I think most people would prefer the 48" range because of the different oven sizes. Both good brands but they have their differences. Some folks have even suggested getting 2 ranges, like a 24" and a 30".

I had the same problem. I wanted to fit in a wall oven and a 36" range, but found that 48" range just worked better in my layout. I use both ovens regularly and I do like having 6 burners and a grill. I think a 60" would have eaten up too much of my counter space and would have looked oversized in my kitchen. Even though, I really love my Bluestar, there is a part of me that wishes I could have fit in the separate wall oven. Everyone has their own opinion, but I would have loved to have one gas and one electric oven. I can't offer any opinion of the Capital, but the Bluestar has been a great performer and the 48" looks great in my kitchen.

bump

I have a BlueStar 60 inch 8 burner with a grill and absolutely love it. Ovens preheat and cook evenly and well. Great infrared ceramic broilers which are very strong. If you are a neat freak, the grill might not be for you but it is certainly an option we elected to get to have just in case and have we use it a lot. That said, I don't fret that it does not look that pretty if and when anyone cares to look down through the grates (doesn't bother us...its not dirty just looks well used). We also splurged for a Wolf 30 inch electric wall oven. This has proven to be a good decision for the reasons we did it. There are things that electric does better than gas and vice-versa. We love everything about the Bluestar and Wolf combo.

New Years was our first entertainment event. We had 10 people total and I had the range-top fully involved (not full but comfortable), the grill going, one gas oven, the electric oven and the warming drawer. Oh, and the charcoal grill outside (ribs). I was glad that I put in all that we did b/c that was only 10 people. Had all of my family been there, there woud have been 20ish or so.

Our last house had a 36 inch 6 burner AG Wolf range and it was great too. However, it took forever for the oven to preheat - about 40-45 minutes to 400 degrees. The oven was huge but the burners had to work so hard to keep it to temp, it was hard to bake cookies/breads etc in (burned on the bottom).

We have found that the 30 inch Blue Star does breads and cookies much better than the 36 inch Wolf but neither hold a candle to the electric oven - and it has convection, time bake, inside meat thermometer and a whole host of other things I probably do not know about yet.

Thanks for the input. I have a48" wolf AG with a french cook top,but don't want this set up again.I would consider the 60" blus star but don't know if I would use all the burners,but I really think I need 2 full size ovens.Breezy,did you consider the blue star heritage range? Is the baking in the electric oven so much better or are the time bake etc. part of what makes the baking experience better?What kind of warming drawer did you put in? How much food does it hold? Do you put it under your electric oven?It is a very hard decision to add wall ovens,since it closes off part of the open format of the room and might block some of the outdoor view.I need advice on how to decide how necessary electric ovens are?Breezy,did you consider the dual fuel Wolf range?alexamd -do you find the 2 ovens in the 48" blue star enough oven space? are you happy with the ovens for baking?
Thank you all for the input,and would gladly appreciate any more thoughts!

Bluestar has larger ovens large oven holds a full sixe 18 x 26 tray and small oven holds a full half tray 13 x 18. More power on the burners and a lower simmer capability.

I did not consider the Heritage. It comes with the SS high back vent and I specifically did not want that.

If I had one choice for ovens it would be electric and the opposite for range top burners however the range top takes a huge priority for me and was the main driver for my decision making. Had BS made a dual fuel with open burners, I certainly would have considered it.

I was going to go with a straight 10 burner unit but got talked in to putting in a grill and am glad I did. We use it often. The grill is very versatile and gives us a bit of a flare when we want it and 8 burners have proven to be more than adequate. Top end, the BS burners cook VERY hot. The 22K burners really are convenient for getting big pots going, searing and pan heat recovery. I am told they are unmatched for stir frying but I have yet to try that. On the flip side the simmer is quite gentle and the heat is well distributed. I much prefer the star configuration.

