Absolutely, no doubt about it! We've had a 100% problem free experience with our almost 2-yr old 36" 6-burner rangetop. Cooking on it is a wonderful experience, and it's probably our favourite thing in the entire new kitchen. And the best part is that it's so easy to clean...not that you have to do that often since the matte black finish hides a multitude of sins.

We purchased a floor model BlueStar from an appliance store whose Blue Star distributor had lost his distributorship. In other words, we were going into it knowing we wouldn't have much local support but the floor model was the exact model I had been dreaming about. We had a bit of trouble with the ignitor switch at the beginning. Blue Star worked well with us in getting us the proper replacement part. The installation of the part was so straight-forward my husband was able to take care of it. About this time, we noticed that the delivery men had installed the oven door ever so slightly crooked. Once again, Blue Star stepped me through removing the door and re-installing it correctly. A 36" range that I can repair myself and cooks like a dream--would I buy it again? You betcha!!!

We are really happy with our rangetop and our dealer, Eurostoves. I switched from 18 years of using commercial burners and I do not see a difference in performance. As for cleaning, last night I spilled 6 raw eggs into the grill. The resulting mess required the removal of 2 screws and took 20 minutes to clean up. IÂm not sure how that would compare with other brands.

Yup.

Yes yes, thumbs up twice!

We own a 30" RNB and a 24" RPB; they're absolutely a pleasure to cook with!

Also, we have had positive experiences both with Eurostoves and with Bluestar's servicing.
Our 30" is 2 years old, the 24" is much newer in our ongoing mostly DIY kosher kitchen remodel.

In a heartbeat. I purchased a 36" Rangetop in 2006 and have used the heck out of it. I did have a very slight gas leak in one of the connections (don't know what the part was called).... but BlueStar paid my local gas company (no authorized repairmen in my area) to replace the part. I also had a cracked ignitor and they shipped TWO to me at no cost.

I LOVE the ease of use, clean-up and the powerful burners. I have never cooked with gas... so this was my first experience.

The BlueStar has met every single one of my expectations.

Bought ours this week. Can't wait for it to arrive. They are the only company that offered everything we wanted.

I would absoloutely buy another one simply because I LOVE cooking on it and there's nothing that I know of on the market that compares (open burners, high/low control, I/R broiler, easy cleanup). I would only hope that my second one didn't have as many annoying little problems.

We have had our 36" RNB for several months. I love it. You will find lots of bad feedback on most brands if you look. That is what most people post. Who wants to hear good news? All brands have their problems. When I was looking last year there were more favorable Bluestar reviews. That is what made me take a close look at them. I have no regrets and I'm sure you won't either. Good luck!

In a heartbeat! Three years plus of high-powered cooking on 48" of carefree surface. I honestly don't know what type of service Prizer-Painter offers because I've not had any problem with their product. I wish I could say that for a couple of other upscale brands that have had more than their share of glitches.

Mine (30 inch RNB) has not been entirely trouble-free: I've had to replace the spark module and the oven door liner, both at my expense after the warranty expired. However, while arguably the range "shouldn't" have had these problems, it continues to perform as a remarkable cooking tool, which is why I chose it in the first place. So, if I had to do it again, while part of me might be tempted to buy something else just to send Prizer a message that they need to improve their quality control, the more rational part knows that I would just be hurting myself, since there really isn't anything else out there that would perform as well.

I had the same concerns like you, given recent multitude of grumblings. But I took the plunge because of what the stove offers and my 30" RNB will be delivered/installed at the end of March. I am gald to see the happy owners comments.

I agree with mrblandings. Prizer absolutely needs to tighten up their quality control.

Yes - 36in cook top has been excellent, almost a year with none of the problems you commonly read about on this board.

I've been using mine for about 2 weeks now, and it's great. Takes some getting used to, and I feel like I need to get some new cookware (we have some Revere Ware which is good stuff but doesn't quite cover the burners). But I've learned to control it better.

And the power is good, but what's more important about this stove is the uniformity and the control. Simple things like sauteeing onions, you can watch all the onions turn brown uniformly like they never did on my old range. I pan fried marinated tofu and it was a completely different dish than I had ever made it before. I still have to let her rip on a stir fry, which I'm sure will be amazing.

In a heartbeat- anything else and I would probably loose all interest in cooking!

After owning my 48" with grill for about 6 months, I'm now starting to have problems. I have a gas leak in the range. It took 3 visits from service people to diagnose where the leak was coming from. It's now capped off temporarily while a part is ordered, so I only have partial use of my range. I just discovered yesterday that the ignitor spark on the left 22K burner is no longer working. It worked fine a few days ago. I have to call BS about that on Mon. IMO I shouldn't have these problems on a relatively new range. I will say that BS service has been great. They have returned all of my calls same day and were very responsive in calling the local appliance service company. Overall, I love cooking on my range so I would do it again. I just wish I didn't have to go through these hassles.

