we just bought a bluestar 48" RNB. But it doesnt cost 20k or even 15. I think the price came in under 10k (9k?).

Bluestar uses standardized parts so you should be able to replace them pretty easily. There are minimal electronics as well. We havent moved in yet, so dont have an experience with it yet.

I agree with your concern that the value proposition for the Platinum model is questionable. There are several people here who actually prefer the RNB over the Platinum. Apart from the unusual PowR burners, the change in griddle design is frequently brought up. I don't have a griddle myself, but several GardenWebbers have commented that they think the RNB griddle is superior.

As for 48"+ of overall size, I always ask what the motivation for getting this much cooking surface is. It certainly makes hood design quite difficult and expensive. That can easily double the effective cost.

This not to say that there aren't households that could realistically benefit from a stove that is this big. But in many cases, a smaller rangetop (e.g. 36") is a better fit. Combine that with an appropriate selection of wall ovens, CSOs and/or SpeedOvens and you have a much more flexible cooking/baking solution.

In other words, tell us more about what it actually is you want to be able to do, and tell us about the layout of your kitchen, and we might be able to let you think outside of the box -- and in the end, you'll be happier with the results.

Currently, We don't have a lot of room in our kitchen. The previous owners didn't cook and it is not set up well for more than one person to be cooking at a time. We both cook a lot and frequently get in each others' way with the current size/layout. The kitchen size is small for us, 12' x 16 2/3' with 3 doors and an open end. One wall may be able to be moved, but currently only 2 walls can have cabinet space because of a closet depth pantry with double doors. I like the idea of having wall ovens, because we could have 2 differing work areas, but cabinet and counter space are limited by the current structure of the house. I've looked at speed ovens, but would prefer a normal convection oven if something was on a wall or under a counter.

My wife and I also find ourselves both competing for space on the 30" range we have now. I would love for us have enough cook top space to not bump into each other. We talked about options from the french top or 24" griddle and 48" vs 60" and we kept taking about bumping into each other, especially when family was over for the holidays. Personally, I would like to have a griddle. My Dad used to work for Waffle House doing maintenance; and for a time growing up, going to Waffle House every weekend for our one night out a week was normal for us. I have pretty fond memories of watching the cooks on the flat-tops preparing food and would love to have a 24" griddle.

Thanks for all of the responses so far. I guess we are still in the beginnings/dreaming part of planning. We could use the 48" easily, but I could also see us needing the extra cook-top space of the 60, especially when family and friends who cook are over. While I'd love a beautiful, show-room quality kitchen, I'd rather have the functionality aspect covered first.

We have rehabbed a couple of homes at this point in our lives, so I'd like to think we are prepared to be surprised by the challenges in making this kitchen functional. It is supposed to be our "some-day" kitchen.

If you already have too little space to comfortably use the kitchen, it sounds as if 60" of cooking area is going to push the envelope. Please remember that you also need a humongous (expensive!) vent hood that is taking away valuable upper cabinet space.

Without seeing actual drawings for the floor plan, it's hard to guess just how creative you have to get about creating work surfaces.

There certainly are tricks that you can use to create more usable surfaces, but they also cost more (e.g. induction cooktops, "workstation" sinks, custom cabinets, ...). A general sense of your budget would help us.

I hear you about wanting a built-in griddle. They can be nice and versatile, if you have enough space for it.

Alternatively, learn how to use your oven(s) more effectively. They are great for anything that needs to slow cook. It's the main reason our remodeled kitchen will sport three separate ovens (30" range, 24" CSO, 24" SpeedOven). Ovens aren't just for baking and roasting. And multiple small ovens are a great idea; especially if they have different features.

M,

I just deleted my comment on accident apparently...,

Thanks for your input. We are in the beginnings of planing and hoping to come up with a couple of good plans.

The doors in the kitchen are not in the best places, but we may be able to use the pantry space, which is ~8' wide and about counter depth deep to put a range in. We may also be able to move a wall back too which would give us 14'x16 2/3'. Which in my mind would give us space for an island. I'll have to get a rough sketch drawn up and post it in the near future.

For now, I think we are trying to narrow down our choices of cooking appliances so we can, hopefully, make the decision making process less stressful when trading prep space for appliances.

Robert,

I just got my 48" RNB installed within the past week and so far love it! I hear ya on the dreaming, for various reasons our project was delayed a couple of years and in the interim, just kept getting bigger and bigger, but we are now functional and all that remains are small cosmetic items to wrap up.

I was attracted to the industrial looks, simplicity and of course, the dragon breath power of the Blue Star! And so far it is everything I thought it would be. Definitely takes some getting used to the power of these burners, but I am having fun with it (again, just a week in).

We went with the char broiler and 6 burners. I thought hard about going with the griddle, but in the end I decided to go with an overlay (chef king carbon steel gets a lot of love on these forums so that is what I bought, used yesterday for the first time) as I could always turn burners into a griddle, but not a char broiler. Still not sure I made the 100% right decision there, I may yet wish for a thermostatic griddle, but I don't think it will slow down the fun I am having.

Others are correct about the pricey exhaust system that will need to be installed so keep that in mind. It can get complicated with the make up air.

Sorry, can't offer a long term review, but happy to answer any questions you may have.

Paul

I was going through some old emails and came across this old post I made.

An update...It's been 2 yrs since that post and we are definitely settling into this older house well. The kitchen remodel has been put off for the installation of a pool and detached garage. We have decided that because when you have kids, the pool is more important. Long term plan is to extend out an older dining room to have enough space for the larger kitchen we both want.

So, this kitchen remodel may be 4-5 yrs out, but we are going to be able to plan the space around the appliances we want. We're still leaning toward the 60" Bluestar, but we hope the technology/options available will improve within the next few years.

