BlueStar

Canadianegger2020

alaskanassasin said:

I am about to pull the trigger on a 30" base model BlueStar range. I like the burners, the easy wok conversion, there does not seem to be any electronics also a plus. Anyone out there have one, or been around one?

    I have one , a 30" have had it for about 7 years . I have the open burner model so I can WOK right on the flame . I love this stove. Its powerful , built like and tank and made in USA. 

AprèsSki

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Ok, well I am investigating a kitchen remodel.  I can easily fit a 30" BlueStar range, with some major rework, I could fit a 36".  I would need to redo cabinets, lose storage, and change a fair bit around.  Is the 36" worth the extra effort?  In a perfect world, I would get a 48", but I don't have @SGH type money.

In the almost 10 years that I have had my 30" I can probably count on one hand the times I wished I had another 2 burners. I've wished for a second oven way more than I wished for another burner.

With 4 Eggs and a Blackstone to fall back on you should be covered. 

Thank you to Smak for that burner adjustment video, my simmer burner needs an adjustment.

alaskanassasin

Having never seen one in person you guys tipped the scales.  Bought and paid for BlueStar 30" range, open burner not the premium model. Expected delivery 4 weeks. Taking your word for it!

Thatgrimguy

Botch said:

At breakfast this morning I discovered my high-BTU burner could also hit Simmer levels (was thinking for whatever reason that wasn't possible).  This makes my cooking logistics SO much easier!
 
Now if I could just find a willing range hood installer.... it's been almost a month now.  

I want to change the simmer burner for a 15k or whatever the not 23ks are 
I use the simmer covers anyhow.

ColtsFan

You guys are killing me. We're about to upgrade kitchen appliances. I could fit a 36" with minimal cabinet rework. Getting the wife onboard will be the challenge

Thatgrimguy

@ColtsFan You just need to remind her that not only is it functional but it's also beautiful. 

GlennM

We have had a Thermador 36” with 4 burners and a griddle for close to 20 years. Love it and the griddle is perfect for us. 

Botch

This afternoon I dug into a minor Rabbit Hole, typed "Bluestar Range Cleaning" into EweTube.  Well-worth my time.
 
First, I saw the difference between a cooktop (what I have) and a range top (which mebbe I should've sprung for); the range tops have removable sheets below the open burners, much easier to clean.  My cooktop has "pie plates" under the open burners, cleanable in-place if necessary.  I don't normally boil over on a stovetop, so this may not be as big a deal for me.  
 
Second, I now understand the difference between an "open" burner, and a "sealed" burner, which my old cooktop had: on a sealed burner, you can only get a "ring of fire", oxygen can't reach any gas inside this ring so you have a Big Cool Spot right in the center of your pan.  An open burner heats much more uniformly.  
 
Third, Cleaning.  I figured my old sealed burner setup would be easier to clean than my new Bluestar, but I'm not so sure anymore.  The techniques looked pretty easy, AND the videos showed how to remove the burners completely, if ever necessary, something the Bluestar Owner's Manual doesn't address.  I'm still a bit confused about rusting; the cast iron appears to have an adonized black coating, but that's not normally a feature on cast iron; most of the videos recommended turning all burners on high to thoroughly dry the cast iron, which makes sense.  This also relates to...
 
Fourth, Seasoning!  Several of the videos recommended seasoning the cast iron parts, just as you would a CI pan.  Makes perfect sense to me, for ease of cleanup plus appearance; do any of you current BS owners (unfortunate acronym) do this to your stoves?  They suggested wiping down with Olive Oil, I would use peanut or grapeseed, instead.  
 
Finally, Fifth.  Another reason I kinda wish I'd gotten a range top vs. a cooktop, is the wok nestles directly into the burners on a range top.  My cooktop uses a wok ring, on top of the existing grate, which raises the wok about 2" above the burners.  My new setup is still head-n-shoulders better than what I had, but...  
 
 
Finally, I found an eager small business to install my range hood, they'll be here 0700 Monday morning.  Woohoo!  

Wolfpack

@Botch

sounds like your new rig is light years better than your old one. Hope you find many years of enjoyment and don’t overthink it at this point. 

Wasn’t even in the market for a new range, but now looking at not only a new range but a kitchen redo. 

I really need to stop coming here...

fishlessman

Botch said:

This afternoon I dug into a minor Rabbit Hole, typed "Bluestar Range Cleaning" into EweTube.  Well-worth my time.
 
