starting to read up on that as well. just soo much to learn!

apparently a remote blower is basically a blower usually placed in an attic?? haven't scratched the surface on this yet, but i would probably want an exterior blower, outside the house. this forum is great, and i thank you all soo much for all the great information. thanks to dan1888 :) for trying to sway me to the induction side, but i think i will stick with the gas range top - its hard to change a southern italian's mind once its made up! lol

I'm chiming in late. I'm just coming back to these forums after building a house 12 years ago, and I put a Blue Star 36" range in 12 years ago, and I have enjoyed every second of it. Have had no repairs. I haven't used the oven that much as I have another wall oven that is just easier to access because it's high, but I give two thumbs up to my Blue Star experience. Good luck with your build!!

Can a remote blower be just that - external? Houses here don't have an attic, If they make a lot of noise externally the HOA would probably frown or disallow.

My Venta hood is 48" and does have 1200 cfm. I have a 6 burner range top alongside an 18" Indoor BQ. Venta hood designed the blowers for that set up. Can't recall what size the duct is, whatever they recommended.. We did not do make up air. Everything worked quite well except for the noise. I regretted not extending the hood 3" on both sides. It was so large I didn't want to eat up more space. My cabinets along side of the hood did suffer.

When we remodel this house, while make up air is not required here, I think we will have it.

Inga

The external blower I bought was installed on the roof. Our new great room doesn't have an attic, so I don't know if that would have been an option. Because that whole part of the house was rebuilt, the roof was installed at the same time as the blower. This made it easy. Not sure how hard it would be to install it in an existing kitchen.

Also, I wanted at least 1200 cfms. Ventahood did not make a 42" hood that powerful in the style I wanted, so I turned to modern aire (more expensive and fancy). They recommended the Abbaka external blower to go with my hood.

If all goes according to plan, I will get to try everything out in November.

In my previous home we had a Dacor 6 burner rangetop on the island with a pop-up vent and a 1000 CFM remote blower which was mounted outside the house. Our duct ran straight down through the cabinet then made one 90 degree turn and then ran 6 feet to an outside wall.

In our current home we wanted to mount the external motor outside the house - but our HOA didn't give us permission. We chose a hood that vents out the back and into the laundry room which is directly behind the BlueStar and built a soffit with an access panel in case it needs to be serviced. The run to the outside is only 3' so instead of adding a baffle to reduce the noise our contractor used a sound absorbent material.

We also considered installing it on the roof but there were other mechanicals in the attic space that would have made it difficult.

Today I went to just look at appliances at a local dealer that carries upscale appliances They had very nice displays of all of the major brands. I said I was seriously considering Blue Star range top which of course they don't carry but could get for me. He then steered me to Thermador. It does look very nice. He pointed out their star shaped burner how it was elevated how well it performed etc. etc. I asked about using a wok I was told there was a wok holder available. He made a point that no one will service Blue Star and that it really had more of a restaurant commercial look. Front burner supposedly was 22,000 BTU. The low simmer seemed a bit annoying clicking on and off but more than that I would wonder did it come back on again..

I've never had to have service for my 6 burner Russell Range. There really is nothing to service. You can adjust the flame with a little screw driver. I would think the Blue Star is similar to my Russel Range, that I can fix whatever needs to be fixed.

Opinions from anyone? I can see how easy it is to get thrown off ones feet so to speak especially when no one has a Blue Star to look feel and click on.

Inga.

hi inga, thank you for your response. i will see about getting a hood that is a few inches longer than the range top. i dont want anything happening to my cupboards! and yes, i find that every time i go into an appliance store, the salespeople try to steer you into a particular brand ( usually the more costly ones! and usually subzero/wolf, miele,, thermador ) and thanks for chiming in girlwithponytail - glad you also enjoy the blue star. i will have to investigate this external blower issue further. my kitchen is directly below the master bedroom and i wouldn't want a lot of hood/fan noise behind my headboard or in the attic above. will have to bring this up with the contractor.

thanks again to everyone. i welcome all opinions!

giovanna

Bluestar designs extremely dumb gas appliances. That's a good thing. If anything breaks, it's super easy to fix. Home owners can do that themselves, or literally any service technician can do it. They probably even have compatible parts on their truck, as Bluestar tends to use industry standard components for a lot of what they do.

ifoco, Thermadors burners are sealed, not open. I think you said earlier that "The ONLY way to go in my opinion is open burners". Are you reconsidering that?

