BlueStar

4TheGrillOfIt · August 2020

Thatgrimguy said:

The unsung hero is definitely the vent fan. Get the absolute most you can afford. You won't regret it, and without it you won't get full use of your range.

This is the absolute truth. We went with Wolf for our 36 inch range top, hood, and double wall ovens. The amount of heat, alone, generated when using two or more burners necessitates a proper range hood to vent.

AprèsSki · August 2020

I've had a 30" RNB for nine years now. I've have two problems with it. First the convection oven fan is noisy even after replacing with the redesigned one Blue Star gave me to replace the original.

The other issue was an igniter attachment screw snapped off while trying to replace it so I had to drill out and retap the hole to attach the new igniter. Do NOT let pots boil over, besides the mess you can crack the igniters by shocking them.

If they still offer the "white glove" set up with purchase take them up on the offer. It took a while for the guy to come from Denver (to SLC) but he adjusted each burner and leveled all of the grates along with showing me the easy way to level them as they do need to be leveled often.

As for exhaust, I went with a 36" 600 CFM Vent-a-Hood and love the combination. I can cook bacon and not smell it in other rooms and the neighbors all know that we are eating well.

Botch · August 2020

Today I took a drive to MountainLand Design in Salt Lake City, and looked at some BlueStars. Nice place, cater to a higher clientele than the one I occupy. Salesman showed me a couple, but they didn't have a "cooktop" style (drop into the counter) on display, just the ranges. I told him I was interested, and he went to get some tech info for me.
He was gone a long time; I noticed that most of the folks walking around appeared to be interior designers, as they knew their way around, had rolled-up plans under their arms, and were constantly on the phone. I fell in love with one of them.
"Todd" finally came back with a couple sheets, and he pointed out that the BlueStars were much deeper than most, in fact when they tried to mount the cooktop into their "display" counter, it wouldn't fit, and that's why there wasn't one on display. However, that unit was in their warehouse, and he showed it to me. Because they had unboxed it was on Clearance, $2,700 down to $1,999. Cha-Ching!
I took the measurements home, I have 5-1/8" distance between the bottom of my counter and the top of my cupboard door, and I needed 5" to fit the BlueStar, like it was designed to fit! The cooktops also use a separate "wok burner" grate rather than the range design, but it is included (provided they haven't lost it, as sometimes happens with "open-box" sales). Sent "Todd" my CC info and will be picking it up tomorrow.
A big shout-out to @alaskanassasin, @Thatgrimguy, @Legume, @womaus, @55Kevy, @pgar171, and @AprèsSki for their "encouragement"; thanks for spending all my money, ****!

I also decided, "just in case", to visit my local appliance dealer to look at range hoods. The ducting to my 9" fan is the same size, the hoods are between $1000 and $1,400, with installation between three and four hundred. They also had a large hood that was up at ceiling level; this may be the option for me as I only have 8' ceilings (not like all you rich married guys) and I am 6'5". I can swing the cost, especially since I was expecting the cost for the cooktop alone to be >$4,000 (I originally mis-read the website). I'll try using the wok without the range hood first; wok cooking is extremely quick and I'm only cooking for one. Photos to follow, I'm pretty excited.

Ozzie_Isaac · August 2020

Botch said:

Today I took a drive to MountainLand Design in Salt Lake City, and looked at some BlueStars. Nice place, cater to a higher clientele than the one I occupy. Salesman showed me a couple, but they didn't have a "cooktop" style (drop into the counter) on display, just the ranges. I told him I was interested, and he went to get some tech info for me.
He was gone a long time; I noticed that most of the folks walking around appeared to be interior designers, as they knew their way around, had rolled-up plans under their arms, and were constantly on the phone. I fell in love with one of them.
"Todd" finally came back with a couple sheets, and he pointed out that the BlueStars were much deeper than most, in fact when they tried to mount the cooktop into their "display" counter, it wouldn't fit, and that's why there wasn't one on display. However, that unit was in their warehouse, and he showed it to me. Because they had unboxed it was on Clearance, $2,700 down to $1,999. Cha-Ching!
I took the measurements home, I have 5-1/8" distance between the bottom of my counter and the top of my cupboard door, and I needed 5" to fit the BlueStar, like it was designed to fit! The cooktops also use a separate "wok burner" grate rather than the range design, but it is included (provided they haven't lost it, as sometimes happens with "open-box" sales). Sent "Todd" my CC info and will be picking it up tomorrow.
A big shout-out to @alaskanassasin, @Thatgrimguy, @Legume, @womaus, @55Kevy, @pgar171, and @AprèsSki for their "encouragement"; thanks for spending all my money, ****!

