No help here, but I ADORE your backsplash!

I'm pleased that you like the backsplash! It is a pleasure to see it every day! (It always is a distraction whenever I've posted pictures of my kitchen!)

The backsplash was a collaboration between a very talented, Massachusetts mosaic artist, named Cynthia Fisher, and us. We wanted a Chagall inspired Tree of Life. After a month or so of conversations and emailing drawings, we agreed to this design.

When it was finished, we hired Cindy and her husband to instal it in my kitchen over two days.

She usually mails her works of art to buyers and their own tilers are able to install the mosaic, but we wanted to be sure it was done really well (we'd had some poor tiling done in our bathroom and had little confidence in our GC's tiler for this important project!).

I've pasted a link to the artist's website below, if anyone is interested. The page I linked to shows Cindy installing my backsplash. (The sunflower mosaic is also in my kitchen, above my 2nd sink. It is perpendicular and to the left of my stove backsplash)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Big Bang Mosaics

Does the Capital have dual stacked burners? I kind of assumed it did since it's an offshoot of DCS but I went to their web page and from the pictures it doesn't look like it does. On the DCS and Wolf dual fuel, low simmer is achieved by having a second burner ring on each burner for the simmer and when you turn the knob all the way down, the main burner ring goes out leaving only the simmer ring on. On the other hand, the Captial web page claims 140 degree simmer which is what I believe DCS also claims.

No dual stacked burners.

Wow, the picture of the tipped pot sure is disturbing! I hope they can fix the simmer issue for you. I know on several other brands, it's an easy adjustment made to a screw located under the burner control knob.

Hmmm.... this rangetop was at the top of my list, and that tipped pot is bothering me as well! Why do you think the 4 more inner portions of the burners aren't supporting it enough? It seems like it shouldn't require THAT much support for a round pot. Have you ever used those pots on other similar type burners with better results (I think I have the same pot!). Help! I may end up with induction after seeing this....

Niffy, I have that same pot and it's perfectly stable on my Bluestar grates, which have longer corner prongs.

If that is the narrow 2 Qt All Clad pan I also have it and it is perfectly stable on my DCS. I am sorry you are having problems and hope it gets resolved soon.

This is one of reasons I actually like ranges with different-sized burners. There are times I cook with a 6" saute pan or even a mini 4" saucepot, and other times I'm using a stockpot that's 14+" across.

Smarge, in the meantime, have you tried using one of those simmer plates that you put over a burner? It reduces the heat and being solid, would prevent your smaller pots from tipping over.

Smarge - I had the same issue with the simmer, but Capital came out and adjusted all the burners. I agree they were too hot to begin with. I'm surprised about the tipping pot. I use all sizes and have never had that happen. I do wish we had gotten the 8 burners because my grill is a real pain to clean, but that's apparently the nature of grills. Like you, it would be nice if you could get things to look clean and new. As a result, I don't use it.

i just ordered the capital 6 burner..is there a simple way to test the simmer when they install it?

ctnewbie2009:
At the lowest setting, you should be able to put a piece of paper over the burner and not have it catch on fire. In fact, it should not even become yellow/brownish... or very little.

Just today at was at my local appliance store (jcperreault.com, in Québec) and they had a Monogram, DCS, Capital and Wolf all live with gas and side by side. We did the paper test and to my surprise, the Monogram did better then the others. I could almost leave my hand on the grate. (Wolf was second best) The simmer setting rocks.

The Capital, which is the one I had my eye on, burned the paper. I asked him if everything was balanced and setup properly, and he assured me it was. True or not, it definitely turned me off the Capital. I'm highly considering the Monogram now.

Good luck with the issues smarge... and thanks for sharing. Let us know if Capital resolves the issues!

Smarge,

I just installed my Capital 30" range and am seeing the same sort of issues with my burners. The first 1/3 of a turn adjusts the flame and the last 2/3 does nothing. My simmer is also higher than I think it should be. I did not burn the rice, but darn close. Another thing is that my oven is too cool by 20-30 degrees. Set it at 350 and it heats to about 330.

Have you gotten any resolution from Capital?

This is such relevant and timely information, as I am agonizing over which 36" all gas six burner range to purchase. I had been pretty convinced that Capital was the way to go but due to their "low profile" and limited marketing, we are concerned about their staying power and service, etc. In any case, what would your FIRST choice be NOW, given the con's you listed? Wolf, DCS, Bluestar??
Any benefit to open burners versus sealed burners? Self cleaning oven?

FYI, I still have not had my burners' simmer capability adjusted. The service company Capital had come to my house, who I was assured knew how to resolve the problem and had serviced many Capital rangetops in the past, could not make the needed adjustment.