Unfortunately no one ever seems to have a Bluestar hooked up, so I ordered mine based on videos and all the rave reviews.

ifoco - make sure you go to the Blue Star website and find a BS dealer in your area if you chose to go the BS route. My original appliance store, referred to me by my contractor, said they "could get me a BS" as well, but it turned out, it was through Ferguson (a different company altogether) and this appliance store would not service it since they were not a dealer (Ferguson is though) - I actually got that in writing that they would not service even after they verbally told me they could - make sure you get it in writing). I would be stuck up the creek without service if I needed it since I was not technically buying from a certified BS dealer. I told my contractor, who had relationship with the original appliance store and Ferguson, that I was buying from a BS dealer and that was that, regardless of his relationships. Even my local Ferguson lady did not know what was what with BS (and got even more confused and gave me the wrong quote since she deals so little with BS), so I was very happy to go with that different appliance store, also very highly rated and a longtime appliance store, that was a certified BS dealer. They also had one hooked up for me to check out. It was a bit of drive (25-30 min) but totally worth it.

For some reason, the other appliance store kept pushing Thermadors and inductions, even though that is not what I wanted. So double check who is a dealer and make sure someone can service it if needed, in writing

ifoco - if you go to the BlueStar website you can search for a dealer near you.

I have the BlueStar Platinum and my simmer burner doesn't
click on and off. It's a constant flame. My DH did adjust it because
it wasn't quite low enough. That's one of the reasons he wanted one -
simplicity of design.
Before I purchased mine I found out
that there are several BS dealers and service companies in my area -
but then I'm just outside Philadelphia and they are manufactured near
Reading, PA which is only 70 miles from me. I've used the same Sub Zero
service company for 20 + years and while they aren't a certified BS
repair company they said they do service them once the warranty period has expired.

This is the sad truth, but some brands pay higher commissions than others. Some issue bonuses for a certain time frame.

"I asked about using a wok I was told there was a wok holder available. "

Look at the design of the burners on the picture I posted above. The cap on the Thermador is what makes it have the heat further from the bottom of the wok. No wok holder can improve that.

You might be able to buy from Trevor Lawson from Eurostoves.

https://www.eurostoves.com

He has contributed to this forum for years. He used to pay for you to fly in and try a BS if you bought from him. I don't know if he still does but he has helped people here who did not buy from him. He also carries the Capital Culinarian.

https://youtu.be/uAe0HJJrzlY

https://youtu.be/3K2DR2ub1sA

Here's a photo of my wok after removing the grate and setting it in place.

maire_cate and Wekick

Thanks both. I think I've watched Trevor's video before. the simplicity of the BS is very similar to my Russell range except everything in the Russell is stainless. (which I do like) I'm not terribly concerned about service as there is little that can go wrong. Having a high BTU kiln I'm used to taking he venturis apart and cleaning the burners. So I'm comfortable working with burners, cleaning adjusting.

Unfortunately, there is no BS dealer close. I've watched all of the BS videos to ad nauseam drove to Las Vegas some months ago as I was told I could see one and try it out. They had a range which I would think is similar to a range top. They knew nothing about it. It was not live, disappointing to make a 5.5 hr trip for nothing. Next closest is Salt Lake city a 8- 9 hour round trip. Maybe when I get close to actually buying I'll make the trip and spend the night.. Trevor wrote his phone number on one of my posts suggesting I call him. Haven't done it yet and of course the paper I had has disappeared from my desk.

Sales person also told me how wonderful Wolf ovens were. Yikes, I remember reading about your pain Wekick. When I mentioned the blue enamel chipping there was just a blank stare. I told him I plan on getting the GE French door wall oven as I have one in the FL house and like it. . When I asked if he can give me a deal on SZ (side by side and wine cooler) if I buy all of my appliances he said no they are sold at full price unless I purchse a suite of SZ/Wolf, which isn't going to happen.::(( There is a Ferguson in town as well. I don't think their set up is nearly as large but will head there one of these days. The only thing I'm still on the fence about is the dishwasher. Do I get another Bosch which cleans really well but doesn't load very well with my handmade dishes. Maybe by the time I actually get to remodel, Bosch will have improved their interior set up...I'm hoping.

