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tsaintb

Crunch time for kitchen range - is Blue Star door really a prob?

tsaintb
10 years ago

OK. D-Day coming quick for appliance selection on new home. Keep going back and forth.
Opt 1) 36" Bluestar gas range and additional 24" Kitchenaide wall oven. Is the BS oven door temp REALLY that bad???
Opt 2) 36" Bluestar gas cooktop and dual 27" wall ovens - possibly Thermadore??
Currently have a DCS 36" all gas range. Like it but don't love it: the burners are too big for small pots, 1 is not working properly and can't get service tech in my area (have 5 others that work - oh well), the oven takes too long to heat up for small jobs, and oven is too hot in summer so I'm usually using my countertop Cuisineart oven on the back porch.

Comments PLEASE. Thx

Comments (16)

  • alexrander
    10 years ago

    You'll like the burners, but the oven will still take a long time to pre-heat.

    I don't know what to say about the door, there are so many different experiences.

  • gtadross_gw
    10 years ago

    I agree you'll love the burners on the range and rangeTOP but maybe not so much with the cooktop. You'd lose the cool grates that allow for wok cooking.

    I have the 36" range and I've never had any issues with the door. But it does take a while to get to temp due to its size. So I also have a small 27" Viking wall oven that heats up in no time. The Viking is for day to day cooking and the bluestar is for bigger meals, holidays and entertaining.

  • tsaintb
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks. I think I'm gonna do the 36" BlueStar all gas range with a 24" Kitchenaide wall oven for the day to day oven and summer baking. (Keep in mind I'm down south). Ctycmd, I have the same opinion of my DCS broiler. I thought maybe the BS might be better. Prob not. Everyone boasts their broiler cooks steaks like "Ruth's Chris". Nope. Not close. 20 min is a long time for me - especially in the morning. I LOVE my little oven outside! It's almost like having a microwave oven. I turn it on, come in and by the time I go back out to put my biscuits in, it's preheated. Now that is quick!

  • alexrander
    10 years ago

    Well, I have a great opinion of the Bluestar broiler. Burgers and steaks have to be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the broiler, but take 2-3 minutes per side. Leave the door cracked open and they are just like "Ruth's Chris"

    The broiler itself takes about 90 seconds to turn on and start up. The door has to be open to avoid the thermostat from cycling the broiler on and off- to get that 'charred' crust-

    Thicker items should be further away from the broiler and will take longer and may not need the door left open.

  • cookncarpenter
    10 years ago

    Here's my issues with the broiler:
    1. It's rediculously small, 7-1/2"x 10-1/2" is stupid silly in a 18"x28" oven! ...that's about the size of one big rib eye!!
    2. It cycles on and off, which kind of defeats the purpose of a broiler, just as things start to sizzle, it shuts off!!
    3. Only one temp, high or off. I have a hard time with my famous garlic bread that I used to broil at 400-425 in my old Thermador.
    Other than that, the range is one fantastic piece of equipment, and am very pleased with my decision

  • cookncarpenter
    10 years ago

    I'll have to try the door open method, thanks!

  • tsaintb
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yea, I'll try the door cracked as well. Ewww...but summers are SO hot here. Maybe my new house will be much more efficient and I won't have to worry. And get me a big old hood vent - they said you should get a 42 over a 36. Seems overkill to me

  • thull
    10 years ago

    We've had our 36" RNB in ATL for several years. Our munchkin survived toddler-hood while we used the oven without any incidents.

    I agree that it takes a while to heat up. We also just don't use it a ton in the summer. We have a toaster oven and a convection microwave that get more use then. That said, I fired it up Sunday to bake a strawberry rhubarb pie.

  • barryv_gw
    10 years ago

    I will chime in, have my Bluestar for a month or two. Using a contact thermometer, the oven door is definitely hotter than the last range I had, but I believe that is on purpose - you get a bigger oven cavity due by making the door thinner. In use, I don't even notice the door temp, because the handle is cool. The knobs get warm to the touch - but they won't burn you. The broiler is too small and you need to be directly under it, or you will get brown to blackening for the part of the dish that is under the broiler, and no browning for the parts that are on either side. It is designed to cycle on and off, but the ceramic is supposed to give off heat when it is not firing, though obviously not as much heat as when it is on. The manual says not to crack the door when broiling - I think a poster here had a interior plastic part of a knob melt when broiling, but I may be mistaken. Also, I would think it would make the knobs pretty hot. Oven works fine, and the glide out rack is very nice touch. Burners work great, and once adjusted, even the hottest burners can do a low simmer.

  • tyguy
    10 years ago

    Teebee: 42 really isn't overkill, especially if you do high smoke cooking like woking or grilling. As for the door. My bs is 5 yrs old and I have the original door style. The door does get pretty hot in some places (but still within UL approved specs) but I have never had any issue with it. Then again, as much as I love my bluestar I don't go around fondling it while its on.

    Ctycdm, teebee and others: if you open your door while broiling I would recommend pulling the drip tray out a bit as well to direct the heat that escapes from the oven over and around the knobs so that they don't get hot.

  • lgherb
    10 years ago

    We just had our RNB 36" Blue Star range installed a week and a half ago and couldn't be happier. So far we've used the oven probably more than the stove.

    The oven door gets slightly warmer than our old range but in no way would I call it "hot". My wife is actually baking cookies as we speak. At a 350 degree setting, I can place and keep my hand on the metal of the oven door with zero discomfort.

    I baked some biscuits last weekend at 400 degrees and the door surface was nominally warmer.

    When we did the burn off immediately after installation, the oven was on at 450 degrees for over an hour. During that period I noticed the oven door was noticeably warmer, but I don't think I would really describe it as "hot".

    The grates on the toe panel of the oven are actual vents and do get something close to what I would describe as 'hot' as does the back guard. These parts actually vent hot air, the door does not.

    I don't get what the fuss is all about with the so-called "hot" oven doors on the Blue Star, to be honest.

  • lgherb
    10 years ago

    Here is another pic of the Blue Star.

    Can't wait to cook some chicken and andouille gumbo on this bad boy!!!

  • Mistman
    10 years ago

    I've mentioned it before but I have 2 4.5 yo's and a 36" BS range. My son will actually sit in front of the oven with his back against it while on to get 'warmed up'. Haven't seen him get burnt yet. Some of you may think I'm making this up but I have a 30" Wolf convection oven under the Wolf steam oven and the convection oven will vent air out the bottom panel that I would describe as 'hot' and in turn it will make the panel hot. My boy thinks it's hot, he doesn't think the BS is though. I use the Wolf more than the BS but like a poster above mentioned I don't go around feeling all over the ovens when they're on so am not concerned at all about any oven in my kitchen.
    To me it seems a bit like saying a pool it wet, an oven is hot. I've heard no mention about hot doors other than from a BS and having one in my kitchen along with other 'highly thought of ovens' and noticing virtually no difference between the 2 I tend to wonder how this whole hot oven door thing got started in the 1st place.

  • willtv
    10 years ago

    Good choice of color ;)

  • craigcalvert
    10 years ago

    So it's looking like a 36 inch Blue Star, with that much btu I need a serious hood, which models have performed well?

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