DCS Disasters

14 years ago

Since people are asking about experiences with DCS stoves, I guess I should post about my own. I've had my 36" range for five years or so, and have had no end of problems, When it works, it works very well---outstanding simmer, good high power, reasonably easy to clean, good and large oven, and a very nice grill, which I use all the time. But there have been countless repairs---I'm really glad I got an extended warranty, or I would be out over $1,000 by now.

Things that have had to be replaced (some are typical problems for all gas stoves some not):

1. ignitors: the ceramic can crack, causing a poor or nonexistent spark.

2. convection fan: stopped working, had to be replaced.

3. broiler ignition coil: stopped working, had to be replaced, along with the control.

4. central electronic control unit (the one that is responsible for reigniting a burner that blows out)

5. The most recent problem was the most disturbing. The rear left ignitor was unreliable, and the left front simmer was acting up---the flame would blow itself out and reignite. I was sure this was an easy problem to fix, and

would just require cleaning the orifice, but I didn't have a long and fine enough wire to do it. Since cleaning the rear ignitor with acetone wasn't doing a good enough job, and since I had the warrantee, I decided to call the professionals. Sure enough, fixing the simmer was easy with the right tools.

By the way, when this burner was disassembled, I could see why the simmer is so good: there is a completely separate orifice for the simmer burner, off the side. (However, the newer DCS's don't seem to have this anymore, as i saw when I went to look at the new models at the dealer). He had some trouble with the rear left ignitor however, and one thing he did was to take out the ignitor and clean the contact for the wire. But then when he reassembled it, the front left burner stopped igniting. He figured that the wire had come off that one when he worked on the rear one. Then he tried to disassemble the front left burner. This requires unscrewing a brass fitting which holds the burner assembly in place. It turned out to be impossible--it was frozen into the aluminum (?) fitting below it, which is held to the frame by a weak nut and some soft metal that easily breaks off. So the wrench simply turned the whole assembly, destroying the gas fittings and lots of other stuff. Since the whole top is sealed, there is not way to access the insides without removing the burner, which couldn't be removed because the fitting inside was frozen. The repairman says that this is not uncommon with the DCS stoves, because of this poor design. What he had to do was order a new burner assembly, then come back with a dremmel tool and cut the burner in half in order to get it out.

This guy and his partner seemed quite competent, and they were able to get replacement parts quickly. It didn't cost me anything, because of the extended warrantee, but I must say this is not what I was hoping for. Note that the front left burner is the one I use the most for wok cooking, and probably this contributed to the freezing up of the joint. (It is not a question of cleaning---the repairman said my stove and the burners were among the cleanest he had ever seen).

My dealer now carries Blue Star, which I probably would have bought when I made my original purchase if it had been available. I asked the repairman about them. He said they are much easier to repair than the DCS, but didn't seem so impressed. In fact he says the DCS has the best flame, when it works right. I took apart a Blue Star at the dealer, and wasn't so impressed with its build quality---machine screws where I think there should be bolts,

and the orifices are just holes in the metal, and I didn't see separate precision orifices and controls for simmer as in the DCS. The grill is a lot more primitive too. I'll probably hang on to the DCS until at least one more thing goes wrong with it.

Still, based on my experience, I can't really recommend a DCS any more, epecially since the newer ones don't seem to have the great simmer control.

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Comments (9)

weissman
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hi Arthur - I remember you - I think we bought our DCS's around the same time - mine is just about 7 years old. I probably haven't put mine through the paces that you have - for a few years for various reasons I wasn't cooking that much - but fortunately I haven't encountered the problems you've had. Early on, I did have all the ignitors replaced under warranty but that's been about it. It's still working like a champ.

By the way, early on I learned how to clean the simmer ring on the burner - you just remove it with a hex wrench and then use a paper clip to clean out the holes - a repairman showed me that early on and I've only had to do it a few times over the years.

Are you sure the newer DCS's don't have the separate simmer rings on each burner? That would be a real shame - the dual stacked burner is one the best features on the range and has been copied by other brands like the Wolf duel fuel range.
susan3733
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I, too, had more than my share of problems with my 36" DCS all gas 6-burner range, purchased back in 2003 or 2004 (can't recall exactly which year). We have since moved and sold the house with the range, but during the sale of our house, I had to disclose any big problems with the major appliances for the new buyer of the house, so unfortunately, I had to detail the litany of repair issues we had with the DCS range (many of which were similar to those listed above by Arthur). As my husband and I dug out our repair records and recounted the history of issues, even we were surprised at how time-consuming and costly it had been.

The people buying our house were quite concerned that they were being left with a lemon of a range and almost made us give them a credit for the cost of a new range before we closed on the sale of our house. Fortunately, we worked it out, but I have to say that I will never buy a DCS range again.

