Range Questions

[Marlene]

We are going crazy trying to decide what to replace our 36"dacor duel fuel range with.

The Dacor had been repaired so many that my husband want to get rid of it . It takes 45 minutes to heat the oven up to 350 because the ignitor on the broiler is going and you smell gas . We are looking at the Wolf. I do alot of baking so want a electric convection oven, but want gas burners. Would love some help and suggestions on this topic.

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How strange. My Dacor duel fuel has been nothing short of a delight. I've had it for almost 4 years now.

I have no experience with Wolfe, but what about a KA duel fuel or a GE duel fuel, both of which have had great reports.

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Since purchasing the Dacor (seven years ago), we understand there will be issues, but we have had problems from the start. We use the stove-and all our equipment- with care (we don't rest things on oven door, don't kick or slam the oven door, etc ). Soon after installation we serviced the burners and oven. Then three electronic read-outs have been replaced, oven door hinges replaced, and now broiler won't function properly.

Oddly enough, when we purchased the stove we also bought Dacor convection electric double wall ovens and they are perfect.

When we recently visited a top end appliance shop the Dacor rep was there and heard us complain to the salesman about our success with the wall ovens and disappointment with the stove. He hid and offered no help. I have sent my life as a salesman (successfully) and would welcome an opportunity to aid a customer--his behavior was deplorable.

I guess you didn't expect this rant when you were kind enough to respond, but I think we have been fair to Dacor in our comments.

I am editing this because I was stewing over the situation and just called Dacor customer service who said nothing can be done, "have a nice day". I realize that a company cannot guarantee a product forever, but clearly there were issues with this unit from inception and any accommodation would have been appreciated.

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Rant away. I won't buy a GE oven for more or less the same reasons. although some people here swear by them.

I am however, very surprised at Dacor customer service. I also have a Dacor wall oven and convection microwave and their coffee maker. I'd consider going higher up with all your documentation of repair problems since the beginning. Still, I can see how it would sour you on Dacor. I am also a big fan of Kitchenaid ranges.

[TarteTatin]

Dacor customer service is HORRIBLE.

Dacor product, full stop is HORRIBLE.

We got rid of our Dacor which we hated, and bought a Blue Star, which we love.

See our posts, above.

[mrbigjas]

funny this thread came back up; i just took delivery of a blue star yesterday. pretty exciting. unfortunately the thing that holds the oven knob on got bent in the process -- i'm not sure if it was at the warehouse, or the delivery guys getting it in my house, or my contractor installing it.

so the oven knob is not sitting there straight, but kinda hanging off... this should be an easy fix, but i'm interested to see how it turns out.

of course i'm on my way out of town for the weekend so i don't even have time to cook anything on it...

[C. sapidus]

funny this thread came back up; i just took delivery of a blue star yesterday.  pretty exciting.  unfortunately the thing that holds the oven knob on got bent in the process -- i'm not sure if it was at the warehouse, or the delivery guys getting it in my house, or my contractor installing it. 

so the oven knob is not sitting there straight, but kinda hanging off... this should be an easy fix, but i'm interested to see how it turns out.

of course i'm on my way out of town for the weekend so i don't even have time to cook anything on it...

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Congratulations on your Blue Star. I hope you get the damage fixed quickly and properly, and enjoy your new stove for many tasty years.

What did you do for ventilation?

[LindaK]

funny this thread came back up; i just took delivery of a blue star yesterday.  pretty exciting.  unfortunately the thing that holds the oven knob on got bent in the process -- i'm not sure if it was at the warehouse, or the delivery guys getting it in my house, or my contractor installing it. 

so the oven knob is not sitting there straight, but kinda hanging off... this should be an easy fix, but i'm interested to see how it turns out.

of course i'm on my way out of town for the weekend so i don't even have time to cook anything on it...

Congratulations on your Blue Star. I hope you get the damage fixed quickly and properly, and enjoy your new stove for many tasty years.

What did you do for ventilation?

yes, congrats, though I know I would be upset about a less than perfect product arriving on my door step. I hope the Blue Star customer service redeems itself here.

Good question about ventilation. What do you have for a hood?

[mrbigjas]

funny, congratulations just for buying something! this is awesome, i'll be sure to post every purchase!

as far as the damage, i suspect the warehouse or delivery guys -- the way the shaft is bent is kinda down, as if it was mashed, rather than up like it would be if someone had tried to pick it up by the knob. know what i mean?

seems to work though; i'm "burning in" the oven right now and my house is smelling pretty much like burning chemicals.

it seems like something that, if i include the info when i fax to get their newly-initiated new install service, they could replace real easily. hope they will.

and i did finally make dinner on it tonight. a pot of water boiled ... um, real fast.

for ventilation i got a kobe hood, the CH-122, which pulls about 850 CFM. it's... OK. there are issues with it too, but i think they're kobe quality issues rather than damage. i emailed their customer service and never heard back; i'll be calling shortly.

it pulls a lot of air and fits the space real well, which was the point. well, part of the point. i live in a really small house and noise is an issue and kobe hoods are rumored to be quiet. on its lowest setting, it is very quiet. next to lowest it sometimes kinda whistles. the two highest settings it makes some more noises i don't like. i've stood outside the house where it vents though, and it is indeed pouring air out of my house.

