How many BTU do I need?

[AlbuquerqueDan]

Doesn’t matter if they stop selling them, Dan. They will still know how to repair. Plus there are several other servicers near you. Check the BS site for info. They don’t sell but they will know how to fix. Just like auto repair.

Oops, I meant to say the dealer won't be selling American Range. They'll still be selling bluestar.

I'm confident that bluestar is reliable, not so much on the American. With American, I'd like to know that there was someone local with easy access to parts, hence my worry about my local shop stopping selling them.

[AlbuquerqueDan]

By the way I went with a 30-inch range. Got an Electrolux oven too. It was cheaper and more practical. I often need two ovens when guests are over, but almost never do I need more than 4 burners. These ranges are a bit oversized compared to the brands you find at Best Buy. I can fit two 12-inch and two 10-inch pans on a 30-inch range without crowding. I brought them to the dealer just to see. (-:

I may consider ba 30. But I figure that if I'm going to shell out all this cash, might as well GO BIG and do it right!

[jbart65]

I thought I needed to go big at first too. Turns out I didn’t. The extra counter space was more to my liking.

But once you get the idea of a 36, 48 or 60 inch range in your head it’s hard to get out!

[Carter]

It is premature, but we are going to redo our kitchen in the next 12 months. I brought my all gas 30" Wolf range from Miami when we moved...we don't have propane in the house, so it sits in my workshop/barn with a piece of plywood on top and I actually have a good portion of my selection of handle woods sitting on top of the range. So the question is, when we remodel the kitchen...what size range to go with...my 4 burner, single oven Wolf works(ed) fine, but this is a chance to upgrade. 80% of the time, 2 burners is all I need...a single oven also works almost all the time. If I were to upgrade, does a 36" work...assume still one oven...I guess 48" gets me a large and small oven, and a grill or griddle...don't need 8 burners. I have had a grill before, used mainly for bread and drying wine glasses....a griddle could be nice, but I assume it is a pain to clean....cleaning is important, both the Dynasty and Wolf took some time to clean each night...feedback here would be good.

I liked both the Dynasty and Wolf...have no experience with Blue Star or Capital (I will need to figure out local serviceability, that will be important in final decision). I am happy to continue with a full propane unit, I liked the gas infrared broiler of my Wolf....I am not a baker, so the wetter heat of gas is not an issue and I don't care for an oven with a bunch of computerized program modes...want simple and reliable.

Any thoughts, suggestions or feedback would be helpful...thx guys.

[Kit Craft]

I am a counter space kind of guy. However, 30 inch is not always enough either. I think I would like 36 over 30. 48 is probably overkill, for me anyway.

[Carter]

I am a counter space kind of guy. However, 30 inch is not always enough either. I think I would like 36 over 30. 48 is probably overkill, for me anyway.

Same here, but more than 30" would be good and this is the time to make the change....I am intrigued with the possibility of the 2 ovens, but only if the large one is large enough and the small one is big enough to fit things in...again, I have not started the research, and I assume a 48" is plenty of range for my needs.

[Kit Craft]

I am a counter space kind of guy. However, 30 inch is not always enough either. I think I would like 36 over 30. 48 is probably overkill, for me anyway.

Same here, but more than 30" would be good and this is the time to make the change....I am intrigued with the possibility of the 2 ovens, but only if the large one is large enough and the small one is big enough to fit things in...again, I have not started the research, and I assume a 48" is plenty of range for my needs.

I got used to living in 450 square foot so it is hard for me to think about big appliances.

[inzite]

Well gang, it looks like I'm about to endeavor into a massive kitchen remodel. The wife gets to choose flooring, cabinets, countertops, etc..., but I get to choose the range. (We'll be on propane).

I thought I had it all set on a 36" American Range with 3 25,000BTU burners. However, yesterday I got an email from the local retailer telling me that starting next year, they'd no longer be carrying American Range and would no longer be an authorized servicer. That got me worried because I don't want to be stuck with a broken stove with no one in my state that can fix it.

Ok, so I'm back in the market for a propane range, probably with a $5k budget. The AR stood out because of the insane power (3 25k burners is off the charts). Most other pro-style ranges have burners in the 15-18k range. Bluestar has a 22.5k, but it's too pricy.

My question is: is 15k/burner enough to justify the cost? That sounds weak to me, but I don't have anything to compare it to (I have an electric range right now).

How many BTU do you guys/gals think is enough for a home cook? (Also, I'm at 7,000 feet. I think most ranges come with an elevation calibrator, so that might not matter, but thought I'd toss it out there in case someone has some insight on high elevation cooking).

Thanks!

bluestar has 25k btu burners - I have the platinum 48" and it's totally awesome - especially so if you use the wok as the grate is modular so you can take a part of it off and sink your wok in. Also comes with all the goodies to place over the burners for grilling etc. you can customize that baby to endless options - even the placement of particular burners etc.

