Propane explosion below cooktop

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by NWtraveller

We’ve called suburban with little help.

Originally Posted by Starbrightsteve

I think it’s time to send in the lawyers!

I hate to say it but I think you are right. This is clearly a huge safety issue with a product sold and installed across many makes/models of trailers. A lawyer may be what is needed to get their attention. I think NWTraveller is on the tip of an iceberg here. I really hope this is pursued for the good of themselves and the broader public. Dometic has an oven recall and this Suburban cooktop must be next!

[Eggscape]

It was on Dec 9th 2020 that I sent in pictures of the problem to Dave and Paul as requested from my phone call with them.

On Dec 10th Dave Warren the service and parts manager replied back that he received the photos and would forward the information onto the engineering department.

Today I set them a follow up of what happened and referenced the previous emails. I am only doing this to keep the flow of what I documented alive with them so it does not disappear.

By no means do I want to over step the communication between Beth and Escape industries.

[rubicon327]

I strongly recommend that anyone who owns this SDS2 cooktop express their safety concerns with Suburban! I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt.

Web contact form:
https://www.airxcel.com/rv/suburban/contact-us
Email:
smcsales@suburbanmfg.com
Customer Service Phone:
(423) 775-2131

[sleepy]

Thank you for sharing your experience- I hope you heal quickly and feel better.

Your explosion prompted me to take apart my atwood 2 burner cooktop and examine the various connections. All in good condition including the threaded fitting. Plus it got a cleaning.

Thank you for that push to inspect.

[oldwave]

We also have the Atwood cook top as that what they installed in 2017. I suspect the general quality of these appliances are worse. So far all of our appliances have been perfect except for the water heater control board replace the first year. Just tested everything for an upcoming trip except for the water heater that will be tested after the trailer water system has been sanitized .

[Rossue]

We're doing a van conversion on a new Ford Transit. This episode confirms my desire to go induction for a cooktop and beef up the solar. I went looking for a better cooktop in 2015 and gave up and kept our Atwood Vision 2 burner. Over the years I've realized it is actually a pretty good basic cooktop. And unlike these new ones you have latitude on fry pan size.

https://www.amazon.com/Atwood-Dv20-b.../dp/B00B1ZH5L0

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Rossue

And unlike these new ones you have latitude on fry pan size.

Or, maybe the new ones have to conform to new safety standards.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Or, maybe the new ones have to conform to new safety standards.

Unlikely. I believe Ross is referring to the raised nature of the older Atwood DV series cooktop whereas the newer recessed Suburban unit is more limited on pan size. To his point the Atwood DV model stoves have a 10" maximum pan size whereas the newer Suburban has a maximum of 8.75". The industry standard is measurement across the top of a pan so the base may be even smaller if it has tapered sides.

FWIW the Dickinson cooktop that some of us have installed has a maximum base size of 10" for the large burner and 6" for the small burner. Since Dickinson specifies base size in reality the pan size would be a bit larger if it has tapered sides.

[gabeck]

Originally Posted by NWtraveller

Here’s a photo of the broken component from under the burners. The flange broke off of one end. We’ve called suburban with little help. I think we will be shopping for a new cooktop! My husband thinks he can make it so that we can use the other burner for now. I am skeptical. We are boondocking near Capital Reef and in the middle of our Utah experience. We have an outdoor grill fortunately. I am missing my morning coffee because we make it using our cooktop.

As an update, my injuries don’t seem so bad today. I have an area on my leg that blistered and opened at the time of the incident. Both of my legs had severe red and painful swaths covering about 50% of my legs. Also one arm had similar. Today, those areas seem more like bad sunburn than anything else. I do think that I may need a haircut. I think I’ll post a photo also of myself after the explosion as well.

I’m having a hard time figuring out how to attach photos. What’s the secret?

This is a very frightening experience, we sympathize. I had that very same experience , to a smaller degree and with minor damage 52 yrs ago with our very first trailer. Unforgetable and definitely makes one extremely cautious with anything gas forever.

[JazzDad]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I strongly recommend that anyone who owns this SDS2 cooktop express their safety concerns with Suburban! I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt.

Web contact form:
https://www.airxcel.com/rv/suburban/contact-us
Email:
smcsales@suburbanmfg.com
Customer Service Phone:
(423) 775-2131

Although I do not yet have my trailer, I have used the contact link rubicon provided asking what the company is doing about this problem (including the link to this thread).


If everyone would do similar...

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

All materials have limitations, and copper can certainly work-harden and so become brittle, if the tubing is not properly supported. The real problem in the aluminum wiring wasn't the aluminum itself, but compatibility with other materials in the connections.

In this case, the problem is apparently defective assembly leaving the valves unsupported and as a result the tubing being stressed and flexed. While a different material might help, it wouldn't address the root problem... and the root problem appears to be easy to fix.

Could you restate what the easy fix is? Somehow I missed it in the thread.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Could you restate what the easy fix is? Somehow I missed it in the thread.

