Southbend gas stoves and ovens

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. No one hurt

   Made Feb 4, 2012 · , sent to the company Feb 13, 2012 · , published by CPSC Feb 28, 2012

   The product, in the report: Gas range

   Consumer Product Safety Commission

   Report on [REDACTED]’s stove, filed 2.4.12

   Re: Southbend “Ultimate Range” 4601DD-2GR (serial no. 11G295080), purchased by the [REDACTED] ([REDACTED]) in July 2011

   It is virtually impossible to determine whether all six pilot lights under the heavy griddle have been lit by the electronic igniters. There are not sufficient sighting ports on the front panel of the range for determining whether the pilot lights have been lit. Two of the three ports that are included in the front panel have stainless-steel plates behind them blocking the sight line. These plates were obviously installed to block any unusually large flame spread from moving through the port and toward the operator’s face.

   There’s something of a Catch-22 in this range design. The designers included ports in the front panel so the operator could verify that the pilot lights are lit. But then this presented a problem with any dangerous flame spread or surge. Plates were then added—just as they were decades ago for water heaters—to stop any large (and dangerous) flame surge from reaching the operator. The addition of anti-flame-surge plates, which are difficult to remove, makes it impossible for the operator to see all the pilot lights. In the case of the water heater, at least up till recently, the operator could remove and reinstall the anti-flame-surge plate.

   Further, the electronic igniters on this model are reliably temperamental. Sometimes they light the pilot gas, and sometimes they don’t. We’ve had service technicians, from TWC in Atlanta, out twice to work on the igniters of this stove, which is under warranty by Southbend until July 2012. Two days after a visit from a technician we found that some of the igniters were not working.

   The TWC technicians have confirmed five concerns which I initially raised with Southbend upon my early, thorough examination of the stove:

   1. The igniters are inconsistent in operation. Pushing the igniter button on the stove front doesn’t ensure that the pilot lights under the griddle are fired. The probability of their being fired is not very high, because the igniter electrodes are sensitive to exact alignment with the flow of gas from the pilot light hole in the pilot manifold. Heating and cooling cycles surely affect this alignment in negative way.

   2. Notwithstanding what the instruction manual says about lifting the griddle to verify that the pilot lights are lit, the grill is too heavy and too unwieldy to lift. It weighs over 60 pounds and there are no hand-holes in it. It is not possible for one person to lift it to verify that the pilot lights, underneath, are lit. It would take two people to lift the griddle, and even this would be dangerous.

   3. When all six pilots are lit—after two people have removed the griddle, confirmed that the pilots are lit, and then replaced the griddle—the sighting ports in the front panel allow a clear visual check of only two of the pilots. One other pilot can barely be seen. The other three cannot be seen at all.

   4. Two of the pilot light tubes can easily be reached with a long match in the event the igniters are known to be in total failure. One pilot can be reached with much difficulty. Three pilots cannot be reached at all. They are blocked by the anti-flame-surge plates.

   5. Unlit pilot lights under the griddle—when the main gas valve on the stove is open, allowing gas flow to all pilot light tubes—allow for a dangerous condition: the buildup of raw gas.

   On behalf of the [REDACTED], I’ve talked with Southbend Customer Service and with Southbend Technical Support. From these two departments I have received nothing helpful on the five concerns. There is uncertainty at Southbend on why there are not clear sight lines to all six pilots under the griddle. I have written to the president of Southbend about this matter. The company has not provided a satisfactory answer to my questions. The VP of Engineering told me last September that we could remove the plates blocking the sight lines. A design engineer with the company had said, weeks earlier, that we must not remove these plates. The Atlanta company that sold us the stove, Atlanta Fixtures, has not been helpful.

   Model

   4601DD-2GR

   Serial number

   11G295080

   Bought from

   Atlanta Fixtures

   Bought

   Jan 2, 2012, about then

   Where

   Atlanta, Georgia: Other

   Who was involved

   Unspecified

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Southbend, made or sold by SOUTHBEND, A MIDDLEBY CORPORATION COMPANY

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources