Dacor Appliance Repair

A California family business that Samsung bought

Stanley Joseph founded Dacor in Southern California in 1965, and his sons ran it for decades. Samsung bought the company in 2016, and Dacor now serves as Samsung's luxury kitchen brand, with headquarters in New Jersey. The line includes ranges, wall ovens, cooktops, microwave drawers and other built-in microwaves, warming drawers, ventilation hoods, dishwashers and column refrigeration.

Dacor has sold several style collections over the years, including Professional, Contemporary, Transitional and the newer Modernist line. It helps to know which one you have, since tag locations and parts aren't the same from one collection to the next.

Burners, convection, steam and screens

Dacor gas ranges and rangetops use SimmerSear burners. These are brass dual-ring burners with two valves, so a single burner can go from a hard boil down to a very low simmer. When one ring lights and the other won't, or the burner can't hold a low flame, the fix is generally a cleaning or some attention to that burner's ignition or valve. It rarely takes a full rebuild.

Dacor's Four-Part Pure Convection system is built to spread heat evenly. So when your convection results come out noticeably different from regular bake, the convection components themselves are where to look.

Newer dual-fuel ranges and wall ovens add RealSteam cooking. That puts a water reservoir and a steam generator in the oven, and the reservoir needs to be kept clean.

Current Samsung-era models also have Wi-Fi touch displays and SmartThings app control. That's more boards and software than older Dacor units had.

Living with a Dacor microwave drawer

Microwave drawers are among the Dacor products we see most. The drawer is motorized, and a few habits head off a lot of service calls.

• Use the OPEN and CLOSE keys every time. Pushing or pulling the drawer by hand strains the drive mechanism, and the manual only allows moving it by hand in an emergency like a power failure, and then slowly.
• When the keys don't respond, Control Lock may be on. Holding the CONTROL LOCK key for 3 seconds turns it off. The lock holds the drawer in place too.
• When nothing works at all, check the breaker and make sure the unit isn't in Demo Mode.
• An ERROR display after a sensor-cook program usually means the sensor didn't pick up steam. Press STOP/CLEAR and cook manually. That message by itself doesn't mean a part has failed.
• Wipe the inside with a soft damp cloth and mild soap, and clean spatters off the waveguide cover right away. Leave the cover in place and don't try to remove it.

Tracking down the serial tag on a Dacor

On Professional wall ovens it's behind the grille below the knobs. Contemporary and Transitional wall ovens have it in the bottom left corner, and on double ovens and combination units you'll find it in the lower oven. Ranges put it behind the grille below the knobs, through the intake vents, or under the Dacor logo on the bottom of the door.

A 24-inch microwave drawer has its tag behind the open drawer. The 30-inch drawer has it on the right side of the chassis. Professional cooktops carry the tag underneath, while Contemporary and Transitional cooktops have it across the front frame, which you can't see once the cooktop is installed. Dishwashers show it on the right side frame or across the top of the door. On hoods, look behind the filters. On warming drawers, check the bottom back of the front panel.

Panel-ready refrigerators and dishwashers also have their own panel kit model number. Write that one down as well.

What the Dacor warranty covers

For cooking, cooling, cleaning and ventilation products bought on or after November 1, 2020, Dacor lists a two-year full warranty. Full-size refrigeration gets longer limited coverage on the sealed system, and cosmetic problems have to be reported within 60 days. Exact coverage depends on your model and when you bought it.

When the power comes back after a storm

Once power returns after a Southwest Florida storm outage, a Dacor microwave drawer's display will flash, and whatever program was running gets erased. Press STOP/CLEAR and set the clock again before you decide something's broken. The Red Cross recommends unplugging appliances and electronics during an outage to limit surge damage when the power comes back. Hardwired ovens and drawers can't be unplugged, but switching off their breakers does the same thing.