Some DCS RGT rangetop configurations include a built-in griddle plate alongside the open burners, heated from below by its own dedicated burner running the width of the plate. When that section starts heating unevenly — hot in the center and cooler at the edges, or hot on one side and cool on the other — the underlying burner is checked first, since a plate that looks warped or uneven is often simply reflecting flame that’s no longer distributing heat evenly beneath it.
Checking the Burner Beneath the Plate
The griddle burner runs the full width of the plate through a series of ports, and if a section of those ports has become blocked with grease that’s worked its way down from repeated griddle use, the flame along that section weakens while the rest continues burning normally — producing exactly the hot-spot pattern owners describe. Cleaning the burner beneath the plate, which usually requires lifting the plate itself off its mounting, resolves a meaningful share of these complaints.
When the Plate Itself Has Warped
Repeated heating and cooling cycles over years of use can cause a griddle plate to develop a slight warp, and a warped plate makes even, direct contact with a pan or food across its surface, producing uneven cooking even with a perfectly even flame underneath. This is a wear issue with the plate itself rather than the burner, and it’s checked with a straightedge against the plate’s surface rather than guessed at.
Grease Management Affects This Too
A griddle’s grease trough needs to drain freely for consistent performance — a trough that’s backed up can let grease pool in a way that insulates part of the plate from the burner’s heat, adding another possible cause of an uneven surface temperature that has nothing to do with either the burner or the plate’s condition.
How Owners Sometimes Make It Worse
Scraping a stubborn residue off a griddle plate with a metal spatula or a sharp-edged scraper can gradually thin the plate’s surface in that one spot over repeated use, eventually creating a slightly thinner section that heats faster than the surrounding plate — a self-inflicted version of the same uneven-heat problem that can otherwise be caused by the burner or a genuine warp. A plastic or wooden scraper, used with hot water rather than aggressive force, cleans a griddle plate just as effectively without this long-term risk.
New Uneven Heat vs. Heat That’s Always Been That Way
A griddle that’s had a mild hot spot since it was new is a different situation than one that cooked evenly for years and only recently developed uneven heat — the first may simply be a minor manufacturing variation worth noting but not necessarily worth repairing, while the second points at something that’s genuinely changed and is worth having looked at. Knowing which pattern applies to your unit is useful context to share when booking a visit.
Getting It Diagnosed
See our https://dcsappliancessupport.com/appliances/cooktop-repair/ page for more on what we cover on legacy DCS rangetops, and https://dcsappliancessupport.com/contact/ to have the burner, plate and drainage checked in one visit.