Minimum temp on Blue Star's simmer burner?

[PaulDWeiss]

Hi all. I'm addressing this to current Blue Star owners. I've got a 36" range, and love almost everything about it. One reservation I do have, however, is the measured performance of my stove's simmer burner, vis-à-vis its advertised performance. The burner is advertised in Blue Star's marketing materials as able to hold 130ºF. I have mine adjusted to the smallest flame size position, using the adjusting screw in the center of the control knob's stem, and it is a tiny flame. However, if I put a saucepan of water on the burner, with the burner ring/grill turned and in its raised position, and the flame at its smallest simmer size, the temperature of the water will eventually rise to 185ºF to 190ºF. While that's below boiling, it's significantly higher than the advertised 130ºF. The time to get to the steady state will depend on the starting temperature of the water, the volume of water in the experiment, and the size (diameter) of the pot (and probably whether or not Mercury is in Mars), but however long it takes, the final temperature will end up at the same place.

Has any other of you Blue Star owners ever actually measured the final steady-state temperature achieved on the simmer burner? Is this a bit of variability from one exemplaire to another, or simply bogus marketing info? Mine had the "White Glove" setup done after purchase. I did also pull the knob off, and checked to make sure that there's no more adjustability in the valve stem adjuster screw. It can't turn down any more; that's all I've got.

Tanx for the help, and - if you don't already know the temperature, having done the experiment for your own interest - I'd love to hear your results if you try it out.

Paul

[Joe Blowe]

While waiting for additional input here, do check out the appliance forum over at GardenWeb:

http://www.google.com/search?&q=bluestar+simmer+site%3Agardenweb.com

They have pretty much identified every known issue with the BlueStars, and have numerous ideas/fixes/hacks...

[Shalmanese]

Hi all. I'm addressing this to current Blue Star owners. I've got a 36" range, and love almost everything about it. One reservation I do have, however, is the measured performance of my stove's simmer burner, vis-à-vis its advertised performance. The burner is advertised in Blue Star's marketing materials as able to hold 130ºF. I have mine adjusted to the smallest flame size position, using the adjusting screw in the center of the control knob's stem, and it is a tiny flame. However, if I put a saucepan of water on the burner, with the burner ring/grill turned and in its raised position, and the flame at its smallest simmer size, the temperature of the water will eventually rise to 185ºF to 190ºF. While that's below boiling, it's significantly higher than the advertised 130ºF. The time to get to the steady state will depend on the starting temperature of the water, the volume of water in the experiment, and the size (diameter) of the pot (and probably whether or not Mercury is in Mars), but however long it takes, the final temperature will end up at the same place.

Has any other of you Blue Star owners ever actually measured the final steady-state temperature achieved on the simmer burner? Is this a bit of variability from one exemplaire to another, or simply bogus marketing info? Mine had the "White Glove" setup done after purchase. I did also pull the knob off, and checked to make sure that there's no more adjustability in the valve stem adjuster screw. It can't turn down any more; that's all I've got.

Tanx for the help, and - if you don't already know the temperature, having done the experiment for your own interest - I'd love to hear your results if you try it out.

Paul

In a perfectly insulated vessel, no matter how small a flame you have, water will eventually boil. The steady state temperature is achieved when the rate of heat loss from the pot equals the rate of heat input.

I have a hunch that the pan you're using is too good. It's not being inefficient enough to cool down the water. Try getting the cheapest, paper thin stainless steel pan you own, fill it close to the top, leave it uncovered and try the same experiment. See if that's better.

[slkinsey]

What Shalmanese said. The marketing claim that a burner can maintain 130F in all conditions is bullcrap unless the burner itself is at 130F (which is impossible). Otherwise, it will always depend on the thermal characteristics of what is being heated.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think the secret of the low simmer on restaurant ranges is the gas pilot. I discovered this once when cooking in a friend's restaurant kitchen and we'd made some steamed mussels, leaving the pot containing some remaining wine and garlic in the bottom on the stove with the flame off, and about 20 minutes later we smelled something burning. That was the pot sitting on just the pilot.

[LindaK]

I think the secret of the low simmer on restaurant ranges is the gas pilot. I discovered this once when cooking in a friend's restaurant kitchen and we'd made some steamed mussels, leaving the pot containing some remaining wine and garlic in the bottom on the stove with the flame off, and about 20 minutes later we smelled something burning. That was the pot sitting on just the pilot.

In the case of Blue Star ranges, there is no constant pilot that would add to the temp. Unless they're ignited, the burners are OFF.

I don't have a precise scientific answer to the original question. My experience with my Blue Star echoes the comments of shalmanese and slkinsey. Even on the simmer burner, eventually even a large pot of soup or ragu will bubble gently, more quickly if I transfer it already near the boiling point from a higher BTU burner. But I also use the simmer burner to melt chocolate or little pots of butter. Love it.

[PaulDWeiss]

All of this makes perfect sense; I think I just allowed myself to get high on marketing smoke. It's pretty obvious, if I stop to think about it; there's no feedback loop, as there is with a sous vide controller, for instance, or even an on-off thermostat. Probably, the reason my experiments go stable at 185ºF to 190ºF is that the room's ambient temperature has been more-or-less the same every time I've measured the pot's temperature. I bet it will go hotter on a mid-summer scorcher.

Still and all, it is a very small flame, and is the slowest simmer I've ever had available. I had just visualized some sort of magic which would have put my open flame into Crock-Pot mode. I'll probably spring for a set of self-washing dishes next.

Paul