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* Note this is a work in progress and will be tuned and tightened *
This story starts in 2010, shortly after we bought 90 country acres and decided it was going to stay off-grid. Awesome, Now we have to figure how to live here.
Solar PV, no wind site, no hydro site. Decided on backup generator. Decided wood fired Masonry heater. Propane water heat, and of course the star of the kitchen, propane cookstove.
Since we are building the house from scratch and entertain and need to have a large kitchen, we can do ANYTHING we want. We looked at countertops, appliances and flooring. We came up with awesome ideas and found one glitch. Oven Ignition.
Now since "pilot lights" have been all but banned over the chorus of "efficiency" there are now only 2 choices on the market. Glow Bar or Spark ignition,
Glowbar is clever, using a metal/ceramic heater, with electric current to make it glow nearly white hot, and that hot surface lights the gas. Then power is cut in half to merely glow cherry red, and it uses the resistance of the hot metal to sense if the flame goes out.
Spark is also clever, using spark to ignite and then using the arc gap to also sense resistance in the conductive flame, and if it goes out, it re-sparks again, Much faster response, much less power.
But one is an energy hog - the glow bar takes 400 watts or so to light, and 200w to monitor, So while you are cooking that roast, you are also burning power. When you are off grid, that is huge factor, using electricity for heat.
So, the only option was to seek out ranges with spark ignition, and there are a few, Premier (made in Canada, runs of 9V battery) and some of the other major brands use spark too.
We spent weeks in showrooms with tape measures and notepads. Wolf, Thermador, Miele, Bosch, Viking, Bertazzoni, Blue Star, Vulcan - the whole works. This is our dream home to retire to, and we've both spent time in kitchens with crap appliances. Viking ! even made in USA. And the range top, with a wide sweeping continuous grate that securely holds large AND small pans without tipping over. And the pan for making gravy. Whoa - so good they can't even keep them in stock anywhere in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino. Finally found a warehouse in the Midwest with one in stock, and had it shipped to the new home. Easy Peazy.
The month after we move in, all is well, until, click click click . Silence The oven has stopped lighting after a month.
Now, I've worked in the electronics industry and know all about infant failures on gear, and have been through this for 35 years. Not a issue, that's what warranty is for,
Then we find out the local (30 miles away) dealer didn't sell it, so they wont service it. Factory has one tech, and he's busy and booked for 2 more months. Ah, the pleasures of living in the sticks. Clean air, clean water, no traffic, no luck.
And when the tech shows up, no part on the truck, so it's a "special order" cause they "just don't go bad". Time marches on.... The replacement part arrives, and is installed. Success, we can cook again. Three months eating just off the stove top gets boring. We fired the generator up once to "bake" in the microwave when family was over for Christmas. We have a wood oven we can heat things in, if you don't mind some gritty ashes in the food and all over the outside of the pot. But a gas oven - even better than sliced bread.
Till it stops working, again at holiday time. Local doesn't work on Viking. We've even tried taking the range on a road trip 150 miles to the big city - we don't have shop to work on stoves here. Now being grilled, where did you buy it from..... Who was the dealer..... installer .... yeah, like we shipped it in "gray market" from korea ? And that action broke the circuit board.
Listen, it has a Viking logo on the door, made, sold and bought in USA and we can't get it fixed ?? But we did save $30 in propane because it does not have a pilot light.
If I had parts, I'd rip out the electrics and replace the oven gear with the old thermo bulb that works for 40 years. But now even the parts are BANNED in California. So I have a great looking $5,000 range in my kitchen, and am spending $ eating out, with 2 of our lambs in the freezer that I can't even cook.
My wife is coming unglued. I'm ready to make a you tube of "Viking meets 12ga". Can't sell a broken $5K range, who would buy it, Repair parts, if I can figure out which of the plethora of boards it is, at $300 per board, and no guarantee I get a part that will last more than 3 years.
This story starts in 2010, shortly after we bought 90 country acres and decided it was going to stay off-grid. Awesome, Now we have to figure how to live here.
Solar PV, no wind site, no hydro site. Decided on backup generator. Decided wood fired Masonry heater. Propane water heat, and of course the star of the kitchen, propane cookstove.
Since we are building the house from scratch and entertain and need to have a large kitchen, we can do ANYTHING we want. We looked at countertops, appliances and flooring. We came up with awesome ideas and found one glitch. Oven Ignition.
Now since "pilot lights" have been all but banned over the chorus of "efficiency" there are now only 2 choices on the market. Glow Bar or Spark ignition,
Glowbar is clever, using a metal/ceramic heater, with electric current to make it glow nearly white hot, and that hot surface lights the gas. Then power is cut in half to merely glow cherry red, and it uses the resistance of the hot metal to sense if the flame goes out.
Spark is also clever, using spark to ignite and then using the arc gap to also sense resistance in the conductive flame, and if it goes out, it re-sparks again, Much faster response, much less power.
But one is an energy hog - the glow bar takes 400 watts or so to light, and 200w to monitor, So while you are cooking that roast, you are also burning power. When you are off grid, that is huge factor, using electricity for heat.
So, the only option was to seek out ranges with spark ignition, and there are a few, Premier (made in Canada, runs of 9V battery) and some of the other major brands use spark too.
We spent weeks in showrooms with tape measures and notepads. Wolf, Thermador, Miele, Bosch, Viking, Bertazzoni, Blue Star, Vulcan - the whole works. This is our dream home to retire to, and we've both spent time in kitchens with crap appliances. Viking ! even made in USA. And the range top, with a wide sweeping continuous grate that securely holds large AND small pans without tipping over. And the pan for making gravy. Whoa - so good they can't even keep them in stock anywhere in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino. Finally found a warehouse in the Midwest with one in stock, and had it shipped to the new home. Easy Peazy.
The month after we move in, all is well, until, click click click . Silence The oven has stopped lighting after a month.
Now, I've worked in the electronics industry and know all about infant failures on gear, and have been through this for 35 years. Not a issue, that's what warranty is for,
Then we find out the local (30 miles away) dealer didn't sell it, so they wont service it. Factory has one tech, and he's busy and booked for 2 more months. Ah, the pleasures of living in the sticks. Clean air, clean water, no traffic, no luck.
And when the tech shows up, no part on the truck, so it's a "special order" cause they "just don't go bad". Time marches on.... The replacement part arrives, and is installed. Success, we can cook again. Three months eating just off the stove top gets boring. We fired the generator up once to "bake" in the microwave when family was over for Christmas. We have a wood oven we can heat things in, if you don't mind some gritty ashes in the food and all over the outside of the pot. But a gas oven - even better than sliced bread.
Till it stops working, again at holiday time. Local doesn't work on Viking. We've even tried taking the range on a road trip 150 miles to the big city - we don't have shop to work on stoves here. Now being grilled, where did you buy it from..... Who was the dealer..... installer .... yeah, like we shipped it in "gray market" from korea ? And that action broke the circuit board.
Listen, it has a Viking logo on the door, made, sold and bought in USA and we can't get it fixed ?? But we did save $30 in propane because it does not have a pilot light.
If I had parts, I'd rip out the electrics and replace the oven gear with the old thermo bulb that works for 40 years. But now even the parts are BANNED in California. So I have a great looking $5,000 range in my kitchen, and am spending $ eating out, with 2 of our lambs in the freezer that I can't even cook.
My wife is coming unglued. I'm ready to make a you tube of "Viking meets 12ga". Can't sell a broken $5K range, who would buy it, Repair parts, if I can figure out which of the plethora of boards it is, at $300 per board, and no guarantee I get a part that will last more than 3 years.
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