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lamermaid_gw

Bluestar Installation Question/Problem

lamermaid
14 years ago

My 30RNB has arrived, however am having difficulty with the installation. I've had two plumbers say that there is NOT enough clearance to run the gas pipe and/or shut off valve behind the range. It was explained and shown to me and I understand the problem.

What solutions have my fellow Bluestar owners come up with? Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments (37)

  • chairthrower
    14 years ago

    We had ours installed in new construction,so it was easy to make sure the valve was placed correctly. Our valve is recessed in the wall in an enclosure, on the side of the pipe in the stove. You should also be able to put it close to the floor (within 3" will fit below the bottom of the stove).

    It shouldn't be hard for a plumber to reconfigure the pipe. Have they suggested that.

  • lamermaid
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you for responding so quickly chairthrower. The gas pipe was installed up through the floor as per the diagram in the installation quide, however there is not sufficient space for the pipe and elbow- the bottom of the range only has a 2 1/2" space. Do you know the size of your gas pipe? I just read a thread that said the gasline should be 3/4", mine is 1/2".

  • castironcook2
    14 years ago

    Our 30" BlueStar slide-in rangetop required 1/2" gas line, no more.

  • shutupandholdon
    14 years ago

    We had our line come out below the bottom of the range (in the leg area). I was a flex pipe that we just had to loop under as we pushed it in.

  • thull
    14 years ago

    Mine comes out of the wall below 3" off the floor and fits. I think whatever nipple they have below the elbow may be too long. With the 1/2" elbow flush to the floor, it should stick up ~2 inches. That gives you about an inch of extra room so that the nipple could be a bit longer than needed to sit flush.

    Don't forget that the valve may fit best with body turned so the handle is along the side of the pipe instead of on top.

  • Russel C
    14 years ago

    I just had my Bluestar 30" range delivered today and am facing the same challenge. The gas installer ran the yellow flex tubing up, and it terminates on top of the floor with a flange/floor bracket, this then feeds into a 90-degree elbow which then feeds into a valve.

    There is no way the stove will clear it as it is, so I think we have to take the flex tube termination and move it below the floor (unfinished space)...then run steel pipe up to a 90-elbow and then the valve.

    This will get the 90-elbow almost touching the floor and should leave the clearance to only the diameter of the valves/connectors.

    Of course, I am just speculating as the installer hasn't seen it next to the range yet. He is due tomorrow morning. Its killing me to have the stove sitting here and not able to use it!

    Also, does your oven door open all the way to 90-degrees from the range? Are you able to pull the full-extending rack out while in the original/lowest position and not have it contact the door? I ask because my door only seems to open to about 85 degrees, so the bottom of the full-extension rack rubs the door.

  • buffalotina
    14 years ago

    I had a similar problem when my Bluestar was installed recently. Plumber ran the gas line (galvanize or whatever, solid pipe) up so that it was right behind one of the legs of the range (the one near the gas connection). Of course the range would not push back against the wall.... Had to have it redone. As far as I can tell you have to come up through the floor and JUST clear the floor and then immediately have a 90 degree elbow. That was how mine was redone. It's still quite a challenge to get all my flex hose folded back in the recess behind the stove but now it is finally in place I am hoping I won't ever have to move it again (well within the forseeable future).

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    We had our gas line installed like this behind our 36" RNB range (recessed like chairthrower indicates):

  • Russel C
    14 years ago

    You all seem to have easier walls than I do to work with, we are installing ours into a 82 year old house with plaster/wood lathe walls. There was no option for us to place the electric outlet that low on the floor, and we have baseboard trim that we have to deal with as well...hopefully we can build out the tile back splash a bit to make the back more flush for the island trim.

  • parrym
    14 years ago

    I had similar concerns with mine. I ended up having the flexpipe (@ full pressure) run up through the floor into the pantry. There it connects to a pressure regulator and then copper pipe through the back of a base cabinet and into the space for the stove, right at floor level. The shut off valve happens to be right where the rear left leg is, so I 'notched' out the drywall where the valve was (ie. bashed a hole) to get clearance behind the rear leg.

  • Russel C
    14 years ago

    We ended up doing as I expected/outlined above. The yellow stainless flex terminates in the basement just below the floor, that then feeds into a rigid steel pipe through the floor to a 90-elbow which feeds into the valve and to the stove. This fits right under the stove.

    The only items in the way now are having the outlet behind the stove...my other option is to recess it into the wall or try to move it to the floor...no matter what though, it will only give us ~1/4-1/2" as the base of the stove is currently against the baseboard.

    The only way we are going to get the stove to be flush against the wall are to move the electrical, and notch the quarter-round trim at the baseboards...and then maybe we can raise the stove enough that the frame clears the baseboard itself. I don't think its worth it at this point though, perhaps we build out the tile a bit more for the back splash behind the stove instead.

