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pitcom

Problems with new Bluestar 36" Precious Metals

pitcom
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

Greetings,

So we went ahead and ordered a precious metals 36" propane model in February. It finally just came in and was delivered last friday. As soon as we started the oven, we could see that the french doors did not seal properly. Condensation started building up heavily on our cabinets. You could even see steam coming out from all sides of the french doors, The problem became even worse when the convection fan was turned on. Needless to say we did not use the oven and called the company we purchased it from. The told us they had to call a bluestar repair company and schedule a service call.

So the tech came today, and I turned on the oven to show them the steam. After 10 minutes of running, the front glass door exploded. The entire kitchen smelled horrible and filled the house with smoke. Bluestar is telling the service tech that the condensation is because of the propane. The sides of the french doors and the apron are so hot, they were over 400 degrees. The faces of my cabinets were 180 degrees. Has anyone had any issues like this? The service tech who came had no knowledge of this unit, and quite frankly was obviously a person who is just a parts changer.

Another issue i noticed is that the burners stay on the high setting until you turn the knob completely to "low". At that point you can adjust the flame level but only by keeping the knob within a 1/2" inch rotation. Is this how bluestar ovens typically are? I am use to traditional ovens where the flame reacts immediately to you turning the knob.

Thanks for any help.

Comments (20)

  • Jakvis
    9 years ago
    It seems like your LP range has Natural Gas orifices and/or hasn't been fully adjusted for LP gas.
  • pitcom
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    So far this has not been a great experience with our bluestar oven. Still nothing has been resolved and we still do not have a new door. We were told 2 weeks for the new door to be made. Well its been 3 weeks and it is not even ready yet. After tons of phone calls and dealing with a horrible service company (Mr. Appliance of Chadds Ford Pa) we finally had a service tech come to our house today, 20 days after the door shattered. During my contact with Bluestar, I asked that the repair company send a different tech. Guess what? They sent the same technician who came as the first time. As soon as he walked into my house he asked, "Did anyone ever figure out what was wrong with the range"? It was at that point I told him No and explained that's why his service company was at my house. He looked very confused. The tech then took his tool bag, and went back to his truck. Needless to say, no service was done on the unit. Honestly, the service company has an F rating although unaccredited with the BBB, and a majority 1 star reviews on every review site. I cannot believe being this close to the Bluestar factory, that they do not have a better service company repping them. Today I told Bluestar that we have had about enough and are deciding on returning the stove and purchasing another brand. Bluestar informed us that they will be sending representatives from their repair division to look out our range.

    The one positive through this is the rep from Bluestar that we have been working with. He has been very courteous and has made sure to stay in contact with us so the issue gets resolved.


  • PRO
    Joe Henderson
    8 years ago

    What color are the flames from the top burners? Do you have any carbon build up on your pans after cooking on the top burners?

  • pitcom
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Greetings Joe. The flames had very orange large tips, especially on the 22k burners. And yes, there was soot build up on the bottom of the pans. I adjusted the shutter and increased airflow on the burners and they ignite much better now. The flames are blue and the carbon build up has stopped.

  • PRO
    Joe Henderson
    8 years ago

    It sounds very much to me like you got a natural gas range initially. That may have caused the oven problem from the get go because of it.

  • pitcom
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I am writing an update to our never ending saga with Bluestar. They came out to take a look at our oven. They were very nice people who came from the factory. They brought and installed 2 new copper doors. They inspected the oven and made air adjustments where needed. They took out the oven burner plate and found rivets missing. They also found the insulation for the toe kick was missing. They replaced the frayed door gasket. We fired up the oven and there is a ton of condensation forming between the glass windows of the doors. Condensation is also forming on the front of the doors, you can literally wipe beads of moisture off the front doors with your hands. Condensation is still forming up the entire length of our cabinets. You could actually see smoke (from production oils) weeping out from the sides of the doors.

