Thank you for your response, beckysharp.

My wish list is--- at least one very high BTU burner with great simmering capabilities in gas range with one infrared broiler in gas oven and maybe one electric convection oven, and the ability to have a french top, and solid doors, and in enamel. NO completely stainless steel range. Prefer open burners.

I won't have room for separate range top and wall ovens, so it all needs to be in one package---gas cooktop and two ovens. I'd like minimal electronics. Not sure how I feel about all electric ovens, as I really don't bake much and like gas ovens. I am seriously considering Lacanche but am a bit worried that I'll be very disappointed in the broiler, after having and loving an infrared one.

I currently use a 26 year old gas 48 inch Viking that other than not having as high a BTU as I would love, has been PERFECT. Knock on wood, has never needed a repair and is a tank.

Looked at the Blue Star and it is in contention but am worried about service issues (and of course, it has those windows in the doors). I'm sure this will all sound crazy to many people here, but I do NOT need to look at my food from a window while it is cooking and I think the windows are a bear to keep clean. My enamel solid door Viking (from the good ole days) still looks fantastic and I don't have any issues with the open burners and clean-up.

BTW, I put in my wish list into a range configurator online (I think from Yale appliances) and it came up with NOTHING. So that's why I say it doesn't exist. LOL

At the end of the day, I know I will have to compromise somewhere---just have to figure out where.

Thanks again!

We live in rural western Canada on a farm so minimal electronics were at the top of our list, and why we ended up going with a 48" BlueStar and an Electrolux wall oven, which has worked out very well for us. I was very concerned about giving up our 1950s O'Keefe & Merritt which we'd used happily and successfully for 25 years; but we wanted/needed more burners, a larger oven, and more than one oven.

If you search through the Kitchen and Appliances forums, you should find lots of information about BlueStar service issues and concerns. I decided for me that they'd either been addressed or were non-issues -- the doors and knobs don't get hot, it cooks well, is a joy to use, and easy to clean. The most recent concern, the recall for the convection fan override, is the result of people not reading the manual. I found BlueStar very responsive, especially because they arranged, and quite quickly, a repair person to travel 250 miles roundtrip in challenging Alberta winter weather, to install the override switch. I took advantage of the situation to ask the repairman about BlueStars -- he works for an independent repair company -- and he had nothing but good things to say, in great part because in the past 10 years that he's been working for the company, he hasn't had been called out for too many BlueStar repairs, other than the current recall.

We bake a lot, so we do enjoy the glass doors and light to check on progress without opening the doors. It's been a revelation lol.

IIRC, you might be able to adjust the BTUs on your Viking range. I'd look into that, because it sounds like what you have is pretty much perfect : ) .

Good luck!

Oh, just remembered this thread,

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/bluestar-door-glass-cleaning-dsvw-vd~2282132

Thanks so much, beckysharp! I appreciate hearing your perspectives about the Bluestar and will read the thread about cleaning the glass. As for my Viking, I'll check into increasing the BTU's while we are still in our home. We are going to be moving to a new build condo and that is why I'll need to find a new range. It's two years off but we have to make selections this summer. That's why I'm perseverating now. .

I honestly don't think the glass in the oven door is such a big deal. I clean it once every couple of years with a fume-free oven cleaner. But mostly, it's not something that bothers me.

On the other hand, I absolutely understand about construction projects having one or two white elephants. There is just something that is super important to you, even if it is otherwise entirely frivolous. That's fine. If it can be made to somehow fit into the budget and if it is this important to you, then by all means, go for it.

I just looked at the oven door for my Bluestar, and I bet for less than $1000, a good local fabricator could manufacture a solid enamel overlay that can be mounted to the front of the door. The original door handle would still attach to it. And you could add some decorative rivets or screw heads, if you felt like it. For simplicity of design, I'd recommend leaving the sides of the door untouched, as the sheet metal for the overlay otherwise has to be bent and vent holes have to be added. That adds to the cost, but is certainly a possibility as well.

The door is not a complicated design and appears to be easy to dis- and re-assemble. In fact, you can buy a replacement Bluestar door for about $400. You could give it to a local fabricator and ask them to go to town on it.

The bulk of the cost would likely be finding a place that can add enamel in a color that matches the same color that Bluestar uses. Or you could buy a standard stainless model and have all the enamel added after the fact. That would ensure the best color match. It just takes spending a couple of hours on the phone, researching local fabricators.

Thank you, M! Appreciate your thoughts on this.

Bumping this because I too am looking for any info on Caliber.

I started a post about but figured I’d bump anything hinting at or directly discussing Caliber.

OP, did you end up making a decision on your range?

I feel like I am looking for something similar to you. High heat burners and a well done infrared broiler. Don’t really have space for extra wall ovens, need a range that has a great stove top setup and well executed oven. I am particularly interested in the 25k French top with accommodations for using with a wok, and their built in grill option taken from their very well regarded BBQs.

