Pro Range, 5 Star

Dbassist · #1 09-11-2002, 09:35 PM

I have finally saved some $$ and I'm ready to buy a range. Anybody have any info on 5 Star Ranges? From what I've seen they look very good. Lots of great features and a very reasonable price. They claim the price is due to lower advertising expenses.

www.fivestarrange.com/frame.html

Dbassist · #2 09-12-2002, 08:17 PM

Today I checked out a 5 Star range firsthand. They are cheaper in price and quality than the other pro style ranges. The store also had Thermadore and Wolf. Both looked and had a much higher quality feel to them. I think I'm going to go with a Thermadore. Any comments?

marmalady · #3 09-14-2002, 07:11 AM

No matter what you buy, check what the service arrangements are; if they have to get parts from overseas, you could be out a working stove for quite a while.

Dbassist · #4 09-15-2002, 09:57 AM

I'm looking at Thermadore (30", so I won't have to change my cabinets) and the Wolf of the same size. They both look great. I like the star burners on the Thermadore and the fact they are sealed should make clean up easier. I'm going to check out Dacor and DCS this week.

fyfas · #5 09-16-2002, 09:25 AM

I just bought a Wolf for a full kitchen remodel.

Before you decide do some checking on how each manufacturer handles their "simmer" setting. I remember one of them (and something in my feeble brain is saying Thermador but I'm not certain) achieves a simmer by having the burner cycle on and off over and over again. Most cooks who've experienced this HATE it ! For the noise and for the fact that it does not maintain a true, constant temperature.

I very much liked the DCS and am nervous that once this stuff is installed I'm going to wish I had... if you know what I mean.

Dbassist · #6 09-16-2002, 01:14 PM

You are correct about the Thermadore simmer setting. It appears that is the only drawback. I think the cycling on and off would drive me crazy too. If I buy the all gas 30" model I can get it for $3,000. I like the fact that it has the star burners and they are sealed. I also really like the continuous grates. The Wolf 30" is about the same price and looks great too. Have you had a chance to use yours much? The Wolf appears to have a larger oven than the Therm. The Therm has an easy to read dashboard style thermometer for the oven which seems like it would be a good feature. Do you know if it is available with continuous grates?

Jill Reichow · #7 09-16-2002, 01:43 PM

I have the Dacor 6 burner 30" gas cooktop with the electric convection oven with the gas broiler. The burners are sealed and cleanup is quick. The low burner heat is easy to control and for the extremely low temp it comes with a plate to distribute the heat slowly. I chose the Dacor because, as the gentleman in the store pointed out, I don't use the griddle often enough to give up the space to it. The Dacor comes with a griddle that is non stick and works great for the number of times that I use it.

I am still getting used to the pure convection feature of the oven and often find myself using the convec/bake feature or the pure bake. Time and patience and a lot of batter will probably cure the problem......

phatch · #8 09-16-2002, 01:52 PM

Just in case you don't already know, these professional ranges may require changes in other parts of your kitchen for fire safety. Things like the back splash, overhead areas and such.

Phil

fyfas · #9 09-16-2002, 07:56 PM

All of them have some version of continuous grates, some more appealing than others; becomes personal preference. One of the things that bothered me - then appealed during my "extgended indecision" was that some manufacturers had different size grates... for example, if looking at a six-burner (36 inch) model, some had all six burners the same size, some had the center two wider (at the expense of the sides) to accomodate oversize stockpots or pasta pots. Finally, all I asked was that the grate accomodate a 12 inch pan/pot.

I did a lot of research on the net. Every manufacturer has extensive pictures and details available. After lots of web-looking and taking of notes then I went to visit retailers.

My Wolf is here but is two weeks away from installation. This remodel is a total gut of a thirty year-old house. The electrician is still going nuts. Cabinetry should start going in next week with the appliances to follow.

And, to answer your question, the Wolf oven cavity is the largest in the 36 inch frame. How they do it I'm not sure but a friend warned me how shocked she was to discover her Viking oven was too small to hold her roasting pan except on a diagonal.

On asking, salesman started talking about interior space of all ovens. Dacor is another excellent manufacturer; several thousand less expensive than Wolf.

Wolf, by the way (in case you do not know) is now a wholely-owned subsidiary of Sub-Zero. I do not know how the product has changed but the "marketing" has improved considerably.

fyfas · #10 09-16-2002, 08:06 PM

Someone else in the thread makes mention of changing out other equipment for safety or other considerations...

In the vein, do not even consider a range of this potential without properly venting it. At the very least a Vent-A-Hood single or double hood is a necessary addition.

My personal worst nightmares have been with a well-heated grill pan and an inadequate venting arrangement. In fact, the day we "closed" on this house I fired up the old electric stovetop only to discover that some moron installed a smoke-detector directly over the cooktop, albeit 18 feet up. Needless to say it went off and was disconnected within minutes !

Dbassist · #11 09-17-2002, 09:07 AM

I've been to one retailer and spoken at length to another in the last few days. I'm temporarily in a state of sticker shock. The Wolf looks great. The Thermadore from their web site, PGR304ZS isn't even available until December at the earliest. Why they post it is kind of curious to me. I think in the end it will now come down to either the Kitchen Aid KDRP407HSS 30" ($3,215 plus tax at Home Expo) or the Wolf 30" (about $3,200). With the sticker shock and all I'm going to need to save my dough for a little longer to afford the stove and hood.

Headmanbrewing · #12 09-17-2002, 11:04 AM

Just a little more info. We picked up a DCS 30" all gas range about a year ago. Aside from the calibration of the range (which we still haven't done), we have been very happy with it up to this point. It certainly was cheaper than any of my other choices (Wolf, Viking, Thermador, etc). Build quality has been fine, and I can actually see inside the oven with the light on

The one thing I would have liked was to get the gas top with the electric oven. Just something else to think about.

Scott

Dbassist · #13 09-17-2002, 08:21 PM

Thanks Scott. What is it about the gas oven that makes you wish you had an electric oven? I've heard that gas makes for moister cooking. Is it true? The oven I have on my current range seems to work fine and is gas.

phatch · #14 09-18-2002, 09:11 AM

In a perfect gas combustion, the only output is CO2 and H20. So yes, it's a more humid environment than electric ovens. Which has it's pros and cons. More cons to me. Opinions vary. Gas combustion does add color to food better than electric. Again, pros and cons, more pros to me.

Overall, I'd take electric with a fuzzy logic temperature control.

Phil

Headmanbrewing · #15 09-18-2002, 12:17 PM

My thought is that my gas oven seems to cycle on and off more often than my previous electric did. Humidity can be good or bad, as Phil stated. Gas also seems to take longer to preheat. The all gas range was quite a bit cheaper than the dual fuel option. YEMV, caveat emptor, and all that too.

Scott