Ilve lacks Advantage
Over many years I’ve told heaps of people how well Ilve ovens cook. But they have two big flaws. Being of Italian make, they are built to confuse. Design idiocies seem inherent in them. First, the knobs fall off. They’re held on by a worm-screw in a tiny handle that jams onto the shaft turning gas on and off. Very chic-looking, they come loose easily and often. (Ask anyone who has owned an Alfa Romeo car about built-in idiocies.)
Secondly, the oven I have is equipped with the most brainless analog clock I’ve ever seen. It has knobs and bells and little windows in its face showing a miniature red hand or black hand. You could read the Ilve handbook for a million years and still not know how to work the thing. (I’ts supposed to let you time a start and a stop to your cooking.) Thus designed, though, the most interesting thing about the clock is that by knocking one of the knobs by about half a millimetre you can in fact shut down your oven’s whole electrical system. It’s as if a major fault has occurred.
We rang the Melbourne number for Ilve repairs the other day when this happened, not knowing someone had accidentally shut the system down by turning the knob. My wife is adamant that she was told nothing about how the oven can be shut down in such a way when she booked a repairman. Equally, she was absolutely convinced the terms of the visit were not spelled out to her.
Advantage Appliances of Mitcham, which must sub-contract to Ilve, sent a chap out one morning. He turned the knob a couple of millimetres — a couple of seconds ‘work’ to start-up the oven — and charged us $99 for the pleasure of his advice. I couldn’t believe it. All attempts to get the service manager of Advantage Appliances to ring me back to discuss a discount or at least their procedures have failed. I can’t believe the greed of some organisations — indeed, the endemic greed in Australian businesses these days.
kitchen hand said:
We moved house a year ago - the old place had a modern oven which was unreliable and the electronics failed; while the new place had its original early-’60s stove and oven, solid as a rock, no electronics and bakes and cooks perfectly - and amazingly, faster than the previous fan-forced oven.
It seems technology has advanced but materials and manufacture leave a lot to be desired.
Annemarie Dalitz said:
Thank you so much for your comments, you just saved me a call to a repairer and the fee. I could not agree more with you regarding the clock.
We have been for weeks without an oven and we finally decided to call someone. I went looking on the intenet and there was your response. I tried the knob on the clock and now the oven works. Thanks again.
Mikkel Toftloekke Andersen said:
Hi,
Happy to hear that I’m not the only one that hates the clock on the Ilve. I have had the oven for one year now, and have never figured out how it works. Some times, I have to get up in the middle of the night, as the clock suddenly goes “BLIIINNNGGG…BLIIINNNGGG…” Nothing is mentioned in the owners manual about the clock, and no manuals are downloadable from the Ilve website. If anyone can explain to me how the BLING..BLING works, I would be a happy chap
Linda R said:
Yes I bought a lovely looking large Ilve oven just 6 months ago, it cooks really well - very happy with that part…unfortunately it is starting to rust already, there are screws at the bottom holding it together and I think they are rusting causing the stainless steel outer casing to rust. This was meant to by my ’show piece’ in my kitchen and last for possibly 20 years or so - I can’t see it looking any good beyond one year. NOT HAPPY! I will not be paying any repair fees, that is for sure. Thanks for the warning.
Has anyone else had a rusty Ilve???
Thanks Linda.
Kerrie P said:
It is good to know that I was not the only one unhappy with my Ilve.
I have only had my cooktop/oven for twelve months and I was having a lot of trouble with getting the gas elements to start, I also had the same trouble with the clock shutting everything down. I had poor communication service with Ilve and the top of my stove is looking shabby with rust already and for such an expensive piece of equippment I am disappointed. I too saved to my my dream oven.
Peter B said:
I am in the market for a new range. Been looking at Glem Gas and Ilve. The Ilve 120cm model looks perfect, but like nearly every white good made today it has unnecessary electronics. If you get a minor electrical spike or surge the clock gets cooked and the oven is completely out of action. The electronic clock that you dont need and should not want will cost around $500 to replace. I write software for a living and I am fed up with manufacturers that have managed to fit ‘mission critical’ electronics where they are not wanted or needed, thus creating the perfect (and profitable) built-in obsolescense. Anyone know of a decent range that does not have electronics, knobs that dont fall off or get too hot, stainless panels with mild steel screws, gas hobs that light and stay alight and ovens that are capable of maintaining the set temperature?
Kent Brown said:
Thank you all so much for your input. I was about to buy an Ilve oven because they just looked so good and I knew they cooked well. Now I will be going for the Highland australian made system of cooking appliances and I reccomend them to anyone. The electronics are seperb. The longevity of cooking surfaces is remakable and they cook like magic. They are also 1/2 the price of an Ilve and though the have a more contempory look than the Ilve they still look very hot. Thanks again.
