Professional/commerical style range on a budget

[Tommy2000GT]

I'm looking for a 5 or 6 burner professional style range while staying on a budget. So far I only found 2 companies offering budget professional range, NXR and Bluestar. Anyone have any input on these or anything else?

Also I'm debating to get a dual fuel or gas only because I heard electric ovens are better.

 

[Greenman]

Professional and budget don't go together. Spend the $15k on the pro model or get a good quality name brand range.
Most people that I've installed high end ranges for buy them as a display piece, it's just something to spend money on. They don't utilize even a third of it's capacity, and would be just as well served by a good quality residential range. You don't need 100,000 btu burners, you don't need an oven that's big enough to cook a Yak. But if it's something you want just cause it's cool, then write the check and get it.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Buy a used commercial unit. You can save thousands.

 

[natto fire]

I'm looking for a 5 or 6 burner professional style range while staying on a budget. So far I only found 2 companies offering budget professional range, NXR and Bluestar. Anyone have any input on these or anything else?

Also I'm debating to get a dual fuel or gas only because I heard electric ovens are better.

Only "pro" brands I can think of are Viking, Vollrath, and Blodgett. That is what my dad used at the restaurant he owned.

It sounds like the brands you listed are cheap Chinese knockoffs and will serve you fine. How often do you cook, or is this just trying to add kitchen value to a house to resale?

 

[mizzou]

i love a gas broiler...but ill tell u my first impression when going to an electric oven for baking from gas was "oh, thats what its supposed to look like'

imo electric is far superior in baking.

gas is great on the range though.....

 

[Murloc]

this for the wife?

Anyway gas burners are the best for cooking because they're faster at heating than electric, but I've never seen a non-electric oven and you can do pretty everything with those. Some even have a steamer function.

 

[Zivic]

I put DCS in my kitchen remodel a year or so ago. I did double walls (electric) and a 36" range top. I am pretty happy with them, though I kind of wish I would have went with the 36" range in addition to the walls. I would have given up some decent storage, so in the end, that won out.

Not sure what width you need, but I think their 36" ranges are ~ 7000-7500.

they are a sealed burner, but they are probably better than some cheaper open burners.


what is your budget and what size do you need?

 

[notposting]

Stick two regular ranges next to each other.

 

[NutBucket]

I disagree about not needing true high output burners. 18k btu just doesn't cut it!

 

[NetWareHead]

Buy a used commercial unit. You can save thousands.

This is true but read the following and make sure you are prepared for the consequences of commercial gear in a household setting

Professional and budget don't go together.

again the greatest truth posted so far in this thread.


Read this article: http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/a...556019303.html It details the headaches that can be expected when attempting to use commercial grade cooking equipment in a home setting. Read and tread carefully

 

[Tommy2000GT]

I read up on commerical ranges and now I understand why it's not good for residential use.

However I still need a gas range with high BTU for cooking Asian cuisine with a wok. Is there any residential gas ranges with 25,000 to 30,000 BTU? I took a quick look and the highest was 20,000 BTU.

 

[NetWareHead]

I read up on commerical ranges and now I understand why it's not good for residential use.

However I still need a gas range with high BTU for cooking Asian cuisine with a wok. Is there any residential gas ranges with 25,000 to 30,000 BTU? I took a quick look and the highest was 20,000 BTU.

Your typical Chinese restaurant has a wok burner that is 100K BTU and up. If you are looking to replicate chinese food from a restaurant, you need instant on demand heat like that and 20-30K BTU wont cut it.

Ever cooked on one of those wok burners? They splatter everywhere and all over your residential kitchen. Indoors they would be a fire hazard with typical wood grain cabinets and other common residential kitchen fixtures.

You start to get up there in BTUs and you need ventilation and with more ventilation now you need kitchen make-up air.

If you want to cook real chinese food on a powerful burner, drop the idea of incorporating it into your residential kitchen and get an outdoor wok burner. They are available up to and over 100K BTUs, keep the splatter outdoors and eliminate the venting requirement. They run on propane and are cheap compared to what you would need to spend to bring all this indoors.

 

[Anubis]

I read up on commerical ranges and now I understand why it's not good for residential use.

However I still need a gas range with high BTU for cooking Asian cuisine with a wok. Is there any residential gas ranges with 25,000 to 30,000 BTU? I took a quick look and the highest was 20,000 BTU.

you could just retro in a turkey fryer next to a normal range, that will put out the BTUs you want

also you can get a stand along wok burner that will put out the BTUs needed, however I don't think you can get one as part of a range

 

[Zivic]

I read up on commerical ranges and now I understand why it's not good for residential use.

However I still need a gas range with high BTU for cooking Asian cuisine with a wok. Is there any residential gas ranges with 25,000 to 30,000 BTU? I took a quick look and the highest was 20,000 BTU.

my larger burners on my dcs puts out like 17-18k btu... this is a ton of heat compared to standard ranges. if you found one that does 20k in your price range, I think it will be fine for your needs. You are probably used to cooking on cheapo electric ranges. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what ~20,0000 BTUs will do

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

this for the wife?

Anyway gas burners are the best for cooking because they're faster at heating than electric, but I've never seen a non-electric oven and you can do pretty everything with those. Some even have a steamer function.

Baloney. ime, induction is much faster than gas and flattops are as well (both electric and gas). Most people using gas, however, have residential gas ring burners, which actually suck in myriad ways, despite the accepted meme on this forum that gas is always better. I can assure you that gas burners boil water far slower than my electric flattop unless you have some of the very top end residential gas stoves. They also completely suck for setting dishes to cook at a slow simmer. Then there's the issue of the heat ring with gas; an issue that isn't one with an electric flattop.

I'm so tired of people jumping on the gas cooktop bandwagon as if it is the next coming. It's bullshit. A flattop, electric or gas, is superior in so many ways. And let's face it, very few in here have a gas flattop in their home kitchen.

Edit: And for those home cooks wanting high btu's for wok cooking, a high output LP ring burner is the best solution.

 

[Zivic]

Baloney. ime, induction is much faster than gas and flattops are as well (both electric and gas). Most people using gas, however, have residential gas ring burners, which actually suck in myriad ways, despite the accepted meme on this forum that gas is always better. I can assure you that gas burners boil water far slower than my electric flattop unless you have some of the very top end residential gas stoves. They also completely suck for setting dishes to cook at a slow simmer. Then there's the issue of the heat ring with gas; an issue that isn't one with an electric flattop.

I'm so tired of people jumping on the gas cooktop bandwagon as if it is the next coming. It's bullshit. A flattop, electric or gas, is superior in so many ways. And let's face it, very few in here have a gas flattop in their home kitchen.

Edit: And for those home cooks wanting high btu's for wok cooking, a high output LP ring burner is the best solution.

induction, 'maybe'... flat electric.. not a chance.

for the simple fact you have to remove the pot from the electric area because it stays hot for so long. Gas has been around a long time, I doubt anyone refers to it the next coming.

I guess I'll put it this way. if you have gas service and choose to go electric, you are either naive (stupid), or never or hardly ever cook. if you only have electric service, a person that cooks will be going induction. electric is a distant 3rd now days