18 replies to this topic

[eternal]

We've been looking at homes and we've noticed these ranges in a few of the places that have been recently remodeled or built. An agent said that builders were starting to use them because they were less expensive than Viking and others in the same class, they look great and they are cheaper/simpler to repair. Does anyone have one? What do you think?

[stomsf]

We've had our Berta for about a year and a half now. Mostly pleased with it, it's a huge improvement over the Frigidaire we used to have (but what wouldn't be?).

Pros -- love the power of the burners, the overall feel of the unit. Feels solid, well built. Oven heats up quickly and seems to bake evenly (but admittedly I'm not a master baker). SS top is easy to clean, seems to be a fingerprint magnet on the front but we've gotten used to it.

Cons -- had to trust not having electronic readouts to confirm interior temperature of the oven. Adjusted to not having a self-cleaning cycle. We invested in the Bertazzoni ball bearing shelves, but found they were kind of a pain in the rear -- they've been relegated to the warming drawer.

Overall very happy with the range. I don't have experience with a Viking or others in that class, but I definitely enjoy cooking on the Berta.

[Fat Guy]

I may soon be getting one as part of a package of appliances. The research I've done indicates they're good units, if a bit underpowered compared to a Bluestar (which is also more expensive). The oven-ignition system sounds annoying. They're quite attractive.

[lancastermike]

The only thing that stopped me from buying one last year was the small size of the oven. The cooktop part of the reange I liked alot.

[Country]

I looked at these a few years ago and thought they might be like an old Fiat or Alfa Romero. Nice to look at, fun to drive, but not too dependable. The main thing, though, were the grates over the burners, I use a lot of small pans and, the way the grates are constructed, they don't provide good support for small pots and pans.

I have to add that many high-end ranges have this problem.

[eternal]

I'm back to this topic.

Reviews online for all high-end ranges seems to range quite a bit. everybody claims everyone else is unreliable. I'm only worried now about the oven size. Seems awfully small. Fat Guy - Did you end up buying one? what do you think?

[Fat Guy]

I have had a 36" Bertazzoni range for about 7 months now. It is very attractive. The size of the oven is not a problem for me. It is quite wide. The height would only be an issue were you to want to cook something very tall. The broiler is great.

I don't love that different burners have different output levels. I realize some people prefer this. I don't.

I had a problem with my burner grates rusting, which may or may not have been my fault, but Bertazzoni replaced them no questions asked -- I sent an email and new ones came in the mail a week later.

The cooling fan in the oven door may or may not be a good idea. Only time will tell.

[eternal]

Thanks for the info. I'm off to buy a range today. Still don't know what I'm going to get. I also noticed the different settings for burners and would agree with you. WOuld a decent-sized turkey fit in the oven?

[Fat Guy]

I think once you factor in the thickness of a roasting pan, the placement of the lower rack about 3' from the bottom of the oven, and the fact that you don't want something right up against the top of the oven chamber, you're safe with a turkey that is up to 8.5" high at its highest point. That should be sufficient for a 25 lb. turkey or larger, but I haven't measured one lately.

[patrickamory]

FG - just a few questions about your Bertazzoni (I love the looks too) -

- gas burners - sealed or open?
- grates - removeable if you wanted to get, say, a wok closer to the flame?
- output of each of the 4 burners? is this customizable?
- computerization - how dependent on the computer is the operation of the range?


Thanks in advance. I agree with eternal that there are no high-end ranges that get universally positive reviews. People report horror stories with every single brand so far as I can tell!

In the latest Consumer Reports, they gave a Best Buy rating to a model from LG. I associate them with consumer electronics, not kitchen equipment. Burners are sealed which I don't like. One does go to 17k btu which I like. Like all lower-end ranges, the whole thing seems to rely on a computer, which portends future maintenance issues. And of course it's nowhere near as attractive as a Bertazzoni, let alone a Bluestar or even the higher-end GEs. Still, I'm tempted for $800.

