How about a 30 inch blue star?

So the Bluestar is 3,500 ish and that is still just a 30”.

honestly, if i were to drop down to a 30" i'd drop down in price too... probably drop down and find something at ±$1000 and be fine. i dont need anything fancy, just reliable.

I see home depot has the non pro NXR 36" @ $1800 which is pretty tempting.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NXR-Entree-36-in-5-5-cu-ft-Professional-Style-Gas-Range-with-Convection-Oven-in-Stainless-Steel-NK3611/300618702

honestly the more i read the more i lean towards the thor. though everything seems to be a bit outdated.

Any chance you can go see one that works?

I tell ya... so many things come into play.. hell, if I was that close to a place, I would grab my most common pots and head there with like 4 of them and see how well it boils water, or how well you can fit your stuff on it. You may find it is no better than a 30" for space, due to placement, or you may find it fits so nicely you buy it on the spot heh.

Be prepared to walk though, if you do not love it.

R

Agree with Lisa, hence why I think if you go look at them, put the pots you know you will use on them, you may find a higher quality 30" that you flat out will fall in love with within your budget vs a 36" that you settle for because it looked good on paper.

Either way, you have a budget, so seeing one will help you love it more after the purchase.

R

Are you set up for an exhaust hood for the 36" range?

yes, I have 8" ducting through the roof.the36" hood I had picked out only required 6" and return air.

are thors BAD or something?

I doubt anyone here knows anything about a Thor.. lol.. now, if it came with a magical hammer....

The key is, will YOU like it?

I would, however, suggest you go to Amazon.com and check out the reviews of ALL their ranges....even the smaller or larger ones. They tell a lot, and safety and quality are lacking from the sound of it.

Here is one:

https://www.amazon.com/Thor-Kitchen-HRG3618U-Pro-Style-Stainless/dp/B00NFY6R1O#customerReviews

After you read those, if you still need help.. come back and ask. We know you have a budget of $3,000... so, let's see why you want a 36", what you really WANT out of a range.. and then, let's see what we can find for you.

Russ

Since you have an 8" duct, take advantage of that and get a hood that uses an 8" duct. A hood that uses 6" when you have 8" is unnecessarily constrained. Have you looked at hoods at Costco with baffle filters?

yes, I've looked at hoods at Costco but not specifically ones with waffle filter

I bought my Capital range top from DHS a few years back. They shipped it to me and I stored it in my garage until we remodeled. I would not hesitate to purchase from them. Here's a Capital for 3K.

http://www.designerhomesurplus.com/Capital/MCR364GN.php

interesting, have never seen capital pop up in my search. they seem to only have the griddle version or bbq burner version (whaterver that is) available.

I would seriously stay away from Thor. The reviews are horrible.

I have a capital.. loooove it. Will post more later. Gotta get ready for work. They ALL have bad things. I am trying to find time to deal with a small issue with my Capital.. nothing major.. I have a 48" and while I could have easily loved a 30"....this thing is a beast.

Will chat more after I get to work.

R

The bbq is a built-in grill. There's a lot of love on these forums for Capital. That's how I learned about the brand a few years ago and made a visit to their factory in CA where they are manufactured. WOULD NOT consider Thor if you can get a Capital for the same money.

The three headed hydra of same same same but different styling cheepchinesecrapola “budget” prosumer ranges are not well made at all. You will need to be your own service point forever. You’re not getting anyone in the sticks out to work on them, ever. If you want to continually fix things before you can use them, stick with buying poor quality imports. If you want something that works like it should, go Bluestar, Capital, or maybe American.

Okay, so.. with a budget of $3500, here are the choices on AJM:

https://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/36+Inch%3BFreestanding%3BGas%3BRanges/Nf~exterior_width%7CBTWN+30+36%7C_price_with_promos02_%7CBTWN+1000+3500%3Bpropname_exterior_width~Exterior+Width%3BNs~price_with_promos02_%7C1%3BN~25+4294965554+4294965548+4294964456%3Bpropname_price_with_promos_02_~Refine+By+Price

Now, that does not mean you cannot find a better deal, but it does show that if you are looking for quality, you are going to have to either finance another $1000 minimum (remember taxes and shipping) or buy used or buy smaller (30") or buy a really super nice Maytag or LG or Samsung etc.

If you want a high end range, do not waste a penny on Thor or off-name brands that are just lower price knock-offs.

A Capital 36" starts around $5000.

I know it is not great news, and your heart is set on something like Viking or Capital etc, but your heart will enjoy a quality stove that works, has good support.

Worse than not getting a name you want, is getting low quality you do NOT want....and broken parts and a range that you "settled for"...but have to get fixed over and over.

Now, with the budget of $3,000.... Lowes or Home Depot has an awesome double oven Maytag that I always enjoyed in the last house. That smaller upper oven is awesome for steaks and pizzas etc.. and baking.

Russ

I have a similar budget and once I started researching ranges and realized the cost of reliable and loaded ranges of that size, immediately decided to reduce my range to a 30” where I have many more options and can get more value and reliability for my money. I’d personally rather live with a slightly smaller cooktop with better craftsmanship.

