Okay it has been a while and I need to update this! I had a baby, so kept forgetting.

This range is the absolute best thing ever. I could never go back to anything else. I'll try to break this up for ease of reading.

Oven: wow. This oven is SO precise I can't believe it. Also, there is hardly any temperature swing at all. I don't know why it was running hot in the beginning but that has ended now. I eventually removed my thermometer because it's so trustworthy. This range is probably the most trustworthy thing in my house!

Drip tray: I'd intended to use foil and never have to clean it, but I didn't get around to it. And I'm glad. This is so easy to clean. I just check it from time to time and clean it out. No biggie.

Burners: Perfection. I'm serious. The simmer burner is ridiculous. I melt chocolate and butter and whatnot in it all the time. When I go to stir, it basically laughs at me. As IF I would need to stir my chocolate so it doesn't burn. ppffft. Simmering, handled. For all the other burners, well we all know they have power. But what I love most is again, the reliability. I love that I had a salesman trying to sell me a Wolf range instead and wouldn't stop talking about the re-igniting burners. Again, ppffft. Handled. These re-ignite like a dream. They're just dreamy.

Grill/Griddle: Love it. Each time I use it I end up leaving it on for a few days out of laziness and sort of get all my grill and griddle cooking out of my system for a while, then I put the burners back on. It's like I get a new stove each time I make the switch. With only the 4 burners it doesn't stay on all the time, so there is the nuisance of removing it, but I would still much rather have this option than not.

Size: To be honest, I love my 30". I really do. Of course if I had room for more I'd buy more. I wouldn't turn down 6 burners. But, I also understand how usability can be hindered when using burners that are right next to each other. Your pans can only be so big. The 30" has a spacer between the left and right sides, which means you can really use all your burners at once. This is especially key when you're using the grill/griddle. If you tried to use burners right next to it, there would be limited use. The downside of a 36", for me at least, is that I don't want a 36" oven. The 30" oven in this range is nice and big, and I don't need something bigger that will just take that much longer to heat up. In an ideal world, I'd want a 48". That way I'd have enough burners to leave the grill out all the time, not be bothered by the limited use of the burners right next to the grill, and still have 4 good burners to use. Plus, 2 ovens but not ovens that are too big.

Ventilation: I'm impressed with our 650 cfm Zephyr! I'm sure I could use more makeup air but as is, if I open a certain window in the house during high smoke cooking, I'm good. Using the broiler always results in a ton of smoke, as does the grill, obviously. But I still love it. For me, it is still far easier to do this than to go outside, uncover the grill, and use that. Also, I have two small kids, and sometimes going outside just opens a can of worms. Like literally, worms. My son will be like, I wanna play outside! Then it's all over. Sometimes I just want to make dinner while minimizing muddiness. The Platinum is here for me.

So anyways, it's love. Using this range is so comforting in its reliability. No matter what, it's here for me, in all its glorious, fiery consistency. And we shall be together always. <3

Thank you for the update! Mine is sitting I. My living room now, wrapped up tight. I can’t wait to install.

Sara how exciting! You'll love it!

I forgot that I'd meant to include photos of using the griddle. I don't have any of using the grill, but I know that I read a lot of reviews which questioned the griddle's ability to cook evenly spread across the two burners. We love it. I made blackened steelhead on it tonight and it was great. I follow the directions now (heat to high for 2-3 minutes, on low for 7-10). These photos are from a long time ago when I didn't even follow those. In general with this range, I feel that heating well through prior to cooking works best, whether it's the griddle, grill, or oven. See the chicken thighs here, cooked very evenly I think, especially considering this was before I followed the directions. Last weekend we made pancakes on it, following the directions, and it was fantastic.

No comments on the range specifically, but I love your kitchen and your color combinations! What a fun place to work in.