First, I saw the difference between a cooktop (what I have) and a range top (which mebbe I should've sprung for); the range tops have removable sheets below the open burners, much easier to clean.  My cooktop has "pie plates" under the open burners, cleanable in-place if necessary.  I don't normally boil over on a stovetop, so this may not be as big a deal for me.  
 
Second, I now understand the difference between an "open" burner, and a "sealed" burner, which my old cooktop had: on a sealed burner, you can only get a "ring of fire", oxygen can't reach any gas inside this ring so you have a Big Cool Spot right in the center of your pan.  An open burner heats much more uniformly.  
 
Third, Cleaning.  I figured my old sealed burner setup would be easier to clean than my new Bluestar, but I'm not so sure anymore.  The techniques looked pretty easy, AND the videos showed how to remove the burners completely, if ever necessary, something the Bluestar Owner's Manual doesn't address.  I'm still a bit confused about rusting; the cast iron appears to have an adonized black coating, but that's not normally a feature on cast iron; most of the videos recommended turning all burners on high to thoroughly dry the cast iron, which makes sense.  This also relates to...
 
Fourth, Seasoning!  Several of the videos recommended seasoning the cast iron parts, just as you would a CI pan.  Makes perfect sense to me, for ease of cleanup plus appearance; do any of you current BS owners (unfortunate acronym) do this to your stoves?  They suggested wiping down with Olive Oil, I would use peanut or grapeseed, instead.  
 
Finally, Fifth.  Another reason I kinda wish I'd gotten a range top vs. a cooktop, is the wok nestles directly into the burners on a range top.  My cooktop uses a wok ring, on top of the existing grate, which raises the wok about 2" above the burners.  My new setup is still head-n-shoulders better than what I had, but...  
 
 
Finally, I found an eager small business to install my range hood, they'll be here 0700 Monday morning.  Woohoo!  

my lacanche seasons over time just cooking bacon and using the wok, i would not worry about seasoning it

AprèsSki

Botch said:

I don't normally boil over on a stovetop, so this may not be as big a deal for me.  
 
Boil overs happen fast with 23k BTUs, I appreciate the tray after boiling over a gallon of milk a couple of times.

I'm still a bit confused about rusting; the cast iron appears to have an adonized black coating, but that's not normally a feature on cast iron; most of the videos recommended turning all burners on high to thoroughly dry the cast iron, which makes sense.  This also relates to...

Don't worry about it, I've never seen any rust spots on ours and I'm just down the dry dusty Utah road from you.
 
Fourth, Seasoning!  Several of the videos recommended seasoning the cast iron parts, just as you would a CI pan.  Makes perfect sense to me, for ease of cleanup plus appearance; do any of you current BS owners (unfortunate acronym) do this to your stoves?  
 
I never have. You will get splatter on it just wipe it down. It will season itself aka beausage 

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beausage 
 
Enjoy your new toy

Ozzie_Isaac

@YukonRon Looked up the word beausage.  Pleasantly surprised I can use it in mixed company.

Botch

 
Took over a month, but finally got the cooktop and the range hood installed.  My existing ceiling fan (you can see the taped hole behind) was the same duct size, so they didn't have to cut another hole in my new roof.  Hood is not too loud, and the lights built-in were an un-noticed bonus.  
Mr. Egg may be a bit neglected for a couple weeks...  

HeavyG

Botch said:

 
Took over a month, but finally got the cooktop and the range hood installed.  My existing ceiling fan (you can see the taped hole behind) was the same duct size, so they didn't have to cut another hole in my new roof.  Hood is not too loud, and the lights built-in were an un-noticed bonus.  
Mr. Egg may be a bit neglected for a couple weeks...  

Is your fan installed backwards?? Are those the speed controls we're seeing on the "back" side of the fan??

nolaegghead

I suspect there is a remote control

nolaegghead

@Botch nice bookend cabinet doors...that you?

alaskanassasin

Looks good @Botch thanks for sharing your journey.

Botch

HeavyG said:
Is your fan installed backwards?? Are those the speed controls we're seeing on the "back" side of the fan??

