Oven/stove repair/replace

[AMink]

OK, so the dryer went out a few weeks back with the washer on its heals. We replaced them with a new LG set that seems pretty nice. By that I mean the clothes come out clean and dry. What more could you want?



Now, the stove top is out. We did the self-cleaning thing and now the burners won't come on. The little light comes on, but no hot. I checked the breakers since there are two of them and they are fine. The wiring under the stove top appears to be ok. I'm thinking this is the time to move into the 2000's as I'm pretty sure the existing unit was original in the mid-80's.



It is an electric Kenmore. If anyone has suggestions on what to look for to fix it, that's great. If you have suggestions for a good replacement, I'd appreciate your suggestions too. It has to be electric because running gas to the kitchen would be about $300 or more. I'd like a unit with convection, but not imperative. Thanks!

 

[Missouri Mule]

Get a Glass Top. My Mom is very happy with her Frigidaire (has Convection Oven). She boughtit at Sears. Look around there are many differernt configurations for the top and bottom out there.

 

[Superglide]

I have a Kitchen Aide glass top at home and a Whirlpool glass top in the cabin. Both work very well, however, be vigilant of spills. Wipe them up right away or it can be hard to clean, even with the glass top cleaner.

 

[AMink]

We got a Maytag flat top. Already, I can tell it's better than the old one. It makes water hot!

 

[guldam]

We bought a new Amana gas range about eight years ago. This one has a computerized display mounted on the front, just above the door handle. It has a downdraft vent, since the previous electric range was also set up for down draft.

In the eight years we've owned this thing, I've replaced all four of the burners, because the igniters failed. Two of these have been replaced twice. By the way it's cheaper to replace the whole burner instead of just the igniter, especially since the screws tend to break off when replacing the igniter.

I've also replaced the oven igniter.

And most of the computer buttons on the front of the stove have fallen off due to the plastic interface getting brittle due to exposure to heat from the oven. The plastic interface can be removed by removing several screws, but unfortunately the plastic piece is not available as a separate part. Instead you have to drop $230 for the whole computer.

Oh, and to get to the computer you have to pull the whole range out so all sides are exposed, remove the top so you have access to the screws holding the front panel on, which covers the computer.

Will I ever buy another Amana Range? Nope, not on your life.

Interestingly, we had a 1950's gas range at our apartment in San Francisco, that had all original parts and worked perfectly. They don't build them the way they used to.

The next range I get, which appears to be sooner than later, will be a commercial range that has NO computer parts, only over sized high BTU burners and simple knobs to vary the amount of gas. I want a bullet proof range that is easy to repair if need be, and has no bells and whistles that cause an early demise.

GulDam

 

[guldam]

Appliance Life Expectancy

Life expectancy of appliances...

GulDam

 

[AMink]

I was surprised that Jenn-air and Viking did not have very good ratings in reliability categories, especially considering the price they want. That might be for the fancy computer driven ones, but I'm not sure.