You have the "look" part covered. Some like the curved looks of the CC better. Others like the more commercial look of the Bluestar.

This might be a good list of items to compare, after looks and cost:

- support (local and factory)
- high heat capability
- low simmer cabability
- grate design
- knobs
- ignitor design and use
- ease of cleaning rangetop exterior grates and burner bowls and interior (between the grates and drip tray)
- size of griddles
- control of griddles
- cleanup of griddles

Are there any other areas for comparison?

BTW we have the 48 inch CC with a 12 inch grill

Billy

Thanks billy!

I guess my impression from reading this forum is that BS and CC are both pretty darn good in all those areas you mentioned...I'm sure either one will be such a huge upgrade from my renters' grade Frigidaire!

Is there any "general wisdom" on whether one or the other is easier to clean?

I think that people who chose BS will say BS and same for CC.

You should see them both in person, take the grates off and see for yourself.

Full disclosure-- I have a Blue Star and one of the reasons I chose it was that I could take it apart so easily to clean.

I have a CC and this is how I would rate them now (but this could change after I spend more time adjusting the simmer):

- look >> personal choice
- support (local and factory) >> depends on where you are; my impression is CC factory support is better than BS
- high heat capability >> CC but they are very close
- low simmer cabability >> BS
- grate design >> BS
- knobs >> CC
- ignitor design and use >> CC (but maybe BS fixed their problems?)
- ease of cleaning rangetop exterior grates and burner bowls and interior (between the grates and drip tray) >> BS
- size of griddles >> don't know - check website
- control of griddles >> don't know
- cleanup of griddles >> my guess is they're the same; are they both steel?

You can't go wrong with either one. I'm actually more bummed out about the surprisingly difficult CC cleanup than the simmer. "Difficult" is too strong a word but the CC design fails to take full advantage of open burner simplicity. This issue caught me by surprise.

Billy

Billy,

Thanks for the comparisons from your experience. I am torn between the two!

M

Billy, knowing what you know now do you think you'd make the same decision? Or maybe you'd have rather gone with BS??

That's a tough question to answer, and one I've been asking myself. I like the look of the CC better, I thought the fit and finish was better on the CC than the BS, and at the time I made the decision BS support was very weak so the CC was a no-brainer for me. Plus I think CC is a good company and its president is a standup guy.

I think I'll be able to live with the CC simmer after some adjustments and I don't really want a dedicated simmer burner (but my DW is not happy with the simmer). The tough cleanup on the CC might make me think hard about getting a Bluestar, because the CC below-grate design wastes the potential cleanup advantages of open burner design. I don't know why they made the stainess steel under the grates catch food and spills that should fall through the drip tray on an open burner design.

I'm nitpicking somewhat because they are both fine rangetops.

Billy

These videos of the BS and CC may be helpful. The looks are very different. Think about cleaning them:

Bluestar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=pWGzr4p7NKs&NR=1

Innards of the BS (but on a commercial top with pilot lights instead of ignitors):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_YHNACVxOc&feature=related

CC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAe0HJJrzlY&feature=related

Innards of the CC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYupSl_z_c&feature=related

Sorry about the non-clickable links.

Billy

Hummmmm...to me the BS looks a lot easier to clean.....

We have a 36" BS rangetop and love it.
Easy to clean.
We think it looks great.
Had a friend who had one for years and really beat it without ever having any issues,
I am sure the CC is also good.
Kinda splitting fine hairs here.
You really can't lose with either one.

I wish there was a video of the bluestar comparable to the eurostoves cc video, showing someone actually going through and cleaning the top and where things go if they spill.

does anyone have anything to say about the griddle on either one?

right now, still leaning towards the bs...

I have the 6 burner CC range top.

I looked at the blue star. I like the grates better on the BS. However, for me, it was the ability of having full high power to simmer on every burner. As i just said on another post, i have cooked 2 cups of pudding on simmer with no problem at all. Its a very versatile unit.

This is a video of stooxie cleaning his BS.

Billy

Here is a link that might be useful: Cleaning a Bluestar

I was on the fence for the bs vs cc a couple months back. I actually thought the cc had the easier to clean design. I, too, thought the bs had the better grate design. What sealed it for me was the cleaner finish of the cc, the full range for all burners (I do use high on any one and all corners), and the design of the burners. I preferred the round burner design over the star design. I have a few small bottomed pots that would not do well with the bs burners - 1qt and a 1.5qt pots that I use a lot.

like many have listed before, bs vs cc is very personal. You have to dig deep to figure out how your cooking needs are suited best by either design. I am very happy that I came across these open-burner designs. They weren't even on my radar until the sales guy showed me what it was. All I ever knew were those sealed burner types. Much thanks goes to the posters here as well. So much information and opinion discussed!

I ended up with a 30" manual cc.

I preferred the round burner design over the star design. I have a few small bottomed pots that would not do well with the bs burners - 1qt and a 1.5qt pots that I use a lot.

Just FYI, BS does small pots with no problems:

-Stooxie

Here's what I appreciate about the Bluestar. First, look at Stooxie's picture of the simmer burner. It's great for small pans, even when the flame is turned way up.

Second, the grate can be rotated and elevated above the burner. This has two applications. For a low simmer it raises the pan higher off the flame.

On screaming HIGH, it keeps the much taller flame from licking the sides of a smaller pan. So the flame hits the bottom of the pan at just the right position to spread the flame evenly. It's brilliant, because it gives you an adjustable pan height with the flame.

All ranges should do this, but only the Bluestar does. (Even my BBQ has an adjustable grill).

Also the eight 'fingers' of the burner sit between the grate pan supports above, so the flame is going into the pan, not the grates.
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Finally the C.C. burner has a huge outer ring (instead of 8 fingers) and that outer ring shoots all it's flames in an outward direction when on High. That's because the burner ports are tilted outward and with the pressure of the gas- so goes the direction of the flame. Not as dramatic as a sealed burner, but you get the idea.

And no matter how 'low' you set the flames when on the C.C.'simmer'-94 holes (approx) produce more heat than the 35 holes on the Bluestar simmer burner (less than 1/2 the heat with almost 60 fewer flames) or even the Bluestar mid-sized 15K burner (68 flames vs. 95).