Bluestar has a quite poor reputation for customer service and for needing a lot of care and adjustments on install. I'd not do it without a good reliable local dealer.

Bluestar ranges have a checklist of items that needs to be run through during initial set up. A good installer should do that for you, and it'll make for a much more pleasant experience. But it isn't impossible to do that yourself. The design is really straight-forward and traditional. No big surprises.

Having said that, if you have never had a Bluestar or similar range before, I'd recommend asking a competent installer to do this work for you.

Once installed, a Bluestar range should require minimal or no additional maintenance. But it wouldn't hurt to familiarize yourself with how it works. I feels like playing with LEGOs. Just a handful of simple parts that click together.

During installation you want to make sure that the tip-prevention bracket is installed, as your building inspector might check for that (not that it is likely you'll ever tip this behemoth of a range). Also make sure all the feet are adjusted for the correct height. The manual should give you the details. I think, the frame needs to be about ¼" higher than the surrounding countertops. This also gives you an opportunity to level the range, if your floor isn't actually level; a range that is out of level can be frustrating to cook on.

Ensure that the correct back guard is installed or that your range is more than 6" away from your backsplash. Also, make sure that the oven door is fully proud of the front of your cabinets.

When you get the range, make sure that all the burners turn on reliably. If they don't, check the spark igniters. If they aren't straight/centered, they might not spark in the right spot (the new improved design makes this failure mode less common). Also, if the screw that attaches the igniter to the burner head is lose, you sometimes don't get a good spark.

If that still doesn't help, check that the igniter cable is fully plugged in. And check that there are zip ties that keep the able away from metal parts. If it runs too close to metal parts, you can have sparks go through the insulation. This is easy to notice; you hear the spark, but you don't see it at the burner head. Just clean up the wires a little better.

Next, check that the shutters are adjusted correctly for your altitude above sea level. If you are at sea level, you probably won't have to make any adjustments. On the other hand, if the shutters are set incorrectly, you either have a flame that is loud and separates from the burner head, or you have a flame that is too cold and has lots of yellow. Don't worry about yellow per se; you also get that from sodium in the flame and that frequently happens for a few hours when the stove is new. That's perfectly normal and just cosmetic. It doesn't affect the flame temperature at all. For more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9XxeVtkYNU

Afterwards, verify that the low flame settings is correct. It should be as small as possible without actually going out. For instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l45j0tXC23Q

If you for some reason decided to modify the burner configuration (e.g. replaced the simmer burner with another 15kBTU burner), you not only have to change burner heads and jets to match, but you also absolutely have to go through the steps of adjusting the shutter and the low set point.

Incidentally, if you hear gas, but you don't get any flame at all, then there is a chance that the venturi tubes don't sit on the gas jets. This can easily happen when you pull out the burner heads (e.g. during transport). No harm done. Turn off the gas, properly seat the venturi tubes, and try again.

Finally, I would verify that all the grates sit level and don't wobble. There are screws that the grates rest on. If you notice wobble, slightly adjust these screws.

I think, that's it for the top section.

For the oven, check that the main oven burner and the broiler both turn on reliably. Give it a little time. It can take a minute or so for the glow bar igniter to heat up and to turn on the gas flow. But it should eventually do this. If not, contact Bluestar for service (or, if out of warranty, ask here and we'll tell you what to do).

Then check the oven temperature. Please note that Bluestar ovens are really huge. That's generally a nice thing. But it also does mean that it takes a really long time to preheat. I'd give it at least 30min to preheat before checking temperature with an oven thermometer. It is normal that the temperature will hover around the set point. All gas ranges operate like that and cycle on and off. So, keep that in mind when looking at the temperature. In my experience, Bluestar does a really good job at setting the temperature correctly from the factory. But if it happens to be off for your range, you can find instructions how to careful adjust the set point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9igDKzDg6E

While you are at it, make sure the lights and the convection fan work. Please note that the convection fan should never be used during pre-heat or when the broiler is in use. Newer models should actually lock out the fan during these times.

When you are happy with all calibration and function tests, you should do the initial burn-off cycle for your oven. There always is some small amount of oil residue on all metal parts, and it causes your oven to smell bad when it is used the first time. All brands have this problem. Bluestar recommends a burn-off cycle. It's been many years since I had to do this, but I think it was something like 450°F for 2 hours.

This is also a great opportunity to season the grates. While you can wait and with time the stovetop grates will develop a natural patina, you can accelerate the process. Rub all the cast iron parts with a thin coating of grape seed oil and then try to remove as much of the excess oil as possible. Load the grates into the oven during the burn-off cycle. They'll come out nicely seasoned afterwards and will be easier to clean going forward. If you ever wash your grates in the dishwasher, you might have to do this again.

That's it, I think. If you feel you can do this yourself, you should be good to do. If you feel intimidated, ask your appliance store whether their installer will do all these steps.

A good installer would also check that the correct regulator valve and the correct jets are installed. It doesn't happen often, but there have been a few reports where people ordered a LP range and received a natural gas model (or vice versa). It'll be really easy to spot when this happens and it's easy to fix. But it's really frustrating if that's your initial experience. A good installer will just take care of it.

@M Our new BS 48 RNB arrives tomorrow (eek!), so this is awesome and super helpful. Thanks!

My store sold BlueStar for a lot of years. Quality is decent, but customer service is the main reason we no longer handle the brand. They tend to treat customers like their own service arm...grab a screwdriver, we'll walk you through how to fix it.

We've had much better luck with the Capital Range. 25K btu open burners, great durability, an outstanding distributor to stand behind service issues, if needed, and fairly comparably priced.

Doesn't sound as if Capital quality nor customer service is always all that great: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2293827/capital-culinarian-problems

If the only issue with Bluestar is a lack of easily accessible service directly from the manufacturer then IMHO that's the better solution. Everything is built so simply that I can repair it, if I so choose. That saves me money and time. But it also means I can call any local service technician and they can take care of it. And it probably still costs less because everything is built so modular.

As long as Bluestar makes the parts available, that generally works out great. And Bluestar has stellar track record for long term availability of parts. It's an advantage if the product line doesn't constantly change like with other brands (cough, Samsung).