Inga

Inga - I hear you about loading dishwashers. I love my Bosch and it does clean well. We chose it primarily on the decibel rating since we opened the kitchen to the family room. It did take me a while to learn how to load our heavy stoneware dishes - well the plates are OK but those bowls take up space. Luckily it's just the 2 of us so I can spread things around and I've discovered that I really like having 3 racks.

robinlmorris

ABSOLUTELY NO!!!! I just wanted to point out how easy one can be steered to something you really don't want. He pointed out how burners need air (I know that but you don't need to have something sit up 2" to get air. ) and that's why it sits up so high and works so well, he said.

He didn't know he was talking to a potter.

I have cooked on my Russel Range (open burners) for over 20 years. Not about to be talked into something I don't think works as well. I do like the look of stainless even though some people think it's a pain to clean and thought the I found it easy. I did think the Thermador was Pretty..

I bought the Russel Range used from a distributor when the company went belly up. It was built into their large granite counter where visiting chefs came to do cooking demos. It had heat marks on the drip trays and needed a bit of cleaning. Big deal the minute I would have used it it would have had heat marks. I felt comfortable buying it even though there would be no support. I spoke to their executive chef (who hadn't been paid for months) he said all of the parts are standard and can be sourced anywhere. He said it's a great rangetop. It is and still cooking.

What I like about open burners without all of the electronic stuff is as M says - "they are stupidly simple". The only part that might need to be replaced is the electronic ignition. Believe it or not, I've not had to replace any of them. Worst scenario you can use a lighter which we do when we have no power. The only thing you have to make sure is that it WILL light even if there's no power. Not all newer contraptions do which defeats the whole purpose of having a gas appliance IMHO

Inga

Cookncarpenter said

I love my open burner Bluestar! I have never cooked on a more satisfying and rewarding stove, and I've cooked on everything and anything that can cook food. I've had my 36 RNB over five years, use it daily and it still puts a smile on my face every day!

I missed your comment thanks, it's something to remember. I think for all of us who don't have the ability to see, try and touch those kind of comments help confirm our decision. My only reservation is all of that cast iron and how does it hold up compared to stainless. .My Russel Range grates are cast iron but must be coated with porcelain as I put them in the dishwasher; they come out looking new and don't rust.

Inga

I believe Bluestar's grates are enamel coated. So, yes, some people do put them into their dishwasher every so often. The alternative school of thought is that you can let them develop a natural patina. Then cleanup is easy. You just wipe them down and you're done. A small amount of remaining grease residue helps maintain the patina. It's the same way that you would maintain natural cast iron pots. Those usually don't go into a dishwasher either, even if that's theoretically possible, as long as you dry them quickly afterwards. Of course, enameled cast iron pots are the counter example. They can go into a dishwasher just fine, as most people don't choose to have a patina on their LeCreuset.

My bluestar was just delivered and installed. Have not used it, but is it wrong that I don't care given how awesome it looks?

"He made a point that no one will service Blue Star" - typical salesman talk that doesn't carry the brand. Bluestars are so basic and simple, any appliance repair person and most homeowners could do any necessary repairs or adjustments.

"and that it really had more of a restaurant commercial look." - ummm isn't that what one wants when they are looking for a workhorse cooking machine?

Re: these are cast iron but there seems like it has some kind of faint coating. I was once worried about this too. I just wipe down with my towel at end of night. I personally love the patina that a few grates are developing. It always looks clean though. I am careful though. I don't drag my pots across the grates, although I am sure I could. I use larger walled pots for things (e.g. I sear in a Le Creuset or Staub to keep some of the grease inside the pot, same with bacon, as opposed to using a little cast iron or fry pan). Also, what always seems to be a big issue (at least with my household) is plating food. I (used to) get my stove dirtier by plating from the pot on the stove. Maybe this is what the rest of America has been doing for years and I just caught up. I don't need bit of potato going down the open burners and the ignition. Now I put a trivet on the counter and put my pot there...easier to wipe up if someone drops something on the counter. I think it takes me longer to wipe down my prep counter than it does to wipe down the stove at night.