Chip in bottom of new oven door

Old toe kick on nxr, you can see one of the dents my range came with.

New toe kick. There is none. Not sure which I like better. I suppose the one without the dent.

Old handle finish.

New handle finish. Oh, and the hinge noise on the new door happens to be a black machine screw loose inside the door.

I have the newer silvery handle. I used to have the other handle. The old handle seemed to match better. Also, the switches for the oven light and convection fan are different.

The crunching on the panel I found to be pretty much the door hinges. The newer range has a really good door mounting - no crunches, well balanced, smooth operation. When I took the door off of the old range prior to moving it, I saw the actual problem was the left side hinge - it was installed crooked. Both the manufacturer and the appliance repair guy forced the door in, but it didn't work correctly. Also check it if the crunching is coming from the area behind the hinges. If the screws are over tightened, it can break the porcelain.

Caveat for below list. I still haven't run the oven. The oven been dusted, vacuumed and washed. I'm trying to decide if this is good enough to fix before facing the burn off.

First picture is just herself, not 100% cleaned up and not really installed - just sitting there with electric and gas.
.

I cut out the can of barkeepers friend waiting for a second try at the outside of the door. I didn't realize how dirty the kitchen became until I saw the dust in these pics!

In the order of the pictures:
-- This seems to be a refurb and they seem to have told me a fairy story. Shocking, I know.
-- I have one top burner that lights only the center ring. If left in the "light" position, it will leak gas. In order to get the whole burner to light, I have to turn it down to simmer and then back up.
-- Except that every 6th time or so, it lights normally.
-- The oven displaying its 4 different colors of porcelain.
-- The top of the oven and the bottom oven frame display signs of use. The top of the oven has a porcelain chip that looks to be caused by replacing one of the side oven panels.
-- The back of the oven bottom removable panel has 3 porcelain chips.
-- The oven door glass has a trim ring that doesn't fit properly. This is the second oven door I've seen with this issue. It's going to make for a long term issue keeping junk out of the inside of the oven door and for keeping the glass clean.
-- This one is amusing but creepy. Someone modified a burner head for some wacko reason. Why would a customer end up with a damaged part like this?
-- Lil Blackie assembled. As shown, its matt black, shiney black and has one piece that is gun metal gray.
-- Lil Blackie and a normal burner. Just to show I'm not crazy.
-- These are followed by a selection of fit 'n' finish issues pictures in addition to the odd styling choices above.

Not pictured is the right rear burner head is kinda difficult to fit in. It's not related to any particular set of burner heads. If I was a betting woman, I'd go with there was a repair of some sort below the cooking surface that pushed the gas pipe out of alignment. I don't think its unsafe - just annoying.

And lastly, a link to the problems in the original delivery - put both together and its pretty damning.
First range problems on delivery pics

So, that's what I'm thinking through before raising either stink - burn off the oven to see how it cooks plus get it fixed or get it gone?

Here is a link that might be useful: Illustrations at photobucket.

My vote is to get it gone. Sounds like it was a different customer's problem. You paid for new and you deserve it get new.

Different handle but still with the old kick plate and and old build date? Must be sourcing the handle from different places and will swap them depending on inventory.

I will try and get some pics of the inside of the new stove. It looks much better inside that the old, and from what I can tell looks better than your newest stove.

Its too bad that they already took your old stove, it would be easy to test that burner with one of your old ones.

On my two oven doors, I can put my finder nail in behind the trim on all for sides, but the trim is even all the way around.

At this point I would not take the oven with porcelain chips in any visible location or area that needed to be cleaned.

Unbelievable. It looks used. I would ask for a refund. I am speechless over that burner. By sending you this range they did not send you the NXR DRGB3001 Professional 30 Inch gas range that you bought. I would remind them that sending you a range that has been altered could get them in hot water with any organization that approves the design of the oven as it is no longer the same design. Look for any underwriters stickers or any other "approved" stickers so you can name the organizations. I would also remind them that this altered burner could void your homeowners insurance if there was a fire. They have put you at a lot of risk. If that has been altered, what else has been altered that you can't see? I would unhook it. I would also inform your dealer of these things. They have a responsibility in this as well. They make a profit from their sale to you and need to make this right.