The capital is a rangetop not a range. The cheapest capital range is $5k.

If you want a "cheap" 36" range the Bluestar RCS is really your best bet. Seems like it is about $4300 now (used to be $4k). I'd either figure out a way to get that or a normal consumer brand 30" myself.

Capital makes rangetops as well as ranges. Was not meaning to refer to a range top at all.

yeah i realize they make both, someone above suggested a capital range for around $3k, their rangetop is in that ballpark, the range is much more although on further inspection the above link seems to be an open box/scratch & dent sort of deal for around that much.

our desire for 36" stems from the fact it's hard to use all four burners on any 30" we have ever cooked on. trying to use an 8" sauce pan and a couple frying pans is impossible without having something 1/2 way off a burner.

for example, cooking eggs, pancakes, bacon and boiling water for coffee

spaghetti noodles, sauce, Browning meat, cooking veggies.

also, steak in the oven? shame!

I definitely don't need loaded. the less moving parts,the less electronics the better. a timer would be nice. I don't need WiFi, Bluetooth, recipes built in, bright blue led lit knobs thatannoy the fuckout of me when I'm not cookkng, a fancy control panel that noone but me can figure out

Ahreno, those are the same reasons why I'm upgrading from 30" to a 36", I want to be able to use more than 2 burners at the same time and currently I cannot. Good luck!

Perfect info.. let's see what we can do to find you a good solid 36" within your budget. Sec.. will look around. As long as you are okay with not being a Capital or one of the .. hrm.. only way to say it.. "commercial grade" types.. or what folks think of as that (I hat to say upper end because we know we can all cook on a 250 dollar stove just as easy.. )..

Let's see what is out there.. sec

Well, it looks like you are just "on the cuff" of a 36" quality range. No dea what these "premier" ranges are, but as was explained, once you step up to a 36" range (I went to 48 for the exact same reason you want to)... $3000 simply will not get quality.

Now, you can try to go look at American Ranges and DCS, Jenn-Air and such and those may have one and are perfectly fine ranges according to many folks, and please do not take this as discouragement.

If it were me.. it would be irritating.. heh.. but.. you COULD pick up a $50 range on clist and use it.. while you save up a little more for that perfect dream range you want.

Just an idea.

Right now, I know nothing about Smeg or whatever that brand is, There are a few on AJMaddison for under 4500, but if you save up just a tad more.. once you hit 5k, you enter the realm of quality.

Russ

The link that I provided is for a 'new in box' Capital Precision 36" range. They have a 'make an offer' button. I called and dealt with them over the phone when I purchased my 48" Capital Culinarian range top and saved a couple thousand. I also referred my brother to them when he was buildingand he purchased all of his appliances from them as well. No problems whatsoever. Appliances are the one area where you can save a boatload if you know where to look.

ahreno, the Precision line has closed burners while the Culinarians have open burners.

http://www.designerhomesurplus.com/promotions/MakeAnOffer.php?x=i

"Cheap Chinese . . . crapola ....."

Okay, that is the wrong knock. The "crapola" debate was hashed out here --- and resolved against that opinion --- in threads here five years ago. The knock on the Hyxxion-made stoves (Thor and NXR) is not their old fashioned simplicity nor is it "crapola" build quality Unless the definition of crapola is minimal electronics and manual clean ovens. :>)

The knock is poor post-sale service and support for those who are not enthusiastic and self-sufficient DIYers.

One might ask, "if these are such simple stoves, why worry about service?" Well, I have not had to "continually fix things" but you do need to consider that the Hyxxion-made stoves (Thor, NXR and Kucht) are a decades old design. Think Wolf sealed-burner stoves from back in the 1980s, long before SubZero bought the residential product line from the old Wolf company and back when the old company first started making a residential product.

Or maybe think old-fashioned Jeep 4wd vehicles.

Those kinds of products need periodic maintenance. For example, every so often, an old-style Jeep requires replacement points and spark plugs, lubrication of bearings and such. So also, at some point, your NXR or Thor will (just like the decades old Wolf models) will need to have burners cleaned out, will need somebody to remove gunk build-up on jets, and eventually will need some stovetop or oven ignitors replaced.

These can be easy tasks for confident and capable DIYers. See the thread ["if-susan-fixed-her-nxr-oven-ignitor-u-can-2"[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/if-susan-fixed-her-nxr-oven-ignitor-u-can-2-dsvw-vd~2288437?n=32) for an example.

But many people are not enthusiastic, confident appliance DIYers. Even if you are, you might not have the time for it.

If so, you will need a servicer. At least with an old-style Jeep, you can pretty readily find somebody to work on it for you. Might not be true for appliances if you've chosen a brand with a small market share.

Best to check before buying. By "check," I mean you should do more than have Home Depot tell you that it can give you list of servicers if and when your Thor or NXR might need service. Call the servicers on the list. Find out who will actually work in your area and work on that brand. Servicers are getting old and retiring. More and more small service companies are no longer doing warranty work.

