correction: it is NOW malfunctioning again.

do you need dual fuel? do you bake a lot? i believe neither capital nor bluestar offer dual fuel, but their burners are much more powerful than the wolf. i am trying to decide between the wolf all gas and the bluestar myself. i also was very interested in the capital culianarian until I went to a showroom that had the culinarian and the oven was just too small. the bluestar oven is a very good size, but not as well insulated as the wolf.

Have had a Bluestar 36" 6 burner since October of 2007.
I think the thing I like best about it is the fact that it's really simple. The only electronics in the thing are the ignitors and the thermostat. The switches for the oven lights and convection fan are mechanical . Quite a difference from the Miehle's, Dacor's and other "high end" appliances out there.
Got a Dacor when we remodeled in 2000. Seduced by the bells and whistles and ended up hating it - replaced the "brain" 3 times, the sealed cooktop was a nightmare to keep clean (esp since I'm a high heat, multi burner cook) and the oven was never the same temperature twice.
Problems with the BlueStar? One burnt out oven light that I can't replace because I can't get the cover unscrewed. It's just a matter of getting a strap wrench which I'm too cheap to buy.
One burner star, bowl and grate welded together with thermoplastic by a house guest who didn't realize we had an electric kettle. BlueStar sent us a new burner star and 6 new bowls and grates at no charge even though the stove is over 3 years old.
We have a couple of friends who are professional chefs who have said that they wished that had stoves as reliable as our BlueStar.

I have the same range as phillycook -- 36" BlueStar RNB with 6 burners (cobalt blue). Hard to say anything about reliability, as we've had ours less than five months, but it's been great in all regards -- the burners are excellent, and we've been happy with the oven too (especially like the broiler, which I hadn't thought much about when we were looking).

I spent so much time trying to decide between Wolf and Blue Star. Talked to everyone I could find, posted endlessly with questions. Finally went to see both ranges live and that made up my mind for me. I love my Blue Star (it is only a couple of months since it was installed). I encourage you to go see both brands live.

I don't have my Blue Star yet, but it is due to be shipped on 8/19 so will have it soon. I, too, agonized over what range to get, but in the end and with advice from many on this forum (Sayde, Stooxie, and others) went with the Blue Star. I agree with Sayde, go see whatever you're interested in, in person. It's the only way. The appliance store where I got my Blue Star actually had a demonstration for several of us prospective buyers. That demo really sold me.

phillycook, your description sold me on bluestar:)

I had originally planned to replace my stove, but the new basic ones weren't as nice as my older GE gas range. I didn't like the enamel tops (they scratch). I didn't understand the sealed burner thing, and I don't want lots of electronics. My current one gives steady heat, has a brushed chrome top that is easy to clean.

I'm holding out with this one, hopefully for several years so that I will have rebounded from this kitchen remodel by the time I need to replace it.

that is such great feedback! i love this site. thanks everyone.

Did you post in the Appliances forum? Lots of Bluestar owners there, and their reports aren't all so glowing.

We chose a blue star b/c it was simple and loved how the burners can be removed for cleaning in the dw. Just getting functional on our remodel, so have only used a little, but so far so good. Good luck!

The Wolf owners' reports aren't all glowing either. So you have to take the positives and the negatives of both, do some more research on your own (if you wish), look at both in person and ultimately, make your own conclusion. Based on that, I'm (hopefully) going with Bluestar. I just wish they weren't having a price increase and charging for color when I'll be ordering mine. Good luck!

We love the broiler on our BlueStar too - an unexpected perk that we didn't focus on when making our choice, but we use it all the time!

We also love the smaller oven on our 42" - it is really great for baked potatoes in the summertime - faster than the BBQ, and doesn't heat up the hose as much as the full oven.
Beth

We also agonized over this decision for over a year, was positive I was ordering a Bluestar, but ultimately bought the Wolf all gas. I think the key is just getting an all gas range- whatever the manufacturer-for all the reasons the original poster and phillycook mentioned above: less things can go wrong.

I actually preferred the more...no nonsense? appearance of the Bluestar over the Wolf and the Bluestar star shaped burners seemed to have a more even heating pattern than the Wolf. But when there was a pan on the Bluestar, I wasn't able to easily tell the burner setting (low-med-high) because the knobs weren't marked/calibrated (or at least not marked well enough for me to see and/or hear clicking as it notched up or down.)

Also, right before needing to finally order, I started reading about folks who'd ordered the Bluestar and felt after a few months that perhaps their range was a little too much range for them. It's great bragging rights, but perhaps they didn't need 22k front burners and a few were in the process of converting those 22's back down to 15's.

What actually sealed the decision for us was that because of some promotional package they were offering, the Wolf ended up being nearly the same price for us as the Bluestar. I'm not sure whether resale is a factor for you, but most average house hunters wouldn't appreciate (or want to pay top dollar for) a kitchen with a Bluestar or the Capitol, even though all of us TKO'ers heart would skip a beat to see one! ;)

The final thing that helped me in the Bluestar vs Wolf decision was to think in the final analysis-EITHER of these ranges are going to be AMAZING compared to our previous range! :)

a few were in the process of converting those 22's back down to 15's.

My God who is dumb enough to do that?

There is a post on Appliances forum right now asking how to hotrod an Bluestar RCS 15K btu burner to an RNB 22k btu.

It is like saying you don't need an oven that reaches a temperature of 550 degrees. You want to convert it so it can't get higher than 400 degrees. Because it is "too much."

