[jim kent]

We have a Southbend commercial range at our church that is less than 2 yrs old. The ovens (2) do not hold temperature. They run cooler than set by control. The thermostat control knobs have been recalaberated and may have been replaced by a commercial repair company. They are out of warrentee. Problem still not fixed. Does any one have any experience with Southbend? Any comments appreciated.

Jim

[vanhammer]

Humm... not sure if my other post went through or not anyway...

Please see the link to the Southbend website on how to calibrate thermostats.

I recommend getting a qualified service man out there, but if you are going to attempt it yourself, the key is to follow the instructions line by line and make sure you give the unit adequate time between adjustments to stabalize temperature. Just my opinion. Good luck!

http://www.southbendnc.com/downloads...n%20rev 2.pdf

if the link doesnt work, just go to Southbend - Engineered to Perform, Built to Last then click on tech support then click "bulletins and tech tips" then "Resturant ranges" then the thermostat calibration link.

[jim kent]

Thanks for your reply. We did have a certified repairman and he did the recalibration, but he said that Southbend had changed hands a few years ago and they are not as good as their prievious rep. His opinion is that this problem is a result of poor design.

The problem still exists.

[vanhammer]

Jim,
Thats odd. I know these ranges pretty well and they have lots of power for their size, so I am sure they can get up to temperature if the calibration is correct. I wonder if someone working on the unit put in the wrong thermostat or someting?

Another thing to look for is to see if someone damaged the capilliary bulbs when they put them in; that could cause the thermostat to not function correctly.

What I have seen with most people that mess with that type of oven is they do not set the bypass correctly which makes the calibration look "off" so then they start trying to adjust the calibration screw. I still suggest having someone go through the calibration procedure that is shown on the website line by line.

Also, I am sure that Southbend is still owned by The Middleby Corporation and has been for many years. Also, this oven design has been produced by Southbend for many years I think.

Good luck!

[jim kent]

I contacted Southbend directly about this problem. The Tech support supervisor responded with an offer to send us two new thermostats at no charge. I have a hard time believing that both parts a defective, but who knows. He offered the new parts after I supplied the serial number of the range. Hopefully installing these new thermostats will solve the problem.