Kent
Sharon said:
Hi there
We are in the process of looking for a new stove and was advised by a salesperson at Harvey Norman that Ilve was the best on the market - they have never had any problems at all. But after reading these comments I will be going back and questioning them - after all, Ilve products are not just a two penny thing are they? One of the most expensive stoves on the market.
Just one question - how do people find they are to clean? Again to quote the salesperson from Harvey Norman they are the easiest things to clean as baked on “gunk” just falls off the sides of the ove.
Thanks.
Steel Appliances said:
Buying Used Domestic Appliances…
When it’s about home appliances, we all spend enough money every day, and if we can save money somewhere, we are likely to jump on the opportunity. One of the best places where we can save money in our home is actually the kitchen….
chief cook and bottle washer said:
My Ilve is 13 years old . . . still cooks really nicely, but, the seal around the door disintegrated fairly rapidly, and the housing around the light shattered many years ago, making it impossible to remove the debris. One gets used to peering into the gloom to see how things are going! The clock has died and I finally tracked down the parts company who have just phone back to say a new clock is $304! Goodness knows how much it would be to get a tradie in to swap old for new!
I don’t understand why you would have these things just above the hot air vent - knobs, clocks, electronics are obviously going to deteriorate more rapidly being heat blasted every time you switch it on.
No Clock will beat me said:
Love our oven, but haven’t been able to set the clock since daylight savings ended. Came across your website whilst hunting down a solution. Contrary to some of the postings (and perhaps put up since they were posted), there is a good manual available online at http://www.ilve.com.au/pdf/Operating%20Instructions.pdf.
To set the clock, press the little oven icon and the one with the cross through it, then use the +/- signs to re-set the clock.
j kershaw said:
My ilve 80cm oven is 10 yrs old.
As above , cooks ok BUT 1. takes an eternity to heat up, 2. the nobs keep falling off , 3. all writing on nobs has worn off - lots of guesswork required (also off the stove top nobs) , 4. some years back the ligths went and could not be removed so I cook in the dark.5, the door hinge needed replacing (myself) after 5 years, 6. the seal needs replacing.
Quote for each new nob was $40-50 each. The salesperson suggested I get them engraved.
I am looking for a replacement oven but am constrained by the cutout size. Not happy Jan
m llewellyn said:
Thank you for posting the above articles. After reading the above remembered my mother in law baking this weeking and pressing all the buttons on the clock to stop beeping on timer.
I have returned to my oven and pressed 2nd and 3 rd button together at same time and power has returned to the oven.
On service by Ilve I can only commend them on there quick response. After first use of the 90 cm gas cook top I noticed the fish burner metal had bubbled. I sent a email to Ilve with photo and within 3 days received a package from them with replacement at no charge. The part was worth $40. So very happy with service.
I do agree that the manuals need to be more consumer informative. I have had the oven for a month and still question whether the right function is being used. There was a metal piece in the oven when first installed and nothing in manual for what it was for. So I rang Harvey Norman’s who informed me it was for the grill tray to pull out. I had to work it out like a jig saw puzzle.
All in all I am happy with my dual oven which allows me to cook up to 7 trays.
Michelle Todd said:
Hi I also purchased an Ilve oven. Upon arrival the oven door was not quite right.. Thereofre before I had it installed I called Ilve.They sent a repair man out..after looking at my oven, he said I needed a complete new oven..
That was fine,the problem was I had to wait at least 4 months..Therefore I had no cooktops or oven for a good 4months. In addition I bought an Ilve microwave, within 3 weeks the light that lights up whilst heating or cooking has stopped working. Therefore I have to now have this fixed..Don’t know if I’d purchase Ilve again..Adding to this my oven is only 5months old and cost over $7,000 and now the clock continually flashes. Therefore agian I’m waiting for a visit from someone from the maintenance department.
cheryl Gauntlett said:
The oven door on my ilve just wont shut. It has been like that for months. I have resorted to holding the door shut with folded bits of cardboard. I just cant find a repair man in my area that works on Ilve appliances. I could have a repair man come from town but its going to cost me a bomb. Does anyone know of a repair man in the Hawkesbury area of Sydney?