I also decided, "just in case", to visit my local appliance dealer to look at range hoods. The ducting to my 9" fan is the same size, the hoods are between $1000 and $1,400, with installation between three and four hundred. They also had a large hood that was up at ceiling level; this may be the option for me as I only have 8' ceilings (not like all you rich married guys) and I am 6'5". I can swing the cost, especially since I was expecting the cost for the cooktop alone to be >$4,000 (I originally mis-read the website). I'll try using the wok without the range hood first; wok cooking is extremely quick and I'm only cooking for one. Photos to follow, I'm pretty excited.

Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

womaus · August 2020

Mark_B_Good said:
Did you tape the joints?

I did. Used the best quality tape I could find. Will be setting 3 rivets into each join also.

Botch · August 2020

Ozzie_Isaac said:Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

Nope, just a couple upskirt photos, if I can figure out how to download them from Android...

(before any of you report me to the FBI, I'm kidding!)

Ozzie_Isaac · August 2020

Botch said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

Nope, just a couple upskirt photos, if I can figure out how to download them from Android...

(before any of you report me to the FBI, I'm kidding!)

Hahaha!

AprèsSki · August 2020

Good on ya' Botch. I bought mine from Mountainland also, I think they are the only Blue Star dealer in Utah. The cooktop is the reason to get a Blue Star, my only complaint is the oven noise which you'll never have to hear.

You will want the hood, that wok burner gives off a LOT of heat.

smak · August 2020

Looks like I'm late to the party. BlueStar range here as well. Love it.

I did not get the griddle, but I recently picked up the Baking Steel Slim Griddle. That that fits nicely across 2 burners on the BlueStar.

One note on the higher CFM fans... Some building codes require a make-up air vent to prevent creating a vacuum in the house.

alaskanassasin · August 2020

@botch well played sir! What cook top are you upgrading from?

fishlessman · August 2020

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Botch said:

Today I took a drive to MountainLand Design in Salt Lake City, and looked at some BlueStars. Nice place, cater to a higher clientele than the one I occupy. Salesman showed me a couple, but they didn't have a "cooktop" style (drop into the counter) on display, just the ranges. I told him I was interested, and he went to get some tech info for me.
He was gone a long time; I noticed that most of the folks walking around appeared to be interior designers, as they knew their way around, had rolled-up plans under their arms, and were constantly on the phone. I fell in love with one of them.
"Todd" finally came back with a couple sheets, and he pointed out that the BlueStars were much deeper than most, in fact when they tried to mount the cooktop into their "display" counter, it wouldn't fit, and that's why there wasn't one on display. However, that unit was in their warehouse, and he showed it to me. Because they had unboxed it was on Clearance, $2,700 down to $1,999. Cha-Ching!
I took the measurements home, I have 5-1/8" distance between the bottom of my counter and the top of my cupboard door, and I needed 5" to fit the BlueStar, like it was designed to fit! The cooktops also use a separate "wok burner" grate rather than the range design, but it is included (provided they haven't lost it, as sometimes happens with "open-box" sales). Sent "Todd" my CC info and will be picking it up tomorrow.
A big shout-out to @alaskanassasin, @Thatgrimguy, @Legume, @womaus, @55Kevy, @pgar171, and @AprèsSki for their "encouragement"; thanks for spending all my money, ****!

I also decided, "just in case", to visit my local appliance dealer to look at range hoods. The ducting to my 9" fan is the same size, the hoods are between $1000 and $1,400, with installation between three and four hundred. They also had a large hood that was up at ceiling level; this may be the option for me as I only have 8' ceilings (not like all you rich married guys) and I am 6'5". I can swing the cost, especially since I was expecting the cost for the cooktop alone to be >$4,000 (I originally mis-read the website). I'll try using the wok without the range hood first; wok cooking is extremely quick and I'm only cooking for one. Photos to follow, I'm pretty excited.

Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

my wok burner is slightly smaller and i dont have a hood. cooking for one and my kitchen is well coated with oil, ceiling fan, walls, cabinets, windows etc. you want the hood and get the biggest you can install or it needs to be lowered, fans dont draw in air well.

Thatgrimguy · August 2020

fishlessman said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Botch said:

Today I took a drive to MountainLand Design in Salt Lake City, and looked at some BlueStars. Nice place, cater to a higher clientele than the one I occupy. Salesman showed me a couple, but they didn't have a "cooktop" style (drop into the counter) on display, just the ranges. I told him I was interested, and he went to get some tech info for me.
He was gone a long time; I noticed that most of the folks walking around appeared to be interior designers, as they knew their way around, had rolled-up plans under their arms, and were constantly on the phone. I fell in love with one of them.
"Todd" finally came back with a couple sheets, and he pointed out that the BlueStars were much deeper than most, in fact when they tried to mount the cooktop into their "display" counter, it wouldn't fit, and that's why there wasn't one on display. However, that unit was in their warehouse, and he showed it to me. Because they had unboxed it was on Clearance, $2,700 down to $1,999. Cha-Ching!
I took the measurements home, I have 5-1/8" distance between the bottom of my counter and the top of my cupboard door, and I needed 5" to fit the BlueStar, like it was designed to fit! The cooktops also use a separate "wok burner" grate rather than the range design, but it is included (provided they haven't lost it, as sometimes happens with "open-box" sales). Sent "Todd" my CC info and will be picking it up tomorrow.
A big shout-out to @alaskanassasin, @Thatgrimguy, @Legume, @womaus, @55Kevy, @pgar171, and @AprèsSki for their "encouragement"; thanks for spending all my money, ****!

I also decided, "just in case", to visit my local appliance dealer to look at range hoods. The ducting to my 9" fan is the same size, the hoods are between $1000 and $1,400, with installation between three and four hundred. They also had a large hood that was up at ceiling level; this may be the option for me as I only have 8' ceilings (not like all you rich married guys) and I am 6'5". I can swing the cost, especially since I was expecting the cost for the cooktop alone to be >$4,000 (I originally mis-read the website). I'll try using the wok without the range hood first; wok cooking is extremely quick and I'm only cooking for one. Photos to follow, I'm pretty excited.

Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

my wok burner is slightly smaller and i dont have a hood. cooking for one and my kitchen is well coated with oil, ceiling fan, walls, cabinets, windows etc. you want the hood and get the biggest you can install or it needs to be lowered, fans dont draw in air well.

The amount of oil that vaporizes from any cooking is unreal. Everything I put on that stainless shelf gets covered in grease.

Legume · August 2020

Great score @Botch. We have an older Fisher & Paykel cooktop that I’ll replace in the next year or so, but it sounds like we don’t have the depth for the blue star. I was planning on looking at Bosch. Need to replace the double wall ovens as well. Ooof. Just money.

Botch · August 2020

alaskanassasin said:

@botch well played sir! What cook top are you upgrading from?

It's a "Creda", white with a glass top. They had zero web presence when I last checked, but this morning learned they were bought out by "Indesit" and are sometimes being sold under the "Hotpoint" brand. I checked several Parts sites/eBay, and no still couldn't find a wok grate for it.
"Todd" still hasn't called me back, was hoping to pick it up this morning.

fishlessman · August 2020

Thatgrimguy said:

fishlessman said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Botch said:

