The open burners are worth it. And I assume that like the ranges, while all the burners will go to a low simmer, there is a smaller burner for small pans.

What about the DCS cooktop. I know it's sealed, but it seems fairly powerful. Any thoughts?

I have the BlueStar drop-in cooktop. Learned about it here on GW and I have to admit, I absolutely love it. Previously I had a 17K BTU burner on my KitchenAid cooktop, but the BlueStar burners are in a whole different class. It's not just the BTU's, it's the configuration of the burner. I don't have hot spots anymore and it's fantastic for searing and wokking. On the KitchenAid, I used to hate having the flames coming around the sides of the pot, which would make the handles burning hot and set the occasional pot holder on fire. Not a problem on the BlueStar, as the flame goes directly to the pot bottom.

Be aware that on the drop-in cooktop, the two front burners are 22K, back burners are 15K and one back simmer burner. That's different than the rangetop, where all burners have high and low power. Although the simmer is advertised as super low power, I do have to use a flame tamer on it.

I too wanted a rangetop, but realized that besides the initial price difference, you also need a deeper and more powerful vent hood for a rangetop--and those hoods can be very pricey.

Cleanup would definitely be easier with a rangetop, but it's not a major issue for me. The stainless cleans up nicely and doesn't smear like on my other stainless appliances. The cooktop is hinged and lifts up like a car hood, so you can clean up any spills. You do have to reach around the burners to do this. The rangetop has a slide-out drip tray that would be easier to clean. If I know I'm going to be cooking something extremely messy or spattery, I just cover up any nearby burners with foil so that nothing can fall into the burners.

tress21- how many BTUs is the simmer burner?

thx
j

Hmm...mine doesn't say anywhere, just '130 degree simmer'. I suppose that's 130 with the lid off, as a covered pot will boil.

One more downside to mention: the knobs can get hot if you use very large frypans on high heat. I'm careful to keep large pans away from the knobs, and I test the knob before I grab it if I think it might be hot. Definitely a safety consideration you should be aware of.

I guess my question really was: how powerful is the simmer burner? Is it a small burner good only for low-fire use? Or can I also boil a stock pot of water on it fairly quickly?

jlahav -- the BS simmer burner is not just for simmering, but it's not much good for bringing a large stock pot to a boil. Think of a burner that goes from way low up to a medium heat for saute. The medium (15k btu) will boil a pot of water just fine, although the high powered burners definitely are faster.

How do you clean an open burner cooktop? Unfortunately, we seem to have boil-overs fairly frequently.

I would take the BlueStar Cook top over any sealed burner cooktop or rangetop. I have a CC range and yes the open burners are that much better. tress21 I too need to use a flame tamer even on the lowest setting for some things. I never have used full power on more than 2 burners at once so the layout of the BlueStar looks very good.