I will keep my fingers crossed for you Dave that the problem is now resolved. We all go into these high-end appliance purchases with much excitement and high expectations, it's frustrating when there are problems with them.

Good luck and keep us posted!

My first thought was the same as tammyct's. In any event, I hope your oven works perfectly now!

Do not waste another moment with these people. "Run the broiler for 4 hour" That's horses$%t! Tell them to replace the stove and give you credit on the amount of energy you have just wasted. It is possible you have a dead animal in there but the repairman should be able to disassemble the stove to find that...it is not that complicated. It is just a gas stove...not the space shuttle.

Good Luck

Dave -
I know a few days after our purchase that we got follow up calls from Wolf making sure our experience was wonderful, etc. Hopefully, you haven't received these call yet, but will soon and take the opportunity to express your sentiments.

I hope you enjoy the Wolf and that is the last of your problems. If not, I would also agree that at this point they should swap it out for you.

Villandry, I find your attitude downright inspirational. The first whiff of the smell the next time I use the broiler and I will be demanding exactly that. Truth be told, I thought I'd give their seemingly ridiculous suggestion a try first before the headache of getting a replacement. Maybe that doesn't make much sense, but I'm in week 8 of trying to get a new house (that we're obviously living in) finished and I'm just plain tired of service calls, trades visits, etc. Oh, the hardships of the fortunate.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions/support - I know the smell of dead animals very well and there was never any chance of it being that. Could you imagine?

Dave.

yes, after last year's racoon nest in the ac vents, I can imagine. You would definitely know if it was that for sure!

Please let us know.

Eww.

Hope you finally burned it off! I agree it's sort of a ridiculous thing to have to go through, but I totally understand trying to fix it yourself instead of messing with a return and re-install.

It's a sad day for Wolf, people. I just ran the broiler for 20 minutes and voila - le smell.

Without being dramatic, it gives me a literal headache. I don't even know what it is I'm breathing in but I have run that stupid oven for a total of 8 empty hours without success, plus the time I've actually used it for cooking. I'd say I've given enough of the old college try.

Anyway, I've put a call in to Maroline, the Ontario distributor and I will now begin the undoubtedly long and arduous task of getting it replaced.

First, I don't believe a broiler should be ran for 4 hours continuously...that sounds extreme. They need to dismantle the stove to find the problem. Of course, after they give you a new one.

Did you pay for the stove with a credit card? If so, dispute the charge immediately. That will get their attention. Does your contractor do a lot of business with them? Believe me, they have a lot of pull in these situations. They are hoping you just give up.

Customer service in this country has reached a new low. Have you done any air travel lately? I think expectations are so low it just re-enforces this type of behavior.

btw, I currently own a Wolf. In my opinion, it is a average stove and not worth the thousands I spent for it.

He's not in this country! He's in THAT country.

It warms the cockles of my heart to see that we are closer rather than differenter from our northern neighbors. :)

Good luck, Keitel. I think you've spent enough brain cells trying to fix that thing!

Oh THAT country! That's right. Maybe it's just a general malaise across North America. Although, they should be more willing to work with you as your economy, I understand, is doing quite well.

Loonies a tout le monde et bonne chance.

Dave--I am so sorry to read that you are still experiencing a foul smell when running your range/broiler. How awful. I would ask to speak with a supervisor if you haven't already. Sometimes getting just the right certain person on the phone is all it takes to get long-running situations resolved. Finding that one sympathetic and tenacious customer service rep is often all it takes.

It shouldn't have to be that way, but all too often, it is.

I second Villandry - you need to make this their problem and if they want to run the broiler for 3 hours for 4 hours, tell 'em to do it in their shop and on their time. Going by your first post on the top, you were instructed to run the broiler for 3 hours?!?!?!?! and you did that?!?!?! And then you gave it another go for 4 hours? Well, I suppose it is safe to say that the smell is nothing flammable eh? because your new house should have been a burnt one by now, no? I thought it was somebody's idea of a joke on you to see if you were gullible enough that they could make you do things like run a broiler for 3 hours in a stove that issued smells of dubious origins (did you confirm that it wasn't gas that was leaking?). You should contact Wolf and tell them that they need to send somebody to do whatever they want to do and that you are not going to inhale anymore noxious fumes while you make a brand new stove work like a stove. Either that or pay you recompense - whether with a new odour-free stove or with you money back. Time to dig in the heels and use the backbone. Wolf makes good products - there is little chance that someone with knowhow there can't get you to a stove that you'd be very happy with, imo.

