Commercial ovens to AVOID

[Juan Madera]

We are looking to replace two double ovens.

Presently have Vulcans that are 20+ years old. Any feed back on which to avoid or which ones to pick based on service history?

[VanMan812]

Are these stacked convection ovens? Gas or electric?

If we’re talking stacked convection ovens you can’t get much better than a Blodgett DFG. You can’t get much worse than an Imperial. Or a Lang, those are also junk.


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[Juan Madera]

Stacked.... Gas. And thanks!

[BadBozo2315]

Blodgett DFG's for sure, but only with analog controls.

[VanMan812]

Blodgett DFG's for sure, but only with analog controls.

Yes, very good point. And that goes for every brand oven. Hell, that goes for all kitchen equipment!!


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[Olivero]

The VC44GD Vulcan oven is awesome in my opinion, rarely has problems, worst I ever had over the last 5 years and they are on all day (I have 2 sets of stacked gas) is the igniter, the ignition cable and the on/off/cool switch for the unit.

I know blodgett and Vulcan seem like brothers when you put em next to eachother but that style of oven is easy to work on. You can even pull the fan motor off and replace bearings in it.

[SandShark]

No one likes Garland?

[VanMan812]

They aren’t bad IMO. When they were made in Freeland, PA they were high end, robust pieces of equipment. Now that they’re made in Canada, or is it Mexico, the quality just isn’t what it used to be. We can thank Welbilt for that b


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[SandShark]

Mine are all older models, so I'm not familiar with the newer versions. Mine are fairly trouble-free, since they're analog. About the only issues I have are dirty flame sensors.

[EjBreeze]

My suggestion would be a Montague 2-115 A(G) . They are going to cost you but I think they are the best ones on the market today.

[SandShark]

My suggestion would be a Montague 2-115 A(G) . They are going to cost you but I think they are the best ones on the market today.

I have three digital stacked Montague gas convention ovens installed in 1999, for a total of 6 ovens. One of the boards took a dump about 4 years ago. No replacements, only analog conversion kits at $900 a pop. I stopped liking them at that time.

[EjBreeze]

The Montague 2-115 A(G) has no PC boards unlike a Blodgett DFG 100, or Hobart, Wolf or Vulcan Convection oven which all use S/S temp controls and ignition. BTW which are the same oven just with a different sticker. The 2-115 A(G) uses just the old fashion FDO Thermostat and a Baso safety valve. The most used and reliable thermostat and pilot safety in history.

[VanMan812]

Blodgett is owned by the Middleby group while Hobart, Vulcan and Wolf are all owned by ITW. So they aren’t the same ovens with different stickers.

I forgot about Montague products. They certainly make a quality oven. And broiler too.

Are you saying Blodgett uses strictly solid state controls? If that’s true then that was foolish of them. At least give the customer an option.


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[EjBreeze]

Yes Blodgett isn't in that group of three I mentioned. The old Blodgett DFG's where a great oven as with the older wolf ovens. These were 30-40 year ovens. And in some schools where sanitation is a priority they are still strong. The newer ones in my opinion are junk. And I fix them everyday and happily so. With all the new gadgets and miles of wiring inside these ovens their claim to fame is efficiency. I can guarantee you the service factor paid far outways the utility costs.

[BadBozo2315]

> Are you saying Blodgett uses strictly solid state controls?

Blodgetts were (are?) available with either a digital display temp/timer control board, which are really, really bad, or analog controls with separate temperature board, and separate electromechanical timers.

In the analog system, it's trivial to troubleshoot the individual, cheap, boards and timers. And those are mostly bulletproof if the cooling air isn't drawn from a nearby fryer.

Analog parts were cheap enough to carry on every truck, while the digital control was too expensive to carry. And, in my experience, half the time the replacement digital control was borked out of the box.

[BadBozo2315]

I always hated the Vulcan and Montague door switch positioning at the top. Just guarenteed to burn up and break. And they pass the full motor current through the lever switch.

Then again, some of the smaller Blodgett ovens used by Bojangles etc, have an *open* relay in the control cabinet to control the motor, right in front of the cooling fan that pulls flour dust into said cabinet from the coating station right next to the oven. You open up the cabinet ad it's nothing but snow.

[ECtofix]

Juan, I'm on the Blodgett DFG series bandwagon too. Their oven design is tried and true for many years. BY FAR the simplest to access for repairs in the controls section.

As others have stated - stay away from fancy controls. The analog controls previously alluded to is a straight-forward solid state board with a potentiometer (for temp adjustment) and an electronic temp sensor. THAT is the one you want to advise them getting. I believe Blodgett calls it their SOLID STATE INFINITE CONTROLS panel. Avoid the versions with a digital timer.

Also avoid any of Blodgett's fancier controls, such as:

• INTELLIHOLD, INTELLIPLUS and INTELLITOUCH CONTROLS
• CH PRO 3
• SMARTOUCH CONTROLS

Others here referred to digital controls. To ME, they're referring to anything having a digital display and/or touch pad (membrane switch) types of user-interface. Everything I said earlier follows those suggestions as the things to avoid.

Whenever I've approached Blodgett DFG ovens for repairs, I've always appreciated their design for my not having to rearrange the kitchen on the right side of the oven to gain access behind the control panel - since it's all readily accessible simply by removing a quarter panel from the front. The controls section slides out too, making it easier to replace parts behind the control panel.

[BadBozo2315]

Anyone here remember the old Blodget (I think) oven that used a glass vacuum tube delay device to perform the safety function along with a carborundum HSI? At one point the tube was like $300 and made of unobtanium. Man, am I old or what!

[ECtofix]

Anyone here remember the old Blodget (I think) oven that used a glass vacuum tube delay device to perform the safety function along with a carborundum HSI? At one point the tube was like $300 and made of unobtanium. Man, am I old or what!

I saw ONE at a school.
It wasn't the problem, but made me wonder how it worked and whether it could be tested in a tube tester that grocery stores used to have back in the '60s.

[Juan Madera]

Juan, I'm on the Blodgett DFG series bandwagon too. Their oven design is tried and true for many years. BY FAR the simplest to access for repairs in the controls section.

As others have stated - stay away from fancy controls. The analog controls previously alluded to is a straight-forward solid state board with a potentiometer (for temp adjustment) and an electronic temp sensor. THAT is the one you want to advise them getting. I believe Blodgett calls it their SOLID STATE INFINITE CONTROLS panel. Avoid the versions with a digital timer.

Also avoid any of Blodgett's fancier controls, such as:

• INTELLIHOLD, INTELLIPLUS and INTELLITOUCH CONTROLS
• CH PRO 3
• SMARTOUCH CONTROLS

Others here referred to digital controls. To ME, they're referring to anything having a digital display and/or touch pad (membrane switch) types of user-interface. Everything I said earlier follows those suggestions as the things to avoid.

Whenever I've approached Blodgett DFG ovens for repairs, I've always appreciated their design for my not having to rearrange the kitchen on the right side of the oven to gain access behind the control panel - since it's all readily accessible simply by removing a quarter panel from the front. The controls section slides out too, making it easier to replace parts behind the control panel.