Food, home, Stories, Technology

Oven Graveyard

49 Comments

My range/oven is dead. After never giving me a minute’s grief in 27 years, it has given up the ghost. The technician came today; two of the three needed parts are no longer made. I can send the board to be “rebuilt” but it’s only a 50/50 chance that it can be fixed and I’ll be without my oven for at least a month.

Got any good appliance shopping advice?

 

49 thoughts on “Oven Graveyard”

  1. I think I’d give Steve specifics of what you want/need, and ask if would do a little research for you. He seems to be good at it, and enjoys it. You may have to rein him in a bit, he may have a tendency to get carried away.

    From personal experience, I’d advise to avoid as many electronic features as possible. They tend to break down sooner than later and sometimes render the whole appliance useless when that happens.

    Costco is having an appliance sale that ends today. I looked at a stove that was very nice, but at $2,999.99 I doubt that’s the one you’re looking for.

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  2. appliance mart has good deals on last years model
    home depot and menards may have it or go to craigslist with your measurements in hand
    builders sometimes order extra or unneeded stuff

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  4. ebay has a bunch of ovens delivered for under $400
    convection and all the bells and whistles

    does home service pluscswap it out for you
    or do we need to have an oven replacement party

    oh by the watch saw a front step redo design i was going to run by you

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      1. they only try their one source. the technicians tell me if you search the parts dealers anywhere in the country and bring them in they will pay your cost and fix the appliance. i found stove parts in texas and dishwasher parts in france. they paid for them and fixed the appliance. get the part number and do a search. you will need all three or they wont do it. but if you can find them its a freebie

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  6. RIse and Shine Baboons,

    Shopping patiently is not a personal gift of mine. I have used appliance mart with mixed success—our microwave from there has been good. The stove—not so much.

    Gas stoves are my favorite though.

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  9. If you buy an under-counter dishwasher, make sure the new one will fit in the space! Because of the configuration of the hose, access to the disposal and sink, and a baseboard that was about 1/2″ too high and therefore didn’t allow the DW to fit properly in the space, our $500 dishwasher turned into a $1000 dishwasher. The original installer gave up (!) [he made it clear he had to be somewhere else in about 10 minutes. Where? On a hot date? It was 1:00 pm!] We were not pleased with him. At least he offered to refund the store’s $150 installation fee.

    We put that money toward hiring local plumbers to solve the problem. Two men, four hours, and $520 later . . . problem solved! **(Can you see the steam coming out of my frugal ears yet?)**

    But the dishwasher itself is terrific. MUCH quieter than the old one and supposedly will be much more energy efficient.

    Chris in Owatonna

    PS to Barbara in Rivertown (or any other TBer who has reason to travel to Red Wing). I can’t recommend Fair Trade Books highly enough. My book signing there last Saturday was terrific. The owners are 100% customer service oriented. The place is funky. Reveler, the dog, is a mellow store mascot. Every new customer gets a FREE book! Virtually everyone who came in was asked what they were looking for and/or what kind of books do they like to read. They seem to love kid shoppers too. One of their little “gimmicks” was to ask customers to repeat “Books make great gifts.” 🙂

    They offered free Caribou coffee while browsing. Rick and Zoe (owners/staff) seemed to know almost everyone who came in. And if they didn’t, conversations were immediately struck up with newcomers.

    A real asset to the community and a store I hope to do a signing at FTB again. Viva la small business! (in a French accent)

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    1. PPS–they also had cool Miles Davis-style jazz playing on Pandora. I was in heaven the minute I walked in. Apparently, they will play whatever type of music a guest author wants to hear during their signing event.

      C in O

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      1. Hi, Barbara,

        I’ll be in downtown Owatonna next week, TH-Sat, for Crazy Days on North Cedar Avenue from about 9-5 each day. After that, Hackensack on Aug. 11, and the Austin ArtWorks Festival on Aug. 25 (I think!)

        Paperbacks and Pieces was recommended to me by the Fair Trade Books owner as a possible signing venue. I contacted them twice in the past with no luck, but may try again. Worth checking it out, but I’ve never been.

        Chris

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  10. Of course, at my age I’ve experienced about every kind of stove ever invented. And I have opinions.

    At Brule we cooked on a wood stove. They smell nice and are romantic in appearance. But given the inconvenience and lack of precise control, I think you’d be happier with a modern electric or gas stove, VS.

