Blue Star
Barry Klein
Can anyone tell me about Blue Star?
If I can find it, is it worth getting.
Philip Weiss
the residential business but the range is, supposedly still made in the same
factory to the same spec.s) Garland has an outstanding reputation and
their residential ranges were very good. I'm not sure that Blue Star is
shipping yet or is even producing but if it is the same as the Garland it
will be a great unit. Blue Star doesn't seem to have a WebSite yet and it's
a bit hard to get info.
"Barry Klein" <b...@nospamkleindesigngroup.net> wrote in message
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Ken Sternberg
Blue Star has been modified to have hotter burners, larger ovens and a
longer warranty (I think). Quality is definitely fine. Go for it and
enjoy.
Chris Shenton
> Blue Star is the new name for Garland Residential Ranges (Garland sold off
> the residential business but the range is, supposedly still made in the same
> factory to the same spec.s) Garland has an outstanding reputation and
> their residential ranges were very good. I'm not sure that Blue Star is
> shipping yet or is even producing but if it is the same as the Garland it
> will be a great unit.
I recently got a 6-burner Blue Star cooktop for the house we're
building. I've had to endure a wimpy GE range and this is a true
pleasure to use. Here's a photo and close-up of the burner (a bit
dusty from construction):
http://chris.shenton.org/camera/House-Arlington-construction/2002-06-15_cables_bsmt_stairs/image10.jpg
http://chris.shenton.org/camera/House-Arlington-construction/2002-06-15_cables_bsmt_stairs/image09.jpg
It's built like a tank: cooktop structure is clad in stainless, but
all
the burners and their frames are heavy cast iron. It's massive in
look and feeling. Construction is straight-forward and uncomplicated,
as it should be. No digital doo-dads to fail, only electrics are the
sparkers for each burner.
Two of the burners are 18KBTU, the others are 15KBTU. One has a very
low simmer mode. Burners are the star-shape that Garland is known for,
and seem to do very well at covering pots/pans from small (butter
warmer) to large (16 inch skillet).
I'm having trouble adjusting to it because it heats so much faster
than my old one, and the heat is much more intense. I'm very happy
with it.(I was planning on getting the Wolf equivalent, but this is
built much sturdier).
Igor
I recently installed a 30" Blue Star. Many problems. That being said, I am not down on them --
assuming that the repair people show up soon to do the warranty repairs. The problems: (1) a spot weld
failed on a nut that holds a bolt used to level a front burner grate; (2) the outer window and frame in
the oven door popped out -- actually, into the door space, btw the panels; (3) there is a vibrating
sound that starts up when the convection fan is running and the oven gets up above 300 degrees --
whether the fan is loose or a metal panel was bent, I will have to wait and find out; (4) a scratch in
the SS btw the grates; and (5) the standard-height backsplash has some mounting holes that do not line
up with the corresponding holes in the range.
Would I have preferred that the range showed up w/o problems? Certainly. I think when the range is
repaired I will be happy. I just thought that there would be interest here about this experience.
So far, I like the fact that the burners re-light automatically if they go out (which they only did when
I tested them by blowing them out), and even with the fan noise and no outer window, the oven did a very
even job baking brownies. I will have to get used to the setup such that the burner with the special
very-low simmer has a knob that works in the opposite direction of the others -- hi/low. I will also
have to get used to cleaning an oven again.
Igor
>I recently got a 6-burner Blue Star cooktop for the house we're
>building. I've had to endure a wimpy GE range and this is a true
>pleasure to use. Here's a photo and close-up of the burner (a bit
>dusty from construction):
>
>http://chris.shenton.org/camera/House-Arlington-construction/2002-06-15_cables_bsmt_stairs/image10.jpg
>http://chris.shenton.org/camera/House-Arlington-construction/2002-06-15_cables_bsmt_stairs/image09.jpg
>
>
Good pictures. Is there anything done to "seal" btw the cooktop and the counter tops? There is an
accessory I would like to see: An add-on lip, like the design of some drop/slide-in residential units.
Igor
>On Thu, 1 Aug 2002 18:05:24 -0400, "Barry Klein" <b...@nospamkleindesigngroup.net> wrote:
>
>>Looking for a six burner range
>>
>>Can anyone tell me about Blue Star?
>>
>>If I can find it, is it worth getting.
I realized neither I nor the others (I think) answered your question about where to get one. Where are
you located? You can call the company, Signature, (800) 358-8886, and they will actually sell direct in
some regions. I have worked with Ajax in Philadelphia, which includes shipping into your house and
uncrating (versus curbside delivery) -- even though I live 100s of miles from Philly. Good prices and
knowledgeable. http://www.cstorestuff.com/dir/103.html. Blue Star is not shown on the website, but
call them; they can get about anything.
Colin Povey
Where did you find a Blue Star?
Colin
Barry Klein
Has this been an issue at all?
"Chris Shenton" <ch...@shenton.org> wrote in message
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Davin Lim
FYI, the Dynasty cooktops have such a lip that is meant to overlap the surrounding countertop.
Fred Welge
I am leaning towards Blue Star(6 burner & oven), but my wife feels the oven
does not close tight( we've been to 2 separate stores)...she like the Wolf
only on oven door issue.
Daphne
job they did? How do you like your range now? I'm considering one for
the house we're moving to in a couple of weeks. We're leaving behind
our Viking and can't face cooking on the Kenmore that's currently in
the house. I liked our Viking in general but found it a little
underpowered. I'd love to hear what it's like living with the Blue
Star.