Good eye, but no.  This range hood has identical controls on both sides of it, I guess to control the fan from the dining room area too (no idea why).  It also has a weird "timer" control integrated with the Power button; although I've read that section of the Owner's Manual twice now, and played with the buttons, I'm still not really sure how/why it works.  
I also hemmed-n-hawed about buying a range hood with a glass "hood"; it's going to require frequent cleaning, but I'm a cleen freek who's retired, so why not?  I thought it looked good, and the installers said so too, a few times (albeit they were waiting for their check!)      

U_tarded

nolaegghead said:

@Botch nice bookend cabinet doors...that you?

Came here to ask this as well 

Botch

nolaegghead said:

@Botch nice bookend cabinet doors...that you?

Thanks Carey (EDIT: and @U tarded).  Wasn't me, but the detail the home-builder paid had caught my eye, and was one of the features that caused me to buy this place.  Plywood doors on kitchen cabinets aren't normally a "feature", but I liked it.  
House is 59 years old, and I bought it 25 years ago.  Back then, I could still find "bookend" plywood locally, and built my tool cabinets using it (I think I've posted those pics before).  Can't find that plywood anymore, but I don't have anything to make now, so I'm good.    

GATraveller

And here I've been avoiding this thread thinking it was about ointment. Go figure. 

Kayak

Seems like it's mounted kind of high, but then again, I bang my head on mine regularly...

fishlessman

Botch said:

 
Took over a month, but finally got the cooktop and the range hood installed.  My existing ceiling fan (you can see the taped hole behind) was the same duct size, so they didn't have to cut another hole in my new roof.  Hood is not too loud, and the lights built-in were an un-noticed bonus.  
Mr. Egg may be a bit neglected for a couple weeks...  

only thing to do now is test it all out, burn some dried red peppers

Botch

Kayak said:

Seems like it's mounted kind of high, but then again, I bang my head on mine regularly...

Bob, it is mounted kind of high; I purchased a shorter "stem" from the OEM to move it up a bit, for the exact reason you mentioned.  I'm 6'5" and extremely clumsy, and those glass corners would've been right at my eyeball level, and I wouldn't have been happy.
And yes Yes YES, I know the hood is less efficient a bit higher up, but the hood CFM is sized for all five burners going full-blast; I'll never use more than one burner when I'm wokking, so I should be good.  Also, I've wokked on the hottest burner of my old cooktop, for 25 years, and the closest cabinet door does did have a few oil splatters, the glass oven door on the other side only gets dusty.  And even at 22K BTU, these burners don't approach the output of the dedicated outdoor "wok burners" on Amazoid, much less the afterburner stovetops the chinese restaurants use; I should be good.  

Wanasmoke

I have had the 30” for almost 5 years.... absolutely love it!  I got the dealer to throw in the colored knobs. It’s a workhorse and I use the wok often. Simmer can go ultra low if you turn the dial past high and back down the other side. All the crumbs and drips eventually slide off the seasoned cast iron top and down to a pull out tray for easy cleanup. You won’t regret it!

SonVolt

Can someone tell me what the diameter of the flame pattern is on the largest burner? My current GE Profile is only 5" so it tends over overheat the center of my large pans. 

Botch

5 3/8" on mine, but I have the cooktop, not the range or the standalone.  
I'm surprised you're having an issue, once the heat goes up and hits the center of the pan, it has to run along the bottom to the edge of the pan...?  

SGH

Ozzie_Isaac said:

In a perfect world, I would get a 48", but I don't have @SGH type money.

It’s a good thing that you don’t have my money brother Ozzie or you would be lucky to get this. 

SonVolt

Botch said:

5 3/8" on mine, but I have the cooktop, not the range or the standalone.  
I'm surprised you're having an issue, once the heat goes up and hits the center of the pan, it has to run along the bottom to the edge of the pan...?  

It's not an issue per se, but a lot my daily cookware is 14"+ sauté pans and/or braisers, so I was hoping for larger flame pattern.  I rarely use 10" or less cookware unless it's a sauce pot. My outdoor burner is ~10-12" w/45,000 BTUs on the outer ring and 20k on the inner. I know I'll never get that much output and flame real estate on an indoor home range but I was hoping to get closer than what I have now.  

AprèsSki

Glad to see this thread again, I need to thank everyone who talked about the simmer adjustment. That discussion was the kick in the ass needed to adjust my simmer and 15k burners. The ability to get the heat low enough to occasionally see a bubble rise up the pot is a game changer for some of my cooking. BTW, Blue Star makes a cameo in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Once upon a time mine was that clean...