Ouch. Mindstorm, that hurts. I've now told the distributor that I want a new stove and that regardless of what Wolf tells her, I'm not tyring anything else. This is my first foray into "high end" appliances. As far as I understood things, you don't just get to tell companies to take their product back and give you a new one without some due process. I just thought this was part of said process. Call me naive and frequently too accomodating, but gullible's a bit uncalled for.

And yes, I'm certain (as was the tech on Monday) that the smell was not gas.

Dave, so sorry to hear of your problems. We have our Wolf range installed (the one we bought in Guelph, you may recall) but needed a service call too. To completely absolve Wolf, we somehow managed to install our fittings in reverse order, so our problem was of our own doing; we have absolutely no problems with the range itself. However, I think the issue of Wolf service in Canada may be a different matter. Our dealer didn't know how to obtain service for us. They ended up referring us to another retail dealer who never returned my calls. Upon calling Maroline directly though, I was told that dealer was no longer a service agent for Wolf. The service agent who did call was reluctant to send someone out (and given our stupidity, I can't blame him) but he did and all was righted in short order. I know, it was an easy problem to fix, but I would happily give you the name of the Maroline person who was so very helpful, as well as the name of the service company. If you would like this info, email me off this board at kincaple at hotmail dot com. BTW I can check with DH to see if he knows the name of the actual repair person...my impression is that he was very familiar with the Wolf product. As an aside, I followed the directions wiping down our range, but not religiously so, and had maybe half an hour of measurable odour. Thereafter it has been a delight to use. Sorry to hear of your problems.

Sorry keitel. Wasn't trying to add insult to injury. Like you, I too think that running a broiler for 3 and 4 hours at a time sounds sketchy. And yes, if my instructions were to run the broiler for 3 hours, I would tell them to take the range back and do the needful themselves. A self-clean mode involves operating the oven to high temperatures. But even that involves temperature regulation - the controls will modulate the elements and won't let the temperature in the oven get above some (high) temperature. A broiler, however, is a high heat, always ON mode - at least, such is the case in broilers I know of. Because it is used to produce instant browning, it isn't used long term. I can't imagine that a high heat, thermal operation can be good for the stove and it certainly can't be good for your gas bill - again, I'm basically in violent agreement with points you've already made. Sorry if you didn't like it.

Well, during the exercise of running the broiler forever, I did learn the following: there must be a regulator on it as it cycled on and off and I looked at the oven thermometer I have in there at one point and it was only at 250F. So, it's probably not as bad as you'd think in terms of non-stop high heat. But, still, I do appreciate your endorsement for demanding a new range. I'm on it.

rodeo, the store where you bought your Wolf (AMG right?) didn't know where to service it? I'm surprised at that, but maybe not so much, considering he immediately told me he would much, much rather sell a Viking over a Wolf any day as he more thoroughly believed in the product. Maybe he focusses most of his energy there.

The woman I spoke to at Maroline agreed (with most of you) that I had done more than most people would have so it seems like we're headed in the right direction. She's going to call me first thing tomorrow with a solution after she speaks with Wolf. I'm only interested in one solution at this point, so let's hope it's that.

Is there any chance that the smell isn't coming from the range, but rather what is behind/next to it? For example, is it a pretty standard tile backsplash that is designed for the heat? Did you use a riser on the back?

I can't imagine that the cabinets would be a problem, but is there any stain, lacquer etc on the side of them that could be touching the side of the range?

Just a thought since no one else, me included, had this problem in burning off the oil.

Cavu

The smell actually comes from the stove top. Meaning, when the broiler is on, the smell is not actually in the oven cavity but comes up through the gaps around the burners. It's not the burners though, because it never happens when I'm just using the stovetop. I do believe the problem is located within the broiler element itself and nowhere else.

Hmmmm! Maybe they left something in the space between the drip pan and the element. Maybe the heat shield is missing and you are burning insulation, wire, etc....Clearly it is not going to be solved by "burning it out". In fact, I would highly recommend that you do not breath that burning material.

With that, I think they will replace it. I would be surprised if they didn't.

Maybe someone stuck a used bandaid in there somewhere along the assembly line.

Villandry, I agree, that is the most plausible explanation. Followed closely by the bandaid theory.

I guess if the subject of my post were "Update on my smelly Wolf" I'd be in the wrong forum, woulnd't I?

Sorry, getting a little punchdrunk thinking about the stupid thing.