  • skoo
    14 years ago

    Ah, well, in our nearly 100 year old house, we ripped all the lath/plaster out to the studs since all the electricity needed to be redone up to code anyway, and we were also moving the gas line and some plumbing. So that's new drywall in the picture you see above. Sounds like you're too far along for that to be an option...

  • pete_p_ny
    14 years ago

    You can install a special outlet (with cover) that recesses back into the outlet box. This allows the end of the power cord to go into the wall so it does not stick out and prevent pushing the stove back.

  • Russel C
    14 years ago

    Thanks again for the feedback. I hope the OP was able to find a work around, we went from having the gas outlet being 1.5" too tall to being perfect by terminating the flex line below the floor. I would post pictures but I didn't get a chance to take any of that portion.

    I'll look for some recessed outlet options as we move along with our kitchen. We actually have the original cabinets that were refaced in the 80's or early 90's (guessing from stain color...). We have painted them white, as the other style wasn't something that went with the house. So far, the only real expenses were re-doing 1 wall to get rid of the 2" ridge in the plaster, paint, and the range/hood...next is counters and back splash. I did the electric myself, which meant the most expensive part there was the permits.

    We actually had to rip the lathe out behind where our stove went, but its an odd "junction" wall where 2 exterior walls intersect....supporting the corner of a steep pitch roof and the joists for a finished attic...so the wall has a unusual # of studs to get in the way. Originally we never noticed that the wall had a 2" ridge in the plaster, as it was hidden behind the fridge and a useless cabinet. Removing the lathes showed a stud that was offset from the rest, a bit of time with a door plane and some new sheet rock/plaster work and its better than it ever was. However with having literally 8 studs in a 34" width changed our options for hoods, electrical and gas options.

    So we have our original 80 year old cabinet boxes dressed up to look better than they ever did. We just need to settle on a counter and back splash. My wife wants soapstone and subway tile, I just have a hard time paying the soapstone price (love the look) with our shallow cabinets...meaning if we ever did replace cabinets the counter would be "thrown out" as it wouldn't fit on new cabinets.

  • frankie_l
    14 years ago

    I'm expecting a BS 30" RNB and trying to make sure my currect setup will work with the RNB. I have a regular flex gas pipe come up from the floor and not inside the wall like the picture above. Is this a problem? The electric outlet is not on the floor like the picture above but rather about 2 ft above the group on the wall. Would this be a problem and why do they recommend it to be on the floor height? Thz

  • thull
    14 years ago

    frankie_1: The range has a recess in the back for the gas flex hose. Other than that, the back of the range is smooth and has to sit flat against the wall down to ~3" above the floor. So gas valve and electrical plug have to be below that or run from inside an adjacent cabinet.

    xipper- don't forget that where you're talking about is going to be covered up by the range. It doesn't have to look perfect. You could pretty easily cut a hole for a retrofit outlet box down low and then turn the existing box with the outlet into a junction with a blank plate. Wire up a piece of romex between the two, hook up your new outlet and you're good to go. The reciprocating saw is your friend.

  • parrym
    14 years ago

    Here's what the back of the BS looks like where the gas line hooks up

  • frankie_l
    14 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the pictures, that really gave me a better idea and glad I saw these pictures because would of never known that I had to make these adjustment/modification in order for the range to fit in. Here's a few picture of my existing setup. Please give me some idea of what you would do to my setup to get the BS in, again, it's a 30" RNB.

    {{gwi:1389356}}

    {{gwi:1389358}}

    {{gwi:1389360}}

  • thull
    14 years ago

    For the gas pipe, you want the elbow right at the floor, then the gas valve (body horizontal; with the valve stem parallel to the floor, i.e. handle aligned on the side of the pipe instead of the top), then the adapter to the flex hose.

    Having a hard time seeing your electrical receptacle. What I suggested in the post above was to cut a hole for a retrofit outlet box (I like the deep ones) below the existing outlet. The box will be turned sideways and located on top of the sole plate for the wall (i.e. as low as you can get it).

    If you're DIYing, check that the wire (or any piping or anything important) isn't fed up from the bottom to start with. And these aren't the dummy-proof directions that tell you to do important stuff like kill the power first. The existing box is likely nailed to a stud on one side, so that's the side you want to avoid.

    After you cut the hole, you extend the circuit via a short piece of romex (say 12 gauge to be safe). You take out the receptacle, join the new (stripped) wire to the existing wires with wire nuts. Then feed the other end through the back of your retrofit box. Then push the box into the wall, secure it, and wire in the new receptacle. Put a blank plate(metal ideally, for the heat) over the old box and a faceplate on the new one.

    I've gotten kinda proficient at doing this, so it's about a 45 min task for me. YMMV. I started out feeding new wire into old outlet boxes, which was a giant pain. Much easier to cut out and replace when re-wiring.

  • pete_p_ny
    14 years ago

    Cut out the sheetrock from the electrical outlet box to the floor so you can see what you have back there. No one will ever see this. You can just screw/nail back into place when done. Be careful not to cut into any wires. Razor knife works.