    The copper doors are a completely different color than the doors that originally came with the oven. The new doors actually look copper while our old ones looked more like a golden sand color. So consequently now the doors do not match the toe kick on our oven. Not only that, but the paint job on the doors is absolutely pathetic. There is no uniformity to the coloring. Some areas have circular blobs of very dense copper color while other areas look like paint was barely sprayed. You can also see tool marks on the corners of the doors where the metal was rounded. A piece of paint the size of your pinky fingernail peeled off one of the doors when we opened them. Then we ran into another problem with the new doors. Apparently, the wrong door hinge was used on one of the doors and after installation, our drip tray would not slide back into the oven. With bluestars consent, I had to use a cutting wheel on an angle grinder to remove 1" of the hinge rod so the drip tray could be put back into the position.

    I mean seriously, for the amount of money these things cost, the quality control at bluestar is a complete joke. You know we were really disappointed in the copper color of the stove when it was originally delivered. It looked nothing like the pictures online or like a floor model we saw on display. I do not understand how the new set of doors came looking like copper. Where is the quality control? Who checks this stuff out before the install it and ship it out? How are rivets and insulation missing on a 7k range? We talked to bluestar today and they are shipping out insulation for the toe kick and a new oven plate. They want us to install the insulation and see if that stops the condensation for building up on the front doors and up the length of our cabinets. We are really fed up with bluestar. The only reason this thing is still in our home is because we have a copper sink and copper range hood that we had installed with this stove in mind when we designed the kitchen. Like I said, the person working with us is very nice and has been staying in contact frequently. But being nice sure is not getting our range working properly, and in the condition it should have been when first delivered.

  • homechef59
    8 years ago

    Pitcom,

    I don't understand something from your posts. Did you order a copper clad door? Or, did you order a copper colored paint? I don't understand how you could get paint blobs on a copper surface. If it's real copper, there shouldn't be any paint. If you tried to match the copper in your kitchen with a similar color paint, that would explain the bad paint job. And, if the paint is all messed up, why did you accept the replacement door? That was you opportunity to send the door back, unless it's a temporary door.

    I have a BS range top and it's divine. I'm sorry you are having issues.

  • pitcom
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Homechef59,

    The precious metal ovens do not contain the actual metal they were named after. At least the copper one is not real copper. It is just a painted material over the stainless steel. Perhaps blobs was not a good description. Think of an item that has been airbrushed. Some areas were sprayed more heavily than others which gives the paint job a blotchy appearance. I don't know their process for painting, but I would compare it to airbrushing.

    I accepted the replacement doors because our original door had shattered. At that point any door was better than one with broken glass. And to be honest with you, I did not pay much attention to them until the next day. Bluestar came to my home in the early afternoon and the minute they wrapped up I had to leave for the night for work. It wasn't until later that we pushed the oven back into position and tested everything out.

    Bluestar actually contacted us yesterday and they are building us a new oven. Originally we were informed it would take about 12 weeks, but we were contacted again later in the day and were told they are going to try to have it done within 3-4weeks. Once again everyone we spoke to was very nice and apologetic about the problems.


  • User
    8 years ago

    Nice that you're being taken care of by BS after all the problems....

  • Rossana Lourdes
    8 years ago

    how did this turn out?

  • Rossana Lourdes
    8 years ago

    im looking into a blue star 36 in, i already have discarded wolf and viking and thermador because of the bad ratings... please tell me this is worth the money


  • southernel
    7 years ago

    After almost 20 years in the same home, my husband and I are preparing to renovate 1/3 of it, primarily the kitchen. Besides countertops and cabinets , the gas range will be my largest expense. After extensive research, I have eliminated the Wolf, Miele, Thermador, etc. I am leaning strongly towards the BlueStar Precious Metals in SS w/ French Doors (in natural gas).The above post strikes fear in me! Can anyone provide more commentary on that design?

  • Eric Sutton
    7 years ago

    We had a BS 36" NG installed back in 09. We had two or three warranty parts upgrades within the first year. These up grades were done after complaining about a foul smell coming from the oven when in use. BS said the smell would leave after a few uses of the oven The smell was from residue from construction. It took over a year for it to leave. We also suffered from the door blowing open every time we we turn it on and the igniter light the gas. his issue was never resolved.

    To day I called about replacing he thermostat and convection fan as both had failed. The tech said he was replacing the oven free of charge but when asked if there was a issue with the model said no. Nor did he state that the oven should not be used.