I have to agree with your entire review. We installed our 30" Platinum 18 months ago and honestly I can't think of anything bad to say about it. We gutted our kitchen and also put in a 30" Prizer 1200CFM hood and MUA - DH loves his wok. We downsized so this kitchen is less than half the size of my previous one so we had to make every inch count. That's why we went with a 30" hood. The width is OK but I wish we had bought one that was deeper and projects further from the wall. I didn't take into consideration that the front of the hood has the controls and lights.

I know how much you love it.

Maire_cate I understand needing to make every inch count! Our kitchen space is small so I needed to stick with the 30" for the range and hood. A 36" hood would of course be better, but we needed the cabinetry more. I say that now our kitchen is small, but mighty. :-) I'm jealous of your 1200 CFM. We may upgrade ours one day but so far, for the majority of the time our 650 is working. It amazes me how many narrow hoods there are, and how few deep ones. It was hard to find ours at 24", and I have lights and controls in the front too.

I wanted to write this review especially for the smaller size. I had sometimes felt like it was silly to get such a great range if you didn't have at least 36". But now I don't feel that way at all. I think I actually remember reading about your kitchen in my search for 30" platinum talk. I love my small but mighty kitchen and range!

akrogirl32 Thank you! The Bluestar was the final touch on a complete kitchen remodel, so we picked out every piece. :-)

Kate, thank you for the wonderful review on your new Bluestar Platinum. I need to replace my 15 year old 48“ Thermador, which has been nothing but trouble for years. my husband has had to do most of the repairs himself because most repairmen cannot fix it. Not to mention the high cost of repairs. Thus I have been researching ranges for a couple of years. After my oven door stopped closing correctly, we decided we

needed to make the change. I have looked at the platinum and am only concerned about baking pastries, breads, and cookies in it. The salesman told me the blowing of the convection fan caused cakes, cupcakes, and breads to rise unevenly. They also get overdone on the outside and underdone on the inside. I bake a good bit of bread and lots of cookies. Kate, I see you were pleased with your cookies, but I’m wondering about a cake or bread. Has anyone tried either. If so what was the results. I would like to know if the RNB oven would be better for baking. If anyone has some information, I would really appreciate it.

I just saw a comment come in asking about cakes and breads. I don't know why but it seems to be gone now. However, it reminded me that I never discussed this.

I bake a LOT of cakes. I haven't done yeasted breads but I have done a lot of quick breads. I haven't used convection for my thicker baking. The heat does come from the back, and with a fan, but it isn't as robust a blow as the convection setting. When you don't have it set to convection bake, the fan slowly runs only when the heat element is running. When you have convection going, the fan continues to run and the speed picks up when the heat element turns off. My cakes and breads have always risen perfectly. I haven't rotated anything, and the edges at the back will brown slightly more than those at the front, but not enough to be a problem or to get me to rotate them. I've really not babied my baking in this, thinking that I would see if it would work perfectly and then work backwards from there if it didn't. I really haven't had to adjust for anything.

I have been having a hard time posting photos here since the original post. I'll try again.

This range initially seemed to me to be a meat-cooker first and foremost. But it has turned out to be amazing at the baking. And when I have said the oven is incredibly reliable, I have mostly been speaking to baking. That is what has surprised me most about it.

Thank you for your imput on my baking question. The salesman told me that the platinum only allowed for convection and I would need to adjust to having lopsided cakes and breads! Not happening. Your information has helped a lot. Also your shortcake is beautiful!

Thank you! I tried to upload others and

I have the hardest time posting photos to this site.

That salesman is wrong. There is a switch you hit for convection. It's true that a fan blows through the back with regular baking, but it is different than the convection setting.

My salesman told me there is a heating element in the bottom for conventional baking. This range seems to throw them all off!

What kind of thermometer are you using? It doesn't make any sense not to have temperature swings for any oven.