Today I took a drive to MountainLand Design in Salt Lake City, and looked at some BlueStars. Nice place, cater to a higher clientele than the one I occupy. Salesman showed me a couple, but they didn't have a "cooktop" style (drop into the counter) on display, just the ranges. I told him I was interested, and he went to get some tech info for me.
He was gone a long time; I noticed that most of the folks walking around appeared to be interior designers, as they knew their way around, had rolled-up plans under their arms, and were constantly on the phone. I fell in love with one of them.
"Todd" finally came back with a couple sheets, and he pointed out that the BlueStars were much deeper than most, in fact when they tried to mount the cooktop into their "display" counter, it wouldn't fit, and that's why there wasn't one on display. However, that unit was in their warehouse, and he showed it to me. Because they had unboxed it was on Clearance, $2,700 down to $1,999. Cha-Ching!
I took the measurements home, I have 5-1/8" distance between the bottom of my counter and the top of my cupboard door, and I needed 5" to fit the BlueStar, like it was designed to fit! The cooktops also use a separate "wok burner" grate rather than the range design, but it is included (provided they haven't lost it, as sometimes happens with "open-box" sales). Sent "Todd" my CC info and will be picking it up tomorrow.
A big shout-out to @alaskanassasin, @Thatgrimguy, @Legume, @womaus, @55Kevy, @pgar171, and @AprèsSki for their "encouragement"; thanks for spending all my money, ****!

I also decided, "just in case", to visit my local appliance dealer to look at range hoods. The ducting to my 9" fan is the same size, the hoods are between $1000 and $1,400, with installation between three and four hundred. They also had a large hood that was up at ceiling level; this may be the option for me as I only have 8' ceilings (not like all you rich married guys) and I am 6'5". I can swing the cost, especially since I was expecting the cost for the cooktop alone to be >$4,000 (I originally mis-read the website). I'll try using the wok without the range hood first; wok cooking is extremely quick and I'm only cooking for one. Photos to follow, I'm pretty excited.

Scored a cooktop! Nicely done. Did you bring a designer home too?

my wok burner is slightly smaller and i dont have a hood. cooking for one and my kitchen is well coated with oil, ceiling fan, walls, cabinets, windows etc. you want the hood and get the biggest you can install or it needs to be lowered, fans dont draw in air well.

The amount of oil that vaporizes from any cooking is unreal. Everything I put on that stainless shelf gets covered in grease.

i scorched some really hot peppers in that vaporized oil once and couldnt inhale deeply for days, just for that reason alone you want a hood

Kroger · August 2020

I have a 36 inch range with the griddle in the middle. 4 burner setup, I think two 25k burners up front, one simmer, one 15k.

It's awesome if you like to do a lot of wok cooking. Easy to clean. Here is my lunch from today.

Botch · August 2020

"Todd" finally called me at 7, er, 1900 last night (they close at 5 1700), I guess a busy day for him. I digitally signed the BoS, and he told me, heh, they couldn't find one knob, nor the wok ring. They've ordered them and will be delivered to my place.
Picked it up today, They had found the wok ring. And it's heavy! I also walked around Mountainland Design, the place is huge! I looked at all the range hoods on display, and noticed just about every single one had sharp, 90º corners on them, all at my eye/forehead level. None of them looked height-adjustable, either. Yesterday when I priced a few at an Ogden place, I noticed a couple that were flush-mounted to the ceiling (didn't get the prices).

My question is, does anyone here have experience with a flush-mounted hood? I know its a bit further away from the cooktop, but I'm 6'5" and my ceiling 8', so it'd only be an extra 20" or so.

buzd504 · August 2020

Botch said:

"Todd" finally called me at 7, er, 1900 last night (they close at 5 1700), I guess a busy day for him. I digitally signed the BoS, and he told me, heh, they couldn't find one knob, nor the wok ring. They've ordered them and will be delivered to my place.
Picked it up today, They had found the wok ring. And it's heavy! I also walked around Mountainland Design, the place is huge! I looked at all the range hoods on display, and noticed just about every single one had sharp, 90º corners on them, all at my eye/forehead level. None of them looked height-adjustable, either. Yesterday when I priced a few at an Ogden place, I noticed a couple that were flush-mounted to the ceiling (didn't get the prices).

My question is, does anyone here have experience with a flush-mounted hood? I know its a bit further away from the cooktop, but I'm 6'5" and my ceiling 8', so it'd only be an extra 20" or so.

To answer your question, no, but I'm 5'9, and our hood is considerably higher than my head (12 foot ceilings) and it's fine.

alaskanassasin · August 2020

Trying to keep up with you @botch I ordered the 30” range today

Botch · August 2020

alaskanassasin said:

Trying to keep up with you @botch I ordered the 30” range today

Woohoo, Congrats!