[lapasterie]

Dacor customer service is HORRIBLE.

Dacor product, full stop is HORRIBLE.

We got rid of our Dacor which we hated, and bought a Blue Star, which we love.

See our posts, above.

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We just saw a TV add for Dacor.I feel like calling them again and telling them that instead of spending money on adds they should try to make their customers happy.Word of mouth is the best advertising.

By the way we just ordered the Wolf Duel Fuel

We are not even going to try to sell the Dacor. We are just letting them take it away.

[mrbigjas]

update on range, for those interested: i got in touch with bluestar for their new 'white glove' service. i mentioned the bent oven knob shaft, and they said, you know that's between you and your appliance store, but we'll come do the rest of the service.

hmph.

so the appliance store came out and was like, your contractor musta done this, we never would, but we can get you service on it.

my contractor was like, appliance store guys are about as trustworthy as used car salesman, i wouldn't wreck your superduper new stove.

so then the white glove service guy comes out -- he's from ace appliances, here in lafayette hill, PA, which i mention because they were very cool about keeping me informed, scheduling the visits, and calling ahead of coming, so i didn't have to take time off work or anything.

plus they were cool about the repair: i told him the story, he laughed and said, "yeah i've heard that story before. you know, let's not worry about pointing fingers, we'll just order you up the parts and come fix everything up." (there was a cracked ignitor, too)

so he did. then blue star gave me a call to let me know the parts had been sent. then we scheduled another service call, which he did today, replacing the thermostat, the knob, the ignitor, and adjusting the oven door hinges.

and all in all, except for blue star saying they wouldn't replace the parts, the whole thing went really smoothly and i have a new appliance repair company that i would call for anything.

the only problem i have with the stove is that my little stovetop espresso pot doesn't fit over the hole in the burner grate. not sure what to do about that.

next up, hoping against hope that kobe sends me the parts they promised for the hood...

(edit: here's a picture, and here's another one, for those of you interested in the setup. i know i don't have a backsplash yet; tile is on its way.)

Edited July 8, 2008 by mrbigjas (log)

[LindaK]

mrbigjas, thanks for the update and the pictures--your Blue Star looks great in your kitchen, even without the backsplash.

Your service story is heartening, though you shouldn't have needed the repair in the first place. I hope I have a similarly good experience with Blue Star when I need them.

It will be a while before I can take delivery on my range. The interior walls on my new kitchen just went up yesterday, the plaster goes on Monday, so there's still a lot to do. But now that there's a real room there again, I can imagine exactly where it will be, and I'm startng to get excited. Let us know what you think of the Blue Star now that you're using it.

[gfweb]

The 48" ranges from various makers have a big 30K BTU oven and a smaller 15K BTU oven that they typically describe as "for proofing or warming".

They seem about half the volume, so half the power might be enough...although there would be greater surface area:volume to lose heat in a smaller oven....

Does this mean that the smaller oven doesn't have the juice to do real baking eg cookies, souffles, potatoes au gratin?

Edited July 17, 2008 by gfweb (log)

[mrbigjas]

mrbigjas, thanks for the update and the pictures--your Blue Star looks great in your kitchen, even without the backsplash.

Your service story is heartening, though you shouldn't have needed the repair in the first place. I hope I have a similarly good experience with Blue Star when I need them.

It will be a while before I can take delivery on my range.  The interior walls on my new kitchen just went up yesterday, the plaster goes on Monday, so there's still a lot to do.  But now that there's a real room there again, I can imagine exactly where it will be, and I'm startng to get excited. Let us know what you think of the Blue Star now that you're using it.

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omg sorry i missed this.

it's a little difficult adjusting to a stove where each burner is more than twice as powerful as the ones on my old stove. i'm no professional cook but it's funny how you get used to something after using it for like 10 years. i'm a little out of control on the new range...

[jmolinari]

Does anyone have any experience with the Bluestar cooktops? The specs are the same as the rangetop, but at about $1000 less.

http://ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RBCT304BSS.html

One of the downsides is that the grate system is different, so you can't remove the grate and use a wok, like on the rangetop.

[tomdarch]

the only problem i have with the stove is that my little stovetop espresso pot doesn't fit over the hole in the burner grate.  not sure what to do about that.

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Yeah - with a simmer burner, it seems that a different grate would be called for. I use some tiny pots - like a 1.5 qt saucier and a stainless 2 cup measuring cup for melting and heating. I like the look of the BS grates in general, but it would be nice if the simmer burner had a grate with more bars and smaller openings to support tiny pans.

[LindaK]

the only problem i have with the stove is that my little stovetop espresso pot doesn't fit over the hole in the burner grate.  not sure what to do about that.

Yeah - with a simmer burner, it seems that a different grate would be called for. I use some tiny pots - like a 1.5 qt saucier and a stainless 2 cup measuring cup for melting and heating. I like the look of the BS grates in general, but it would be nice if the simmer burner had a grate with more bars and smaller openings to support tiny pans.

In principle, I agree, though I regularly use a tiny 1 cup pan to melt butter on my BS. You just have to position it carefully. An extra half-inch or more on the grate lengths would make it foolproof.