BlueStar

fishlessman

Thatgrimguy said:

Get all the fan. I have a 1100cfm Wolf fan with a custom built hood and I love it!!!  I don't have the air make-up and no one recommended it when I installed my fan. Got permits and all.... 

I did replace my wood burning fireplace with a gas unit (that can be used without a vent) and I do keep the flu open year round and I guess that's probably acting as a make up though.

would definitely make sure the co monitors are working well running the gas unit and the hood. my wood stove will reverse flow just running the clothes dryer which is on the other side of the house. ive smoked the place out more than once, the wood fire needs to be really hot to run the dryer

Thatgrimguy

My hood doesn't have any sort of monitors built in.  I do have Nest protect smoke/co alarms placed all over though and I make sure they are regularly tested. 

fishlessman

Thatgrimguy said:

My hood doesn't have any sort of monitors built in.  I do have Nest protect smoke/co alarms placed all over though and I make sure they are regularly tested. 

im just amazed something as small as a dryer exhaust vent can reverse flow with the stove, its really bad early and late in winter when the draw of the chimney is low

SonVolt

It is odd the first time I'm hearing about make-up air is on a BGE forum. This seems to be one of those code requirements that contractors forget (or ignore). Even the local appliance place I'm dealing with hasn't mentioned it. Weird.

So dumb question - if your HVAC unit is running at the same time as your hood vent, does that count as make-up air?

fishlessman

SonVolt said:

It is odd the first time I'm hearing about make-up air is on a BGE forum. This seems to be one of those code requirements that contractors forget (or ignore). Even the local appliance place I'm dealing with hasn't mentioned it. Weird.

regardless the codes and contractors, every house is different. my house has so many drafts that wingback chairs are nice to protect you from cold winds on three sides, my camp though is so tight that the little dryer vent causes problems

PigBeanUs

In a commercial kitchen setting, the HVAC engineer (for a completely new building and kitchen etc) would have it included as a part of the design documents. 

Contractors just build what the drawings tell them to build. 

If it is a smaller private kitchen reno, in a small town, lackadaisical inspector, it may never come up. And unless the homeowner has an architect on board, it may be missed in the design. 

My building inspector never required it. Did the frame
and rough-plumbing inspection (and final!) over the phone. Only inspector who came out was for the finished electrical inspection, and he didn’t catch some things I knew were not to code. 

Building inspectors rarely know the code as well as they should. Designers often know it better. Builders don’t always care. 

My biggest concern was that *I* was going to be drawing attention to the make -up air damper by including it on the drawings. And that the inspector would go too far and ask for a preconditioning system (intake fan, filter, pre-heating etc), which would have added $15k of stuff that is NOT required in a residential setting

but he never checked the range’s total btu output, or the fan required as a result of that. 

This is an inspector who couldn’t understand the engineering behind a reframe of my attic and joists, and who approved the final work by looking at photos on my phone. 

It may be state/local anyway. Bigger cities tend to be more aggressive with adopting UBC or other more progressive code issues. 

alaskanassasin

My experience was similar regarding a larger cfm hood.

 

   Appliance store guy. "depends on the county, some county inspectors are adamant some don't know or care."

 

  Builder.  "No way you can install a larger hood with out makeup kit, not up to code." Then in later conversations, "do what you want, the hood will be installed after final inspection anyway"

 Inspector. "Huh? as long as you are not installing a commercial kitchen we don't care what you do."

 

alaskanassasin

The reason I went code was because I can always upgrade it later and we have a fireplace, I cannot imagine reverse flowing the chimney.

PigBeanUs

The only thing worse than an inspector who is a martinet, and over-interprets the code, is one who doesn’t know the code. 

They can be anywhere, too. City or small town. 

It’s random. 

Little-known fun fact: a registered architect can override the inspector by accepting liability specifically for the work in question. Not just the blanket liability for stamping the drawings and observing the work, but specifically for doing less than the inspector requires. 

Rarely if ever done, these days.

