Posted on 12/04/2018 6:10:00 PM PST by chrisser
Let me preface this by saying we live in a very rural area. Most of the year, our road and sometimes our driveway are impassable without 4wd and high traction tires. We also have no cell service. So getting a repair service out here or warranty work is basically not practical.
We bought this Maytag gas oven. We run it on propane. Bought it less than a year ago from Lowes and it's been nothing but problems. I've spent more in parts for it to get it working than what we originally paid for the oven (something like $350-400) and finally got it to work a few months ago after replacing the second ignitor. I've replaced the ignitor (twice), the gas control valve, and the touchpad/control board. Basically everything but the burners and the chassis. Tonight, my wife got an F1 error, which is either the touchpad, or the control board. Before it would just refuse to maintain a temperature.
I found some literature online that helped me troubleshoot it, and I'm getting pretty good at it.
But I'm frankly sick of dealing with it.
Is there anyone who makes a basic gas range that just works? Maybe one without all the electronic gizmos that are so unreliable? We don't need something fancy, but I'd like to get something new that I don't have to keep pulling out and taking apart.
Or maybe next time I should just buy two ranges and stick one in the garage to cannibalize for parts...
Go old fashioned as possible - the stoves I grew up with had temp control for the oven and no other electronics....and worked forever.....as far as appliances go these days, LG is getting a lot of high ratings - don’t know if they make gas ranges though.
“3.2 amps”
So, if the power goes out, you can’t light it with a match?
“Start up”
Eco nazi regulations preclude that in the same way vendors can’t sell incandescent bulbs. You get slammed by EPA.
Can’t meet regs w/o computer control, just like your car.
It does not have to be vintage. We bought a 2018 camper with a all manual 3 burner stove with oven.
When new gizmos break soon after purchase, customers have to buy another new gizmo that soon breaks so customers have to buy another.... If they made quality items that lasted 20 years, they wouldn’t make such high profits.
I have a house in an area where the power goes out, so I chose a SAMSUNG range / oven that can be lit WITHOUT Piezo electronics. I bought it from Lowe’s after calling SAMSUNG. It’s very nice, and does just what it says. Unplug it, and light it with a match if you like. Well insulated, too. SAMSUNG is making some of the most reliable kitchen appliances... And I say this with Whirlpool / KitchenAid / Amana as former clients.
Like 762X51 stated:
Blue Star.
We have had one for 10+ years, they are commercial and VERY simple.
We ordered it as (high altitude) propane and it came jetted appropriately.
It has a light - on/off toggle switch and a convection fan, again a simple on/off toggle switch.
It does have igniters but when our power is out we turn on a burner and light a match.
Over the years my Wife’s sister has purchased two new Blue Star ranges (two different houses having moved) and as much as we like our range, the finishing details are even better on the new ones.
The burners themselves are HEAVY cast iron and simply cannot wear out, if they did they lift up and slide out (for cleaning, mostly).
They even have gone down in price but are still spendy at $4,000 or less.
You can order the burners to your specifications, we have 2) 25,000 BTU in the front - it’s easy to pull the cast iron grate off and put a wok on these high output burners and COOK. The back has a 15,000 BTU & 7,500 BTU burners. Very nice.
As for customer support we had an issue with our door hinges WELL past our warranty. They sent us a new door with revised hinges ($700) and a new gasket ($50) - all at no charge. Keep in mind Blue Star offers 600+ colors and we had a custom color range so this was not just simply pulling something out of stock and shipping it off. I had to be made, then sent to their paint shop and then shipped.
These ranges are made in Pennsylvania by US workers.
They come in sizes from 24” to at least 60” and have many styles to choose from.
I would NEVER hesitate to purchase or recommend a new Blue Star.
https://www.bluestarcooking.com
Best of luck to you!
Now there's the rub. Somebody wants a $4000.00 horse for showing off.
True.
also double checked those.
But it’s a really well-designed item. Each of the four burners is different, with the front right being just as powerful as the old Viking, and the rear right being able to go very very low. Convection, and a bread proofing cycle which I use a LOT.
The old Viking was kick-ass in its day, but cost a lot to get fixed when it broke, more than the Samsung did new lastly!
Naybors. Talk to your neighbors to see how they handled this kind of problem.
Surface units, yes, with a match or grill lighter, oven unit, no, it has an electrically operated safety valve.
I agree. Buy older without LCD read outs. Look at Craig’s list plus you can post a WANTED at Craig’s list.
Or consider this end run >>>> for $108 ...
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Burners-Propane-Camping-Outdoor/dp/B01LWARKPS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1544031331&sr=8-9&keywords=4+burner+gas+range
not going to happen.
The EPA regulates appliance manufacturers
and the requirements are more stringent each years.
another reason to clean out every federal bureaucracy in Washington.
my profile died at age 9
Bought 24 years ago
My grandmother had one of those in the early sixties. My mom made sure we kids didn't play with it, by telling us tales of children getting their arms squished between the rollers.
Are you old enough to remember hanging clothes out to dry? I am. I didn't live in a place with a dryer until I got my first apartment at 21.
That’s funny about the arms getting squished. We were told the same.
I’m almost 68 and do remember clothes hanging on the line. Frozen on the line in the winter. As kids we’d take some of the clothes pins and rig up wooden match shooters.
I’d bet those old washers aren’t to be found new today.
My wife and I were discussing SHTF scenarios the other day, and that question came up. I told her that I still know how to use a washboard and clothesline, but I was stumped about the winter angle, because I grew up in warm country.
How the heck did you dry clothes in the wintertime?
“How the heck did you dry clothes in the wintertime”?
I don’t remember but the wind did a lot and they’d put them out when it was sunny, I suppose. I remember my Levi’s being as stiff as a board.
When they added the electronics to what should be a simple appliance, they built in planned obsolescence. In the fifties you could buy a water heater with a monel tank. Today, if you could get it, it would probably go for several thousand dollars. Those will last forever. The old designs didn’t have the ‘benefit’ of cost accounting and marketing interference. Stuff was built to work and last. Reliability wasn’t a concern when engineers were the sole arbitrators of design.
So true.
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