Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

Awesome repair tip on hinge problems in Bluestar ranges from Appliantological Brother Rooster...

1.5 year old Bluestar freestanding gas range door would not close completely[attachment=6793:Bluestar01.jpg]. This allowed heat to escape, resulting in uneven cooking temps and extremely hot knobs. (not talking about my wife!)

The Chief of Staff insisted the installer had repaired it with a "long skinny screwdriver" without removing the door.  
Well, After many beers and on-line researching sessions, I decided a few things!  

1. Bluestar definitely has a door "problem"
2. I didn't want to pay for a new door
3. We live in the sticks
4. The damn thing should work!  

So, I did the only thing any red-blooded American member of the Samurai Appliantology Academy would do,
decided to disassemble the door and finger it out.  

What I discovered, is Bluestar has a design flaw in the interior of it's doors (at least on 2010 models).  

The hinge assy spring rods:



(guessing at nomenclature, don't have a manual) float freely within the door.  However, as you can see:



when closing, at full extension the ends of the bars contact the sheet metal heat shield.  I flexed the heat shield out of the way, which allowed:



the springs to extend fully, which allowed the hinge cam rollers:



to complete their throw, thereby closing the door firmly:


.

I removed the door by releasing the receivers on each hinge:



then pulling the door from the oven.  I then removed the Door Cover by removing all retaining screws (10).  
After placing the door on a smooth covered surface ("Don't scratch the damn paint", she said with vigor!),
I used a Dremel with hardened cutting wheel to cut an approximate 1/4" incision:



on the heat shield on both sides ( Cut with the blade rotating in a direction which doesn't throw debris into the fireproof mat material underneath the sheet metal heat shield )

Then I reinstalled the door minus cover (note: the door without the weight of the installed cover will snap closed, requires more attention and less beer to perform):




Opening the door slightly allowed me to compress the springs enough to attach a vise grip:



to the tabs created by the cuts and bend them outwards slightly at approx 25deg angle:



This angle allowed enough clearance between the heat shield and the back of the door cover, and also formed a ramp upon which the spring rods ride closed.

I then removed the door, attached the cover and reinstalled the door.

Worked perfectly, door closed completely, wife happy (the most important result ), no more hot  knobs!  I also think the first repairman knew the problem and used a long skinny screwdriver to free the guide ends.  Of course, the next time we opened the door they flexed out and came to rest on the fire shield.  I think maybe he was expecting another service call???  At any rate, after much searching on the web, there are a ton of complaints about Bluestar doors.  Hope they find us here!  Cheers!

Source: Bluestar Range RCS30 Door Hinge Repair/Fix

Oven Temperature Calibration Method (from Whirlpool):

If a consumer complaints about poor baking performances, the first steps to take would be to
make sure the oven temps are calibrated correctly; follow the four coming steps to properly
calibrate the oven:

1. Insert the bulb or (thermocouple) from your thermometer making sure to clip it to the oven
temperature sensor for best result.

2. Turn on the oven and set to 300*F, when you first turn on the oven it will do a 6 minute
pre-heat, once the pre-heat is completed the oven should be at around 260*F. The oven
will continue to heat until the set temperature is reached.

3. Once the set temp is reached the control will shutt off the heating element, after the
heating element shuts off the oven temp will continue to rise for a bit longer. At this time
you need to record the highest temperature in the oven (for this we will use 315*F), once
the oven temps reaches it max it will start to climb down. It will continue to climb down to
more or less 285*F, you need to record this temp as well.

4. At this time you should have two sets of temps (315*F and 285*F), you need to let the
oven cycle 2 more times and record all of the temps to which you should have 6 different
numbers at the end of all cycles.

For example
Off……315*F
On……285*F
Off……310*F
On……295*F
Off……310*F
On……295*F

After obtaining all of the cycled temps you need to add them all up and dived them by 6.

Source: Kenmore Oven Cycling Temps

This is a fault code that never made it to the tech sheet.  Faulty Touch Pad is the cure. I have it written in pen on my fault sheet so it has to be correct!!

FYI for our staff, that clock is in the wall oven line as well.  Same thing will apply to any unit that uses that ATM style control. It is not in any publication.

Buy Jenn-Air range parts with a 365-day return policy here ==> http://www.repaircli...tove-Oven-Parts

Source: jenn air downdraft range error codes EE-214 M-214

Example model number:  GCK100OP01

Grand Master Reg has an uncanny way of sniffing this these things out.  Here're some goodies on Premier ranges...

all of the steps
http://www.premierra...n-tutorials.php

Step 7-Converting  (and adjustment of) Your Premier Range Oven Pilot



Step 8-Converting (adjustment of) Your Premier Range Oven Thermostat

Source: Premier GCK1000P01 oven pilot too small