I don’t know any architect that would do that, but they could. 

Ex: Inspector asks for a 42” high guard rail, the architect can write a letter accepting responsibility for one that is only 36”

 

Corv

I need your advice.... I'm dithering between the 30" RNB that has a normal oven door with a bottom hinge, or the Precious Metals version that has the side-hinged French doors.

Which would you recommend and why?

On the wall oven I saw with the French doors, the door action was a bit stiff and needed to be closed with the left hand, if only one hand is closing it. Either hand can open it. Is the French door somewhat adjustable?

Thanks!

And yes, it was this thread that is leading me down this expensive path. You folks have more influence than you might realize.

SonVolt

Bluestar's regional sales rep told me point blank the precious metals line was having quality control issues. Take that for its worth. 

My 30" Platinum is scheduled for late June. 

alaskanassasin

I have been enjoying the RCS 30" we have had in place for several months now.  My previous stove was a GE (i think) gas.  This is probably obvious but they are both basically the same thing, the GE is like a Honda civic and the Bluestar is like a Cadillac. That said I have a few comparisons and observations.

The RCS has 3 15k burners, I wish I had at least one stronger burner, I think this winter I will figure out a way to install a 18k or 22k burner in the right front slot.

The simmer burner still seems a bit hot for small pans so I will be looking into a copper heat sink.

The oven does not burn as hot as the GE but it is dialed in, checked with a probe and it was right on. (I never checked the GE temp but it cooked pizzas in about half the time the Bluestar does.)

Pros.

 Looks awesome, very easy to clean, the open burner top is way easier to keep looking nice over a sealed burner white top stove such as the GE, no more scrubbing boil overs etc.

 Everything is heavy duty, the pull out sheet under the burners is awesome, I like the oven light, handles, knobs, racks, burners, everything is heavy duty.

 The open star burners heat pans much more evenly than the ole GE, you really notice that when using cast iron pans or cooking bacon on a griddle, its not burned in the middle and raw on outsides.

 Popping the grate out and dropping in a wok is awesome too, stable and closer to the flame.

 Cons.

 Again as mentioned above, you would think a $4k range would have at least one burner that was hotter than your average home stove.

 The convection fan makes so much noise it would almost be embarrassing to use it in front of company. I have never had a convection oven before but this one is loud AF and rattles everything on the range including the cast iron cook top parts.

 We installed this spring which is my busy season so I have not had time to play with it extensively or tinker with the infrared broiler. All in all I am very happy with the range.

SonVolt

alaskanassasin said:

 The convection fan makes so much noise it would almost be embarrassing to use it in front of company. I have never had a convection oven before but this one is loud AF and rattles everything on the range including the cast iron cook top parts.

 We installed this spring which is my busy season so I have not had time to play with it extensively or tinker with the infrared broiler. All in all I am very happy with the range.

That's odd. Did they confirm this was normal? My GE Profile's convection fat is silent - I can't tell if it's on or off without looking at it. 

I ordered the Platinum which I believe has a different style convection system than the RCS. I hope it's not loud. 

alaskanassasin

I remember people mentioning the noisy convection while researching Bluestar. I have not reached out to the manufacturer to see if it can be fixed. It sounds and rattles like the fan is missing a blade, that bad.

RyanStl

My new house has an electric flat top. I like how easy it cleans, but I don't even like making rice on it. I miss the natural gas range.  I won't be upset when this dies

SonVolt

I dread cooking at my parents on holidays due to their glass flat top range.  While it's easy to clean,  weird things happen - like pots spinning in circles when I stir them. 

AprèsSki

alaskanassasin said:

The simmer burner still seems a bit hot for small pans so I will be looking into a copper heat sink. 