Ok, so you had me thinking ... I just went and tried to see between the drip tray and element. Can't see. But then I remembered noticing an isolation of the smell yesterday i.e. strongest coming from the front right burner. So, with a flashlight I stuck my head into the oven cavity (no, it wasn't on) and lo and behold I found a burnt and crispy wire running into the glowplug. There is an insulated sock-like thing around 2 wires but for the last 1.5 inches. It's there that the one of the wires is smoked. Nice. I've been breathing burning electical wire likely on my way to a freakin' fire.
Advise please.

keitel, I have a 36" Dual Fuel Wolf (a little over 2 years old) and I'm on my 2nd (waiting for my 3rd) oven cell under warranty. My issue is with chipping blue porcelain right around main body at the top right where it curves. I've watched them disassemble this beast two times thus far and it is really interesting how each piece can be replaced individually. The entire top comes off after they take off the front panel where the knobs are. The sides come off and the whole oven cell lifts right off the wheel platform. I think once it is disassembled and the problem area identified it will be easy to have your authorized repair store order the correct parts if it is determined it is indeed repairable.

I've flat out asked for a replacement range because the oven cells that get shipped freight probably have enough of a rough ride to cause hairline cracks in the blue coating whereas a cell in an assembled range is more insulated (just my half-baked theory). When you use the oven on high heat, these cracks get brittle and cause the flaking. I've lost thus far through my authorized dealer but am in the middle of composing a letter which I will be sending registered mail documenting my issue. What do I do IF this 3rd oven cell chips? My warranty expired in July of this year. I am really gun shy to ever run the self clean because that is when it starting to haze and crack.

@Keitel - They should be able to fixed that w/o replacing the oven. In the end, that element would have eventually stopped working because it would have shorted or snapped from the heat. It is nice to know what the problem is though.

@tammyct - you should run the cleaning cycle right away while the unit is under warranty. You paid a lot of money for dual fuel and the self cleaning capability. If it cracks that's their problem. They need to know that the porcelain coating is failing and to adjust their manufacturing process.

btw, my background is in coating/plating applications. Fractures on curved/bent steel are extremely common but not impossible to overcome. The reality is that if everyone looked very closely at the porcelain finish of their stove they would probably find many imperfections. Mine are covered with a highly protective coating called "burnt-on grease"

villandry - I have that too....love that product, "Burnt-on grease!" - It is so easy, and costs nothing too.

:)

There is much rejoicing in the land. The service guy came on Monday and he was thorough and knew his stuff. Replaced the thermostat and now that badboy holds its temperature forever steady as a rock.

He also did a little forensic work on my burnt wire to discover that the wire itself was not burnt nor was the insulating sleeve. He found what at this point we could only guess was a little piece of plastic left on the sleeve in the factory that slowly smouldered away to char over the 7 weeks I've been using the range. He cut it off and reworked the insulating sleeve so that it now goes all the way to the broiler as it should. He did all of this while being advised, and advising, Wolf on the phone.

For my troubles I've been given 2 more years of factory warranty and I now have a range that I love working as it's meant to. Ahhh, it's nice to be treated right.

Congratulations! May you cook many delicious meals on your non-smell range. ;-)

Sorry, that was supposed to say "non-smelly." Sigh.

Dave--yay!!!! Now you can enjoy your range without the unpleasantries!

A happy ending! Glad to hear your good news.

That's great news.....glad to hear that Wolf treated you right. I was starting to worry as my Wolf has not yet been delivered and I was starting to prepare myself for the trials and tribulations right around Canadian Thanksgiving......

Marion K.

Yeah! Great news - Happy Cooking!

Excellent....!!!

I am so relieved for you. Wonderful news!

Thank you all for your help and support. This forum is awesome.

Yes! I hope that is it. After reading the ongoing issue, it was clear you had a problem. I have found Wolf to be very reliable. My Wolf took about 4 hours to "burn in" and that was pretty much it but boy did it smoke and smell for that period.

I remember vividly, my parents arrived for a 2 day visit the day it was installed. I proudly turned on my unit and about 20 minutes later called Wolf and said "my oven looks like its going up in smoke!" They calmly gave the who what why and how and said to turn it on high, turn the vent hood on and let it go for about 4 hours. As I said, that pretty much did it.

Experienced some smell last night with ours (a new appliance; slight acrid type smell) while preheating and at very beginning of cooking--no smoke at all though. We've only used the oven a handful of times so far (and I was using a high temp last night), and the smell wasn't overwhelming, so I'm thinking there's still some burn-off involved, despite running a burn-off when the range was installed. Does this sound reasonable to you all?

