Amana cooktop: Non adjustable rear burners?

[N305TJ]

We just bought a 2009 Classic with the Amana model ALZ8580ADS 3-burner cooktop. The rear 2 burners, the 6500 BTU ones, only have "Off" and Hi Lite" positions. The front 9100 BTU one works like you would expect it to, adjusting down to a very small simmer flame. My dealer didn't beleive me until he checked other units on the lot, and now he's equally surprised! I've made a number of calls to the factory (Amana) and have had no help. The girl that you get to talk to simply reads out of the manual, which just tells you to adjust the flame. Am I missing something here? If they went to a fixed flame burner, WHY? If so, can I change the valves for those 2 burners (part numbers?). If not, how do you adjust them?

[bob34787]

been that way for some time, even my new 5th wheel is the same way

[Minno]

We have the same thing on ours in a 2008 SOB trailer. If you're really careful, you can adjust the flame down some before it goes out. But you only have about 1/16th of a turn or less to do so. Bad design in my opinion, and something we'll avoid when shopping for a new range for Little Girl.

Chris

[N305TJ]

I was told by my dealer that these cooktops origionally had all 3 high ouput burners, and that these had problems with warpage from too much heat. Then they supposedly went to the 6500 BTU burners in the back to correct that problem, but that they were still adjustable. He was not aware of them being non adjustabe until I brought it to his attention. Can anyone verify this, and if so, possibly tell me the part number of the adjustable flame 6500 BTU valve? If you have one that adjusts, please tell me the model and series number (or serial number) of your cooktop. Thanks!

[vswingfield]

THEPILL brought this up a couple of months ago, http://www.airforums.com/forums/f512...top-63255.html. General opinion seems to be that this is just a cost cutting effort on the part of the manufacturer.

[N305TJ]

I had done searches for other threads, but was unable to find that one. Thanks! It least I'm now less convinced that I've lost my mind. I'm still hoping someone reading this has an older version with the adjustable 6500 BTU burners, if they exist.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by N305TJ

I had done searches for other threads, but was unable to find that one. Thanks! It least I'm now less convinced that I've lost my mind. I'm still hoping someone reading this has an older version with the adjustable 6500 BTU burners, if they exist.

Nope, you havn't lost your mind (at least any more than the rest of us). I'm firmly convinced that the manufacturers have lost theirs, though.

I had seen how nice the new cooktop/ovens looked, but the one in my Excella still works perfectly, after adjusting the oven thermostat. It also looks almost like new, only the funny silvering on the oven window shows any age. After reading about the lack of adjustment on the new units' back burners, I'm really glad to have it.

To me, the back burners are where you put something to simmer or slow cook. Hence the expression, "Put it on the back burner." to mean making something less than top priority.

Good luck on finding something to address this issue. I'm sure others will be interested.