Brian Wark said:
I recently purchased a home with a fairly large ILVE gas/electric stove in the kitchen, but no operating manual. There is no model number visble anywhere. I wonder could you help me interpret the oven dial markings, which is located on the far right hand side of the row of dials. The stove, I gather, is about 10 years old. It has 5 gas burner pods on the top, and an electric oven with a full width glass door. The oven dial has a series of 10 little boxes engraved in a clockwise circle on it. I need to know what thse boxes represent, from 1-10. You assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Darcey said:
my ilve oven works perfectly, have had it for many years now, i find its often the user with the problem rather than the equipment… maybe you should get to know your product before labeling it useless the ilve website has a link where you can download a user manual which is easily understood. Compared to many other brands on the market Ilve is a great product.
James said:
We bought a house that came with with two Ilves! A double oven as well as a 90cm range with gas cooktops. We seem to have the same sort of problems. Door hinges that stick and stop the doors closing, seals that drop off, a blown element, lights that don’t work and gas burners that almost never light. (My wife has resorted to a packet of matches). the (analogue) timer is enigmatic although I did work it out. Trouble is I can’t remember what I did! However the main problem (and my wife can’t wait for an excuse to get rid of them for this) is that they don’t cook evenly. It’s just not possible to cook a tray of biscuits without burning a third of them before the front ones are cooked.
corey said:
gas burners are very erratic and don’t always light up - even after 20-30 seconds. It sometimes helps if I fiddle with the rings to help things along. Anybody know what can be done to the burners working properly?
Robyn said:
Reading these coments reminds me of my smeg super duper oven which has many of the same problems-knobs which fall off, clock which can shut the oven down, writing worn off around the knobs so that you have no idea what temp is, etc….this was not a cheap oven either!
KW said:
Well…just thanx a lot you people…thanx a lot !!! Here I was, all excited about getting this absolutely beautiful stove, that was going to look oh so smart in my kitchen. Yeah, thanx…I had it all planned. The first thing I was going to do was bake about 500 of my grandma’s Brandy-Cakes and share them as a celebration….But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…you guyz had to ruin it. So what am I supposed to do with all this brandy,HMM ? What do you suggest I …wait a minute…I thnk I figgerd itout…..yeh, uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…yeh…ummmmmmmmmmm…thnxguyz. yusearallryte.
Michael said:
We have had an ILVE 90PMP for over 14 years and can only agree with a number of comments mentioned above. There are fundamental design flaws in this product which could so easily have been fixed but were not. We chose the electronic clock in the first place because we could not decipher the analog clock. Even so we were disappointed to find in a stove so expensive as this that the functionality of the electronic clock was so limited, compared to something like a relatively cheap convection microwave oven. Other issues, we have just had our oven cleaned by an agent, and were advised that the catalytic side covers are banned in the UK because they are seen as a fire hazard. The effort required to burn off the oven typically means that it is not done by owners and grease builds up on the plates. So, really what is the point of having them, you cannot use an oven cleaner on them as they are teflon, and really from a personal viewpoint we have always been wary of teflon items in the cooking process. The comment about the knobs I completely endorse, we have had to replace ours because the writing, which is simply sprayed on (this is a $7-8000 stove I remind you) just wears off. This is frankly unacceptable in such an expensive item. It is also poor design as they are difficult to see and choose, although like anything you find a work around solution. The doors on these stoves, at least our model do not seal properly, we have had to make up a latch to seal the oven door as a result. I have purchased new hinges but am unsure if these will fix the problem. This is a not a new problem but was evident soon after we purchased the stove. In fact we had to have the hinges reattached to the door with a special glue after purchase. Other things such as electric piezo starters have to be replaced but this is OK as it is a maintenance issue. To give the ILVE parts people their due I have had no problem with getting parts or delivery up to now. Not that many people know how to service them though as they are an esoteric item. In terms of product quality, some of the aspects of the stove are good. Its size, as we have a large family was crucial in our purchase and there just wasn\\\’t anything else available at the time, it was 18/10 stainless as well so it was a solid stove, (although the sides are 18/8 you can tell by using a magnet so I was disappointed in that), the trivets are very good and the best I have seen, but this is the thing about this stove, the frame is solid and some things are good but others poor. The analogy with Italian cars above is a good one, great to drive when they are going but terrible in detail. There is far more choice now and cheaper options in the market, some of the german large gas/electric stoves would be good to examine if you were in the market. I could not justify spending $7K on such an item now, although we paid around $4,500 for ours in 1995. I have noticed they have redesigned the door in the 120 cm model but it is too late for us now.
