Maybe to put this more simply:

What btu output is acceptable for a slow, gentle simmer? One has a burner with a low of 750 btu's. The other has a burner with a low of 1000 btu's. Is 1000 btu's still too hot for simmering? Thank you.

I have this Berta Stovetop https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/CB36600.html.

I don't know about BTUs but I can tell you my experience with the simmer. I find if I want something on a very low simmer while clarifying butter or am cooking rice I use the smallest burner turned all the way or almost all the way down. My rice will bubble over on low of the next size up.

My 18k burner has 2 knobs - one for the big burner and one for the smaller burner in the center. I can just use the small burner if needed. Do they have any like that for the range? Looks like they call it a "Dual Power Burner". That would give you another simmer burner. Though I can only think of a few (1-2 times maybe in 1.5 years?) that I've wanted 2 simmers at the same time and I cook a lot.

And as far as the 18k burner goes I was very excited about it but honestly I only use it to boil water when using my biggest pot since you need a large pan/pot for it. Even when searing steaks I'll put my cast iron pan on the 11k burner and heat it at med/hi. So if you were to only end up with 1 18k I wouldn't sweat it.

I should say that I do use the 18k burner but rarely to it's full potential.

Thank you. Yes, I’m not in the slightest bit worried about the high end of btu’s for the same reason you mentioned. I just don’t want to make a mistake on the low end of btu’s. Bertazzoni has one burner rated at 750 btu’s but the other 5 burners start at 1300 btu’s. Seems awfully high for all the other burners. On the other hand all of Fisher Pakel’s burners have a low start point of 1000 btu’s. Is this too high for simmering? Or is the difference between 750 - 1000 btu’s negligible?

Just go get a GE Monogram? Or at least go look at one? All burners simmer, and you'll have 18, ooo BTu ! Boil water in 90 seconds.

I pulled out my owners manual for my BTU break down.

My small (simmer) ones go from 900-2900 (I have propane and that makes the high end BTUs a bit higher)

Med (I have 3) from 1500-6300

Large (1) 2500-11400

Xtra Large (1) outer ring is 4500-16400 and inner 900-2900 for a max of 19300

The Med and Large burners are the ones I use the most. If I am simmering a soup or pasta sauce it goes on a Med burner and that is low enough for me.

Thank you azline. This is really informative, especially when you said that your medium 1500 btu medium burner is good enough for you to simmer sauce and soups.

Another question: Let’s say I make mashed potatoes an hour before dinner. Could I keep those potatoes, with the lid on, on a 1,000 btu burner without burning the bottom of the pan?

I have the 48" Bertazzoni rangetop in LP. (6 burners and a griddle.)

I probably would have preferred 5 burners, instead of 6. I'm pretty sure I have never used more than 4 at a time, and that was when we had 45 people here and we were cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

I have never needed to simmer more than one dish at a time, and I have never wanted to leave something to stay warm on the rangetop. I would keep something warm in the oven or steam oven first, or even a crock pot.

The reason why I brought up the mashed potato analogy is I'm trying to see if 1000 btu's is too hot or just warm enough to keep things hot without burning the contents in the bottom of the pan. Do I need lower output btu burners?

Do you do keep potatoes warm this way currently? I keep my potatoes in a warm oven or reheat in the microwave.

No. It’s not about the potatoes. I’m just trying to figure out if a 1000 btu burner is low enough. My roommate is a professional chef and I want burners that will keep things warm without burning.

Doesn’t your roommate know, then?

Thanks. I have diffusers. My question is about simmering and btu’s. I need to know because it will affect my decision about which new stove to buy. I want to specifically concentrate on burner outputs. Thanks.

You are correct ask about the lower end of the heat range capabilities of a new cooktop. But, most manufacturers will only provide one low burner for simmer. It's been my experience that the one low burner, regardless of brand really isn't low enough to guarantee no scorching. If you want to make and hold Hollandaise, mashed potatoes and a chocolate sauce at the same time, there will only be one very low burner on any unit, regardless of size.

My experience is that a really low burner really isn't low enough. Finding a unit that has two low burners may be close to impossible. You could order that custom configuration from BlueStar. That is a lot of money and trouble for something that is easily solved. Instead, you place your Hollandaise, mashed potatoes and chocolate sauce in a hot water bath. In professional kitchens, that's how we hold delicate items, hot water baths.

Order the unit that you like the best. Just use a hot water bath.

Everyone, I know about diffusers and bain-maries. This is not my question.

I got this part and thank you for your input but I specifically want to know about btu‘s. O.K., let me put this another way, would you rather have a stove with:

a) one 750 btu burner + four 1300 btu burners

b) five 1000 btu burners

Most importantly, why?

Option A. It's more versatile. It's easy to deal with the need for low BTU's. But, you can't add them when you need them.