BlueStar BTUs for wok cooking, RCS 15K vs RNB 22K

8 years ago

I thought that I had settled on getting the RCS36 until I found the owner's manual to my current range and discovered that my top 2 burners are 14.2K and 17.2K BTUs. Well, that changes everything...I had thought that they were lower! I love to use a wok, so moving to a 15K OPEN burner...what change will I see? Does the open star shaped burner provide greater heat than my current 17.2K sealed one (I know that the wok will sit right on top of the flame unlike my current setup)?

I don't care about the colors etc that RNB offers, I only care about having 1 truly powerful burner. If anyone has recommendations for others around this price range with at least an 18K burner, please share. I would like to stay around $6K at the most. Also, if this post reaches any RCS owners who use a wok, what do you think? Would you upgrade to a higher BTU if you could?

Featured Answer

Marco

8 years ago

I bought an RNB36 in January and we generally love it. I got the center griddle option we probably use it every other day. We came from a GE range top whose main burner was 22k, but even the 15k rear burner on my bluestar blows it away. The wok is amazing and a letdown. I can use a round bottom wok and heat it till it's glowing, but the flame misses the very center and as your crank it up, the heat spreads up the wok.

It still works, just not exactly like the youtube videos of people with a dedicated wok burner

But other than that it has been amazing and beautiful. Cleanup is easy enough.

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Comments (12)

Zalco/bring back Sophie!
8 years ago
Bump
lucky998877 thanked Zalco/bring back Sophie!
User
8 years ago
Your range and your vent have to be considered as a single package. Larger burners require more ventilation. And a bigger make up air system. Will those additional expensive elements take you beyond your budget?
lucky998877 thanked User
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lucky998877
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you. Husband is a GC, he make anything work. Budget is not a certain $$ amount, but as I'm not a professional chef, I want to stay reasonable with the cost of the range. I love cooking, and I do it everyday so I want a great range. Just trying to create a kitchen that suites my cooking style well. I fear stepping down in BTUs but maybe changing to open burners isn't really stepping down....or is it?
lucky998877
Original Author
8 years ago
Ideally I would like to purchase the RCS, for some reason I was remembering that it had a 18K BTU burner....but now that I double checked, it doesn't. Anyone with RCS and a wok?
User
8 years ago
Open burners rule restaurants for a reason. Better heat and better cleanabity.
lucky998877 thanked User
lucky998877
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you so much, you just made my choice of RCS easier. Hearing that a 15K burner blows away your previous 22k sealed one is exactly the information I was after.
lucky998877
Original Author
8 years ago
The two grand price difference will be used for refrigerator drawers for all the produce. Thanks again!
ifoco
8 years ago
Marco,

Could you please go into more detail on your disappointment with the wok burner. Also is the griddle built in?

Thanks,

Inga
wekick
8 years ago
Marco, don't you move your wok around as you are cooking? Are you setting it down next to the burner?
M
8 years ago
We have a RNB, and use it for wok cooking all the time. It's awesome. Absolutely recommended. On the other hand, for the duration of our remodel, we are forced to use an older Viking with semi-open burners. I have modified one of the burners so that it now has a wok ring and I removed the cap on the burner. This gets about as close as simulating an open 15kBTU burner as possible.

I can tell you that being used to the wonderful 22kBTU burners, wok cooking on the Viking is an exercise in frustration. I have to very carefully manage portion sizes to make sure that I am stir frying rather than "stir sauteeing".

If you don't have anything to compare with, I am sure you'll like the RCS. But let me assure you that you would not at all regret getting an RNB with the higher-powered burners. This is particularly true, if you do enjoy wok cooking.
lucky998877 thanked M
Marco
8 years ago
A traditional wok burner is a jet aimed dead center in the bottom of the wok that created levels or heat with the most intense being in the center. Since the burner on the Bluestar is round, it creates a ring which you can clearly see in the photo as I was seasoning that wok. This ring which may not seem like a big deal is about the exact size of the amount of oil, ginger and garlic that most recipes start with. It is not a huge issue and it still works great once you get more food in the wok.

The griddle is built in, it is one lone burner underneath and is temperature controlled. All the Bluestars can take the Interchangeable Griddle Charbroiler accessory

There is some movement when I cook in the wok but not a ton. You can really move the food around easy since it is so large. I have the 36" so that picture is it in the front right, the center is the griddle and 2 more burners on the left.

I do not think I use anywhere close to the 22k when I use the wok. Anything past medium and the flames are wrapping up the sides.
lucky998877 thanked Marco