Dave, so happy to hear you got good knowledgeable service. That was our case too, but I was disappointed on your behalf with your earlier troubles. Hope you enjoy the range as much as we do. Hope you get your other appliance issues resolved too. We are in the midst of a whole remodel, with more appliances still to install. Your stories are making me nervous!

cat_mom,

Yes, that's normal...I embellished a bit in my post. There was still some odor for several uses after but not much and it diminished over a couple of weeks. The oven often has an exhaust type odor when it is first pre-heating but dissipates quickly in the process and is not offensive.

Thanks for the info breezy_2! I'm glad to hear that it's normal. I figured it might be. Hopefully it will diminish more as we use it more, too, and whatever odor there is, will dissipate more and more quickly as well.

There was a bunch of banging and pinging while it was pre-heating yesterday (some a bit loud)--maybe it was trying to get my attention!

I'm having loads of fun using it so far. It really is a fun range to cook with. I am so glad we were able to switch to the Wolf. How I feel when I'm cooking on/in it is exactly how I expected to feel while using a "pro" range (and after a little appliance detour, I finally am!).

Hope you get to experience that, too Dave!

cat_mom

What model do you have? Mine is a 36 AG. I have heard about the popping before but I don't recall hearing it in mine or at least it was not enough to get my attention. I will pay more attention next time I preheat.

I was wondering if the OP fired up the unit while the repairman was there: Maybe the company would take it more seriously if they had confirmation from one of their own.

The 36" AG 6-burner, breezy_2. It's a brand new one (only a few weeks old!). I know the gentleman at the distributor (for our area) mentioned a knocking sound (from the metal expanding while the oven cavity heats up), and that it would go away. I'd assumed that it would occur during the initial burn-off (and it did) but that it wouldn't happen after that. There definitely were some loud (and numerous) popping noises while preheating the range the other evening. Maybe those will also lessen with time? It's not enough of an "issue" that I'm even concerned about it (at least at this point), but some of those "pops" were certainly loud enough to get my attention (in another room down the hall).

I can't remember if ours did early on or not. Its 5 years old now and still kickin it. I'll turn it on and see what happens.

OK...it just hit 450. Yep! That's a huge oven but it has a huge pre-heat time. Not a big deal but if I had a complaint, it would be that. ON the other hand, I have had as many as 6 or 8 casserole dishes in there at once with room to spare.

No loud pops just subtle ticks and knocks more as it got up to 450. Gassy/exhaust smell lasted 3-4 minutes and is just part of the initial heat up process and not really offensive. In combing my fragile memory, I do seem to remember more popping early on but now almost none.

I'll bet you will experience the same. You will love your Wolf...we have.

Oh, I am already loving it! I roasted a bunch of heirloom garden tomatoes the other night to make some sauce for the freezer, and then simmered the sauce on the stovetop, and thorougly enjoyed myself doing so! The oven certainly pumps out a lot of heat at 450, but you really feel like it should be (showing off all that heat and muscle and power!). I can't wait to really put it through its paces. I hope Dave (keitel) is finally able to enjoy his, too.

PS breezy_2, I really appreciate your posts and advice. One, they are always very reassuring, and two, you often come across as a voice of reason--very calmly and objectively posting your own experiences or opinions. Much appreciated--Thanks!

okay, I've got a 60" all gas range, its 7 years old now and has run like a champ, other than having to have windows in the doors adjusted because they came apart, and my double griddle having thermostat issues when brand new. Now, I've got this weird smell coming out of the burners and both ovens when they are being used. Its been going on for about three days. It smells like turpentine being burned. I called the gas company to see if they were doing anything and they said no, it may be a manufacturer thing. It works fine, it just smells like something is burning no matter what I am using, burners, oven or broiler. Any ideas or suggestions? My stove is clean so its not leftovers burning and if it were, it wouldn't smell chemical-like.

I'd suggest that it's burning plastic around a wire somewhere. I wouldn't use the oven until you or a service tech hunts down the source. If it's the same smell that I had (and I suspect it is), you don't want to live with any longer than you have to.

I wanted to add my experience. My Wolf Range worked for 2 weeks like a dream and then started giving off toxic fumes - really filled my whole house. It was awful. The technician came and they couldn't fix it. I was told to run the broiler for 7 hours!!! They have just replaced the unit but I am really disappointed. It definitely smelt like burning plastic around a wire.