-Daphne Potter
Igor
>Has your 30" Blue Star been repaired yet? Are you satisfied with the
>job they did? How do you like your range now? I'm considering one for
>the house we're moving to in a couple of weeks. We're leaving behind
>our Viking and can't face cooking on the Kenmore that's currently in
>the house. I liked our Viking in general but found it a little
>underpowered. I'd love to hear what it's like living with the Blue
>Star.
>
>-Daphne Potter
I should be writing that the range stinks and Blue Star stinks and I would never buy one again. Why?
because the thing has not yet been fixed -- the parts have not arrived, and they are from the US. (One
problem may be that they are parts that normally never need to be replaced, I think.) That being said,
eventually I think it will be fixed and I will like it. For example, even though the convection fan is
making a fair amount of rattling noise on and off when in use, the oven seems to bake well -- and I am
still adjusting to convection baking. I should probably try some baking w/o the fan to see how even it
is on its own, so to speak. Oh, and one of the 18K burners starts slow and then can flash out. But, I
think the star burner arrangement is great. I would probably be happy with a "comparable" burner
design, as long as it did not entail any type of disk -- sealed or not. I think before DCS started
using disks they had a 6-sided polygon burner with flames going out from and inside the burner. For
that matter, basic/home ranges have a comparable setup, though much smaller, IIRC. I just want a burner
that has a flame design that is wide on the perimeter and fairly uniformly fills the inside of the
perimeter.
Two other observations. First, while the oven will fit a full-size baking pan (if that is important to
you) -- which I think is otherwise not true of any other 30" range --the fit will be so close on the
sides that, even with the fan running, I am not sure how good circulation would be in the oven. Second,
there are two oven racks and 4 rack positions. I cannot recall, but I thought that convection ovens
often come with 3 racks and 5 rack positions. I think there would have been room for a 3-5 setup. And,
while I am new to convection ovens, I thought that with the fan running one could bake well with three
racks at once. So, that was a bad surprise.
FWIW.
Daphne
> I should be writing that the range stinks and Blue Star stinks and I would never buy one again. Why?
> because the thing has not yet been fixed -- the parts have not arrived, and they are from the US.
Are you outside the US? Have you spoken to the dealer from whom you
bought the range? What do they say?
>(One
> problem may be that they are parts that normally never need to be replaced, I think.) That being said,
> eventually I think it will be fixed and I will like it. For example, even though the convection fan is
> making a fair amount of rattling noise on and off when in use, the oven seems to bake well -- and I am
> still adjusting to convection baking. I should probably try some baking w/o the fan to see how even it
> is on its own, so to speak.
>Oh, and one of the 18K burners starts slow and then can flash out.
THAT doesn't sound good!
>But, I think the star burner arrangement is great. I would probably
be happy with a "comparable" burner
> design, as long as it did not entail any type of disk -- sealed or not. I think before DCS started
> using disks they had a 6-sided polygon burner with flames going out from and inside the burner. For
> that matter, basic/home ranges have a comparable setup, though much smaller, IIRC. I just want a burner
> that has a flame design that is wide on the perimeter and fairly uniformly fills the inside of the
> perimeter.
I can understand why you want this. I will say that our current Viking
uses a disk but heats pans quite evenly. I expect the Blue Star to do
an even better job.
>
> Two other observations. First, while the oven will fit a full-size baking pan (if that is important to
> you) -- which I think is otherwise not true of any other 30" range --the fit will be so close on the
> sides that, even with the fan running, I am not sure how good circulation would be in the oven. Second,
> there are two oven racks and 4 rack positions. I cannot recall, but I thought that convection ovens
> often come with 3 racks and 5 rack positions. I think there would have been room for a 3-5 setup. And,
> while I am new to convection ovens, I thought that with the fan running one could bake well with three
> racks at once. So, that was a bad surprise.
Yes, a bad surprise to me too. I thought the larger oven capacity was
a feature. FWIW, our Viking dual-fuel *does* fit 3 half-sheet pans for
convection baking, but is not the perfect baker we were led to believe
it was going to be. I cannot bake 3 half-sheet pans of cookies at once
unless I pull the bottom one out quite a bit earlier. Despite the
convection fan, the bottom or second-to-bottom position puts the
bottom cookie sheet too near the electric element. Furthermore you
definitely have to rotate your pans in order to achieve even browning.
So maybe your oven isn't so bad... ;-)
Please do keep me posted. I'm still interested in the range. The Blue
Star 30" sells for a reasonable (!) price at a store near my new
house, and I'm tempted by the 18k btu burners-- that is, if they stay
on! But if it's really a reliability headache I'll look elsewhere.
Thanks for your input. Happy cooking!
-Daphne
Mathelo1
You may still be able to get one of these if you look around.
"Daphne" <dfpo...@home.com> wrote in message
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Barry Klein
a post about ratteling grille parts. I'm a bit concerned.
"Mathelo1" <Mathelo...@optonline.net> wrote in message
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Louis
"Barry Klein" <b...@nospamdesigngroup.net> wrote in message
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Igor
the support pieces are not ratlling/rocking against the body of the range. It is the grates themselves
that are rocking against the grate support sections. When I say "grate support section", I mean that
rough black metal piece that forms the flat top surface of the range and the partial/round drip tray.
On my 4 burner range there are 4 of them. It is a problem and the repair guy will be here on Monday --
to replace part of the oven door where the glass fell out and to replace one of the support braces that
holds the leveling screws -- one of the spot welds, that holds a nut into which a leveling screw screws,
failed. I'll be asking the repair guy about this, but base on reply posts here, there is a problem with
the grates. Yet, hope remains.
Louis
difficult to get any more than a 3 point system to sit perfectly. I'm not
fussed about it. We use our range for cooking . ;-)
Louis
"Igor" <Igor...@sprynet.com> wrote in message
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