While I disagree with Wekick's "unbelievable" --- seems to me this kind of crapola is all too offen reflective of the unfortunately poor quality of warranty service in these times in the appliance industry --- I strongly agree that the situation is utterly unacceptable.

The magic words to invoke are "implied warranties of merchantability and fitness."

At least in Maryland, where you live, these implied warranties cannot be disclaimed or avoided by either Duro or your dealer (Plesser's, IIRC). The warranties mean you have a right to have them take the stove back and give you a full refund. No service fees, no restocking charges, no etc. Plesser's can say on their website that they have a "no returns policy" but that does not defeat your state's law on implied warranties for consumer products. Plesser's and Duro (and maybe Austex, the distributor) can argue among themselves over who eats this loss, but that's an argument that has no bearing on your rights.

Also, just looked in the warranty section of my NXR's manual and there is nothing in there that allows Duro/NXR to remedy a warranty problem by giving you used parts.

See the link below to the Maryland Attorney General's office for information on Maryland's law on implied warranties and for a place to call for assistance from the AG's office.

You may want to use that assistance. Send the AG links to these threads. I also suggest you start communicating in writing (e-mail) with Duro and Plesser's and cc the OAG's office, if you can.

Here is a link that might be useful: Publication: If It Doesn't Work, You Can Take It Back

This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 13:50

@black88mx6 - if you could take a few oven pictures, it might help.

@jwvideo -. I can't thank you enough for the link. I will file that complaint tomorrow.

I am preparing an email to all players. We are just sick about this.

As requested; my newest stove

New range broiler

>>> " I will file that complaint tomorrow." Might have to be Tuesday. Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and likely the AG's office will be closed.

bmore - I've been following your saga silently and totally sympathize. I've noticed there's relatively little mention of Plessers in this thread. Sounds like they're making a couple phone calls... but... are they standing behind their sale? Which has me wondering, are you local (Long Island) or did you use them as an online dealer? I'm not insinuating anything at all, just wondering.

Lol - I'm not good on holidays and such-like. Sometimes, too much date math concerning other years but sometimes - no excuse at all.

I had a small chicken accident last week that left me with a dislocated knee; followed by dh throwing out his back. Neither one of us could change the clock in the kitchen as it needed a ladder. Went threw the whole week never knowing for sure what time it was!

@black88mx6 Oh - you have a stainless broiler bracket. And a single color oven! Boy, am I envious.

Are the sides of the range longer as well as missing the little curved part? I like the looks of the square front better personally.

My old one is not stainless. Didn't notice that change.

The front of the new one is flat and extends down to the floor, there is no toe kick.

It seems like they replaced your range with a "refurbished" one. If the range were in excellent condition, it would probably satisfy the terms of the warranty. I know with printers, they often replace a broken one with a "refurbished" one rather than repair them, but usually the refurbished printers work fine. This is the first time I've heard of this with a range, but to be honest, I can't say it surprises me. I would demand a full refund.

Plessers - I'll be seeing that in a little while.

Email Text, sent to everyone I could.
----------------------------------------------

We are very upset. We are asking for a complete refund. I have attached a copy of our Plessers invoice. We are thinking of filing a complaint with our state’s consumer protection agency. The unit delivered (Serial Number HXIHDRG1020749) appears to be a refurbished unit. Actually, it appears to be one used for practice for new service people.

It’s 7 months old - see the picture of the inspection tag with its date of manufacture. That seems kind of elderly for a brand new unit that caused an extra 2 weeks of delay in replacing our non-functioning oven (because you were out of stock and you were waiting on a container just arrived in port). Being told that fairy story, and the fairy tale about “testing” the new unit before delivery makes this situation impossible. We can't trust anything Durocorp says at this point.

This refurbished range is actually dangerous. We are unwilling to wait another 10 weeks for another replacement unit or trust that it will be any better than this one. Following is a non-comprehensive list of what is wrong with the refurbished unit - other than the very real problem that we paid to have a brand new, fully functioning range - not one that spent almost half its life needing repairs and not one assembled out of broken ranges. I have attached pictures in the zip file.