Julie said:
So what do you recommend there are soooo many choices I’m really confused now Thought of going for a Smeg, researched decided not such a good idea, now am looking at Ilve, not so sure now, What about Savior Faire? I’m really not sure what way to go don’t want to spend a fortune. Advice greatly appreciated. Thanks
AM said:
I too was thinking of purchasing an Ilve. I was actually preparing to demolish my kitchen to fit a 90cm quadra freestanding in! I really don’t know what to do now. Reading all the latest reviews makes me think twice. I do a lot of cooking and wanted a solid, reliable oven and gas cooktop. Can I expect this of Ilve? Everyone at Harvey Norman seems to think that Ilve is top class. I’ve done a lot of shopping around and in fact all the sales representatives say the same thing. What to do… what to do?
stephend said:
Wow, my site is beginning to look like the ‘I hate Ilve’ cooks’ congregation. But it is outrageous that Ilve charge so much and the product is patently deficient in so many ways. That most people’s knobs fall off not even in brass monkey weather is absoutley astonishing. I mean, can’t the Ilve people design even a knob that stays on? Perhaps Ilve ought to have a forum with all you kind commenters and clean up their act.
Ilve reminds me of Alfa Romeo and, indeed, what Italian manufacturing is renowned for — delivering heaps of style but no substance. While we’re at it, never buy an Alfa Romeo.
Kay Benson said:
Thanks for all the comments. I live in a rural district and we use bottle gas. I was hoping to install a double gas built in oven and was looking at the Ilve. I don’t think I could live with all the problems. What would you choose instead if you did the job over again? Has anyone had any experience with bottled gas?
antheam said:
After reading all the above, ditched the Ilve idea, did some reasearch and decided on a Miele.
Crappy Miele cooktops with knobs on | Tomato said:
[...] regret leaving my Ilve in Sydney. But them Stephen Downes had problems with Ilve and on his comparatively low profile blog attracted some 27 comments from people griping about [...]
Fiona said:
I love my Ilve stove - had to get a new one when we moved house. It is better with a fast heat option.
However I also drive an Alfa which I am also very happy with.
Perhaps I am just lucky with maintenance issues.
brian said:
Do yourselves a favour,
Stop buying Euro appliances tarted up to look like commercial cookers.
For the same money(or less) you can purchase fantastic commercial equipment from companies such as moffat( warldorf, moffat/blueseal & falcon) or garland.
They are robust-to the point of being almost damage proof(just compare the hobs) are made from top grade stainless, offer far greater control over burner settings and have ovens that offer twice the internal volume. Commercial equipment is designed around the industry standard of 1/1 gastronorm trays.
Installation does require a 20mm+ gas line but in return you achieve greater consistency and temperature control. Further they are easier to clean and maintain because they have been expressly designed to be in use 16 hours a day and pulled down, cleaned and put back up as quickly as possible(staff time is money)
Funnily enough much of the Italian made commercial equipment comes with the same techno issues as expressed in the comments here. perhaps it results from designers thinking I’ll just add one more useless feature.
Yes I do have one in my home(warldorf 6 burner with convection under) and have had for over 10 years, it looks the same as the day it arrived. In response to Kay benson nearly all commercial gear is available with LPG regulators and performs impeccably.
Megan said:
We have had an 80cm electric Ilve for 4 years. No complaint with the actual cooking. However have had issues with the seals. The original seal deteriorated very quickly, even the repacement does not seem to seal very well and a lot of heat escapes from the oven. The door and control panel above are also quite hot. The glass is not too bad but the door is pretty bad. Has anyone else had this problem?
Carmel said:
We have a 900 with stainless steel grill which we find very anoying to clean. Whats the best way
Richard said:
The Italians are great arn’t they, good visual design but the engineering is well below the Chinese. We have a Ilve 900cm wide oven cooker, paid around $6000 for it and over the past 3 years have had nothing but trouble. We had about 9 service calls in its first 12 months covered by warranty, everything from cookers wouldn’t light, would turn off when turned down low, knobs all fall off every second day, the door handle fell off, ilve engineers couldn’t even get their company badge to stick to the door. Turn the oven on and the badge started sliding down the door face. When it dropped off I had to glue it back on myself. If you can’t get a badge to stick what hope is there for the rest of the product. All the brass is wearing off the knobs now so they look very ugly, this is from normal household use over only 3 years. So much for these being an industrial strength oven, wouldn’t last 2 months under industrial conditions. Within about 3 months the inside tray broke, when you wash the door water runs down between the glass leaving stains you can’t get to, the heat coating is coming off the oven inside, self cleaning function is not quite what its cracked up to be, you still need to clean the trays and racks.
Our lastest is the door hinges have just broken. The door won’t shut and the left hinge has fallen out in pieces. This is how I found this web site looking around for somewhere to buy some hinges from. When you’re paying this sort of money for a high quality product I would have expected it to last for ever. My advise is don’t buy one, they really are bad news, try another brand..
