A 30" professional range isn't going to give you much more room than a 30" freestanding range. How much room you'll have depends more on pot size than how many burners you have.

That being said, a professional range is going to have higher BTU output if that is important.

A six burner gives you more burners in the same 30"

The centers of burners on my "pro-style" range are about 17" apart side-to-side and 11" apart front to back. I use 4 burners frequently and don't have a conflict until I pull out the 16" skillet. (This skillet would be happier on a 36" range, or at least something with a center burner because it hangs off the edge of the range if I center it on the burner...)

I can put 2 12" skillets side by side or in opposite corners, but they'd mash slightly if I stacked them front-to-back. Smaller pots can fit the other burners. Four 10" pots? No problem.

So yes, you can use 4 good sized pieces of cookware at once on at least some pro style ranges. Just measure the burner layout. Or bring paper cutouts shopping. :)

(I have an American Range. I do not recommend it because the company is $#*&&^ and unethical.)

Thank you so much for this information! Both for the sizing and for the experience with brands. I'll take as many recommendations/experience as possible!

It truly depends on what size the pots and pans are that you’re planning on using. And the shape matters as well….flared or straight sides…. and if you will use them at the same time. I have a 48” Wolf range with 6 burners and a 12 inch griddle and things are completely squished when using a large 13” sauté pan and a 10” fry pan next to one another (they overlap so I cannot center them on the burners). Just the 6 burner grates (without the griddle) takes up 32 1/2” (and that doesn’t even include the stainless trim on the sides of the range). I would not even consider a 30” range with 6 burners…way too squished I would think (obviously, on a 30” range, 4 burners would be more roomy than 6). Even if on a 6 burner range, you used only the front right and left burners and kept the middle front empty, large pans on the the back right and back left burners would overlap large pans on the front ones. Best bet is to go to an appliance store with your pots and pans and see how everything fits on various ranges, or get the EXACT measurements for the grates on the appliance you’re interested in and measure everything out. The only way I could personally utilize all my six burners with large sauté and fry pans on each burner is if I had the same 48” range with the 6 burners spread further apart (no griddle)….so a 30” range with 6 burners seems impossible to be able to fit large pans. If all I had were 9” pots on all 6 burners (and remember my 6 burners take up well over 30”), they would fit with no problem (except for the side handles…they would bump into the handles on the next pot over).

For reference, here is what a 13” and 10” pan look like in 25 inches of space ….. and now imagine that 30” is only 5 more inches….

I like my 30" Bluestar. It has a big spacer in the center, which makes it easier to use all for burners. And unless I use our big 14" wok, it usually is possible to use all for burners at the same time. But front-to-back is definitely more limited than sideways. So, that's where I'm sometimes forced to use smaller pots to make things work.

Having said that, I learned a trick from commercial chefs. A lot of food is better cooked in the oven than on the stove top. Almost everything that isn't fried quickly and requires your constant and immediate attention cooks very well in an oven instead. I even just boiled my potatoes and eggs in my steam oven. And I make most of my veggies and all of my stews that way. Much easier, more even, and very hands off.

I find it is a rare day that I use all for burners and I do regularly cook elaborate multi course dinners

If the burners have different heat outputs, you'll need to be concerned about the geometry and the ability to heat everything in the various pots and pans at the same time. My 30" unit has a high output burner in the center. I often find I don't have enough heat output from the other available burners for preparing some meals.

The spec sheet for the CR top-rated Samsung NX60T8711SS 30" gas range shows the total power (62,500 BTU) equal to the sum of the maximum power of the five burners. So it appears you can operate all five burners simultaneously at full blast. (But you could submit your question to actual owners on the Home Depot website.)

M, Do you like your Bluestar? I've heard the door gets very warm, is that the case with yours as well? I'd love to stick to the 30 in, 4 or 5 burner if possible.

Charles, What brand if your range?

Nidnay, this is so helpful to see your pictures. I know that I need to bring my pots and pans in, but we are about 2 hours from a retailer, therefore getting a good idea before going is very helpful.

We love our Bluestar. It's about ten years old now and I wouldn't want any other appliance.