[AlbuquerqueDan]

If I do bluestar, I'm going to get the RNB. It's already more expensive than I was planning on, so the Platinum is totally out. How is the low simmer capability?

[ken123]

Well here' s my thoughts on this.

Hoods. These are a major limitation. Too many btus on your burners? You will need serious hood performance. Most of these solutions are too large or cumbersome for a home kitchen environment. You don't want to burn your home down so you will be limited in btu capacity.

How many BTUs are enough? IMO the more the merrier. More BTUs give you options that lower btu's wqon't allow you to do.

Simmering capability - as mentioned already, lower simmering capacity is a big plus. I also find that you can go even lower using cast iron or enamelled cast iron pans. 3k-5k works well here. If you need even lower btus effectively, a bit of refractory brick below the pan will help.

I'm a big fan of laser thermometers. They have come down quite a bit. Get something that can easily measure up to 1000 degrees F quickly. You can learn SO much about managing btus when you are measuring what you do.

My approach? Get the largest hood you can --- the great outdoors. No fire hazards, no bills, no repairs, no greas buildup. How big of a burner can you use? As big as you want. In my case I have two 320,000 BTU burners and several other burners from about 60k btu on up. One caveat - make sure that the jets in your burner are correct for the gas you use. I use propane burners. The largest burners are composed of an array of 32 jets, each 10k btu. I can use these for everything from making pizza ovens, giant wok burner stations etc. Using refractory tiles and measuring surface temperatures, I can measure 700 degrees on the surface while the bottom surface being hit by the flame is 1000 to 1100 degrees F. Using several of the burners I can use this setup with large [South African] cast iron Potjie pots to deep fry 25 pound turkeys in peanut oil, etc.With excess btu capacity heating up large pots of oil is VERY fast. Tuna tataki or burgers can be cooked during a tv commercial

Cooking with a wok is a treat. At higher heats, cooking oil will ignite just like cooking sherry. You need to have all ingredients ready to go. You can sear the outside of a steak while the inside is still raw (great heat differentials). You have enough heat to cause cast iron pans and grills to SAG - all the heat you want.

Pizza oven's - no problem. I don't recommend pizza be cooked much past 500 degrees surface temperature. Tandori oven cooking is also no problem either. 700 degree nans ...

wokovennew7.jpg (22.07 KiB) Viewed 4864 times

---
Ken

[inzite]

If I do bluestar, I'm going to get the RNB. It's already more expensive than I was planning on, so the Platinum is totally out. How is the low simmer capability?

its awesome i actually use it alot for my braised dishes. My 48 plat is the range cooktop instead of the beast with double ovens (i got a wall oven instead)

[Kit Craft]

Cool post, Ken. You really go all out when you post about anything! Anyway, I agree that the great outdoors makes a good oven hood however if you lived where I did you wouldn't want to cook outside very often either! I do cook outside about 4-5 months out of the year already, 6 if it is a good year! We have a blackstone griddle, grill, gas rings and you name it! Outside of Alicante my family had a country house with an outdoor "patio" kitchen, man, that was an experience! Was good for about 10 months out of the year with a few days here and there even in the off months!

So, yeah, I agree but wish it was more practical, for me! Right, move, I know...lol.

[inzite]

If I do bluestar, I'm going to get the RNB. It's already more expensive than I was planning on, so the Platinum is totally out. How is the low simmer capability?

to ken's point, make sure you get a nice hood, i use a bluestar 48" one, i believe it's 1200cfm.

[jbart65]

Carter:

The way I thought about my home reno in 2012 was to break down it down into four categories: Budget, needs, wants, tradeoffs.

Naturally you have to put a number on what you want to spend. What’s your upper limit?

Next, what do you really need?

I knew I needed two ovens. I don’t know how many times I needed an extra oven for Thanksgiving to reheat or keep stuff warm.

Plus I make pizzas for a crowd a lot. Two ovens get the pies out faster. My daughter was always baking; that’s another reason I needed a spare.

I decided on one standalone electric oven (Electrolux) and one gas oven (part of my range). I use both frequently enough, in retrospect, to justify my decision.

Indeed, I prefer two ovens to six burners.

Moving on to the range. We all need four burners. I wanted 6 or even 8. A griddle appealed to me. So did an indoor grill. Heck, I even thought about a separate Wok station with a 40K burner and a warming draw.

After doing the research, I decided a warming draw was unnecessary. Newer ovens all have warming features.

A grill would have required a bigger, more costly hood. I prefer to grill outdoors. The grill is just a few feet away on my deck. The flavor is better, too.

Thus the grill seemed superfluous and perhaps messy to clean. A lot of grease filmed my cabinets in the old kitchen. A big turnoff.

A griddle appealed to me most, but I don’t cook lots of big breakfasts and I’ve already got a flat pan to lay across two burners. Why pay the markup for something I wouldn’t use a lot?