Pete said:
Funnily enough my google search for ILVE Oven Door Hinge issues returned this page too. Luckily its VERY easy to resolve on the 900mm (600+300) stand alone oven.
My door stopped closing all of the way, ordered hinge and rollers and they were delivered the next day and took 25min to fit. (the roller can easily be fitted with the oven in place). The door now loses and works perfectly - i wish i had done this 12 months ago when the [problem first started. I paid $89AUD for 2 rollers (bit that goes inside the oven), 2 hinges (attached to the door) and the 600mm seal next day delivered…other 3rd party suppliers quoted me almost double.
Hope this helps!
Millie said:
Hey Pete
Did you buy the rollers and hindges from Ilve direct
thanks Millie
Grace said:
I found this site while locating, yet one more time, the Ilve service number on the internet. We have had some of the problems mentioned above and the latest is that the oven is half working - won\’t preheat above 50 degrees and only works on some settings. We nearly bought a different brand oven but the saleswoman hissed something about Ilve being such great quality, so we paid twice as much for an oven that doesn\’t even cook evenly on the left and right hand side! After such an investment i can\’t bring myself to buy another oven, and no doubt the widths are all slightly different anyhow… groan… so now i guess it\’s another wait for another service person to fix another problem…
Sue said:
I too found this site while trying to find an Ilve service number. How I hate my Ilve oven. Uneven cooking, burnt kitchen benches from inadequate seals (we have had a few replacements), knobs failing, and now a clock malfunction has taken down the oven’s whole electrical system. Broken and unhappy. I agree with - don’t buy one, they are really bad news, try another brand.. -
Guy said:
Wow. I was looking on Ebay for a flat surfaced cooktop. Saw an Ilve for $20 (admittedly 1 day to go). Looked up new price…$1700. Stumbled upon this site and thought that an Ilve cooktop for $20 ( a few scratches and needing a few knobs) was not worth the trouble! Even though I do have two vespas in the garage AND fancy my chances fixing most things. I have a Fischer and Paykel white gas cooktop - and hate the cleaning up process. Gas never again.
Happy cooking everyone
Jason said:
We purchased a PD100 (gas 70L + electric 50L) 4 burners inc wok burner and tepanyaki/ fish grill in center. Some problems like took 6 month to deliver as I was told Gas electric oven combo not popular ???. All works well, squeaky door hinge not a problem. Major problem is that the Gas oven won’t reach anywhere near 240-250 degrees? Very slow to heat up (electric OK in 10-15min). At setting for 250 deg C (on full) nearly 45 min and gas oven still just barely at 200. Had service tech out and no better max temp after 1 hour 220. Ilve service team seems stumped I just wonder if anyone has seen same problem? I read that Ilve gas ovens are slow to heat up but this is 70 L. I have seen a cheap Westinghouse free standing gas oven at 250 in 15 minutes.
We love the Ilve for many reasons, I came to this site for the bad news a year ago and could live with knob falling off etc etc. We purchased it for better and for worse but an oven that can’t reach max temperature 250C is hard to believe at the price we paid. Any advice would be of use so I can pass it back to Ilve maybe help them help me.
Now press the thermostat knob
gently and turn it anticlockwise
towards maximum temperature
position (250°C.). Press the
thermostat knob right in to prime
the electric ignition and keep
pressing it for 10 - 15 seconds
to allow the thermocouple to heat
up and let the gas through. Make
sure that the gas has lit and,
after three minutes, close the
door, then select the temperature
(from 100°C to 250°C)*.
(Ilve -Operating Instructions and Recipe Manual)
heather caminiti said:
Hi, had an Ilve, was very unhappy with it. The oven never worked properley, and the ignition wouldn’t work properley. My sister-in-law has an Ilve and is extrememley unhappy with it. Whatever you do, don’t buy one. They are not user friendly at all. We brought a SMEG and i must say i have been very impressed with it. Have had it now for 8 years and is still running perfect.c8938
Steve said:
I have a T90 dual fuel. Works fine now. Had some problems with one cooktop burner not wanting to light and then going out if it did. I noticed that the thermocouple sensor was set a bit higher on this burner ( a few mm above the black burner cap). I lowered it so that it’s top is level with the burner cap and now it works like a charm.
Joan said:
Thanks everyone, I was about to spend $NZ9,000 for an Ilve built in oven and hob when I discovered this site. Thanks everyone I think I will keep my AEG oven in the meantime, which works perfectly well.
Sharon said:
It seems that I am the only one that loves my Ilve stove and oven, the only problem is that the oven seems to cook a lot quicker than my old oven, can’t rely on the time frame of recipes, but I guess it is just trial and error, but I will keep baking till I get it right. I don’t have trouble with setting the clock, just look up the manual and it will explain how to set it. I would highly recommend Ilve.