  • pete_p_ny
    14 years ago

    By the way, bluestar has a schematic on measurements to allow proper installation. The general key is everything needs to no higher than 3" from the floor. Thull's comments are correct, get the elbow at the floor so the valve is parallel to the floor.

  • rjpjnk
    14 years ago

    I just installed my Bluestar range last week and what I did was install a 90 degree elbow on the gas pipe as soon as it comes out of the floor, then a short 2 inch pipe, then the shut-off valve. The whole setup fits nicely under the range. I have about 3 inches of clearance. If you only have 2.5 I'm thinking maybe you didn't adjust the legs yet. Did you know they are adjustable in height? I have the RNB36 btw.

    By looking at your pictures I see that you will first need to replace the straight pipe coming out of the floor with a shorter length so that the elbow is as close to the floor as possible. You can mark the pipe about 1 inch above the floor and then remove it and take it to Home Depot to be cut and re-threaded to that exact size if there is no off-the-shelf length available. I can not believe that your plumber told you he couldn't do this. Why would he say that?

  • frankie_l
    14 years ago

    Hi All,

    Finally got the Bluestar 30" RND in RED installed. The cooking is unbeatable. The best cooking tool I've ever used. The cleanup is another subject, it could be better but it's really not that bad. You need to do the cleanup right after you cook or it can get tough. I originally had questions about buying a floor sample, which this one is and in really great shape, no imperfection at all. They actually had this in a kitchen by itself and had the room locked so it customer rarely got to touch it unless they are seriously want to check it out. The question was if it had the normal warranty since it floor model, someone said no and no white glove. I guess it different with every retailer, mine had all the original warranty like it's purchase new. I just had the white glove service done this morning and will get 2 years warranty. Hopefully I don't need to ever use it. Thank you all who have help assist me in getting this done, do really appreciated. Below are some pictures of my range, ENJOY! It is indeed beautiful!!

    {{gwi:1389362}}

    {{gwi:1389364}}

    {{gwi:1389365}}

    {{gwi:1389366}}

  • Christine Clemens
    14 years ago

    frankie - which color is that exactly? It looks amazing!

  • deeageaux
    14 years ago

    Frankie,

    Do you know the RAL color/number for your range?

    3001 or 3003 etc?

    Is it a true red like Bertazonni?

    On my monitor it looks a bit orangey but maybe that is just my color card.

    Thanks

  • frankie_l
    14 years ago

    Sorry, it was a floor model, they didn't have the color code. It's really orange like, I would have to say it falls under the RAL2004 or RAL 2009 color code...

  • moelarrycurly
    13 years ago

    Thank you for the installation pictures of the gas line. Currently my gas line is about two feet up the wall and I will need it moved to install my 36" bluestar RNB.

    Frankie, very nice setup. What type of hood did you go with?

  • bopfletch
    13 years ago

    BTW folks.. it seems like that 3" is subject to HUGE tolerances. As some of the folks on here stated, and as was my experience, the bottom allowance was closer to 2.5" than 3". Caused me all sorts of issues, and ended up having to turn my valve on its side.

  • rjpjnk
    13 years ago

    The legs are adjustable.

    The clearance under the range is about 2.5" when shipped from the factory with the legs set at their lowest point, but BS requires that you adjust the legs until the height of the side bars are 11/16" above the counter top. This can raise it to 3 or more inches underneath.

  • User
    13 years ago

    What size gasline are people using? I requested 3/4" , and the installer used 5/8" instead.

  • moelarrycurly
    13 years ago

    Mine is 3/4" at the wall and 1/2" flex tube going into the range.

  • lamermaid
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    hello xipper- i'm the OP- sorry it has taken me so long to get back to gardenweb. finally got the range installed, however not without problems. your question re the bottom rolling rack and the oven door opening up to 90degrees-- My oven door does NOT open all the way either therefor the bottom rolling rack hits the inside of the door as it slides back and forth- i am also concerned about that because after use it will undoubtedly marr up the door making it difficult to clean. also, i've posted regarding the intense heat of the exterior sides of the oven- not too happy about that and think that in time will show damage to my adjacent cabinets- i'm sooo into my bluestar but don't like these issues i'm having. i posted -'how hot is too hot for range exterior'- good luck to all!

  • guadalupe
    13 years ago

    move the oven rack up 1 position, you will still have plenty of room and not hit the door

  • purpleproject
    4 years ago

    old thread but useful! Bradley, where on the wall is the electrical outlet?

  • purpleproject
    4 years ago

    hit Post too soon. the contractor says there is a stud on the floor so we can't move the outlet below legs level and so the Bluestar sticks out a bit. it's annoying me as I want it flush to the tile! thinking if he can put outlet on floor or perhaps in cabinet next to it

  • Amy Ching
    2 years ago

    Does anyone have a new range photo?