EDIT: ...and I guess I kinda hijacked your thread, I'm sorry!

alaskanassasin · August 2020

By all means take the keys to the thread! I was leaning pretty hard on the BlueStar and thought I would ask the experts. Thanks for the reviews.

Botch · September 2020

>B-U-M-P<

After our windstorm, my power was out 2 and a half days (lost my bushel of Hatch green chile!

). An hour after power was restored, the phone rang and the cooktop installer told me he'd be there in 20 minutes; without power I didn't have my calendar, forgot about it! They did have to enlarge the hole in the counter, but otherwise it went smoothly.

Installer gave me an estimate of $350 to install the range hood, but he couldn't add the exhaust on the roof as he wasn't insured. He recommended a place called My-Ty who could do both; they're the guys I called first and they wouldn't return my phone calls. So I won't be wokking for awhile, yet...

Wow, I'm gonna have to learn how to cook, all over again. Made bacon-n-eggs for breakfast this morning, using the "Simmer" burner, and still crisped up the bacon too much. This thing puts off some heat (and that was the small burner). Will post pics when the hood is up.

Thatgrimguy · September 2020

Botch said:

>B-U-M-P<

After our windstorm, my power was out 2 and a half days (lost my bushel of Hatch green chile! ). An hour after power was restored, the phone rang and the cooktop installer told me he'd be there in 20 minutes; without power I didn't have my calendar, forgot about it! They did have to enlarge the hole in the counter, but otherwise it went smoothly.

Installer gave me an estimate of $350 to install the range hood, but he couldn't add the exhaust on the roof as he wasn't insured. He recommended a place called My-Ty who could do both; they're the guys I called first and they wouldn't return my phone calls. So I won't be wokking for awhile, yet...

Wow, I'm gonna have to learn how to cook, all over again. Made bacon-n-eggs for breakfast this morning, using the "Simmer" burner, and still crisped up the bacon too much. This thing puts off some heat (and that was the small burner). Will post pics when the hood is up.

get a couple of these, Simmer Plate (amazon link). They are very very handy.

Botch · September 2020

I just threw mine away, on Thursday, because I now have a simmer burner! Nah, it's just me learning the new system; I could've turned it down further, I just eyeballed where I normally had it with the old cooktop. I'll figure it out.

Ozzie_Isaac · September 2020

Botch said:

>B-U-M-P<

After our windstorm, my power was out 2 and a half days (lost my bushel of Hatch green chile! ). An hour after power was restored, the phone rang and the cooktop installer told me he'd be there in 20 minutes; without power I didn't have my calendar, forgot about it! They did have to enlarge the hole in the counter, but otherwise it went smoothly.

Installer gave me an estimate of $350 to install the range hood, but he couldn't add the exhaust on the roof as he wasn't insured. He recommended a place called My-Ty who could do both; they're the guys I called first and they wouldn't return my phone calls. So I won't be wokking for awhile, yet...

Wow, I'm gonna have to learn how to cook, all over again. Made bacon-n-eggs for breakfast this morning, using the "Simmer" burner, and still crisped up the bacon too much. This thing puts off some heat (and that was the small burner). Will post pics when the hood is up.

BlueStar is hopefully in my future, so I do not have direct advice for what burner to use when 9n your unit. However, for my current gas range, I use a little standoff rack to get some more distance between the pans and the burner for more delicate cooks. Also using a thicker pan with more thermal mass helps a lot too. I mostly use cast iron or All-Clad. I find I have most problems when using thinner cheap pans or the flavor of the month non-stick infomercial pans.

Thatgrimguy · September 2020

Botch said:

I just threw mine away, on Thursday, because I now have a simmer burner! Nah, it's just me learning the new system; I could've turned it down further, I just eyeballed where I normally had it with the old cooktop. I'll figure it out.

The simmer burner runs too hot for me on low. But I’ve never adjusted the flame which I understand you can do.

smak · September 2020

Thatgrimguy said:
The simmer burner runs too hot for me on low. But I’ve never adjusted the flame which I understand you can do.

Setting the "low" flame is pretty straight forward. You just need some pliers and a 1/8" screwdriver.

Video here:

Thatgrimguy · September 2020

I love this forum.
Thank you @smak

Ozzie_Isaac · September 2020

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.

Botch · September 2020

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.

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