What’s wrong with the refurbished range:

The right hand front burner only lights the center ring. When the burner starts with only the interior ring, the burner will leak gas. If the burner is turned on while the oven is hot, it may not light at all even though the gas is flowing out of the burner into the room.

Occasionally, I can get the whole burner to light by turning the burner down to simmer and back up - but this only works occasionally. Every once in a while the whole burner lights correctly. Pictures 1 and 2, showing the burner lit with only the center ring and picture 2 showing the entire burner lit. Again - THIS IS DANGEROUS as gas leaks from the outer ring of the burner, but doesn’t ignite. It is not a problem with the burner casting. If I switch castings, the problem stays. It is not a knob positioning problem.

The oven has at least 4 different colors of porcelain as if all of its pieces were made at different times - picture 3. In this picture and the following picture 4, you can see that the bottom of the oven, the fan enclosure (but not the fan itself) and the broiler cover show wear. In one orange circle on picture 4, at the junction of the oven back panel and the oven top is a porcelain chip. The other orange circle shows the back part of the broiler retaining clip is full of scratches as if it had been taken apart and reassembled. The oven pictures were taken before oven burn off.

When I wiped out the oven before burn off, I found a chip of blue porcelain - not the same size as the chip pictured. After oven burn off, I found another chip of blue porcelain. Adding these chips to the oven chip, it feels like the same problem that the other range had - dropping little shards of glass, potentially into cooking food. It could be poor workmanship - but that’s not a comforting thought either.

The glass in the oven door has a trim ring on the side facing the inside of the oven to cover the intersection between the porcelain the glass. This ring is apparently glued to the window glass at the factory. It is incorrectly aligned on one side of the oven door - allowing gunk and fluid to go into the oven door. The interior of the oven door is not consumer accessible for cleaning. Pictures 5 and 6 show both affected corners. In picture 6, the gap is about ¼”.

The removable oven bottom has three chips on the side that faces the oven burner. Shown in pictures 7, 8 and 9. 9 also has a really good hand and thumb print of the person who last put in the oven bottom. For me, this will affect its longevity as the oven bottom will rust. I have no safety concerns about chips falling into the oven burner tray.

The oven burner is not level from side to side - not pictured. On the right side the lower set of jets on the tube are slightly below the heat shield. The left side lower jets are well above the heat shield. I have no idea how the burner is supposed to be positioned.

Picture 10 shows a modified burner head. Someone has chopped and chewed off part of the casting with tools. The gas tube in the center has also been modified. This IS NOT the burner head on the dangerous burner - it is the multi-colored burner next in this list. As a person commented on the online record - these modifications would invalidate your UL listing and any other safety ratings that have not been performed with this modified burner. In our state, this range makes our house uninsurable.

Picture 11 shows a 3 color burner assembly - 2 pieces are matt black, 1 piece is shiny black and one piece is gunmetal gray - the color of all of the other burner heads. Picture 12 is a normal burner and the tricolored burner (nicknamed lil blackie) to show the difference.

There are 4 pictures showing nicks and pings. I do not mean these pictures to represent all of the nicks and pings - it’s just a sample.

We do realize that several of these issues could be solved with parts and repairs. But nothing will solve the chips in the oven.
---------------------
Their attachments were higher resolutions photos that show about the same things.

Ohh BMore;

I (and I bet so many others on this board!) am so sorry to hear you are STILL going thru this... it is so hard to beleive it has gotten this out of hand, and they had a chance to do good, do right and swap the range, and it appears they did so with a used or demo?? model. Totally unacceptable.

I wish you the best resolving this... I won't hijack this thread with my recent experience, so I'll pop over to my previous message in this appliance forum. I hope you get a full refund and move on to another, happier range. Your backsplash and design/layout look great, nonetheless.

I did want to say thanks again to every one. I'm grateful for the support. I'm really nervous and jerky about this whole thing.

We chose Plessers by price and reputation. At that time, we were unaware that Costco carried this range so they weren't an option. Baltimore is kinda low on appliance dealers.

