We were at a Bluestar place last week and talked with the rep. I had never even heard of this more intermediate model you are purchasing. Do you know if it comes in colors, or it it only stainless? Does this have the nicer glide rack of the RNB, or is it the simpler racks of the RCS?

I am also confused because the quote we got for the RCS says, "30,000 BTU oven with 15,000 BTU infrared broiler. Convection fan." The same quote for the RNB says, "30,000 BTU convection oven with 15,000 BTU infrared broiler." What is the difference?

Here is what I know: We were told the little bottom bump outs help with venting. The speckled finish is a second glaze of porcelain with minute glass particles in it; this is supposed to mean easier cleaning.

I too am wondering whether we truly need any of that extra fire power. Our dealer told us that most of his customers who move up to the RNB do so primarily because they want color which isn't available on the RCS. Some of them will also purchase a separate glide rack to put in the RCS.

Hi new_2_nj, the RPB is the old discontinued model that has been replaced by the RCS (which incidentally, DOES have convection - check Blue Star Website, or call in if you would like to confirm) as well as the all the V1 upgrades. You've more or less covered all the differences between the discontinued RPB/current RCS series and the RNB, except full extension glide rack in oven, which comes with RNB but not the RCS. If you do turkeys, roasts, casseroles or other heavy oven dishes, or anything that requires basting, that might be a worthwhile consideration.

As for which to get, in addition to the full extension glide rack mentioned above, is primarily the burners, and more durable enameling in the oven. For $500 difference, I would certainly get the RNB - you are not comparing the 15k burner of Blue Star to the sealed burner 18K of another brand, you are comparing it to the 22K of Blue Star. That power is wonderful for certain types for quick searing/stir-fry.

However, you should look into the RCS, since as I understand it, the RCS should save you more than just $500. We have a customer who just decided to step down from RNB to RCS because they decided that they didn't need quite so much power and they would save a nice chunk that they could spend to get a good hood (so they could actually use the Blue Star properly without getting a smokey/greasy kitchen every time they threw down a steak).

needinfo 1 - The RPB has a glide rack on the bottom and the others are regular. I do believe it comes in colors, but I'm not sure. We were told this is definitely convection and that the RCS didn't sell well because it wasn't.

flamtech - Thanks for the info! The appliance guy told us the RCS was discontinued and the RPB was the replacement. When I searched for RCS, it often came up as discontinued, so I believed it. So, the price on the "RPB" is $3k and the price on the RNB is $3.5k. Does that sound reasonable or are we being totally ripped off? I saw that the RCS was much less when pricing was referenced on a former GW thread (no pricing available online), but I assumed the difference related to the convection issue.

We have a quote from a month ago (still haven't made up our minds about what to do).

$3,000 for the RCS.
$4,400 for the RNB. Where did you find this price for a RNB? It is a LOT cheaper than what we were told!

new 2 nj....I paid $3799 for my 30" RNB when ordered in July in color. I went to a demo and the color was a "freebie". I think at $3500 you're doing good.

OP: Since there is a question about the current statsus of the RPB model I would myself call Bluestar and find out exactly what the story is with the RPB vs RCS models. Your dealer may well be confused or out of date. In any case for a few hundred dollars more the RNB is well worth it, IMHO. Good luck!

Hi all,

I spoke to Blue Star today. The rep that I spoke to told me that there is no difference between the PRB and the RCS models. She said model name used differs by territory, but they are exactly the same and it's a true convection oven. That seems like a weird explanation because there's just one RNB, but that's what she told me.

She also couldn't give me pricing because they allow their authorized dealers to set the pricing (with a cap), which allows the dealers to run specials, etc. She was able to tell me that the average sales price for the RPB/PCS was $3k (our exact price, although it was shown marked down from $3.9k) and the average price of the RNB was $4.2k (much more than the $3.5k we were quoted). The pricing we received is for in-stock ranges only. They're closing down a store location and needed to move the inventory. I guess they have more RNBs or perhaps the saleman was wrong about the RNB pricing. He originally told me $375 to upgrade and later told me $500. I emailed him to confirm the pricing on the RNB, so we'll see.

Now, I'm actually a little nervous that these ranges were flooded by Sandy in some NJ warehouse and that's why they're so cheap. The salesman was soooo nice, but now I'm suspicious. Great - now I'm going to start rethinking induction!!!

Maybe you are just lucky and are getting a good buy.....If you want one, I hope so.