Eggscape found that the nuts securing the control valves into the stove panel were loose. Tightening them provides the intended support to the valves instead of the tubing doing it.

[oldwave]

Been very happy with the Atwood, plus the metal cover works well for putting and induction cooktop when we have power

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Eggscape found that the nuts securing the control valves into the stove panel were loose. Tightening them provides the intended support to the valves instead of the tubing doing it.

Thanks, Brian.

[JazzDad]

Originally Posted by JazzDad

Although I do not yet have my trailer, I have used the contact link rubicon provided asking what the company is doing about this problem (including the link to this thread).

If everyone would do similar...

So far:
Thank you for filling out the Suburban Contact Us form. Someone will be in contact with you just as soon as possible.
[/SIZE]
[/B]

Please note: Emails are answered in the order received. Should you submit this form after 3PM EST on Friday afternoons, we may not be in contact with you until Monday. Should you need immediate assistance, please contact your local dealer and/or service center.

https://www.airxcel.com/

[NWtraveller]

I’m posting another update. I called ETI and and had a conversation with Dustin Dionne, After Sales Support. I felt that he was unsympathetic and pretty much uninterested in my issue. I described to him what had happened. He asked what I wanted from him. I told him that he should be aware that they are selling trailers with a potentially dangerous cooktop. He assured me that this is a good cooktop and that before the new trailers are delivered, the cooktops are pressure tested and that no trailers leave the factory with faulty cooktops. I asked him if he had read any of the forum discussions regarding this cooktop because I wanted him to know that I am one of several customers who have had similar issues. He said “I don’t read the forum.” I said I’ll send you a link to the forum discussion about this issue. He again said “I don’t read the forum.” I asked if he would be willing to read the forum discussion about this and he again said “I don’t read the forum.” I said “do you mean that if I were to send you the link to this discussion on the forum, you wouldn’t read it?” He said “correct”. I was pretty annoyed by then. He said that if I wanted to send photos of the damage I could. I asked if he wanted photos of the damaged part of the cooktop or my damaged body. He said only the cooktop. I sent the photo of the damaged part and that’s the last I heard from him.

I also sent a description of the event to the link rubicon posted for suburban. No response.

Meanwhile, my burns have blistered and have been weeping. Some of them are worse than I originally thought. I’ve been having to wrap my legs with gauze like a mummy. The skin is easily torn so it has to be covered. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt other than the places the skin has opened. I’ve been able to hike and bike so all is not lost, though I am trying not to push too hard. Tomorrow we visit Bryce Canyon. I’ve ordered a dometic cooktop from Amazon to be delivered next week to a UPS store on our way. I hope it all works out. We got a little campstove yesterday so we can at least make coffee.

[rbryan4]

That's too bad. It's one thing to state their reasons for believing the cooktop is a good one, but quite another to show disinterest or disdain for folks who were injured by it. A little sympathy and concern goes a long way.

As a side note, it's kind of short sighted for them not to read the forum at least on occasion. Nothing is a better measure of real customer satisfaction than what owners are saying months or years after the sale. It's also a great way to identify potential areas of improvement. Is it a culture shift? If so it's not one for the better.

[Eggscape]

I have received no reply from Escape on the update I gave them 4 days ago.

To bad the Escape Rally was not in a few weeks where we could bring up the subject in person.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by NWtraveller

I’m posting another update. I called ETI and and had a conversation with Dustin Dionne, After Sales Support. I felt that he was unsympathetic and pretty much uninterested in my issue. I described to him what had happened. He asked what I wanted from him. I told him that he should be aware that they are selling trailers with a potentially dangerous cooktop. He assured me that this is a good cooktop and that before the new trailers are delivered, the cooktops are pressure tested and that no trailers leave the factory with faulty cooktops. I asked him if he had read any of the forum discussions regarding this cooktop because I wanted him to know that I am one of several customers who have had similar issues. He said “I don’t read the forum.” I said I’ll send you a link to the forum discussion about this issue. He again said “I don’t read the forum.” I asked if he would be willing to read the forum discussion about this and he again said “I don’t read the forum.” I said “do you mean that if I were to send you the link to this discussion on the forum, you wouldn’t read it?” He said “correct”. I was pretty annoyed by then. He said that if I wanted to send photos of the damage I could. I asked if he wanted photos of the damaged part of the cooktop or my damaged body. He said only the cooktop. I sent the photo of the damaged part and that’s the last I heard from him.

This is disappointing to say the least. Call and ask to speak with Karl Kenny the President. If he says he doesn’t read the forum ask him if he reads certified letters from lawyers. Just because a cooktop leaves their factory without leaks does not mean that a faulty design isn’t causing failures from the rigors of going down the road in a mobile application. This is the kind of thing that will erode confidence in Escape and Karl should be very concerned about that.

[cpaharley2008]

NW Traveler,
please update your avatar to reflect your Escape model, thank you......