We got Cummins (local dealer), Kitchen Distributors plus Bray and Scarff (regional dealer). I'm done. I have never been in Kitchen Distributors. People tell me that in my price range, there's no reason to go.

There's more choice of lower priced ranges and places like Sears, Lowes, etc. We tried to find a lower priced one we liked back in January.

I looked at second hand places and Second Chance without success. I should get hints from a professional shopper or something.

I have the same feelings as weissman about refurbished appliances. I would have taken it if not for the oven chips as I felt everything else but the faulty burner was fixable with parts sent through the mail. I pulled the knob off that burner for now.

It creeps me out, that burner. I'm afraid it will fall apart in the middle of the night. The stove is getting disconnected tomorrow or day after depending on the plumber.

Part of the problem is that I feel like a rube now because I believed them and I should have known better. I'm mad that I was an idiot. Another part is that this has been going on for so long with so many people involved that I am just exhausted.

And now, bizzarely, Durocorp is trying to fight about it.

They are having the famous Jose respond to the dealer only - to the effect that they are placing a normal call through the warranty center.

So, I sent Jose and the dealer a blistering email, text below. He again responded to them to say that the warranty center would call.

========================
We talked about this condition in advance �" that if there was anything wrong �" damaged parts, chips in the top of the oven and leaking burners to mention a few �" that a full refund is the only acceptable termination.

We are demanding a full refund in the amount shown in the Plessers invoice - $2,148.99. We want you to remove the replacement from our home within the next week at your cost. It is not acceptable to continue this relationship in any manner after you lied to us. It is not acceptable to spend OVER 134 days �" which is what we have done so far - dealing with appliance repairs, partially functioning ranges and one that was sent with a fairly dangerous defect that leaks gas or to get a replacement range where we haven’t even USED THE OVEN and it has a chip in the oven ceiling and has dropped another two chips from somewhere.

Duro Corporation needs to send the refund and a truck driver within the next week. If you do not agree, we will pursue further legal action against both companies. You should be grateful we are not seeking to recover our time, plumber bills or punitive damages.

We would appreciate a direct response.

The response from Durocorp (3 days and 3 emails later):
=============================================
We are very sorry that you are not happy with the Range, after all the effort that we done. We can assure you that the range you received is a new unit.

If you would like a refund you would have to contact the dealer were you purchased the Range.
============================================

I try to keep it clean here, so I won't be saying anything. But then again, I have 150 pages of documentation in emails, another 20 in scanned documents and about 60 photos. Plus a call journal. Plus all the notes at Adco.

This is amazingly sucky behavior from Durocorp. The NXR is certainly off my list now. You mess with one gardenwebber, you mess with lots of gardenwebbers!

I wonder what Costco is going to do with all they ranges they're destined to get piled up in their back room as returns that the company won't take back.

Yeah Fori - I feel like its an episode of the outer limits. Apparently, dealer, distributor and durocorp are thinking about it.

I just found out the replacement range has 2 serial numbers. The labels on the documents don't match the actual serial number on the hang tag inspection sticker. That's when I noticed the big, new label pasted in the range booklet in the warranty section with extra conditions not in the old booklet.

If you read number 1, they will not cover instructing you on how to use your range to correct your house wiring or replace fuses.

I've never used a range to replace a fuse. You'd think it wouldn't fit.

Here is a link that might be useful:

LMAO!

LMAO!

You might as well try. There MUST be some use for the thing!

And Plessers came through - we have a refund agreement and someone will come and pick up the range. It's really great that Plessers took over negotiating with Duro corporation and got this done.

It's going to take longer than we'd like but its a good outcome. We'd already faced the fact that there would be no Thanksgiving cooking. This morning I finally remembered there will be some lead time if I ever figure out what we're buying next.

This is where I'm mostly cooking - on the Camp Chef with assistance from a baby charcoal oven.

It's attachments are a blue tarp for a bit more weather proofing, some temporary lighting and the grates from an old range. It does have a roof overhead.

And here is my current range - a Burton induction plate set up on some boards with a cheezy plastic table cloth finishing off that custom look.

