I don't think of it as quite complete yet I have not addressed the bugs we encounter. So anyone else that wants to see something not present in it please let me know. The final version I will post as FAQ in the sugject heading.

I think what you have is a very basic plumbing layout. As the water comes into the house, it's sent in two directions, one hot and one cold. Simple. Then you have different flow rates at different fixtures, for instance, the kitchen sink has a slower flow rate, which is typical (often around 2.5 gpm) and a shower can be typically around 4gpm. There seems to be enough pressure coming from the city water to keep your cold water pressure constant. But it seems that there is some pressure drop across the hot supply- which I don't think is that unusual. That is your rate limiting step- your hot water supply. So each valve simply translates this balance, or unbalance, each time you use more than one fixture. Have you ever been lightheaded when you stand up too quickly? Well, it's kind of the same; your body has to close off all the open "faucets" to your lower extremities in order to supply more pressure and blood to your head when you change position. This is very much how newer balance valves correct this change in supply pressure to your fixture. When there is a quick change in pressure because you have opened up another outflow of water elsewhere, the valve is meant to keep the balance of the hot and cold water the same so you don't get scaled or frozen. I don't know exactly how the valve does that.... but it does work well. That is my understanding of your situation. You may want to post over in plumbing, they are very helpful over there, in order to verify all this. I have gotten some really great advice from that gang with some non-novice stuff. My non-professional DIY understanding, hopefully put into understandable terms. Welcome to stand corrected :-)

I have been ecstatically cooking on my Blue Star since Thursday. I was holding out on reporting until I'd used it a bit more but so far, I am in love, which I do realize sounds weird when talking about an appliance. I have no idea what anyone means when they talk about an inferior fit and finish. It looks amazing. Things are tight, knobs are good, burner assembly fits perfectly together, height is easily adjustable, and it has a really smooth rolling rack on the bottom of the oven which I didn't even know about. It also has (and this may be new) blue lights i.e. the oven temperature indicator light is blue as are the fan light and the "light on" light. Yes, it's minor, but it looks very cool. I've adjusted all the burners down to the tiniest dots of flame on low. I had one burner that wasn't sparking after the second day so I just took the top apart and tightened up the ignitor wires with my hands. No problems since, and if there is again, I'm confident that I can deal with it, and if not, I'm confident in the service company lined up to take care of it. It really is very straightforward to work on. I will concur with earlier statements that this thing is MUCH easier to keep clean than the Wolf. Unlike the Wolf, it can be successfully and easily spot-wiped! And taking it apart and washing it all takes no time at all. Drawbacks: the range gets insanely hot when the oven's in use for a long time. I would describe it as dangerously hot. The oven door is not entirely square. It's not an issue when the range is cool but it doesn't shut perfectly smoothly when hot. I'll address this later when it all settles and declares itself more fully. All in all, I feel great about it. The burners just make so much more sense and are a joy to use (although there is a rather steep learning curve with those 22's). The oven is huge, the preheat is quick, the convection fan noise is not an issue at all, it's perfectly calibrated, the burners work the same whether the oven's on or not, and I hope I continue to be this elated for a long time to come. AND, it cost $1000 less than the Wolf.

Bluestar raised their prices in Canada June 1/08 if memory serves correct. I bought before then!! :) God, I got such a SWEET deal on mine. Actually, on that subject. Since the CDN dollar plummeted so much lately(which i sooo predicted would happen.....damn, i should have bought US dollars a year ago). Anyway, it *may* be worth it for US residents in or near border towns to take a look into purchasing a Bluestar in Canada. When I purchased mine in the spring(08), when the CDN dollar was at about par with the greenback, I paid less than any price I had seen advertised in the US, and less than any price I had seen anyone on GW or elsewhere publicly admit to paying. Now that our dollar is a good 20-25% lower in value it may be very beneficial to try buying one here. I just thought about this scenerio....I know there has been talk about CDN Costco's having 30" RCS's for $2000CDN...I do remember hearing it has gone up to $2500 tho. But in any case, 2500x.80 is $2000 USD. I am not sure if I should post my price I paid for my 48" RNB, but if you could buy it anywhere close to what I had paid and factor in the current exchange, your head would spin!! lol