New KitchenAid range, convection modes not working correctly

5 years ago

I just bought a KitchenAid 36inch gas convection range, the KFGC506JSS. I think we are having some issues with it. First of all, when in the Convection settings (Convection Bake and Convectio Roast), I cannot hear a fan going. It sounds the same whether it is in normal Bake (non convection) or Convection Bake. And I don't think the food is cooking the way it did in my old convection oven. Is there a way to know for sure if the convection is working?

More seriously, the Convection Roast setting is supposed to use the broiler, but the broiler will not turn on in that setting. The broiler does turn on in the Broil setting, but not in Convection Roast. Chicken drumsticks cooked in the Convection Roast setting at 400 were barely cooked after 45 minutes and were definitely not browned. In my old convection oven, they would have been practically incinerated at that point. I would expect the Convection Roast setting to brown the skin on chicken, no?

I suppose I should call Kitchenaid since the stove is only a week old. I am just wondering if there is some troubleshooting I should try first, and if there is some objective way to tell if the convection fan is on.

Thanks

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Comments (7)

darbuka
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
First…have you read the instructions that come with the range? Just because you had a convection oven before, doesn't mean this one operates the same way.

If you have…It’s new. It’s under warranty. Call the store you bought it from, or call KitchenAid. Don’t go messing around beforehand, lest you void the warranty.
techgirlny
Original Author
5 years ago
Trust me, I have read the manual. And yes, I am going to call them. I am not planning to open up the thing myself.

But I wanted to know if there is some basic troubleshooting or testing to do first, so when I get the repaircritter on the phone, if he or she says "Have you tried this?", I can say "yep". I also was hoping someone else has this range and can tell me if there is a way to know if the convection is working.

The people at the store are very nice, but their installer clearly had no idea how to work the stove himself, so I don't think I would call them. I have heard not so great things about Kitchenaid service people just giving up and saying they don't know, so I was hoping I could learn enough about common issues to at least have some suggestions. I also have had issues with the service people on my last range (a Wolf) assuring me that the thing was working right when it clearly wasn't, so I wanted to get some sense of expected behavior of this range so I know whether the serviceperson is right or wrong.
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dadoes
5 years ago
The fan turns off when the oven door is opened but there's no visual evidence of the fan running inside the housing at back of the oven cavity when the door is closed? Is there a door switch plunger visible that you can manually depress to briefly run it with the door open?
techgirlny
Original Author
5 years ago
The fan is supposed to turn off when the door is opened, according to the manual. But when the door is closed, I cannot hear a fan. It sounds the same if the door is open or closed, and it sounds the same when the oven is on non-convection bake as it does on convection bake. I don't know what visual evidence would look like through the oven door window. If I can make it run with the door open, what would I see?
dadoes
5 years ago
Motion of a fan blade behind the slots of the fan housing. Aiming a flashlight at it through the door window may help with the visibility. Interestingly, parts diagrams show an electric element around the fan for some direct heating of the convection airflow along with the gas bake and broil burners. The unit takes a 120v electric connection so that electric element can't be more than 1,500 watts (like maximum of a portable space heater), probably is 900 to 1,200 watts. I don't have direct experience with gas ovens but my understanding is that some (most?) gas convection ovens don't run the convection fan when the gas burners are on to avoid blowing out the flame.
User
5 years ago
This doesn't sound good. Yours is the same model that we are getting.
Dbrewski
2 years ago
I know this is an old post, but we are having the same issue with ours, along with a few other issues (oven not getting to temp). Did you grt a resolution from Kitchenaid?