Looks like things are under control and this issue will be resolved. I wish that there was an appliance vendor with a 100% satisfaction rating; it would make things easier for us as long as we could afford it.

After all above conversations i have no comment for this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sub Zero Dallas

black88mx6

Did you maybe mean "appliance maker" with a 100% satisfaction rating rather than "appliance vendor"? Boy, don't I wish we could get that! But, then, that's what warranties are supposed to be for.

As you, I and others have noted, Costco seems to be one of the few appliance vendors with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Of course, that is not a 100% satisfaction rating, It does not assure that every product is wonderful nor that 100% of buyers will rate themselves satisfied. The best that can be said, I'm afraid, is that Costco makes it relatively easy to avoid the kind of warranty-service ordeal to which bmorepanic was subjected.

bmorepanic

I had to laugh when seeing your photos. Those look like my indor and outdoor solutions last year when my previous stove (a GE dual fuel) unexpectedly died shortly before a large, long planned event. I used a similar rig for a couple of weeks while stove shopping and waiting for delivery of my NXR.

Outdoors, I had a Camp Chef stove, too. Do you have a gas grill, maybe? I do and found that I was able to use my Weber gas bbq as an oven provided I used remote temperature probes ($20 at most hardware stores) and, for baking, put unglazed quarry tiles on the drip bars beneath the grilling grates

An obvious use for the grill on Thanksgiving is for roasting a turkey. My experience is that it seems to work better if you spatchcock the turkey as Julia Child recommended (see "How to Cook" at page 159 or check out the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated for an updated version that can be done with stuffing.)

With unglazed quarry tiles on the diverter bars beneath the grilling grates (and suitable preheating), I also found that the gas bbq/oven did a pretty fair job in baking pies and a quiche and also made very decent rolls and loaves of bread. Funcitoning was rather like the ovens in vintage-1950s gas stoves.

Indoors, I too used a Max Burton unit on a work-table under my range hood. I've found that the MB portable induction unit works well enough for many things including pressure cookers. One thing I learned recently in another thread is that you can get around the MB's somewhat limited 1-10 power settings by switching over to the "temperature" settings which seem to fall between the whole-number power settings.

So, for Thanksgiving, all may not be lost if you decide to cook at home. In the meantime, I wish you luck in your search for a new range.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 17:33

Thanks jrw. Good to know that I'm not the only insane one. 34 degrees tonight.

Yeah, no grill unfortunately. I have done 3/4 spatchcocks before and worked great - just leave the breastbone and ribs. When reassembled with a stuffing prop, it looks like a "real" turkey.

The Restaurant Store has started singing to me at night. 1/4 size ovens have a special tune all their own and its not too far away. Just put under the Max and why the h_ll buy a range at all?

We are having difficulty figuring out what to do for a new range We're pretty far apart on what kind of thing we should buy and getting sparky with each other.

Saw a refurb Heartland Metro on ebay, but I'm pretty sure it ain't got no warranty. It looks like heartland dropped their whole metro line anyway - does bode well for parts availability.

Lets just say that there is no appliance mfg that provides 100% satisfaction on their appliances. There are a few that say they do, but then make you jump through all the hoops. Look at how many mfg now charge a service fee just to have warranty work done, regardless if the appliance is broken or not.

Costco is one of the few retailers that provide a service today that I am willing to pay for. I purchase a lot of product at Costco; including impulse buys that I would not otherwise buy due to their 100% satisfaction policy. I will continue to buy there, including the NXR as long as this policy continues.

I've been reading this and thanking my lucky stars that I didn't by a NXR. Glad to hear that the dealer finally came through. Stuck with many more of these and they probably won't be a dealer for long.
I think that the Metros were discontinued a few years ago, so, yeah, I'd wonder about parts, especially since it's not a mainstream brand.
I did pick up a restaurant supply 1/4 oven to have around for the renovation and to help with big parties. It was a used Cadco that ran about $300 if I remember right. Love the thing. They also make a 1/2 sized that runs on 110, but they are considerably more. There's a good churn on those ovens -- coffee shops, food trucks, etc that close up or need something bigger. They turn up on Craigslist pretty oven in my area.

