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Aug 6, 2008 7:31 pm US/Pacific
Peninsula Chef's Stove Fried By Power Surge
Reporting
Sue Kwon
PACIFICA (CBS 5) ―
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As one viewer found out, high-tech appliances can be sensitive to power surges.
CBS
"You got your nice fish goin' in there, your leg of lamb, your lasagnas," said Ron Martorana, an amateur chef from Pacifica.
Martorana bought a stove that's as big as his passion for cooking: $7,000 of stainless steel and high-tech electronics. "It's the Rolls Royce of price tags and stoves," he said.
But then, a power surge shorted out the stove's motherboard. Thermador repaired it under the warranty. A year later, another power surge did even more damage. "It's only two years old and here you got a blower out, and a diode out, and another circuit board out," said Martorana.
The warranty was up, so he paid for the repairs himself -- almost $700 worth. The repairman told him it's not just a problem with Thermador. A lot of high-end appliances are sensitive to power spikes.
Martorana wrote to Thermador three times trying to find out if that's true -- with no answer. "I don't want to do this every year. It's very frustrating. Every time there's a flicker of a light your heart jumps a little bit," said Martorana.
Martorana called CBS 5 ConsumerWatch and we got through. Thermador said they will reimburse him for all of his repairs. However, according to a customer service representative, "There have been no other similar complaints. Thermador cannot control the environment where its products are used."
Martorana installed a surge protector, and he's back to cooking great meals.
"It's really something to have this goin'. And you kinda time it, and you present it, and everybody's 'Yeah!" he said.
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