As Arthur says, when it worked, it worked great, but there were just too many times it didn't work as it was supposed to. The worst thing was that although it would frequently work okay when I was using a single burner or the oven, when I really needed many burners and the oven together, such as during a big dinner party or Thanksgiving or some other chaotic time, that was when it most often let me down.

There were many issues, but the most common problem was a constant clicking and no ignition on the burners, especially if the oven was on.

We cleaned the orifices, had the repair guy replace everthing, etc. To DCS's credit, they eventually sent a factory technician down from their shop (they are about 2 hrs away from us), and he re-plumbed all the gas lines, among other things. At that point, he even had a conference call with one of the engineers back at the shop to discuss several options and even they admitted that there were several design/engineering fixes that needed to be made. Although we were appreciative of the extra service, all of his work was for naught, as we continued to have numerous problems.

Now I have a GE Monogram 48" dual fuel and I have to say I love it. I thought it might be a step down in terms of "real" cooking power, but it definitely is not - it has super high heat as well as a fantastic simmer capability (probably copied from DCS since DCS made the GE Monogram ranges until a couple years ago when - I've been told - GE was dissatisfied with the DCS quality control and took manufacturing of their Monogram ranges back in house).

Anyway, that's my saga, and I am sorry to say that, if asked, I tend to steer people away from DCS based on my experience. I'm glad to hear that not everyone has the same problems, and I know some people on this forum, such as weissman, love their DCS. Just my two cents.
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saxmaan1
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A run of the mill range will outlast the upscale pro look ranges the majority of the time with less finicky issues. Your common range has been the workhorse of the kitchen.
susan3733
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, saxmaaan1, many of us agree, which is why many are trying to find the best yet most basic all-gas ranges, albeit with a better ability to sear and simmer than an old "common" range. DCS was supposed to offer just that - a simple, all gas range with a minimum of electronics, but with a little more power than the common range.
rickr_mc
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Arthur,

I'm having the same simmer problem you described with the simmer burner. Sounds like you watched the repair take place and might know which tools were needed to clean the orifice. Any chance you could share that information? I'd much rather buy the tools and do the fix myself.
weissman
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
rickr_mc: I mentioned in my post above how to clean the simmer ring. You lift off the burner cap and the regular burner ring and then you remove the simmer ring with a hex wrench and use a paper clip to clean out the holes.
Paul Krupa
last year
Came here because I did the same thing with the center burner that your repair man did to the other burner. The fitting seized on the aluminum or pewter fitting. I took the top off by removing all of the side screws that hold each burner assembly in place. It was still a little tricky as the ignitor connections were pretty short and I ended up unplugging them as well the 120 .vac coming into the base.

I had tried to remove the venturi using the 13/16" socket (sparkplug socket). It seemed to turn when I applied what seemed like too much force. But it was seized in the jet holder, the piece the venturi screws into. You have to remove the venturi to get to the ignitor and easy access to the simmer orifice.

The jet holder is connected to the gas via an aluminium tube and compressiion fitting, which is brass. When I got the top off I saw that instead of unscrewing the venturi from the jet holder I was rotating the joined assembly and twisting the aluminum tubing. It severed completely and I will need to replace that too.

I am contemplating how to proceed. I read the dremel tool removal technique and suspect that weill be necessary. But now that I have access to both sides I can try to apply more force, along with some penetrating oil. I may put some heat on it too. But I am not optimistic give the fragility of the cast aluminum/pewter jet holder.

I have four more burners that need some attention and I may revert to top oriented service now that I see how vulnerable these parts are.

When I get the venturi out I will be using teflon or antiseize to facilitate any future removals and purchases.

I love the stovetop and it works well. It came with the house and it appears to be about 25 years old. So warranty is not available.

I see parts available on line so i will be pricing them this afternoon in order to get this back together.
arthur_ogus
Original Author
last year
I recommennd calling Fisher-Paykall, who now owns DCS. They have a good service network, at least in our area. This is a problem best addressed by professionals. It is worth the money.

Good luck.
John Kuz
14 days ago
Hi dcs stove friends. similar problems here as well. I purchased simmer orifice assemblies and burner igniters. much lubing and waiting i got main venturies out. then i couldnt just lift assembly and black bases out to expose under side to replace faulty stuff. seized at this point again. u tube videos are a god send but they must be working on rarely used or newer equipment. also replaced broiler ignitor once. no luck. purchased another $180 cdn ignitor and soon to try again! parts ordered through F. pakel in New Zealand shipped from Toronto distributer. wtf?!

cannot in Sarnia Ont. Canada find anyone to work on gas stoves. John.

DCS Disasters

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