Why don't you get an induction range? Show your dh some of the threads on gw talking about the attributes of same. You need to be grief free. And a self cleaning oven WITH a warranty would be a good thing. I don't care if Plessers does or doesn't sell it . Go to Sears?Always get a warranty. You learned a lesson, no?

Westsider, you are so right. Aside from all the stress of dealing with people, I get uptight without an oven. I almost had a fit of the vapors when that replacement range leaked gas.

Rhett, Oh, Rhett - where shall I go, what shall I do?

I have told him induction is one of the acceptable ones. He's afraid of what running a 220 would cost to begin with and then what the running costs run. We pay about $5-$7 a month to run the previous gas range. I haven't any idea how to estimate the running costs of an electric range.

Why not consider induction, indeed? Worth considering if you have 240v service in that stove cut-out, and if your area of Baltimore does not have frequent problems with power reliability, and if you have enough induction-ready cookware to get through the holidays.

As for operating costs, it probably won't be much difference in your power bill. Cooking appliances actually don't make much difference. When I was stove shopping and did a comparative analysis between an NXR and a couple of induction ranges, the difference was trivial. Pennies per month. Maybe $10 to $15 per year for a whole lot of cooking back when our electric rates were higher and our gas rates lower. Ran this again last summer when our electric rates were a bit lower and the gas rates a bit higher and the difference for me with a lot of daily cooking and a lot of entertaining was down to about $7/year. Check out Michael Bluejay's "Mr. Electricity" website. I'll post a link to his energy cost calculator.

If induction is feasible and running a 240v line is not prohibitively expensive, maybe you could talk to Plesser's about them doing a straight across swap for one new GE PHB920 freestanding ranges. It is in the same price range as the NXR and has a couple of useful conveniences including the ones Westsider pointed to -- the much larger oven with self-cleaning functions. (Kind of a trade-off for the more constricted cooktop real-estate and the backsplash mounted controls.)

Last year, when I had to go stove shopping, I looked hard at induction ranges. Actually, I had been planning to buy one when the prices came down a bit and I could get one with design layouts more to my liking. That plan went out the window when the old stove died unexpectedly. I wound up comparing the NXR with couple of freestanding induction ranges from GE and Samung. I thought about over my personal preferences and the various stove's features and about how it would be to live with each stove. Getting the NXR from Costco slightly edged out the two induction ranges, but slight changes in factors could easily have given the edge to one of the induction ranges. For example, I like appearance of the new GE models more than the previous design which, to me, looked liked large microwaves. Not a look I liked. Of course, the assemenet of functions and looks will be very much a "YMMV" type of thing.

Anyhow, I know very much the feeling that "1/4 size ovens have a special tune all their own and its not too far away. Just put under the Max and why the h_ll buy a range at all? "

I'm not sure about westsider's comments about buying a warranty. The NXRs come with a warranty. Pretty much everything you get comes with a warranty. Trouble is, that everybody's warranty service can be bad these days. While I think Westsider is taking about buying an extended warranty, those are often serviced by the same contractors who provide outsourced warranty service to major brands.

Around here, that can be especially true if you buy from Sears and have to get warranty service provided through A&E, the joint venture between Sears and Whirlpool, Beyond that, much extended warranty service here is provided through A&E and the quality of the company's service has been highly variable. In my neighborhood, I've heard of numbers of instances of service that was just as as abysmal and even more delayed than what happened to bmore with the the NXR. Shouldn't be that way but it all too often is. Before buying a Kitchenaid fridge last year, I made d___ sure that I could get any warranty service done by our local highly experienced appliance service guy rather than having to through the A&E bureau that is 70 miles away.

That leads me to reflecting on the comment by Chester's_house, it seems to me that it really won't take many defective ranges to sink a small brand like NXR. Margins are so thin on these ranges that even one return can be financially problemmatic for smaller dealers and maybe even for the distibutors like Austex, who supplied the stove to Plesser's in this instance.

Now, it certainly seems to be the case almost all of the NXRs are good stoves -- provided that yours did not get damaged in shipping --- but the small market share mean that even a few reports of shipping damaged goods and poor quality warranty service can sink a brand or a model line. People may think: the odds are small that I'll get hit by lightning, but they also think, "why take a chance?"