My gas ovens cook very well and do a fine job all round but the electric oven for breads, cookies, cakes, pies etc is better. Roasts/meats seem to cook better in the gas ovens and the ceramic infrared broilers are unparalleled. I have yet to use the electric range's convenience options. I am not used to having them and forget that they are available. However, as mentioned, if I had to choose just one energy source, I would opt for the AG range. Adapting to gas oven challenges is pretty easy.

The warming drawer is Wolf and is under the wall oven at about waist height. It holds quite a lot. The microwave is in a separate location. I did not do the Wolf MW/oven/WD tower b/c that puts the WD almost on the floor.

I, too, am struggling with a decision on range. I've read so much about BlueStar and they sound great, except for some service-related problems.
Is the grill on the BlueStar adjustable or just on/off?
Is the grill on the Capital adjustable or ditto?
What is the simmer on BlueStar & Capital (ex:130 degrees, etc.)?
Please help. This is the last range I may ever buy and I want it to be good! Also don't want to hear the "I-told-you-so's" from DH! ha

Most if not all of the srvice issues with Bluestar were do to poor installation or shipping damage and now that Pete is no longer in charge of service all issues are addressed and resolved quickly if the consumer contacts the factory instead of their selling dealer

Hello all,

first of all, thanks to all the great folks on this forum - you all have given us an education that we never could have gotten elsewhere!

Getting down to the wire on range selection: Blue Star 36" vs Capital Precision 36" AG GCR366.

Couldn't care less about style - feel that BTUs rule (the Rosengarten review of Blue Star, DCS, Viking etc. was a real eye opener)

We'd snap up the BS in a second but have always dreamed of sealed burners. So... as far as we know, Capital has the hotest sealed burners available and hence the choice.

Would so appreciate your advice:

Would we be giving up a lot of capability and taste going sealed (22,000 btu BS vs 19,000 btu Capital)?

Can Capital really get down to a very low simmer (Sunday sauce for hours, other delicate sauces, etc.)

How does the Capital work with small pots? flames up the sides?

thanks to all in advance

C and R

rick n carol - I am curious - why the dreams of sealed burners? What is the appeal for you?

Hi berryberry,

No more bits of food and spills falling through the gap around the burners, never to be seen again....

have you ever had open burners?

with open burners the food falls through the gaps down onto a drip tray, which slides out. you line the drip trays with foil and just change the foil every once in a while.

anything that doesn't drop onto the drip tray just burns away.

Thanks for your input

Have had open burners all my life but never had a stove with these magical drip trays. Can't find any mention of them in the Blue Star documentation

I can't advise much on the Capital. I can say to look at one live and cooking. The smaller the 'cap' on the sealed burner, the better for smaller pots.

The Bluestar burner design is very 'open'. And the open 'bowls' beneath the grates are also thick cast iron, porcelain glazed. The flames go up, not out sideways. A drip/crumb tray catches any of your spills. If you look at the link and click 'stainless' slide show, you'll see the drip tray

Here is a link that might be useful: Click 'Stainless Steel'

rick n carol - I thought that may be the reason - but you really need to check out the drip trays on the Bluestar. You may find it cleans up as easy or better than sealed burners (just line it with foil). While not an exact comparison, I know one complaint a lot of folks on the kitchen forum have with smoothtop ranges is the top always looks dirty. I don't have any experience with a smoothtop so don't know how true that is. And I know smoothtops differ from sealed burners. But the question is - is it better to have crumbs / spillovers / etc to sit on the top with a sealed burner and have to be wiped up then and there or fall down to the drip tray where the foil could be pulled out as needed to clean it?

thanks alexr, berryberry and edlakin - we feel so strongly that the Bluestar will help us turn out the superior meal - thanks so much for pointing out the whole drip tray thing - it makes the BS much more doable. The question that berryberry poses at the end is the one wife and i will be arguing about for the next few days (lol - hope marriage survives the remodel!)

i don't see where it's even a question. why would you want to remove the grates and wipe down the whole burner area rather than just changing the foil on the drip tray?

plus, when the drip tray's dirty, no one sees it. when i had my dynasty range, i'd often go weeks without changing the foil because i never saw it.

oh, and great slide show link!