First, they did not bring a screwdriver that was thin enough. Then, we discovered that my husband's variety of tiny screwdrivers were not LONG enough to reach the tiny screw!

So, I was told, at least 3 weeks ago, that they would order the right tool and would come back.

Meanwhile, two days ago Capital called to see if everything was resolved to my satisfaction. I told them no. Within one hour, the service company called to make an appointment. They are coming tomorrow morning and have assured me that they have the correct tool.

I am hopeful that I will stop burning things that need to actually simmer starting tomorrow.

HOWEVER, the last time the service company was here they said they knew nothing about my burner grate safety issue. I asked them to be sure to make mention of it to Capital so that they could have another opinion that the grate was unsafe. I don't think they did.

My hope is that Capital will redesign their grates and will offer a safer option for current range owners at a reasonable (or free!) price!

I will also shop for a simmer plate for use in the meantime. Thanks for the suggestion!

fishbj - about your questions, I can't really comment. I highly doubt I will be replacing my Capital and haven't spent the time researching what I might have preferred in hindsight since I need to live with what I have.

As I recall, I was strongly considering a Wolf, DCS and Thermador rangetop until I decided on the Capital. Funny, butu one of the major reasons I went with the Capital was that the burner control knobs seemed so solid and seemed to turn so smoothly I thought I'd have MUCH better flame control than with the Wolf, which seemed to stick a bit as I turned the knob.

I plan to bring this thread to the attention of Capital and hope that in the interest of future sales and happy current customers that they will address the issues and questions raised here.

(After all, if not for GW, I never would even have looked at the Capital line!)

Call John Tate @ 866-402-4600------He is capitol's service rep.

I'm finally getting around to updating this post. The service guy came with the proper screwdriver and adjusted all by one of my simmers down to the lowest possible setting without having the burner blow out and start clicking to reignite.

I originally thought that this adjustment affected my HI setting, making it slightly lower, so I asked him to leave one rear burner unadjusted to be used for rapid boiling of large pots of water.

My Capital contact called back to ensure that the adjustment had been made and he spent a lot of time with me on the phone while I checked the burners and the control knob, etc. and now I understand that the screw that adjusts the simmer ONLY controls the simmer and it is impossible for it to affect the flow of gas at the hi setting. I don't remember exactly what he said, but apparently there are seperate valves for different settings and the screw behind the knob only adjusts the simmer.

I've also learned that by design, the entire knob is not meant to control the flame height; only about 1/2 of the knob is able to control the flame and the low half has no impact on the flame height and is not supposed to. I think that marking the knob as if it has an effect is silly, since the mid-point SHOULD be a visual clue that it is your medium flame and not your simmer flame, but the bottom line is that you have to stoop down to check flame height if you want a medium flame and can not rely on the knob markings except for Ignite, HI and LOW (low flame will be achieved way before the low mark on the knob, but it sill still be Low so it doesn't matter.)

Now, about the grates and tipping. Capital has confirmed that pots can tip and they are trying to redesign the grates to solve this potential safety issue, of which they were unaware until I complained of my experience. Either I'm the only one who this has happened to (and it will happen every time I cook with my smaller diameter pots unless I align the handle with a long support), or I'm the only one who bothered to call about it.

It turns out that the fix is not as simple as one might hope. If you have a Capital rangetop, you can see that where the longer supports approach the burner cover, that the holes for the gas are of much smaller diameter. This is to prevent the supports from getting too hot when the burner is set to the Highest setting, and becoming damaged and ultimately rusting. All the other gas holes are much larger holes, and this is because there are no grate supports close.

So, they can't simply have 4 more supports come closer to the center without considering the extreme extra heat that those supports would get, and still have the 19K BTU at HI that they want to offer.

Bottom line, they are working on it and I'm confident they will find a solution before too many months and I will be able to have safer grates!

While I was not entirely happy with my few months of slight buyer's remorse, I am very impressed with the ultimate response I finally got from Capital, especially with the fact that they are addressing the grate issue which I think it HUGE!

Do I wish I had a different rangetop? Not anymore, because no one else offered an 8 burner option and my issues are either resolved as much as possible or are being worked on.

Just wanted to point out that whereas no one else offers an 8-burner option in sealed burners, they are available in the Wolf and BlueStar open burners...Which is why those 3 were my short list! :-)

Glad your problems are getting resolved! When I was considering Capital the president of the company was very prompt with helpful emails, but there was no way to tell if that would continue after purchase. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes them to develop that new grate for you. Cool that you were instrumental in getting this taken care of for others.