That is where I find myself nodding in agreement with what black88mx6 just said. Frankly, I would not have considered an NXR except through Costco. With buying from Costco, at least, I knew I was pretty much protected from getting a lemon or one with delivery damage problems. Heck, I could have taken the stove back for a full refund just because I didn't like it, never mind warranty issues.

Heartland made some interesting ranges but I would be reluctant to buy one now that the Metro and other Heartland lines are gone (except for the 19th century wood-stove look-alikes), I would really hestiate on buying a used Metro from e-bay. Strikes me as similar to buying a used SAAB from e-bay. (FWIW, I put 350,000+ miles on a SAAB Turbo that was a wonderful car. Iin its day. But that was when I lived in places with knowledgable SAAB mechanics and the company was still keeping stocks of parts. Back before GM ate the company and then sold the brand to somebody who assembled them out of Subaru parts and then abandoned the market.) Seems like Heartland ranges may be in the same situation. These days, I wouldn't consider one, let alone buy it from eBay. I'd rather go for something like a genuine old stove lsuch as a Wedgewood, Chambers or Merritt & O'Keefe. There are enough enthusiasts around that parts are pretty readily available and there still seems to folks around who knowledgeable about servicing them, and there is not much that can go wrong with them once they are repaired..

Plus, I recall the Metros all being sold with custom colors, at least teh ones I saw in a salesroom. Seems to me that many of those colors and the vintage 50's might look odd in Bmore's kitchen, (Very nice kitchen design, btw,)

Just my 2 cents worth. Well, maybe 7 cents. ;-)

This post was edited by JWVideo on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 11:51

Here's the link to the cooking costs calculator. If you read into the text, he says to take the electrical range cost and drop it by 30% for estimating the costs of operating an induction range.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mr. Electricity's Gas vs. Electric Cooking calculator

My mother, bless her, had a 1974 Saab Sonnet in stoplight yellow. It didn't actually go fast - but who cared? It looked fast and it sounded fast.

We can't actually fit any standard range - the height of the back of a standard range compared to the height of the narrow shelf on top of the backsplash doesn't work. Well, except for the lowest end hotpoint.

We've talked through modifying the backsplash, but for assorted reasons that would cost about $1000.

We don't have a 240 outlet at the range. We could think about the GE induction slide-in but $2800 for a ge profile plus $500-$1000 for installing the outlet/breaker/cable just feels too high.

I think we're down to Dacor all-gas DR30 as a slide-in, Bluestar RCS new or old model, or do a Bertazonni. The berta would cause counter mods because its shallow. Not as costly as doing the backsplash, but unknown.

After all you've been through, you should treat yourself to a pro-style gas range without a backsplash - Bluestar, Wolf, DCS or Capital. I don't know much about Dacor these days, but in the past, the reviews were mixed at best. Before buying a Bertazonni, read the review about the Bertazonni oven on the Kitchen Forum.

All righty then, no so much bertazonni.

I don't know what to think about comparing service between Blue star and Dacor. Blue star is close enough to rent a truck and dump it back on their threshold.

I'm talking about both with dh. Dacor is $300 less delivered and has a 3 year warranty. It's hard to tell what to do.

Being able to haul a defective BS back sounds attractive as a political statement if you got a lemon, but, unfortunately, getting your money back usually requires going through your retailer.

If you've been reading the BS threads here you have seen that, nothwithstanding some posters' fanboy/cult tendencies, BS warranty service and support has been uneven. Seems that most folks are pleased with the purchase but some number of people do need service. Some of those have been pleased with warranty services they've needed while others have reported dismal tales of shabby treatment as bad as or even worse than what happened with you and Duro/NXR. Some stories fall in the middle. Some people just seem hapless. The kind of mixed bag that bears some thought when considering a small-brand appliance purchase.

I see that Plessers is offering that Dacor DR30 at $2899. If the BlueStar RCS is $3200, does it include the mandatory (additional cost) backsplash/trim piece? Last spring, our local BS vendors had a special promo pricing where the RCS models could be had for $2899 with a trim piece for another $100+, but I think that promo ended in June. Is there another promo or is the $3200 for a demo/floor model/used BS stove?