    If you buy a gas stove my advice is to have it professionally installed. When one of my neighbors installed his new gas stove DIY, he blew up his house. Well, the house didn’t so much “blow up” as it disappeared. After the explosion his perfect new roof sat on the ground. So he had an attic and a basement, but the “house” part of his house was just gone.

    And that is all I know about stoves. I could say more, but I don’t want to get carried away. 🙂

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    1. Steve, I just read a book you’ve probably read: ‘Woman of the Boundry Waters’ by Justine Kerfoot.
      There was a phrase that I appreciated. She’s relating a story about shooting a moose and how they used every bit of the moose; “The only thing left in Curran Bay was a hole in the air where the moose had been.”

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      1. I loved Justine. She was one of the Gunflint Trail pioneers, a group of fascinating characters. I rented a canoe once from Justine and it was fascinating to hear her talk about old times. I remember her saying she had been living on the Trail “since Hector was a pup.” As you point out, she had a way with words.

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    2. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about the ice maker and the installer. But suffice it to say there will definitely be a professional to do any connecting or unconnecting of gas!

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  11. Kelly and I have come to realize we have expensive tastes.
    Walk into any store, find the most expensive thing they sell, that’s the one we want and like the best.
    It’s really frustrating.
    No, we don’t usually get that particular item. Sometimes!

    Plain ovens haven’t really changed size have they? We had to redo a kitchen cabinet in anticipation of getting a new fridge.
    And dishwasher fit.
    But if you don’t do the Viking Range you should be ok.
    We have a local appliance store we really like. It’s not a chain and we’ve always had good luck with them. So we just shop there.
    But yeah, as the parts become more and more electronic it’s more and more out of their hands.

    MiG- you reading? How’s the washing machine repair coming?

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  12. Avoid GE. We have had the worst luck with it lately.

    I am at home with a stomach bug I picked up from son and dil when I stayed with them Sunday for my aunt’s funeral in Pipestone. All I seem to do is sleep.

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    1. An article on the internet is titled “How GE Went from American Icon to General Mess.” It is a reminder that GE’s reputation was terrific not long ago. The company is now in trouble.

      These days I would research any big purchase, but I would start with a bias toward Korean products.

      Good luck with the stomach bug. There are sure less pleasant symptoms than sleepiness.

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  13. You haven’t said whether your current stove is gas or electric, freestanding or drop-in. Obviously, if you switch from gas to electric or vice-versa, you have to factor in the cost of a new gas line or electrical circuit.
    My bias is toward gas ranges. We have a Bosch we like a lot, but I was just looking online and Bosh seems to have discontinued their freestanding ranges. All they offer is drop-ins.
    If I were shopping for a new one, I would, as Steve says, do some research and read the reviews. I don’t have any preconception of Samsung (the major Korean brand) but I wouldn’t rule it out, either.
    As long as you’re fantasizing, have you looked at Aga?

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    2. Gas, free standing.

      You know me well, Bill. I have indeed googled Aga and Viking and La Cornue. Unfortunately there isn’t enough room for any of these without gutting the kitchen and starting over. And my poor old bank account can’t handle that!

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  14. The show I’m working on, “Ring of Fire”, opens this Friday.
    Preview, meaning an invited audience and final
    Dress rehearsal, is Thursday.
    The majority of shows I work on I don’t have to be here by Thursday.
    But this show came together kinda late so I probably will. But Friday I can stay home.

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  15. There is an odd, sweet, chemical smell coming from inside our freezer/fridge. We cleaned it out, so it isn’t food related. I suspect we have a Freon leak. Since it isn’t an “emergency”, it has been two weeks since we called it in and no one has yet to look at it. Appliance atores here service only what they sell, so our options for someone else to fix it are limited to nil.

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  16. There is an appliance place in my neighborhood called All Appliance that has a scratch & dent room. They might have a good deal there, but it’s hit or miss.

    I have seen some really beautiful reproductions of old ranges that appeal greatly to me, but I am probably best off staying with my old RCA Estate.

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    1. There is also a place in Fridley, ARI (Appliance Repair Inc) that does refurbished appliances. They fixed my KitchenAid and seem like nice folks.

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      1. I bought a used dryer from them and I was very satisfied with the place and the people. I visited their place on East River Road to pick out my appliance and had it delivered. The used dryer was considerably less expensive than anything they had at ApplianceSmart.
        You could perhaps visit the showroom just to see if they have anything you like. I sometimes think that the old stuff that’s been reconditioned has a better chance at longevity than the new stuff, simply because it was better made in the first place.

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