The wok station was a want - not a need - and rather expensive. My range burners go to 23K, enough to do the job.

The final decision was the number of burners.

If your budget can easily afford it, get six burners. Add to the value of your house. You might even find they come in handy … once or twice a year!

Seriously, I almost never need six burners. I can’t remember the last time I wished I had six of them. Yes, four is a bit tight at times, and I can’t put three 12-inch pans on the range at the same time, but I manage just fine.

Finally, tradeoffs.

I could have afforded six burners. The downside is, I would have lost at least a foot of precious counter space. I would have lost some window space given our design (two windows flanking range and hood). I would have had to spend more on a hood and custom backsplash.

The bigger oven on the 36-inch range would also take longer to heat up and cool down. So there’s a bit of energy loss. A 36-inch oven is usually too large for whatever you are cooking, too. And I later found that electric produces crispier food than gas without much loss in moisture.

After a lot of hard thinking, I went with two ovens and a gas range with four open burners (Capital Culinarian). The electric oven is self clean, the gas range is not.

Final piece of advice: If you are not sure but you can afford it, spend more. Don’t skimp. You are only doing this once.

[Kit Craft]

I think cook space is more of a premium than number of burners. Front to back spacing on every 30 inch I have used simply isn't big enough on holidays or for parties. At least not to comfortably use full size pots/pans on all four burners. I guess that is where separate hob/oven units are nice. Admittedly I have never had a good setup.

[Carter]

Final piece of advice: If you are not sure but you can afford it, spend more. Don’t skimp. You are only doing this once.

Hi Jeffry,....thanks for all your advice and time putting together your response. You have given me a lot to ponder when the time comes. We will be doing an entire renovation of the kitchen and may actually enlarge it and lose our formal dinning room, so there will be some out of the box thinking on this whole process.

One thing I learned from a house we had in Miami 20+ years ago, is that I don't like the range in an island, and to listen to the manufacturer specs on hoods...I had a really good hood but mounted higher than recommended for aesthetic reasons and the performance suffered...also hoods over islands are not nearly as effective as when the stove is against a wall.

[inzite]

Final piece of advice: If you are not sure but you can afford it, spend more. Don’t skimp. You are only doing this once.

Hi Jeffry,....thanks for all your advice and time putting together your response. You have given me a lot to ponder when the time comes. We will be doing an entire renovation of the kitchen and may actually enlarge it and lose our formal dinning room, so there will be some out of the box thinking on this whole process.

One thing I learned from a house we had in Miami 20+ years ago, is that I don't like the range in an island, and to listen to the manufacturer specs on hoods...I had a really good hood but mounted higher than recommended for aesthetic reasons and the performance suffered...also hoods over islands are not nearly as effective as when the stove is against a wall.

yep, rear through the wall right after is always best.

[jbart65]

I think cook space is more of a premium than number of burners. Front to back spacing on every 30 inch I have used simply isn't big enough on holidays or for parties. At least not to comfortably use full size pots/pans on all four burners.

I mentioned this earlier, Kit, but commercial ranges like my Capital Culinarian have more room on the top of the range than the typical GE or Kitchenaid in the same cutout size (30-inches in my case). My range can fit two 12-inch and two 10-inch pans at the same time fairly comfortably. Saute pans to to front, stockpots to back.

We will be doing an entire renovation of the kitchen and may actually enlarge it and lose our formal dining room, so there will be some out of the box thinking on this whole process.

One thing I learned from a house we had in Miami 20+ years ago, is that I don't like the range in an island, and to listen to the manufacturer specs on hoods...I had a really good hood but mounted higher than recommended for aesthetic reasons and the performance suffered...also hoods over islands are not nearly as effective as when the stove is against a wall.

We opened up our space, Carter, so the kitchen, dining room and family room are part of a big L. See below for a photo of my kitchen layout. I much prefer an open area.

I opted not to put the range on the island for the same reasons you stated. Dropping the hood down to the appropriate level creates an eye block, disrupts sight lines and makes a space seem smaller, not bigger. As you note, putting the range against a wall confines the smoke and makes it easier for a hood to do its job.

[Carter]

Looks nice, thanks for sharing....we like open areas also and enlarging into our dining room may be a good solution....but part of the determining factor will be some input from a few realtors and their thoughts of impact on value....what is better, a really cool kitchen with a less formal eating area, or having a formal dining room....I think with our old farm house, the former will be ok....we are not planning on selling anytime soon, so it may not matter at all.

Here is my lonely Wolf in barn/shop....holding a bunch of handle wood. We are probably going to renovate the barn and upgrade it to a full on party barn, so I may put a kitchen in it and leave the Wolf. I don't have propane in the house yet...but I have thought about cooking with the Wolf in the barn with a 20lb propane tank.

[Lepus]

That's very Appalachia of you, Carter. I like it.