Yah, I agree but it has not caused any problems so far & th ewife woks all the time

I have a sneaky suspicion that someone on this forum wouldn't be so apologetic if this was a Bluestar issue.

That is beyond horrible fit and finish. Sorry, but I hear about Capitals fit and finish on this site a lot. I say Balogna!!!!

I have seen about a half dozen Culinarians in person and none look like that.

That is unacceptable.

Worse, Capital giving you the shaft.

Doesn't have anything to do with the finish, but the fit is less than desired. It's a casting issue - the outer edges of the grates should have been spec'd a little larger. Wife says she has no issues with woking, even though the wok grate is undersized compared the normal grates. Some spacing needs to be allowed for heat expansion, but this is way too much.

And it's sycophants that I rail against, not the BS. I would bought the BS if the CC had not come out. For this kind of money I want to know every detail, positive & negative, beforehand.

Trevor passes these types of messages back to the factory - & I too want better fit on the grates.

Message and links sent to the factory when tony first posted at the end of September, and again yesterday with Tony's lonk to pictures.

I strongly suggested that they look at the grate sizing. I would also say that while a better fit should be achieved I have not had any complaints about moving grates during cooking, but that's not to say it should not be addressed if possible.

If Capital is saying that is within normal range then it must have a rather large tolerance for the size of the grates.

And Tony got a set of small grates.

This bothered me at first, but I've found over time that if the middle edges of the grates are flat against each other, the outer edges seem to settle in a "comfortable" position.

I agree that it would be nicer if the grates fit a little bit more snug, but it hasn't caused me any issues when cooking on the Culinarian.

(mine is a 30", though, so the issue may be worse on a stove where there are more ranks butted up against each other left to right)

I just got an email from Capital, saying that they "Changed the base pans and the grate supports" and will be sending them to me. Which is obviously great news. I'll report back with how they fit once i get them.

Great news - I am looking forward to what your receive.

I'll up load some pictures. You might as well wait to see how it goes before you call them.

I received the replacement rails today. The work out much better than without them. The 2 center ones have a SS edge that help take up the slack. the 2 outer rails has a welded piece on them to stop the vertical movement. The Wok grate also fits like a $3500 unit.

Separate subject, If you adjust the shutter valve, the burners will light on high all of the site. There is a setter to where it either lights or it Doesn't light.

May we see some photo's, please, Tony? We are contemplating the CC rangetop, but were put off by the poor fit of the grates on the CC range we saw.

Yep - I'd like to see pics of the differences in the rails please.

sorry for the delay. So the new rails pick up the slack for a much better fit. The wok ring also fits much better.

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Thanks Tony, that looks excellent.

Trevor (I'm sure you are watching this thread), will the new rails be standard fitment for a rangetop ordered next year?

Hi all,

This is my first post on GardenWeb. We have been involved in a kitchen remodel--our third in different houses--that thankfully is nearing the end. Our appliances were installed recently, including a 36" Culinarian cooktop and a 30" Maestro wall oven.

The grates on our cooktop look like TonySak's and I also was dismayed to see how much space/play there is between them. Is Capital sending the rails that fix the problem? Also I have the wok ring grate which is smaller than the standard grates too and has even more play.

We have had a few issues with the cooktop. Two knobs were broken and one of the rods the knobs fit onto is either bent or installed at an angle. Several of the painted red marks behind the knobs look like someone's child was allowed in the warehouse to paint them. One of the igniters doesn't work. I am surprised that a high end cooktop would have problems like this but our contractor is working to resolve them.

So I haven't had a chance to actually use the cooktop much. I am thrilled with the burners and think once these details are worked out we will be very happy with the cooktop choice.

Same with the wall oven. So far no mechanical issues with it, knock on wood. But the most I have done is a test bake with store bought cookies. The problem we are having with the wall oven is the dimness of the temperature display. We're in our 50s and have a really tough time reading the temperature setting which is a dim orange, even though the clock and mode displays are clear and bright. . My spouse cannot read the display at all and is ready to send it back despite any other favorable attributes the oven may have. Unfortunately, we ordered it without having seen it in person (none on display around here)because it seemed like such a great concept--the best of both worlds of gas and electric ovens--but we are regretting not going with the Wolf oven we were previously considering. Looking at photos and videos of the oven online, I realize now you can't see the temperature displayed at all. I have emailed Capital's customer service but if anyone at Capital is reading, please improve the display and send us the fix!

Will be happy to post photos later when I take a few.

we had a 48" CC with griddle installed this summer. we have no issue with grate fit, they are all snug. We had minor issue with several igniters, service call and a couple of adjustments, all fixed.

Did your grates wobble prior to the new supports? and did they solve any wobble issues?

Again, this is only on the Range Tops specifically. The full range/ovens are not affected.

No wobbly on the grates or anything like that. Its a pretty good fix.

I also have issues with knobs and bezels. My unit was shipped with loose bezels and some upside down. Some knobs would turn easier than others, some knobs stuck out more than others. If the bezels are tight the knobs will not turn, and the unit will constantly ignight. Capital says this is normal and how they are all currently shipped. They must not realize its a little hooky to have to reach for a knob and feel a loose bezel on a high end unit. A service guy came out and said the gas valves were tappped into the gas supply line in the wrong place, causing the valve stem to stick out of the unit off center, which cause the knobs to rub against the bezel. After capital saying the bezels were normal, i explained why this was happening and they didn't respond. So, capital seems a little odd. They were great to fix the grate issue, and they sent out a guy . But its like they don;t want to admit to anything.

I didn't want to bring this up prior, because i didn't want it to seem like i was capital bashing. The unit really spits fire out. They just have a couple of dumb this going on. Im not sure if other people have the knob problem.