[Fat Guy]

- gas burners - sealed or open?

The literature describes them as sealed. I'm not sure I fully understand the distinctions. They do come apart for cleaning, if that matters.

- grates - removeable if you wanted to get, say, a wok closer to the flame?

Yes. Mine actually came with a wok ring.

- output of each of the 4 burners? is this customizable?

No.

- computerization - how dependent on the computer is the operation of the range?

The cooktop is not really dependent on electronics. During a power outage you will lose the spark ignition, but you can light the burners with a match. The oven however will not function without electrical power.

[eternal]

I ended up buying the lower end Bluestar without convection. In the end, it was down to the American 5 burner, the BS and a Viking they had marked down to the same price. They were all just a touch more than the Berta Pro. I decided to go with the BS because it is very simple, takes a full-sized sheet pan (so does the American) and had the open burners, all rated at 15k (and there's a way to upgrade them to 18 or even 22k in the future, i believe). It would have been nice to have the fifth burner and the convection but it was just sort of an emotional decision at that point. The lady thinks the BS is a bit ugly as well but I think she'll be appreciative of how easy it is to clean. I didn't like the different burner sizes of the AR either, but they are all pretty powerful so I imagine that wouldn't actually bother me in real-life.

The Berta and the AR (at this price) are sealed burners. AR now makes an open burner range as well but it costs more.

Now, I guess I need to buy a timer.

[Maureen B. Fant]

Anyone have anything new to say on this? I am going to need a 24-inch gas stove -- gas cooktop, gas oven -- for a mini-kitchen in a New York pied-à-terre. The Bertazzoni wins the beauty contest, and there isn't much out there at 24 inches, it seems, but it's a lot of money and dependability is as important as performance. It's not my main kitchen. I'll be cooking, but not living in the kitchen as I do at home. BTW I live in Italy and never heard of Bertazzoni till I saw it in a NY showroom.

[Fat Guy]

I just passed the one-year anniversary of my Berta and it is definitely growing on me. One year just isn't that much time in the life of a range, though, so I have only limited input to offer here. The one thing I'd suggest you check is the capacity of the oven. I feel like my oven loses a whole lot of space to the insulation and surroundings, which doesn't much matter for me because I have a 36" range so the oven is still plenty adequate. But if I were to scale everything down and have the same inefficiency of oven-space allocation, that would be tight.

[Maureen B. Fant]

Thanks. I take it performance otherwise is good? I keep hearing about the oven being small. On the scale of things, that is low priority for me, but within reason. I hope never to have to roast a turkey in it, but a large fish, possibly, or a lasagna.

[Fat Guy]

Performance is solid. My main complaint is that burners have a tendency to self-extinguish on the lowest settings, so you have to operate them just above that level if you plan to walk away for a while. This may be a question of making some adjustments. I don't know.

[eternal]

The beauty contest mentioned above was def a factor in our decision and we ended up with what my wife thought was one of the uglier ranges. However, once the range was installed it looks great in our new kitchen. Where it looks too industrial/commercial in the store compared to the others in the store, the bluestar looks very nice at home.

[Fat Guy]

Word on the street is that Bluestar is the best if you don't care about price, Capital is the best value, and Bertazzoni is the most attractive and pretty good quality at a reasonable, non-Viking price. It's hard to be sure, though. The available models keep changing and it takes a decade to accumulate reliable data.

[Joe Blowe]

We've owned a BlueStar RNB 30" since 2005, and remain mostly happy.

The oven is quite capacious, the infrared broiler is insane, and the 22k BTU burners are kickass.

However, the fit and finish is lacking, the black porcelain coating on the cast iron grates (<-- yes, that is correct) has chipped off in a couple of spots, and it's definitely not the prettiest appliance in the kitchen.

Performance-wise, we'd choose the same thing. Aesthetic-wise, we probably would've gone a different route.

FWIW.