Heck, when I needed minor warranty work on my new dishwasher -- somebody to replace a leaky $8 hose fitting --- I was given lists of servicers from Lowe's (where I bought it) and Bosch (who made it). Turned out that nobody on either list covered my town. And that was for a major brand appliance!

The DIY consideration is for every brand with a small market share. Even Blue Star. Depending on where your home is located, you could have difficulty finding anybody to service any residential appliance from a company with a small market share.

If you are not a DIYer, best sort that out before making a decision on what to buy.

Also, in every manufacturer's product line, some lemons will get past quality control. Best to think about how you might deal with that if your stove turns out to be a defective one. Me, I bought my NXR from Costco.com going on seven years ago. I bought there because of Costco's policy of absolute full-customer-satisfaction and-full-refund-even-if turns-out that- you-just-don't-like-the product-after-using-it-for-a-while. Now, I also have a truck, a hoist, and burly friends to help load the stove to take to the local Costco, so I could easily have hauled my stove in for a refund or replacement if my NXR had been defective when it arrived. I would not have had to put up with drawn out delays for warranty fixes and eventual return.

So, have you figured out what you would do if your new stove turned out to be defective after you receive it? It is true that you could wind up with that situation if you were to buy a Bosch or one of the $1000 major brand gas ranges you mentioned as your preferred alternative. But, those are smaller than and only weigh half as much as that 36" wide $1800 NXR "entree" from Home Depot, or the $2k DRGB floor model. You might be able to haul one of those alternative 30" model ranges back to HD on your own. Could you do that with the big NXR?

For that matter, does your local Home Depot even stock the NXRs and Thors or would it be a special order? (My local Home Depot says that they are special order only. Your local HD might be different.) If special ordered, do you know if you could return it to the a local store and whether there would be restocking charges on this brand?

What if you buy that older floor model NXR for $2k? (Is that a DRGB 3600 model? FWIW, a DRGB is the model NXR that I have.)

Then there still are the 36" width and weight to deal with. To the questions others raised above, I would add the following. Is the stove going into a new build or an existing home? If an existing home, how will it be delivered? Whether you buy the $2k floor model DRGB version of the NXR from the dealer or the $1800 "Entree" NXR from HD, will it be installed for you or just delivered to your curb? How does it get into (or out) of your home? How hard would it be to move in a 36" wide stove?

And that leads me to ask what is the attraction of the 36" size of range for you? Is it maybe style such as hoping for a higher-end look for real estate values?

Or is it instead that maybe that you are thinking about stovetop cooking space and extra burners? Have you checked to see how your pots and pans will fit, as somebody above suggested? If so, I'd ask how often you think you will need the extra space or extra burners? If not frequently (like every week), I'd suggest considering alternatives for those functions for which extra burners might be needed. For example, I would look at at a large electric griddle which can be stashed when not using it. Say, a Broil-King for those times when you need to produce mass quantities of pancakes. Also, for pots, maybe consider a portable induction cooktop or two which you can pull out when you all need more than four burners at a time. (FWIW, the burners on the 30" NXR and Thor stoves are more widely spaced than on standard major brand ranges.) Do you regularly need to use full size sheet pans (18" x 26") so that the 30" width of the oven would be useful to your family?

Yes,extra cook top space. I'd say closer to daily than weekly do I find myself having to have a pan half way off a burner while I cook.

I've got a bunch of strong friends to help move the stove in. (New construction house, can go through front door or double slider patio door if needed.

Floor model is under warranty. Would highly prefer not dealing with home Depot as they suck as much as Walmart does. Costco doesn't currently have the nxr 36" available.

I've looked at 30" and the burners are all the same spacing, front to back at least. The 36" will hopefully allow a front two corners and middle back to be used with full sized pans. It's a two hour drive to be able to see a 36" wide though. I will bring pots

You should consider Bertazzoni in this price range-their new lineup of gas ranges is fantastic!!

Ahreno --

Do take your pots and pans when checking out that NXR. I have a 30" model --- DRGB 3001 --- and I do run combinations of 4 large pots and pans. Today, for example, I've had a pair of 12" fry pans in front and a pair of 13"diameter canning kettles in back. The front pans are forward an inch or so off center but nothing like "half-way off a burner" that you described happening with your existing stove. YMMV on whether or how well that works for you.

BTW --- we've had numbers of threads here over the years in which posters have cited the same reaons you give for wanting a 36" wide range or cooktop.

I had the same issue of not being able to fit several pans at the same time so I brought the pans I use most often with me to every appliance store to check what would fit. Bluestar, Capital, Wolf, GE Monogram and, believe it or not,Frigidaire were the ones that worked. If you will never or rarely need more than 4 burners I would encourage you to get a 30” range rather than the 36”. The price diff between the 2 sizes is quite a bit. If you ever do need a 5th burner you can get a portable induction hob for less than $100. I ended up buying the Bluestar which I love but there was a little learning curve with the hotter burners. Skip any 30”with 5 burners.