  • Jonathan Sochacki
    6 years ago

    Yesterday we had to call FD and NICOR out due to our 4 month old Blue Star RCS 36" NG explode! My wife turned the oven on to 400 degrees to cook some veggies and a few seconds later BOOM! I wouldn't of believed her if I wasn't there to see it myself. The stove lifted off the ground and the oven door blew open with a fire ball shooting out from it. I immediately shut off the oven and called FD and NICOR. Thank God no one was hurt and no damage was done to my newly remodeled first floor. Waiting to hear from Blue Star since this happened on Sunday and they are not open...

  • M
    6 years ago

    I remember reading a long time ago (5+ years?) that there were a small number of Bluestar ovens that had trouble with the broiler element not igniting properly. And that would result in minor "explosions". But nothing anywhere close to what you are describing. As far as I recall, it was ultimately an easy adjustment that made sure ignition happened more reliably, and happened before a lot of gas had been blown into the oven cavity.

    What you are describing sounds very unusual. If this was a recurring problem, I am sure it would be all over this forum. But that of course doesn't excuse that it happened in the first place.

    I am curious to hear what the post-mortem diagnosis will be. Please post a follow-up, when you know. While gas is potentially quite dangerous, gas appliances are actually really stupid and basic devices. And making gas powered appliances safe is generally a well-understood engineering problem.

    Glad to hear that nobody was injured and other than a ruined range, there was no other property damage.

    Maybe, if Bluestar is sufficiently embarrassed, you can negotiate an upgrade to an RNB model? That shouldn't actually cost them much more as the bill-of-material is quite comparable for both units.

  • Jackie Lin
    6 years ago

    Wow, "The stove lifted off the ground and the oven door blew open with a fire ball shooting out from it" that's too scary! Please update with us what you find out from Blue Star.

  • Jonathan Sochacki
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I called the business that I purchased the oven from, yesterday, they were very apologetic and got right in my problem. I had a Blue Star costumer service employee call me a few minutes later after I got off the phone. They also were understanding and told me they will get to the cause of the incident. Blue Star is sending out a repair company they use to see what caused this to happen. Wife doesn't even want a repair guy out here, she wants a new stove. Just for the simple fact of the unknowns what other damage happened when it exploded. I hope this gets resolved soon, 3 teenage kids without a working stove/oven with parties and holidays at the house is not in our plan!

  • pitcom
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    I haven't been impressed with our oven. The stove is 50-70 degrees over what you set it for. It has horrible temperature swings. Without the use of a good thermometer, its hard to get consistent baking. One burner, no matter what we've tried, has extremely delayed ignition , if a pot is on the ensuing fireball is enough to burn your eyebrows off.

  • M
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The delayed ignition for the stove-top burners is an easy adjustment. In the vast majority of cases, you simply need to bend the spark igniter back into the proper position. If your range is still under warranty, I would have service technician do it.

    While not difficult per se, there is a small chance that you could crack the ceramic insulator in the process. Better have somebody else be responsible, if that happens. If it no longer is under warranty, get some locking pliers, grip the top part of the igniter and very gently move it into a better position. This might require some trial and error, but if the burner doesn't ignite within three clicks, you know that you are not done yet.

    Oh, and if you do break the igniter, don't panic. They are cheap and if you ask nicely,, your dealer (or Bluestar) might just give you a handful of them for free. The biggest pain is unscrewing them from the burner head, if the stove has already been in use for a couple of years. The screw tends to seize up over time (and if it isn't firmly fastened, the igniter won't click at all; so do make sure it has a solid electric connection).

    Can't really tell you much about the temperature swings for the oven. I don't see those with my oven, and the installer did actually verify the oven's performance with a thermometer. My only comment would be that running the convection fan is likely to reduce uneven temperatures.

    But the 50-70 incorrect top temperature is easily adjustable. Pull off the oven's control nob. In the center of the axle, you'll find a tiny screw. Turn it adjust the setpoint for the thermostat. Again, this is something the installer really should have verified for you. And once it is set, it shouldn't really need additional adjustments.