Have you searched the appliance forum on gardenweb? My husband got a lot of info about ranges on there. We went with a 48" American Range after hearing good things and the price being much less than comparable ranges from manufacturers such as Viking, Wolf, etc. Ours is gas with convection and has 6 burners and a grill (but can get griddle instead). Unfortunately we haven't tried it yet since the remodeling will not be completely finished for a while!

Hi Traci29 Yes I have read and re-read may postings. I am still confused and undecided. Would like some help understanding the benefits of open or closed burners. Does anyone have thoughts on convection vs non-convection? My wife is the baker in the house and is a dual fuel better for baking? We have Direct Buy access to Five Star, Delonghi and Capital bit can also get Wolf, Viking, Dacor, Monogram and other major brands.

Convection is better for baking.

Dual fuel is usually considered better for baking (gas is moister and you can always add moisture to electric if needed) but most people probably won't notice much. I know I wouldn't.

Gas is better for meats, roasts etc. Gas is also better for bread making, because the gas gives off moisture. For light cakes and other pastries, electric heat is dryer and better.

Cookies don't seem to care.

A good open burner like a Bluestar is really the best on the cook top. But all the other open burners and sealed burners, there is not much difference.

What you what to look for in a burner other than Bluestar, is a burner 'cap' that is not too big. Or burners that are 'stacked' - or different sized burner caps.

The very large burner caps seem to shot the flames out to the sides of the pan too much, and on simmer, they again leave too much of a cold spot in the middle of the pan.

Capital, DCS, Wolf make good dual fuel ranges. Bluestar and American make good gas only ranges.

Bluestars are considered very good because the burner sits very low below the pan, because the flames go straight up, and not out; and because the flame pattern is an unique 8 point star with a circle in the middle. They happen to be a very 'open' burner design- and the burner bowls are thick cast iron that food won't burn onto. Anything that goes between the slots of the burner bowls lands on a stainless tray below that slides out from the front of the range.

I thought dry heat was preferred for roasting, but maybe I lost track...anyway, very few people notice the difference. Good cooks will do fine with either. I'm not sure I'd base my choice on meats vs breads vs cookies vs angel food.

I do agree about convection being good!

Hi Crockpot,

There is a site called Epinions. Not sure if it can
help you but this stie was helpful when I was
researching my own range.

http://www.epinions.com/Kitchen_Ranges--price_range_580_1070--fuel_type_gas/pp_~1/sort_~rating/sort_dir_~des/sec_~product_list#list

Best of luck,
Boxerpups

Thanks for all of your comments to date. I am still searching, so far I am looking at Capital and Five Star as the leading contenders, may stick with gas only...I will try to find a few dealers to look atthe stoves in person, keep the advice coming!

Another thing to keep in mind is maintenance. The fewer bells and whistles a range has, the easier it is to repair. We got an all-gas DCS partly because it was a better value than dual-fuel, and partly because a moist-heat oven suits my cooking style better. (Plus, I have an electric range in the basement, if I need it.) It's very simple and easily serviced. Find out who might be servicing your range before you buy it and see what they think about different ranges. -- Oh, the DCS has closed burners which I find very easy to keep clean, and I spill a LOT.

I am now considering a used Wolf 48" with 6 burners and a griddle over the Capital (my choice for a new one) Considering the used Wolf is about 6K (what I can get the new Capital for) I am torn and unsure what will be the better stove, value, "way to go". Another consideration is I live in NH and I need a propane stove and the Wolfs I am finding are natural gas...does anyone have any experience with the conversion? How much does that usually cost?

Anyone out there selling a LP Wolf (as described) I can pick up if within 150-200 miles)