My knobs do not stick out the same also but they turn fine. Thinking this might be a sitting issue with the black stem. I have some more stems and the new supports being shipped. I hope this solves the wobbling grates.

Just to add a data point, I took delivery of a 30" Culinarian rangetop this afternoon and the grates fit fine.

I just got my 30" CC delivered. First thing I did was take a look at how the grates fit. For the 30" they were a nice and tight fit, not too much play at all. I had seen a 36" in person at the appliance store and these did show a good amount of movement in the grates. I think the fact that the 30" has the grates butt up to stationary fixtures on the lesft and right keep the fit tight as opposed to the 36" which has 3 grates side by side, increasing the cumulative spacing.

Posting a follow-up to my knob and grate issue.

The Capital service technician came and adjusted the igniter and the knobs. Fortunately nothing about the burner was broken, so it just needed a minor adjustment (which makes me wonder if the installer tested it). The knobs are better--the one that was sticking out at an angle is less so and the one that was sticking out too far is now a little too far in. I sound really picky, but I do have photos if I can ever figure out how to post them. Still waiting for the 2nd replacement knob.

We had another issue with the Capital wall oven which turned out not to be a problem with the oven. We went through our contractor, so there were about 3 people in the chain to resolve the issue. It took about a week, which was pretty good considering the chain of communication involved. Our vendor called Capital, but Capital also called us unexpectedly. Spoke to a guy who was very helpful.

I asked about the grate issue and he is sending the upgraded rails. Thx TonySak.

I never received a response from my email to customer service regarding the dim temp display on the oven. We tried to find out through our contractor/vendor chain and asked while the Capital guy was on the phone. He thinks it is the glass panel cover that is too dark and is checking into it, but I wonder, since all other displays are fine, if that is the problem.

So for those of you who have a Capital Maestro wall oven and know how to post photos to this forum, please take a photo of your control panel while the temperature is displayed. I would like to see if the dimness of our display is standard, or if there really is something that should be adjusted to bring it in line.

Tonysak,
when you say a better fit, does this mean the grates fit snug/tight with no movement or does this mean they do not move as much as before?

I just installed the new pans and supports and still have some movement (forward and backward) in the grates but not near as much as before. There is little to no movement from side to side.

Also, I still have 2 grates, back left and middle front, that wobble considerably along the 45 degree line from bottom left to top right. I estimate it would take a shim the thickness of a nickel to fix. I've switched grate locations and only at these 2 locations will the grates wobble; so it's not a grate issue. Does or has anyone experienced this with the 36" rangetop?

Capital has been working with me on these issues.

There is some movement, but its MUCH better than before, I found it acceptable, especially since It was nice for Captial to whip something up for me in the first place (and deal with some knob issues). You have to have some movement or the grates won't come out or go in without banging the SS.

Its funny you mention, the wobble. I just noticed 2 days ago, that my front left grate wobbles on the 45. Also not the grate but the position on the Rails. The 2 center ones were ok, i didn't check the right side. Let me know what they say on that.

I do love the CC. Its bad ass. I think of it as buying more of a piece of performance, or raw power. its the Lamborghini of cooking. I will never ever use all 6 buners, but the fact they all go full power is the balls.

TonySak, how much movement would you estimate you have? Like I said, I have 2 that wobble and estimate a nickel and penny thickness would cure the 2.

I'd move the grates around and see if it's a position problem or a grate problem. Casting iron does not always go as expected and the grate may be 'off'. I can't imagine Capitol not being willing to help out. They sent me the new rails immediately upon asking (Thank you Trevor) and we have been extremely pleased with the way they fit and the way that Capitol responds to issues that their customers bring up.

Ratflinger,

I did move the grates around and only the constant is the grate position.

So your gates do not wobble at all, especially on the diagonal! I actually have 3 after installing the new supports with 2 of the 3 being unacceptable.

Capital and Trevor have been working with me on this issue

Like ratfligner said, casting has fluctuations, especially across flat areas.

It's odd that they don't have some kind of adjustable leveler that owners could adjust (I know Bluestar grates have leveling screws for this).

Not a casting issue. The same grates are fine in other positions and other grates that were fine, in other positions wobble if put in the wobble location.
Mine has the diagonal wobble on 2 grates. The wobble occurs from the back left of the grate to the font right. This is on the back left and back right positions. Seeing what I read above, this seems to happne at least on two grates for those affected but the positions on the rangetop are not the same. When I go home I will try flipping around the grate supports and see if the position changes.

Mine is being hooked up today. I also called capitol for the new trays and supports, since I can see I have the grate spacing/movement issue. I can see the grate hole wouldn't remain centered over the burner without them.

The grates on my 36" rangetop don't wobble at all, but they have the hideous spacing like Tony's original pictures. I just sent Capital an email asking for the new grate supports. I'm not sure how I missed this thread last fall. Thanks, todds, for bringing it up again.

Todds--enjoy your first cook on the raging inferno! Your DW will be so pleased to have her kitchen up and running again.

She is only pleased since that means I will cook again. She's not going anywhere near this beast unless it's to boil water or heat up sauce :)

My supports should be on the way.

What breezy said. But I'm not sure I really care all that much. The grates are so heavy they sure don't move around when I cook on them. And while they don't look tight, I don't much care about this sort of looks-issue. There is a trade-off, however, with ease of replacement. The grates are so heavy that replacing them is a bit of a challenge, and having the little extra wiggle room getting them in and down is probably helpful, essentially. For me that is.

I did notice this thread last fall but really, this ease-of-replacement tradeoff for me makes the wiggles more valuable than the appearance. (wiggles in 2D across the plane of the stovetop, not in 3D as in making the pan wobble up and down).