I just had a capital precision 36inch all gas self clean range installed about 2 weeks ago and have been very happy. I have a large assortment of All-Clad pots and have not had a problem. after reading smarge's coments I was very concerned. if I keep my smaller sauce pots centered over the gas flames, there is never a problem no matter what angle they are on. The small pots will tip if you have the handle at 45 degrees and the base significantly off center, but now that i am aware i just have to be a little careful and i don't think it will be an issue. If they come up with new and improved grates would I accept them for free? of course, but I would still buy the range again even knowing the grate issue.
I have been very happy with the burners performances. The simmer works great and the high heat is outstanding. I agree that the low to high markings on the knobs do not come close to acurately reflecting the actual heat flame being produced. This is my first experience cooking with gas over electric, and I think it is much more reliable in cooking to simply look at the flame comming out of the burner and adjust accordingly. It is very instantly gratifying for cooking feedback, and i could care less if the half way point on the knob corresponds to 50% output.
I spent a lot of time researching ranges prior to purchase and decided on this capital over similar options by viking, wolf, dcs, dacor, and thermador. Even with the potential pot issues already discussed, I would get the same range in a heart beat. The cooktop performs fantastic and the oven has been very satisfying. We have used the rotisserie funtion 3 times: one trial run with a 4 pound prime rib roast, one dinner party with an 8 pound prime rib roast, and a whole chicken for mothers day. The chiken was superb even though i don't like chicken, and the prime rib was the best I ever ate.
I guess what I am saying is don't let smarge's comments scare you off if you are considering a capital range. I think the quality is just as good, if not better, as wolf, thermador, dcs, etc for thousands of dollars less.

smarge - I'm glad Capital came through!

Dadofmeeko - I have never had the guts to try the rotisserie. Can you give details on the 8 lb prime rib roast method? Thanks.

julier1234,
using the rotisserie has proven to be very easy. I've actually used it more than the standard oven features. for the 8 lb prime rib (it was a prime cut delmonico rib roast without bones) I first covered it completely with a rub ( I used a store bought rub called Char Crust, it gives a burnt like appearance but ends up with a crispy thin coating and really locks in the jucies). I then run the rod through it and lock the prongs in place and place the rotisserie rod in the oven on the spit rod as directed in the owners manuel. put the roasting pan under the roast to catch the juices (then use them at the end for au jus) I activate the rotisserie button, set the oven to broil (don't need to preheat broiler), activate the convection button and wait for desired doneness. It cooks faster than estimated roasting times of 22-25 min per pound becasue the broiler is hotter than the standard roasting cooking temps. I think it tood about 1.5 hours. The end cuts were well done and the center cuts were perfect medium rare. When you check the temp with an instant read thermomoter make sure you turn the broiler off and try to stop the rotisserie with the fattier side up towards the broiler. make sure you have your vent hood on high before you open the door because there is a lot of smoke. The rotisserie causes it to self baste so it really is tasty. Also, let it sit for 20 min after you remove it from the oven loosely covered with tin foil before carving.
Other advice, line the bottom of oven with tin foil to help with clean up. Also,invest in a pair of very high heat oven mits/gloves. The rotisserie rods get extremely hot and they are heavy duty and a little cumbersome to take out of the meat. You may burn yourself with standard pot holder mits.
hope this helps.

Thanks so much for taking the time. I am going to give it a shot.

Thanks to this site I also ended up with a Capital 6 burner range. This is the most beautiful, bestest purchase of my whole kitchen remodel. I have a grin from ear to ear every time I'm cooking. I have no problems with the grates in terms of small pots. Try as I may to tip it, it doesn't. Please understand that my enthusiasm is partly due to previously having a electric range (GE glass convection). I was never able to cook properly on it. With the Capital, all my dishes have come out perfectly. The oven is huge and I don't even feel any heat when baking.

This reply came directly from Surjit, I thought you all might find it helpful:

I am grateful for your forwarding the LINK. I read it with interest. Since I am unable to get in the GardenWeb can you post my comments about the Simmer issue and the Pot Tipping issue. Simmer is only a five minute job. If people call our service manager Bob Waymire at 562-903-1168 he will have it taken care of promptly. Though I was aware of one person complaining about the stability of our TOP GRATES, even one dissatisfied customer is a major thing for me. I had the grate redesigned immediately. A new and modified grate has been in Production for many months now. You will have nothing to worry about.

Surjit.

Thanks for posting that, whosthatgirl! Good to hear!

Pots tipping on my NEW Big Chill 36"Classic range "Pro-Style" cook-top is a problem! I have a full set of All Clad limited pots, all of the smaller pots fall into the poorly designed gaps on grates, due to large gaps thus spilling contents. If oil or grease were to spill this could cause a fire since there is an open flame. I sent a video demonstrating my problem however Big Chill tech team didn't seem concerned. This is still an ongoing battle, hopefully with happy results.