Mishmosh I hear you. It doesn't make sense. I don't have an infrared thermometer so I'm sure there are small swings I'm not seeing. I have a Faberware Protek. I had a different one and used both for a while, but the Faberware I found to be more sensitive - it would change much faster than my other one. I therefore decided to use it for this. I chose it based on reviews for sensitivity. I let the oven heat up for a long time - 20-30 minutes. I have timed the cycles as they're very rapid. At 350, the needle stays JUST past the 350 mark on my thermometer. The heat runs for 30-39 seconds, and it is off for 60-80 seconds. Perhaps having a well-heated oven, with the rapid cycles, all combined with the PowR oven is a magical combination? I don't know. I am sure I would see small swings with a better thermometer; but if they're so small that my decent little Faberware isn't picking them up, I'm happy. Do you have a favorite thermometer you'd recommend?

I use a digital thermometer. I do not trust those analog dial thermometers. That said, if it's keeping a steady temp, and is pretty much what you set it for, that's good enough for me.

We've baked yeast breads, pies and cakes in our Bluestar and haven't
had any issues. If these look familiar it's because I've posted them in
other threads.
This was the first time DH made Ina Garten's
apple 'Tatin' and he thought he could brown the top more by putting on
the broiler - not the best idea. That explains the brown tips.

We also have a 30" Thermador electric wall oven and we also use that for baking and roasting when we're having a crowd. DH prefers the Bluestar for bread.

Kate, thank you for the detailed review, I’m still on the fence with Blue Star and Wolf and just need to make a decision so I can give final approval on cabinet design. Sales people say the only negative to Blue Star is how hot the oven door and knobs get, have you found that to be ture?

bratcat, nope. I've never noticed the knobs hot, and I use the broiler a lot. For the door, just yesterday I remembered that was a thing. I haven't thought about it in months. On the upper side of the door, on the outside edges near the handles, it gets a little hot. But, it's not like it's dangerous. I've never burned myself by touching it, and I've never accidentally touched it. I've only touched it when thinking about the fact that I'd read it's an issue. It's just warm and tells you to move your hand. Also, I have a 4 y/o very active little boy and a baby, and a very young boxer. I haven't been concerned about any of them. It's definitely not hot enough to damage skin when just touching it. I've never held my hand to it with pressure to see what would happen... but I don't see why anyone would. Even a child would naturally pull their hand away if it hurts. So basically, those two concerns are non-issues.

I was on the fence between Wolf and Bluestar too, especially because Wolf would have been much cheaper. When I was buying mine Wolf was on sale for $4500 and the Bluestar was $6300. I think it really comes down to open vs closed burners, and a more polished, enameled top vs cast iron. Also, true convection vs. not. I preferred the open burners, and definitely prefer the cast iron top to the enameled. The Wolf would just look horrible in my house all the time. I LOVE that I don't have to remove grates to wipe down the top after I cook. But, I prefer the less-polished look. That will be personal choice.

Kate, I’ve been quoted $7150. on the 36” Wolf with griddle and since I’m already over budget on kitchen remodel and had to elimate a few items, so my budget is pretty tight with appliances, I wanted to treat myself with the SubZero panel ready fridge so I could save a bit if I went with the 36” Blue Star Culinary open burner at $4100. I just wasn’t expecting the appliance decsion to be so mind numbing. Where to blow the budget, refrigerator or range...argh!

bratcat haha I know - it's hard! We were restricted to 30" so that helped with costs. They really climb with every added inch. There's also ventilation to consider, and that isn't cheap either. Our fridge isn't SubZero and the range was way more important for me. My husband liked the styling of a Samsung fridge so he got that and I got my Bluestar. Then when the fridge dies we'll just replace it and in the meantime our stuff is cold, so I'm happy. I actually really like the fridge. Best of luck with your decision!

Thank you again, Kate for your detailed review of your Bluestar Platimum Range. You have been a big help.

In September, after several years of reading many reviews, we finally took the plunge and ordered a Bluestar 48” RNB Range with the integrated rolled steel griddle.