There is no such thing as a range "being too much" for somebody. You don't have to turn the buners to high, and the 15K btu sealed burners,unlike open burners, don't give you even heat across the pan. And you need the power of induction or open gas burners to give you a proper sear or saute.

When I watch Chopped on Food Network I feel for the chef's that are used to high output open burners strugling to sear or properly brown something with those residential sealed burners.

Here is a thread readers here might be interested in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Most even heating gas burners? - BlueStar Champ?

BTW I don't think anyone is willing to pay a premium for the type of range you have with the possible exception of those uber-expensive French ranges.

All else being equal I can see someone picking the house with Sub-Zero/Wolf vs KitchenAid/Jenn-Air/Monogram.

But it is not significant enough that you should alter your buying decisions.

Well...I hope I won't regret my decision! We ordered the 48" Wolf DF. I did that based on the reviews here and the sound record Wolf seems to have overall. I know there are good reviews and bad reviews for each but when it came down to it I felt like Wolf is established more, I will be able to have it serviced locally if need be (can not find 1 Bluestar range within 30 miles of me so was leery about service) and I just plain liked it more! And littlesmokie...I've been told from realtors that without a doubt having a Wolf range is a great selling point for someone's home if that is a concern....at least that is the case in my area. Good luck with your choice klesser!

Hi Diego, I should remember before I quickly post something about appliances over here on the easy going kitchen forum that someone from the often more contentious appliance forum would have a comment! ;) Seriously, I've read many of your posts & have always respected your level headed opinions/comments.

I think the point I made about the Bluestar knob calibration is precisely why HOME cooks (not professional chefs used to cooking on commercial open burners) might want to turn down the BTU's. Certainly the hotter the flame, the better the sear, but when I can't tell how high/hot my flame is burning, the higher the likelihood I'm going to burn my dinner, LOL.

We're definitely foodies, and my husband is a passionate home cook, but we're not professional chefs. Certainly a 15K BTU burner is going to give us a better sear than our 15 year old kitchenaid ceramic range. And certainly a 22k BTU would give us a better sear. It's easy to get obsessed with THE BEST, and objectively-not having cooked on a Capital for comparison-I would say the Bluestar is objectively the best. But I realized we didn't need THE BEST, that merely amazing---and more user friendly---would suffice. :)

And for any lurkers to the conversation: Wolf's all gas burners were described to me as "semi open" burners-easier to clean and more even heat than the fully sealed burner model (the sealed burner Wolf models are the ones with the "cool" red knobs instead of the red plastic ones that come with the all gas, ha ha) but yes the Wolf burners are definitely not fully open like the Bluestar and the Capital. And I don't think there is any argument that superior results are to be had with open, as opposed to sealed, burners.

I don't think the Appliance Forum is more "contentious" just more male. Kitchens is more female.
Neither is better or worse just different.

I have not had any user interface problems when testing the Bluestar/Culinarian and swithing back to my Kenmore that I am currently using before my remodel. No burned food on the Bluestar/Capital.

I think an obsession with the best is a problem if you are paying a huge premium for that extra bit of performance. Wolf/Bluestar/Capital ranges are all in the same ball park in terms of price.

And I find Bluestar/Capital more user friendly because it puts the heat in the center of the pan as oppose to the edges. Intuitively the residential cook with no cooking experience would guess it is hotter in the center of the pan than the edges.

It is hard to get used to worse like professional chefs using standard appliances. I find it is easy getting used to better like a home cook using commerical grade equipment.

From personal experience living here in West Los Angeles where there are lots of foodies and high end ranges and watching shows like House Hounters on HGTV I don't see people paying premiums for homes with Wolf/Sub-Zero appliances. The last two times I remember seeing a Wolf range on that show the couples did not pick the house with Wolf.

People pick homes and pay premiums on location,school district,layouts,size of yards,number of rooms/bathrooms.

Appliance choice is really off the radar. Like I said all else being equal I think people would pick the recognizable "better" brand.

The only time I have seen appliance choice being an issue is the super high end house with low end appliance.

I would imagine Wolf/Sub-Zero would be a real significant draw If a potential homebuyer saw these in a lower middle class neighborhood.

Service. All these companies sub-contract to independent shops. All-Gas ranges are rather easy to service.If there is not a service provider already in your area Bluestar/Capital will just call and establish a relationship with one of the service providers in your area.

If you live in Moscow Idaho and want your Gaggenau steam oven serviced that might be a problem. Miele has their own network with their own employees in limited areas but that is neither here nor there on this topic.

I will weigh in and say that I really like my Wolf AG range. BTU's are plenty high enough for us. Have never used higher BTU burners, so can't say that I wouldn't like those also, but I certainly don't feel like I'm missing out. I don't know if I'd find the recovery time (of pasta water after adding pasta to the pot for example) to be quicker on a higher BTU burner than we have on our Wolf, but I don't feel as though ours does so particularly slowly (at all!).

As I've mentioned before, the oven could (should!) be just a bit deeper, f to b (to allow half-sheet pans to be placed f to b on the oven rack). Still think that was an oversight on Wolf's part.

The oven on our 36" range heats up pretty quickly, and can fit a lot (despite the aforementioned shorter depth than I'd prefer). It's a good range.

I've used gas most of my life and never relied on the knob settings. Cooking is a visual thing to me ... I have to see the size of the flame to make adjustments. That's one of the reasons I love cooking with gas.

Have an all gas 36" Wolf. Might be nice to have a self-cleaning oven, but I've never had one, so I really don't know what I'm missing.