Everyone must be sick of this topic. :) I also should mention it seems the BS grate system is far superior, but maybe that's not true?

Yes, the grates are a huge plus. You can remove the center for your wok, or you can adjust (stack) it upward to have an even lower simmer temp.

I have a 48" Capital Culinarian with the grill. I use the grill all of the time, at least once a week. Overall I think it's very easy to clean. Everything comes apart easily and it's not really a hassle. I usually end up doing half one night and the other half the next night after dinner, every 3rd week or so. I try to clean the big messes right away though.

We had a Kenmore range before so this was quite a step up! It has taken some time to get used to the powerful burners. I think ours need a slight adjustment because they sometimes click when on simmer and they didn't used to. I just need to find the time to do that! We are very pleased with the performance overall and Trevor was great to work with.

@kristinw88 Other than the clicking, how is the simmer performance? Does it go low enough that you are happy with it and it doesn't scorch anything?

I think the simmer works well, although I really don't cook anything delicate, so to speak. (I'm talking about the simmer or low burner) I've been pleased with it and seems to keep things warm or at a constant temp rather than getting hotter and hotter. I'm not a gourmet cook, just having fun learning!

I have been reading GardenWeb for many years. And in general, most people seem very happy with both their Bluestar and their Culinarian ranges. Inevitably, a small number of people complain though, that either simmering doesn't work well or that their burners click.

I suspect, this not an inherent design flaw, but instead a poor job by the installer. They should have checked that the igniters are aligned properly and that the gas flow rate and the air mixture are appropriately for the altitude of where the stove is installed.

I can't personally speak for the Culinarian, but on my Bluestar RNB range, I got rid of the simmer burner and instead now have two 22kBTU burners in the front and two 15kBTU burners in the back. I use the 22kBTU for 90% of my cooking, and I have used them successfully to make sauce hollandaise without a baine marie. It takes a little effort, and I am sure it would be easier with the dedicated simmer burner. But for most purposes, even the super high powered burners do simmer fine.

Admittedly though, if I have something that needs to simmer for a really long time (e.g. a Dutch oven with a slow-cooking stew), I move the pot into the oven instead. That avoids any risk of things burning onto the bottom of the pot.

Whether BS or Capital is better across the board on one or another dimension may not be the best way to judge as individual cooking preferences may drive actual differences for each user. I've cooked on BS and own a Capital--the simmer is superb: the "simmer" burner is also labelled as a "small pan" burner--probably how I use it the most other than holding a stock pot as it's out of the way in the back. The simmer on the 25K burners is where I do most saucing or holding a warmed stock (think risotto). Most saucing is done in chef's pans so that burner config may be best for the pans' shape.

The grate comment makes no sense to me and the wok positioning in both are different and have different advantages. The Capital wok holder shields the wok handles from getting too hot for both single handle (pow) or dual (Cantonese).

My burners click only during adjustment (you use it and flame height to set simmer) and when out heat pumps crank up as the range has air currents blowing across it. Most of these burners have high plumes that are susceptible to air currents which will trigger re-ignition. Having met the installer, we set the air shutters and simmer ourselves (very straight forward--in the manual or over the phone with Eurostoves or Capital). The hardest part was getting a screw driver that fit (ended up to be a Klein 606/2 to set the simmer).

As to cleaning the grill, Youtube has a instructional video of Lawson using foil to reduce cleaning. It works, we change it maybe once or less a year and only clean the grates after grilling.

I'd suggest taking a careful look at the different grills--have never used BS but have had Wolf, Capital and cooked on a Viking and all were different in design and performance. The BS ones I've seen in retail are a different design than others.

Thanks @teachmkt1. You say you've used different grills. How does the Culinarian grill stack up to the others?

Viking: Don't know if it's been changed. Was not hot enough for a good sear and was uneven. But, have never been a Viking fan.

Wolf: An IR beast and very hot. Great for searing and flavor. Often used it for sear and then a fast oven finish. Did not use sous vide back then but would be good for finishing. Needs to be disassembled to be cleaned (the surrounding frame pops out, clean it in sink with BFK and SS scrubbie). A task but not a chore. Never stopped me from using it. Spouse claims still was the best tasting grill we've had and that's a long list.

Some posters insist on posting that the temp can't be modified which is false (and misleading--clearly they've never used one). Mine came with a SS "blankoff plate that covers about 70% of the IR honeycomb radiator to reduce the radiant heat--will still grill very well with it on which gives an idea of how hot it is. We got a second one, cut it into 2 different sized pieces and had a modified two temp grill (albeit for relatively small size portions). For most cooking we just ran it without the plates which we referred to as "torch." Fish and meats that would have a 125F or so pull temp and rested are the sweet spot. For what we cook the grill was my favorite part of the whole range. One the caveat: once the grill is on it has to cool before you can switch the plate.

Capital: Don't use the grill that much as our climate promotes outside grilling and sous vide and some related approaches have reduced grilling use. The Capital is the most flexible of all I've used: heat is adjustable, grates flip with a grease draining, small width grate for steaks and the like and on the other side a wider grate size to better support thin cuts like fish filets (I've never used it). Not as hot as the Wolf, but seems to have both some convection and IR heat that does a serviceable job on burgers, chicken and steaks. I can get a decent crust on a medium-rare rib eye if that helps. It's close to an outside gas grill in the house imo. For entertaining, is great for grilling apps while people are milling around. Inside grilling, hood with warming lights and someone prepping food helps congregate the guests and does have a certain wow factor, truth be told.

Cleaning usually involves putting a disposable aluminum cooking pan upside down over the grate and running it on hi for about 10 minutes to burn it off (an old Wolf grill trick), let cool and a quick soak and a wire brushing in the sink. 10 minutes max.

Would be interested in hearing about the BS grill in the event you get to play with one.