Allen said:
We bought the ILKE Nostalgia Double Electric Oven Sept 07 and I agree with many of the comments above. The quality I paid extra for just isn’t there. The Ilke label is slowly sliding down the door and those nasty knobs! However my reason for being here is the clock!! it started making a squeeking noise which was on and off. I thought it would go away and it did for a couple of weeks. Now it has returned and the oven can be heard 24/7 more so in the silent hours. Ilke insist it is now out of warranty and want me to pay $400 + intallation to fix it. Aggggghhhh Its a clock we dont use it!!!!, can I disconnect it? no as its intrical to the oven. I recall looking through the showroom window one Saturday morning as we were deciding on an oven for our new kitchen. A guy drove up and tried the door, closed on Saturdays. He said to us, if your thinking of buying one of these (Ilve) then don’t.. nothing but trouble. We did and he was right.
Allen said:
Just coming back to my previous.
Rang the electrician who services these ovens and he’s happy to bypass the clock for $90 call out fee. A win as far as I’m concerned.
No clock = no difference = no noise.
Vicki said:
We have an Ilve Quadra 4 burner gas hob /electric oven with the Teppanyaki plate which is probably the worst purchase we have ever made. Since installing the range in February 2007 we have had the following problems that required service calls, each one requiring replacement parts : the thermostat failed due to a factory wiring problem, the ignition on the hob did not work and finally the oven has simply stopped working due to the fact that the function control switch keeps burning out due to the heat from the oven (can you believe such a basic design flaw?) - this has happened twice! Ilve was recommended to us by all of the retailers we went to, including Harvey Norman and Winning’s (from whom we eventually purchased the unit) as being the most reliable - we really stressed this as we were building in a country area. I’ve lived with cheap 70’s vintage Chef ovens in rented houses that worked better. It was a complete waste of money.
Julia said:
We have an all gas Chef Parklane 70cm - it has a massive oven. Four trays each of which easily hold two large cake tins or a whole snapper etc., Nothing fancy but fan forced and a light that still works. It has cooked 1000’s of meals for a family of eight plus many guests over the last 25 years and it has never missed a beat, but finally it is showing its age, automatic ignition on oven stopped working etc.
Been looking for a new stove and fell in love with the Ilve 70cm stand alone but after reading of all these frustrating experiences we think we will get our old Chef reconditioned.
We are restricted by space to a 70cm stove but none are made in Australia anymore and the few ‘European’ style stoves that are 70cm only have a 60cm oven. I will follow up the brands recommended in this blog. You really started some Stephen.
Julia said:
We have an all gas Chef Parklane 70cm - it has a massive oven. Four trays each of which easily hold two large cake tins or a whole snapper etc., Nothing fancy but fan forced and a light that still works. It has cooked 1000’s of meals for a family of eight plus many guests over the last 25 years and it has never missed a beat, but finally it is showing its age, automatic ignition on oven stopped working etc.
Been looking for a new stove and fell in love with the Ilve 70cm stand alone but after reading of all these frustrating experiences we think we will get our old Chef reconditioned.
We are restricted by space to a 70cm stove but none are made in Australia anymore and the few ‘European’ style stoves that are 70cm only have a 60cm oven. I will follow up the brands recommended in this blog. You really started something Stephen.
RossT said:
Recently purchased a standalone cooktop/oven, didn’t realise the “safety” device has be heated up for such a long time before the cooktop burners will stay lit. Some times more than 10 seconds.
Does anyone know if the device can be disabled?
Sally said:
I need HELP ! I’ve just moved to a new house that has an older Ilve nostalgie. Over time the markings on the dials have worn off. It’s guess work everytime I try to bake. My first disaster was my son’s birthday cake, Grilled on top, still wet on the bottom.
If anyone owns an ilve like this, could I please ask you to take a photo of the dials and email me. I can’ find manuals online, but there are no pictures of the dials for me to figure out what settings I should use.
Thanks in advance - salbook@mac.com
Mary said:
My ilve came with a loose door screw and the door was on a slant. I took the door off to tighten the screw and now the door will not go back on
Neecia said:
Hi Mary,
To remove the door, you mush open it the whole way down, once open, there is a latch on each hinge that must be pushed up (flush against the oven) then try to close the door- about half way, place your hands on side edges and you need the unhook those hinges from the oven itself. It’s a ‘J’ action Down and Out.
To put the door back in….
You will see a little groove at the bottom of the hinge- this drops into the egde bit of oven emanel (drops in).