With Dacor, my recollection is that most of the problems reported here have been with out-of-warranty failures in the fancy electronics that Dacor installed in their electric and dual fuel ranges. I also recall that there were some complaints about maitaining the stainless surface and maybe the black porcelain enamel of the cooktop. (Doesn't the Dacor have a black porcelain enamel top?) You might want to check through the Dacor complaints posted at www.consumeraffairs.com. (There were something like 250 complaints the last time I looked, although those covered every kind of product from fridges to dishwashers as well as stoves. IIRC, very few about the company's gas ranges). Anyway, since the the DR30 "Dacor Distinctive" model you are looking at is a line with practically no electronics --- only some oven temp sensor circuitry and the surface burner re-ignitor, I think --- you likely avoid most of those problems,

FWIW, the DR30 was number 4 in Consumer Reports ratings of 30" pro-style ranges, after some dual fuel ranges by KitchenAid and Wolf.. It was the number 1 rated pro-style all-gas range.

While you are considering spending in in the $2800 price range, you might want to look at the GE Cafe all-gas models, too. For the last three years or so, the current Cafe lineup has been getting pretty favorable discussion here. Has a stainless cooktop rather than paitned black porcelain enamel. Also, holiday sales pricing may result in reduced prices, too, although that cost savings would likely be offset by getting an extended warranty for the electronics. There's also a Cafe model with two actual ovens, if that would be of interest. Probably (though not certainly) can get one delivered before Thanksgiving, too.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Tue, Nov 19, 13 at 16:02

How about American Range Performer?

Dollar bills. They are just absent. I can not go over $3k. I think a performer bottoms out at $3,700 or so.

Dacor dr30GIS is about $2800 everywhere. Dacor is running a warranty extension out to 3 years for free. At AJ Madison, it includes in house delivery.

BlueStar RCS30IRV1 is $2899 to $3149, delivered in house, with 1 yr warranty.

Cafe with a fish burner is about $2900. I understand why you suggested it but spent 6 years cursing out the old GE profile for that particular 17k burner.

Dacor must have a manic enforcing their price collusion (I believe there is a more politically correct term). There is nearly complete uniformity of pricing.

How about Five Star? The (semi open) burner all gas is in your price range. It doesn't get a lot of love around here, but those who have them seem to like them. And I've never seen even a single thread cursing one.

Your stove nook is pretty even without a stove.

Maybe you can be a trailblazer and test out the Smeg for us. It's kinda cute!

The smegs are so cool looking. But then there's this guy:
on Youtube. Somehow, I think that might be me later. There are other lackluster reviews and a few who like it. Odd control board problems + cheezy grates mostly.

It's also a little odd sized - only 25" deep. I'm not sure what to make of that with 25 5/8" deep counters (thanks again, ikea).

If I do go for the dacor (feels safer), I'll have to get it real feet. Does anyone know the size of the center post that cheezy feet use, the kind that screw in, but are just the post and a small disk on the bottom?

According to dacor, no feet replacements are possible. Somehow, the dual fuel has real feet, but all of the others have cheezy screw posts.

Customer support person caught Engineer dude who said no way to remove 'em without sawing them off. It's kind of a bummer.

BMP, thanks for being an unwitting beta tester for NXR. Even though I have a Costco close by, I am not excited about the likelihood of having to haul that 300lb appliance back to the store. I'm glad I did some research on the NXR brand here at GW.

My search for a reasonable (~$2000) 30" slide-in to replace my old, failing Magic Chef gas range continues. I would love to consider an induction slide-in if my wife would agree. I think I already have 220 available as the prior owner of the house replaced an electric range with the MC gas range. But that was probably well over 15 years ago as we've been in this house for 14 years.

Warranties are only as good as the companies who stand behind them. I love the concept of the NXR and the price point is right in the range of what I'm looking to spend. So many good reports on the NXR, but if this warranty issue is typical, I would have a very hard time buying the NXR. The hassle is simply not worth it.

This post was edited by speedlever on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 15:24