Great thread here. I've decided (I think) today to switch my range from 36" Viking All-Gas Self Clean (I know everyone moans about Viking...) to BlueStar 48" with griddle. I know no one personally who owns a BlueStar and had never even heard of it until discovering this forum! I'm trusting that you all are steering me in the right direction. I hope keitel's experience (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0218324030920.html) is an anomoly. That's a freak show story for sure.

What can you all tell me about cleaning the cooktop? It looks like it'll be a total pain to clean... and how do you clean the ovens? Also, one more thing - how do you feel about gas ovens?

Can't wait to pick my color - out of all 190 choices!

Thanks for all your sound feedback, BS cooks!

Dreamsalive, to answer your questions you should check out the Bluestar videos made by Trevor at the Eurostoves website.

I have a question, does one have to do anything special in cleaning the convection fan in the oven?

I've been cooking on my new Blue Star for a couple of weeks now. Couldn't be happier. A dream machine with power AND nuance in the power burner and simmer.

I'd choose it again in a second. I absolutely love cooking on it.

Realize that most of the complaints have to do with the ignitors and/or the spark module. If you look at every brand with re-ignition which includes pretty much all of them, there are similar complaints. What I can say is replacing these parts on a Bluestar will most certainly be easier (and cost less if you find an honest repair person) with the Bluestar than pretty much any other brand. I had loads of ignition problems with my Viking and replaced half the ignitors myself which was a pain involving retaining disks and unscrewing the burner assembly. I got to a point where I was ready to replace the spark module but that involved almost a complete disassembly of the whole thing. I ended up putting a shim underneath two of the problem ingnitors to tilt them closer to the burner. With the Bluestar, getting to the spark module is a piece of cake and all of the ignitors are held on by a single screw. I could replace all of them in 10 min if I had to.

So, even after my warranty expires (2 years for me due to "white glove install"), I'm confident that I can refresh the whole ignition system for under $200 myself. Probably more like under $150 based on some of the prices posted previously for the spark module. That's pretty good for a pro class range. Viking only gave me a 1yr warranty so it's a win all around.

I have had a 48" with grill (suggest grill over griddle as you can put a griddle pan over the grill (lodge pro $50) for a few years but have just started using it heavily (recently running 16 and an 18" woks at the same time for large dinners). No complaints other than I think the 22k burners are actually hotter than spec'd, but great control. I've spent a fair bit of time in front of commercial ranges and this is every bit as functional (sadly 2x the price) as a similar size commercial.

Bought it because it was simple with limited electronics. I wanted something that I could install, repair and keep alive for a very long time.

Check out eurostoves.com video links. A bloke named Trevor will show you how to clean a 48" top in 3-4 minutes. If you bought this range to cook on, not just look at, you'll appreciate it more as it seasons. Once, as a lowly pot boy I scraped and cleaned my chefs range, hoping for a little recognition and advancement, only to be scolded (again and again and again) for destroying years of seasoning.

Yes there are some sharp edges internally that you must mind. But, there are dangers in any kitchen (or home) for those that ignore the hazards. Keep your wits mate, you are standing in front of 160,000 british thermals of gas flame!

The website people above refer too is linked below. All the video's right now are on our dedicated Eurostoves / Bluestar website

Here is a link that might be useful: Bluestar video's

Looks like Trevor is the Sam Peckinpaw of BlueStar videos

These ranges are great. Anyone who is handy with tools will be able to fix it for life. Anything that can break is simple to access and fix. All parts are readily available. I still can't believe how awesome these burners are. Sometimes I go by and turn it on just to watch. That's some serious fire.

Now I ask you, what else would a cast iron cook cook on but cast iron? Totally love our BlueStar 30" slide-in rangetop. Those burners, grates, and bowls (notice that the drop-in cooktop doesn't have bowls, but the slide-in rangetop and the freestanding range do) are wonderful for distributing and retaining heat. Just whisk the burnt crumbs down the open spaces to the drip tray below and, with an occasional wipe, watch the bowls take on the patina of a well seasoned piece of cast iron (I'm talking easy clean-up here). After five happy months with this serious cooking machine, we'd trade houses before we'd trade stoves.

Absolutely! Our 36" RNB has only been hooked up for a couple of weeks. I'm loving it :) I posted recently about the convection fan noise, but haven't done anything to resolve it yet...it's so hit and miss that I'm trying to figure out a pattern before calling. Even with this minor issue (which I'm sure will be resolved) I'm not questioning my decision at all. We went with a griddle and four burners....love, love, love the griddle!