Early it this thread is a link to a video on how to reduce the simmer flame. It will solve this problem. I also adjusted my 15k burner and it is now the slow simmer king. It will hold a low simmer with an occasional rising bubble overnight. I had to buy a special Klein screwdriver to make the adjustment. The blade has no bulges behind the tip so it easily fits into the center of the valve dial (whatever you call where the knob slides on).

alaskanassasin said:

The convection fan makes so much noise it would almost be embarrassing to use it in front of company. I have never had a convection oven before but this one is loud AF and rattles everything on the range including the cast iron cook top parts.

Yes, it is the noisiest convection fan I have ever heard. BS updated the fan a few years back and sent me one as a replacement which helped some but it is still LAF and my only real complaint about the range. 

alaskanassasin

Thanks @AprèsSki I will check that video out.

nolaegghead

Blue stars are stars that have at least 3 times the mass of the Sun and up. Whether a star has 10 times the mass of the Sun or 150 solar masses, it's going to appear blue to our eyes. An example of a blue star is the familiar Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the 6th brightest star in the sky.

...wait...wrong forum?

Corv

I'm now leaning towards the 30" RNB. The main thing was that the French doors on the Precious Metal stove, which may or may not be adjustable - I haven't gotten a good answer there - only open to 90 degrees. Besides, they are closed with the left hand; I'd have preferred either hand. I've used bottom-hinged ovens all my life and am familiar with those and decided that I'll stick with that.

Some color samples arrived and the paint quality was terrible. The defects were dirt under the paint and orange peel. The colors themselves were spot on compared to the color card fold-out that the local dealers have. I called the factory and was told that the actual stove paint was powder-coated and quite good quality. The area rep, who I spoke with, told me that, too. And finally a local dealer has a dark blue stove and it has excellent paint quality.

Does anyone know how legible the markings on painted knobs are? - Thanks.

Corv

Just to follow up, I put a 30" RNB on order. There's a 20 week backlog for colors now (May '21) but if you prefer stainless it's less than a month.

SGH

I can’t wait to see the windmill powered BlueStars 

Legume

SGH said:

I can’t wait to see the windmill powered BlueStars 

This makes no sense.

  

nolaegghead

Legume said:

SGH said:

I can’t wait to see the windmill powered BlueStars 

This makes no sense.

  

the new generations will run on milled grain.

Corv

Seems like it's been a long time, but my BlueStar RNB was finally delivered. One burner has an issue and will be repaired, hence the red tape on that knob.

I had an inaugural grilled cheese sandwich for the first cook, with cookies planned later.

I like this stove a lot compared to the Jenn-Air that I previously had.

The old stove had a clock and two timers. You can see the replacements for those to the left of the stove. And yes, on the right, two toasters.

fishlessman

Corv said:

Seems like it's been a long time, but my BlueStar RNB was finally delivered. One burner has an issue and will be repaired, hence the red tape on that knob.

I had an inaugural grilled cheese sandwich for the first cook, with cookies planned later.

I like this stove a lot compared to the Jenn-Air that I previously had.

The old stove had a clock and two timers. You can see the replacements for those to the left of the stove. And yes, on the right, two toasters.

you should post the grill cheese review on the blustar site

Corv

This stove came with a few issues -

a. The installation checklist, needed to activate the full warranty, was not filled out.

b. The right back burner is inoperative and needs a repair.

c. The colored knobs were missing.

Now that I've cooked something on the stovetop and something else (cookies) in the oven, I've got to say that the stove itself is awesome. But I don't think that I'll be submitting a review at this time, since I'd have to belabor the bugs.

Slightly off-topic, the grilled cheese sandwich was darn good, too. I used some homemade bread and mayonnaise instead of butter (lower calories which are important right now). Then sharp cheddar, American cheese, Hatch green chili Jack, and Gruyere cheeses. The idea is to put the faster-melting cheeses in the middle and the slower-melting ones closer to the heat. If you're putting anything inside the sandwich like the meat loaf I made last time, it goes into the middle too.

alaskanassasin

I like the counter surround on the back. Also like the green. Hope you enjoy it!

Corv

Thank you very much!

Fred19Flintstone

I must be getting old.  I thought this thread was going to be about ointment.