Once the door is locked in, open the door- the whole way down.
Push the latches, back against the hinge and close your door.
The main thing to remember is, the door needs to be open the whole way to dis-engage the hinges and to re-engage them.
Good luck!
Lyn said:
Have had the 900mm five burner with gas oven and grill since 1994. Have never ever successfully baked cakes, biscuits or pastries ever. They just burn on the bottom and never brown on top. Ilve repair person said oven was not designed for Australian conditions. Grill has never worked even with multiple services under warranty. Light hasn’t worked for years. We have replaced bulbs but to no avail. Have replaced oven knob twice (now on 3rd knob and can’t read temperature settings. Gas jets work intermittently and wok burner always burns pots/skillets over an area of a quarter of the hob.
Have been lighting oven with matches for many years. When I have spoken to Ilve re griller and burning on bottom, Ilve were spectacularly disinterested.
Can any one help with removing the roller from the left hand side of the oven where the electrical part is attached to same. We have a new set of hinges (3rd lot) but having no success attaching to roller.
(I’ve just read above, maybe it would be best if my husband can’t fix this stove from armageddon. I am sure a new stove will follow - never ever ILVE - what recommendations????)
RL said:
Thanks, NEECIA (above), for instructions on removing oven door, so I could screw back on the oven door handle after it fell off tonight - saved my life, or at least a dumb service call. Took me about an hour and a half.
Agree with all the negative comments on this brand, oven slow and uneven heat, printing on knobs and fascia comes off, the timer clock is a nightmare (don’t lose the book), hobs won’t simmer, and on low setting they blow out whenever the oven is on.
Hilarious all the people surprised by Harvey Norman sales reps telling them how good they are - bet they’ve never even seen one in use. Stoves are an expensive item that you’ll never see working before you buy - consumer magazine tests aren’t any help.
Never again an Ilve - bought on cosmetic appeal!
Peter McBride said:
Our Ilvie 200TLMP dual oven had the clock beeping and the top oven only working intermittently. We never used the clock / timer and don’t know anyone who ever uses one on their oven. It would occasionally work after the bottom oven was used for about an hour. An email to Ilvie remained unanswered for 2 weeks. After reading these posts, I had an electrician friend come and take a look. He just bypassed the clock, and now it is fixed. It took him less than 5 minutes.
Thanks for the posts from those who have had a similar problem. Now it works again after a couple of months…I’m in the running for husband of the year.
Regards,
Peter
Anne said:
I had just decided to purchase an Ilve Nostalgie 1100 with teppanyaki plate but having read all the negative posts, it’s back to the drawing board! Are there any other brands out there which look similar but are more reliable - we’re installing a classic kitchen and many of the other brands look a bit “high tech”.
John S said:
Have had problems with knobs becoming loose, a slow burring noise going on all the time, had a screw break that fits the internal glass for the door when we cleaned it 4 weeks ago.
Was told by Ilve in Camberwell they had replacement screws, after two visits and providing tehm with teh original broken screww they still wasted my time in picking up as they [provided the wrong screww fitting. This is even before I have to extract the broken screww from the oven door.
I’ll be buying Gaggenau or a Bosch next time.
Jono said:
Boo hoo people!!!!…. ooo… I bought a oven 14 YEARS AGO!!!… and I am unhappy that it needs to be serviced now, but it still cooks well. OMG, Cry me a river people. ILVE make the best ovens and gas cooktops in the world, try any other brand inc Meile, Bosch, Neff etc and you\’ll have the same issues or worse. I work for one of the three brands I just mentioned but I chose ilve because they may not have a huge array of features, but they will still be working and cooking well in 20 years time. What other appliance that you use everyday is still working after 14 or more years???? get a grip!!!
Jim said:
I’ve purchased an ILVE oven 2 years ago - 90cm. No problems whatsoever. This is the third oven in my lifetime, but the first oven that actually cooks to the time indicated in recipes (previous overs I had to add 15-30mins).
I agree with a comment above that the fault most likely lies with the user rather than the oven. As my dad, a retired carpenter, always says ‘a good builder never blames his tools’.
MP said:
Purchased Ilve Quadra 90 cm (gas/electric with fish burner) a month ago, used the oven only ONCE - the clock died yesterday and the oven is not working!!! Can\’t believe it!!!
donald said:
re CLOCKS
Yes, you can “wire the clock out”. I just talked to the ILVE service centre. He said if you don’t need it, it’s the cheaper way to go. I don’t use it, anyway. The first clock was replaced on the warranty but this one, I have to pay for. That’s two clocks in 4 years. Love the oven, otherwise but wouldn’t buy another.