Any and all input would be appreciated here! Let’s talk Caliber! Capital and BS have endless discussion here, let’s try and divert our gaze to another contender 😁

MaryAnn / C - curious if anyone ended up going with Caliber? I'm also looking into the 36" version and love the high BTU burners / french top and infrared broiler. Love the extra deep construction (more room for my big pots and pans), and the wide spacing center-to-center of the elements. I forgot to ask them about their warranty... Agreed, C - would be good to see some new players in the Range game!

WHELP - I did it! Caliber Range is officially on order. A number of things contributed to the decision < https://alisonkenthomekitchen.com/2020/12/05/kitchen-design-appliance-decisions-the-caliber-range/ > but in short, the high BTU french top avail in 36", the extra depth (all my Kitchens have 30" deep counters), the style and the customizations.


I'll circle back around once I've had it a few months!

any thoughts on how the Caliber range performs? Any issues you've discovered since owning it?

Hi Trent. Absolutely no issues so far! It was a bit of a curve on learning how to clean it, but that’s partly me having never kept my junky old stove clean ;). You will be spending time buffing it up once every week or two. Flame is on point, BTU’s are awesome, I love the French Top. You can see more updates soon on my website - https://alisonkenthomekitchen.com as I’ll be releasing more on the new Kitchen as it finishes in the next week or two. I haven’t used the oven much yet, but soon...

One aspect of the caliber I never really think about much is the extra depth... Until recently lol. I ended up buying an interim Fridgidaire slide-in gas range that I thought would have enough front to back space but I’m having issues with fitting larger pots/pans on the front and back burners. The Caliber continues to be the perfect range for me, at least on paper.

Alison, have you used the broiler and oven much? I imagine the broiler being similar to a high end salamander. I love finishing dishes in the broiler, their covered IR broiler sounds awesome. Also, do you have thoughts on how even the oven heats? Have you baked anything requiring even heat like cookies?

TY

Hey C! Sorry to miss your message. The extra depth worked perfectly for me b/c I design ALLLLLLL my Kitchens w 30" deep counters ;) That said, you could do 30" for the cabinet (even if it's just an 8" spice cabinet) on either side of the range to help integrate an 'extra deep' oven.

YES! Pots + pans not fitting was a huge issue for me. Thankfully, not anymore! I also use a lot of commercial-sized pots and pans, so am very happy w the depth of the Caliber range. I think the 'spoon rest' also helps - not just as a handy place for spoons, but for extra deep pots and pans to have breathing room.

I haven't used the broiler, but the oven yet. I still don't have a completed Kitchen, so haven't fully been able to utilize all the things! My thinking is the same on the salamander. Oven seems to heat well - AND EVENLY! Which FYI I will also say for the 'star' burners - the entire pan, no matter how big, has the same bubbles when I cook, which tells me the pans are being heated really evenly. I did make Macarons - a very fussy little cookie - and the second batch (my mistakes on the first batch) turned out even and perfect.

If you would like, you can follow my Instagram or website where I have / will more so talk about my own new Kitchen - including the Caliber - in the next few weeks. You can also find my initial 'decision process' and an Instagram LIVE on the Caliber on their website.

https://instagram.com/alisonkenthomekitchen

https://www.thehomekitchen.com

https://caliberappliances.com/appliance-decisions-the-caliber-range/

@Caliber Appliances

Good luck - keep me posted!

Updating on the Caliber - the problems such as burner clicking (which has increased over time, and means we can't use the full power without hearing non-stop clicking by now), oven over 350d (would fail to re-ignite without any warning, but was eventually fixed), and still no working BROIL means it's getting replaced ... I'm sad about it - it was an amazing machine otherwise, but in the end it has to work, or it has to go.

I don't know anything about the Caliber in particular, but a lot of those problems are not only common service items for any gas stove, they also tend to be easy to fix -- often with just minor cleaning or recalibration. Clicking burners are annoying, but usually mean the flame probe isn't placed correctly inside the flame, or there is something wrong with the ground connection. This can be fiddly to adjust, but is usually a cheap fix (as in, it doesn't need any parts to be replaced). A dirty probe and/or dirty cables can make this surprisingly frustrating to track down, though.

I have no idea what would mess up the oven. There are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. Again, gas ovens are very basic appliances. It's probably easy to fix for a competent service technician. But unlike the spark igniter, it is likely more invasive and wouldn't necessarily be something a homeowner can try themselves. It might require replacing the gas valve and/or thermocouple.

Same for the broiler. There simply isn't enough information to even guess where to start. But everything considered, a gas broiler has very few parts that can fail.

In other words, while you might very well be right and maybe the quality of your appliance isn't quite up there, it is hard to tell from the information provided. Almost all of it sounds like pretty typical service items for any gas appliance. You're likely to see the same thing with any replacement that you'll choose.