Any new updates?

The Bluestar is simple, straight-forward, powerful, and maybe a little rough around the edges. It can do a wok full of stir-fry or poach eggs or turn out a perfectly heated saucepan of Hollandaise, all at the same time, if anybody were crazy enough to actually try that. You have to be careful cleaning around the ignitors so that you don't crack them, but if you do they are cheap and all you need to replace them is a phillips screwdriver and an IQ of 80 or so.

You can fit 4 quiches on ONE rack of the oven. Our old Jennair was a great little stove but I would never go back.

Oh I'm so excited. Just ordered mine yesterday. Won't be installed for a month or so. I have cooked professionally for years and wanted that control and heat that I have on my work ranges. Also the "just brush it down below to the drip pan" clean up method is a bonus.

Absolutely thumbs up!!! In 4+ years of owning and using a BlueStar 36" range, I have only had to replace one igniter (very easy and inexpensive to do) and I did it myself. BlueStar is the real deal if you consider yourself somewhat (or better) of a cook and want a range that will perform...with POWER!!!!
Good luck!

Add me to list of satisfied owners. My 48 with griddle has had nearly daily use since summer 2006. The range is the centerpiece for the kitchen and friends/family all enjoy their turn preparing meals. I've easily replaced two cracked ignitors and moved one of the 22K burners from back to front position. Hard to beat baking a pizza in the oven and finish it off with the IR broiler to give the perfect golden hues and crispness to cheese and toppings.

My bluestar 36" is arriving friday. Do you use a pizza stone when you cook your pizza?

Yep, and turn that knob about half way between 500 and Broil to get to about 525deg. Make sure to preheat the stone for a good 45 - 60 min. Having the roller rack on the bottom makes getting the pizza in and out much easier.

I'm not sure.... I love the burners and size of the oven, but I haven't been too impressed with the quality. My 30" RCS is about 2.5 years old. When I first received it one of the racks was bent and wouldn't slide. The distributor replaced it. The right rear burner seems to have trouble sometimes -- it's loud and it often doesn't have flames coming out of each port. The front left burner doesn't ignite when the oven is preheating because the oven generates a lot of condensation when heating up, which makes the ignitor wet and it won't spark. Now, I just cleaned the oven and now it won't turn on, and I didn't touch anything other than wiping down the cavity. Also, the screws that hold the baffle onto the oven floor plate have all broken off, and one of the rails that hold the oven racks has also broken. I am not that tough on my range and continually wipe it down and keep it relatively clean. For something that is supposed to be the closest thing to a professional range for the house I am surprised by the issues I am having. But, I still love to cook on it. I just need to get the oven working again!

Would I get another one? Probably, because I don't think there's a better option. However, the new Capitol Culinarian does look nice...

I will tell you once it is working. It has been 6 weeks since talking to Bluestar. I had a service guy come out to do the White glove service, and he had never even seen one before. He kept calling it a Bluenose, he did say that he liked it though. Anyway he never did get it working, so I guess it is back to the drawing board with calling Bluestar.

No. Igniter problems and a frozen door on a 3yr old RNB30. I don't feel like I'm getting my $3,700 worth. At least it's pretty easy to fix. Fun to cook on when everything works maybe I'd be more positive if it didn't ruin a good meal for friends by refusing to disgorge my chicken this week!

Bumping. Seems that several if not most of the people who are very happy have the rangetop or cooktop, not the full range.

Would love to hear from more people, especially those how have the full range.

But the game has changed-- now there's Capital Culinarian, plus Blue Star has done the V-1 changes.

Would I do it again...not sure. I've had my Bluestar range since last August and currently have a "unsafe to use" oven (and my son's graduation party is Saturday). I have been trying (patiently) to resolve several issues since December. Most of the problems were small and didn't cause too much of an inconvenience (noisy convection fan, banging noise in oven, broiler issues, hanging wires etc). After the service call in May a "new" problem emerged--a strong gas odor is emitted when you turn on the oven or broiler and a mini "explosion" occurs in the oven. The local service company sent out a tech last Thursday and concluded the oven was not safe to use and recommended the unit be replaced. The service company has left several messages with Bluestar and have yet to hear from them. I've also left a message for BS. Anytime I have had to leave a message with BS I have not received a return call within a reasonable length of time. I've loved the range however the customer service has been less than adequate. At this point I'm not sure if I'd do it again, I think it will all depend upon how and when BS decides to handle this current problem.

Bumping this and wondering: spartywarren -- did you get your problems resolved?

Anyone have the "newer" model Bluestar?