Mudgee said:
My Ilve oven is great and I love it… !!
Do the free course they run and you will learn how to get the best out of the oven and also how to clean all the parts etc… even shown how to adjust the gas burners..
Jules said:
we bought an Ilve oven 5 years ago, and I just love it. For those who can’t find a manual - just type in Ilve Manual into google…and you will get a range of manuals.
I downloaded the manual for my model and saved the PDF.
Yes, the clock is annoying - don’t use it. But can’t fault anything with the oven itself. Love the gas and electric combo - great when you have a power failure too….
Mel said:
I refuse to pay over $400 to have the centre part of the grill element and the thermostat replaced in my Ilve Nostalgie 600NMP. It cost me $99 for the service guy to come out, spend five minutes in my home and write a few numbers down - after the appointment was rescheduled twice. I could have given the customer service people these numbers over the phone. The total quote was $510, less what I have already paid. I told them exactly what model the oven is and what the problem is, so I don’t see why they couldn’t quote on the parts and labour over the phone. I’m buying a new oven, and it won’t be an Ilve. I had to make several calls to find someone who services European appliances in Perth.
Julia said:
Uh oh - we have just purchased an Ilve 600 gas wall oven and I hope that we do not have any problems with knobs, clocks, badges, door seals etc. We are renovating our kitchen and Ilve was recommended to us. I am a little curious as to why the oven door must remain open for 3 minutes after lighting the oven - is it really necessary?
Michael said:
Hi everyone This is an update on my Ilve 90cm with fishburner and digital clock. Comments above by individuals eg Jim,Jono,Mudgee smack of product placement to me. Most of the comments here are about design flaws and FUNDAMENTAL problems with these ovens. I returned to this site as I am yet again stripping this oven down and having to rebuild the poorly designed door and replace items that I consider should not have to be dealt with in a stove costing so much. In fact, after having read through every post since mine some while ago, (Michael) the best advice I saw was to go and buy a commercial oven. If you have the money to spend $7000 or so on a kitchen refit you are much better off doing so, and that is what I will do when we eventaully retire this piece of crap. As I indicated above this product has problems in its archaic clock system, its poorly and criminally designed knobs which have detail spray painted on them so you HAVE to buy replacements and my current problem, the design of the door which means you cannot properly close the door, and seal the oven without in our case using a clamp. My wife only uses the fan forced central element for 95% of the time because the rest of the \\\’multifunction\\\’ oven is so unpredictable. I agree with comments above about seals, another example of simply POOR design. I agree with the Harvey Norman comments, like Christine Keeler who said \\\’you\\\’d expect him to say that wouldn\\\’t you\\\’. I decided to replace the hinges, fair enough I got them from the parts people. This is probably the most EFFICIENT part of the ILVE company because there is such a demand from disgruntled customers. After stripping the door I noticed that a hinge had parted from the glass front. The designer was so basically INCOMPETENT that he designed the metal hinge to be glued to the glass front and with such a heavy component it was bound to fail. After putting the new hinges in the door will not close. I guess I am going to have to purchase the inner retainer which has undoubtedly broken as well. The newer ILVE stoves have a completely redesigned door and that tells you something, doesn\\\’t it. MY advice DONT go and buy a proper commercial oven and be happy
Karen said:
Well I was in love with my P96 gas oven and cooktop in the lovely renovated workers cottage we bought two years ago, until everything stopped working on Sunday.
The very nice techo broke the news to me today (Wednesday) that not only have I a gas leak that could have blown up the entire house because the regulator is faulty and some gas pipes are rusted, but the wiring for the auto-ignition is encased in teflon coated plastic that burns off and then renders it inoperable.
D’oh???
Who on earth designs this stuff??
And no, they can’t tell me how long it will take to get the spares or how much it will be, but it will be a lot.
And I have a raft of international visitors coming to dinner tonight, so now I’ve bought a electric wok, so between that, the Weber, and the microwave I hope I can feed a houseful tonight.
Bruce Jackson said:
very amusing reading all these comments. It’s a bit of a waste of time, but enjoyable to be able to identify with so many others.
Yes, I am yet another member of the army of people who bought Ilve because they wanted a buy high-quality, good looking appliances that would provide a satisfaction that lasts long after the price is forgotten.
Sadly, it has provided years of just-acceptable performance with numerous small gripes that are a constant reminder to not be tricked again by flashy Italian design.
Same problems as everyone else…worm screws on the knobs are useless, electronics dodgy, timer interface programming is idiotic, door hinges not closing the door fully. Uneven baking. Stovetop control guides worn off because it’s printed instead of engraved.
Just to be different, we also have intermittent fan noise.