I am so glad that you piped up about your Frigidaire issue, Practigal. Thank you. I don't think it was a coincidence that you were participating in this thread. So..is it crumbs of rust dropping down from the burner...or, is it rust coming up through the paint...or is it oxidation of the gas itself, that maybe it is burning "dirty"? Good ideas, Mrsnyefnyef. I have an update, but I'll share it at the end of my post. ; ) I agree, Eurekachef. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the BS rangetop after test driving it (unless you don't like standing over a high heat cooker.) "my regrets comments was that I just didn't want you to finish your project and then turn back and say, well I should have..." Ah, I understood what you were getting at much better that time, Gooster. That makes a lot of sense. Here is the update: I found 2 incredibly good deals at Goedekers website this weekend for scratch and dent Miele's. The cooktop (yes, a cooktop, not a rangetop) is 42" wide and has 6 burners. They looked like they are configured *perfectly* for the way we cook. Originally I was looking for all the same BtU's on the burners, but these should work fine because of the configuration. Originally I was looking for sealed burners, which this has. The knobs are off to the side rather than on the front. I find this to be a nice feature since I tend to lean into whatever I'm cooking. This way I won't be lighting the stove with my belly! Also, little ones will have a harder time reaching the knobs. Finally, at about $1200 less than full price, it was too good a deal to pass up. They also had a set of 30" Miele Master Chef double ovens for almost half price (open box). I hemmed and hawed for a while on this one. It's definitely more high-tech than what I was originally looking for. In order to do the cooktop, we'd have to head into wall oven land. Wall oven land was full of techy gizmos. Given that, I might as well try one that is highly regarded by bakers and has the lowest repair rate in the industry (according to Yale Appliance's website, anyway.) Thank you all for helping me process this big decision! I really appreciate the input each of you gave me.

Aim for an actual 90 cfm per square foot of aperture of whatever hood you obtain. This may require, due to duct, baffle, and MUA restrictions, a rated flow rate of as much as 1.5X (135 cfm) per square foot at full blower speed. Heed all MUA requirements. kas

I have 30 inch Bluestar. I must say that ordering it was a frustrating process due to long delays through the company and I'm happy nothing went wrong where I had to deal with them. It is fairly low tech and I feel confident my handier half could fix most issues if they arise, which is a plus. Other than that, I am thrilled I went with an open burner over sealed. I have cooked on MILs Wolf and I much prefer open. I wouldn't say the Bluestar is awful to clean, but it's not easy. It does take a little strength to take off the cast iron pieces. It's a weekly chore that I am fine doing. Regarding griddles, I purchased a separate griddle from Amazon that fits over my entire cooktop. I can bring it out as needed. It was a good option for me since I could only fit in a 30 inch unit. So, I don't have built in griddle experience, but would lean toward your option of a Lodge.

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.