Kitchen Gas Appliances - Any thoughts on Thermador

Hi all;

Any opinions on Thermador? I like the styling, but have heard negative repair stories. Here is the specific range I am considering the http://www.thermador.com/product.cfm?product_id=205
PD364GEBS

Your opinions are appreciated.

Hello gianni and Welcome to my Gas Appliances topic.

Good product choice, in my opinion. What you heard is exactly that...opinions from others. The brand and the product are about equal to any others in that price range and bracket. Nothing more and nothing less.

Regardless of your personal choice, each product has to be selected by your individual selection process, needs and price range.

Within every price range there are several choices and selections, etc. Within each of these groups, each manufacturer offers features, quality, warranty and service claims they determine will sell their product.

In my personal option, there isn't any one product better than the other. They all perform equally well and all require parts and service sometime during the products life expectancy and ownership. Select the one of your choice, install it, use it and maintain it well.

Regards & Good Luck.
Gas Appliances Forum Moderator.
Energy Conservation Consultant & Natural Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technician.

Alway's consider the warranties and future service needs for any major appliances you're considering to purchase. Price isn't always the best guide for long term appliance investments.

We have a Thermador range, I don't have the model # however it is about 5 years old. It has the pop up vent system. We have no problems.

Dear Gianni,

I expect that this posting will be useful to you as well as others. I have the model GGCV-30 Cooktop with ECV-30 rear venting exhaust system. I believe this is called a "downdraft" exhaust. When I purchased the house in 1997 these units were already installed about eight years prior.

I have always had trouble with the run-on nuisance sparking. This commonly reported problem was, in fact, what brought me to this website and forum in the first place.

My grievance is that Thermador offered no support on this at all. They have an 800 number and friendly people to take calls but they won't answer any questions about how to fix it and, actually, they deny that this is a common complaint. They will not let me speak to a technician though I asked for this explicitely. They insist that I call one of their certified repairmen. Do not buy a sparker with the "auto-on" feature. I have not had any other problems with the product.

On another occasion they were, yes were, very helpful faxing a diagram and instructions on how to find, remove and replace the grease filter. I suppose that changing a filter is normal maintenance while fixing the sparker might be a liability issue. Nonetheless, I will not buy from them again.

Some more points on the design of the system would pertain to all vendors:

1. The control knobs are on the top. They get very dirty and are hard to clean.
2. The downdraft exhaust vents to the rear and down rather than venting from above. This does not prevent grease from accumulating under the cabinet above the stove.
3. The venting air passes over the rear burners, distorts the flame and cools your pot while you're trying to cook in it!