We received it in October and I have no regrets! Everything about this range I love. My Christmas cookies all came out perfect; nicely browned outside and moist on the inside. Cheesecake, brownies, bread, and pizza have all baked beautifully. Meats and casseroles cooked evenly and on time. My old Thermador has not baked evenly in a very long time and often stopped in the middle of baking. The small oven does a wonderful job. Both ovens heat up quickly. My old small oven was useless. It took nearly an hour to heat up and twice as long to cook. I cooked two 9 x 13 dishes at once on Christmas day and they were both finished at the same time. I could never do that in my Thermador. The ovens clean up easily, if you just take a few minutes after a spill and clean it.

We love the open burners and would never go back to sealed burners. Searing and Wok cooking is unbelievable. I cook with cast iron pans and love that the burners are all cast iron. They are much easier to keep clean and nice looking. Since I do a lot of cooking, the stainless sealed burners on my Thermador lost their shine and became discolored in a couple of years. Those who are concerned about rust will find these burners do not rust unless you allow water to sit on them. I also love the trays underneath that catch spills and debris. I put them in the dishwasher every couple of weeks and the come out like new.

My RNB came with an integrated rolled steel griddle. I am very happy with the steel griddle. It heats evenly and cleans up easily. My old griddle came with a non-stick surface which eventually came off and left debris in our food. It did not clean up well at all. Steel or cast iron is the way to go.

I mentioned my Thermador repeatedly because when you go to these high end appliance stores and ask, what are the top line of ranges, they always say the Wolfe and the Thermador. They sound like the nicest, with a lot of great features. But the fact that they are run with computer operated parts makes them very expensive to repair. And repairs they will need. The Thermador gas range has self-cleaning ovens. The high temperatures they use for the self-cleaning feature reduces the life of computer components that run the range. I have found the Bluestar is simple but works so well.

Angie - thanks for the update. It's always interesting to read what another BlueStar ower thinks of the range. We had the same experience when we ventured into the appliance stores. Several sales people pushed Thermador. We knew from day one that we wanted a BlueStar range and a SubZero refrigerator but we still needed other appliances: dishwasher, range hood, microwave and wall oven. They tried to sell us packages - all Thermador, or all SZ/Wolf.

We've used ours now for over 2 years and are still thrilled with it. The open burners are perfect. The simmer burner did need a minor adjustment which only took a few minutes. Although we did install a 30" electric Thermador wall oven we only use it when we're making lots of dishes, otherwise we use the BlueStar.

I know this is an old thread, but you all that love the open burners, can you explain why? I always just heard it was “messier” but that is really all I know about them. I currently cook on a Viking (had problems since year 2).

Thank you so much for this review. It is so helpful. I especially love your details about baking as I love to bake.

I was wondering if you can tell me about your use of the island trim. Did you use a non combustable material on the wall to circumvent the need for the 6 inch backguard? I really don't love the look of the backguard but concerned about what has to happen if we don't use it.

wekick - great info!!! I do remember the stove where I grew up - it was open burner. Funny now it is considered unique.....

Katie Colbath - thank you for such a detailed and helpful review as well as the additional updates and comments! You have really helped me with my own decisions as we too have a very small kitchen and I have racked my brain trying to figure out how to fit a 36" BS. It would just be too much I think but you have given me confidence I can rally with the 30"! Thank you!! :-)

I just replaced an electric range with a 30" BSP304B and shopped hard for one that I could afford. I previously owned a dual fuel Blue Star 36" and at the time had double ovens as well so rarely used the huge oven. The gas oven in this unit is amazing and I am working with it to check temperature settings etc. I am also checking the infrared broiler for efficacy and so far it all is perfect. The unit is truly rock solid and very little to nothing could be wrong with it, even though it was bought from a nearby resale shop and had been loved in another home. My natural gas technician hooked everything up and I made my first dinner in the oven tonight! If anyone has tips on service or maintenance please share.