Thanks for the update. It's always helpful to find out what the OP decided.

We have a 30" BlueStar Platinum range in our primary home - it's just the 2 of us and since DH has retired he has become the main cook. We're getting ready to remodel a vacation home and are planning to install a 30" RNB there.

I see this thread was recently raised from the dead and figured I'll share my $0.02. We remodeled a smallish galley-style kitchen in 2019 including install of a 48" RNB w 12" griddle and matching BS hood. Range was about $10k, hood and makeup air probably another $10k installed. I worked in college as a cook, so I knew I would love the griddle w/thermostat control, and I was right. I heavily debated either 24" griddle or chargrill, but decided to get the 6 burners. I'm happy with my decision but honestly I think I'd be just as happy with one of the other configurations. One thing I definitely don't regret is going RNB instead of Platinum. The 22k burners are plenty hot even for stir fry and deep frying, and the griddle is so good I can't imagine not having it.

One other thing... as winter is approaching this year I started thinking about grilling indoors. I was wondering if there is an aftermarket grill grid that would fit above the BS burners similar to the Platinum grill/griddle. After a lot of searching I found Grill Grates, which has a commercial offering that is almost a perfect fit. After a few tests, I can say it works very well; better sear than my outdoor grill, in fact. I can add more details or photos of my setup if you're interested.

Are you putting the Grill Grates on top of the griddle or on top of the burners? How is the clean up?

I removed the burner grates and placed the Grill Grates over the burners themselves. Cleanup is comparable to a chargrill. Here's a photo, please excuse the mess it gets a lot of use.

@Dave Thompson, thanks for posting that!

Dave, thanks for the picture, that looks great! I made a similar decision, 48" RNB but I went with the grill rather than the griddle. My rationale was that I could always turn the burners into a griddle with an overlay but would not be able to turn them into a grill. You proved that wrong!

I kind of wish I had gone with the griddle as I don't use the grill all that much, though that is in large part because the broiler is amazing. And with winter coming, it will get more use. I am going to see if I can find a griddle plate that is about the same size as the grill grates. Won't be thermostatically controlled of course, but would be more convenient than the large overlay, especially if I am not cooking for a crowd.

Here's a couple of action shots from grilling some porterhouse steaks the other night. The flame is so tall it wraps around the edges of the steak and gives a superb sear.

Thanks for that shot, looks like your after market grill set up is pretty effective. Looks like more high heat searing power than the built in charbroiler, which makes sense, you are over 2 15k BTU burners whereas the built in is 15k total. I generally use the charbroiler for chicken, shrimp, vegetables and less so for red meats. I can't get away from the cast iron sear on steak or lamb rib chops.

Following your lead, I ordered the griddle from Grill Grates as it should fit almost perfectly either over or in place of the grates. I'll add a pic once it arrives, but this should give a good idea.

I did grilled chicken pesto pasta last night, not exciting but good mid week meal.

No idea why my name shows as Paul S sometimes and pauls234 others but for clarity, I am both in this thread.

Hi David, I really like your GrillGrate idea, but I have a question. The charbroiler setup on the Platinum series uses a stainless steel v-shaped diffuser that sits between the burners and the grill grate. It evens out the heat and keeps fat and liquids from dripping directly into the burners. I'm curious how the GrillGrates work without that diffuser. I imagine they heat pretty evenly, being thick aluminum, but what about the fats and juices that drip down through the holes? Does that gum up the burners?

@Dave Thompson Can you answer the question above?

@Just Ask Me@jdub_65 Since there's still occasional interest in this thread, I'll give an update.

You basically get two hot zones that can each grill two strip steaks or ribeyes, with a cool zone in between. It's hotter than the typical RBS grill because it has two burners instead of one, but the heat distribution is uneven. The heat is concentrated around the two burners under the grate. FYI, I got the idea from the griddle/grill accessory for the Platinum range:

Note, I like the grill grate solution better because the grate sits lower than the burners. This means that the grate doesn't interfere with large diameter skillets on the neighboring burners.

It is a bit dirty, but it's not so bad if you're using it to do things like sear steaks. Something really greasy like 70/30 hamburgers will make more of a mess. It hasn't been anything too terrible though; the grate catches a lot of the drippings. I only use the setup occasionally, however, so if you are going to use it daily it will need more maintenance.

The way I cook has evolved a bit over the past 4+ years since my initial comment. Between having this indoor grill setup and having a big charcoal smoker, when my gas grill gave up the ghost a couple years ago I switched over to charcoal for that as well since I already keep the fuel around. It's a little less convenient than gas but the flavor is really much better, so now I have the option between very convenient indoor gas grill or somewhat inconvenient but very tasty charcoal grill.

Second, I have moved to mostly sous vide to cook my steaks and chops. This means that I just need a couple minutes of fire to finish them, either in a cast iron skillet or on the grill. This setup is perfect for that, so that's convenient.

@Dave Thompson

Thank you, Dave! After much consideration and your feedback, I have decided to go with a 36in range with a griddle and a CSO wall oven. I also have a small, plug-in induction cooktop should I ever need it. I live in a hot climate so I can grill outside with charcoal on my smaller grill anytime of the year without the major hassle of firing up the bigger grill. In this situation, taste/flavor trumps convenience.

@Just Ask Me I think you'll be happy with that setup. I like the convenience of the indoor grill, but honestly I mostly use a cast iron skillet to sear because the intense heat transfer lets me do it faster and avoid the dreaded grey ring on my steaks.

Jealous of the steam oven!

@Dave Thompson

I strongly recommend you purchase a CSO. Strongly! lol