A few years ago, we did a full-gut remodel. Replaced most of the appliances in the process. The only thing we kept from the old kitchen are the Miele dishwasher and the Bluestar range.

Amazing power, precise control at the low end, wonderful built in wok ring, perfectly even heating, easy cleanup, amazing infrared broiler, reliable oven. It's a no frills workhorse. Everybody in the family loves cooking on it (my wife, me, and our 8 and 10 year olds).

We also have a Miele CSO and speed oven now. Those see a lot of use as well. They are a very differently design philosophy and end up complementing the Bluestar very nicely. For instance, the gas range has an insanely large oven cavity which needs very long to preheat; so it's nice to also own really small ovens that come up to temperature in no time

My utility company is offering itty bitty rebates to folks switching to induction (maybe electric in general) and I'm tempted. This is funny because my utility company can't reliably deliver electricity. I've played with fire for a few years and I'm probably ready to go back to induction but I will very much miss that enormous oven that gets hotter than most electrics. (And yet I rarely use that oven because it takes so long to preheat so anything that fits in the 24" Miele electric gets cooked in that so who am I trying to fool?)

I really do like a gas range like this with limited electrical stuff and zero electronics. It's quiet with no fans to cool electronic bits. No clocks, no timers, no programs. It does have a light for when the oven is preheated. It's a good level of low tech.

We have a 30” Bluestar installed in December 2019. we love it! no the oven doir doesnot get hot at all. yes you can use all burners to their max simultaneously or as desired. You will need a simmer plate as even on the lowest settings the smallest burner is still too hot for somethings. We have a 14” wok as well as a 12” and regularly use them and can utilize the other burners with smaller pot to simmer a soup etc. This is the 12” wok and the burner behind would be crowded but the two left ones work great. We have a 1200 cfm BlueStar hood so make sure you have excellent ventilation.

@jlarsen321,

I have a 30" 5-burner Bosch. It's not in the same category with Bluestar, Miele, Wolf, etc. and doesn't carry the same price tag. It has a high output burner in the center flanked by a dedicated simmer burner and a medium heat output burner on each side. Cooking on it is limited by both geometry and the burner type. If your meal prep doesn't require simmer burners, it's effectively a 3-burner unit.

That's one of the nice things about Bluestar. If installed correctly (the installer is supposed to calibrate the low end), it regulates down very precisely. You can use all of the burners for both high and low heat cooking. I actually removed our simmer burner and replaced it with another 15kBTU burner in the back.

The front burners are extra powerful for frying. But all four burners can be used for all common activities.

I am just curious how often you actually use all four burners simultaneously. I am a true cook who does real recipes rather than just heat and serve, and I can't remember the last time I actually had all four going at the same time. But, I'll admit that as we get older I am cooking fewer fancy meals for large groups.

I have a four burner equal BTU on each hob, 30", seven year old Wolf with absolutely no bells or whistles--nada, nothing. I purchased one of the last remaining ranges they manufactured that have open burners; I have been happy with it other that one burner that needs to be adjusted due to some extra clicking for a few minutes even after it has ignited.

julieste,

You're right, I probably won't frequently use all four burners, But I would like that option. My slide in stove, I can really only use 2 at a time, but I don't really want to go up to the 6 burner in order to be able to use 3 or four burners, does that make sense? I appreciate everyones replies, I'm hoping to look at a BS and Wolf later this week!

Going up to six or even five burners is unlikely to help with your predicament. It just pushes all the burners even closer together.

You'd have to find smaller sauce pans or Dutch ovens to replace your rondeaux

Would it do that if I went with a 36 in range rather than the 30 in?

For me, I would be very happy if I could simply fit large sauté pans on TWO adjacent burners with no bumping or overlap. I wouldn’t need four….just two next to one another is all I would ask for! If someone would make a stove that had much more space between burners I would seriously consider getting one. As I said upthread….a 48” range with six burners would actually provide enough space between burners to fit 3 large pans on each front burner….but they don’t make that configuration.

Hi all! I just purchased the 30" RNB BS! I'm so excited! Thank you all for your help! I truly appreciate it!