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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    St. Louis

    Anybody an expert about gas stoves?

    My family moved recently, and the move was a disaster. We couldn't get the gas stove into the house, and it got rained on. It took a while to install a gas line to where the stove goes. The stove is in now; its electric components work, and the gas line is live (you can smell the gas and you can hear the clicking noises when you turn the burner to the "light" position). But it won't light.

    Any suggestions? Can I try to light it with a butane match like my gas grill (when the automatic lighter thingy failed)?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Not an expert, but I think you don't need to be an expert to advise: don't light a match if you smell gas! (rotten egg smell ... added for so you know when there's a leak)

    If you're ONLY smelling gas when you're trying to start the stove, OK. Clear the smell with open windows/fans. If you smell it regardless of whether you're trying to light the stove, open windows, try to find a master shutoff for the gas supply, call the gas company.

    As for why the gas stove's igniter isn't working, IDK. On gas grills, those push-button igniters often don't last long. But on gas stoves in houses, they seem to have much greater longevity.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Watching carolina Go To HELL!
    Quote Originally Posted by rasputin View Post
    My family moved recently, and the move was a disaster. We couldn't get the gas stove into the house, and it got rained on. It took a while to install a gas line to where the stove goes. The stove is in now; its electric components work, and the gas line is live (you can smell the gas and you can hear the clicking noises when you turn the burner to the "light" position). But it won't light.

    Any suggestions? Can I try to light it with a butane match like my gas grill (when the automatic lighter thingy failed)?

    Thanks
    Call the gas company. Don't mess around with a gas leak - we don't want to read about you in the newspaper, either from carbon monoxide poisoning nor about your house blowing up. If they can't fix the not-lighting problem, call a gas appliance repair company, probably a store that sells the brand of stove you have.
    Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!

    Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
    9F 9F 9F
    https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com

  4. #4
    This sounds similar to my gas stove when I moved into my house. I would turn the knob to turn it on, the igniters would click but the gas would not spark. I used a butane lighter for years until I had the igniters changed out. When you hear the clicking sound, do you see the igniters sparking? If they are you may need to take the burner apart to see if the holes for the gas are plugged.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by esl View Post
    This sounds similar to my gas stove when I moved into my house. I would turn the knob to turn it on, the igniters would click but the gas would not spark. I used a butane lighter for years until I had the igniters changed out. When you hear the clicking sound, do you see the igniters sparking? If they are you may need to take the burner apart to see if the holes for the gas are plugged.
    Agreed on all fronts. The igniter may just be shot even if it's making noise. Ours had the same thing happen once, too. Sadly, it's one of those times where you have to call the repair guy. Better than visiting Kingdom Come.
    Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'

  6. #6
    My igniters frequently don't light if I've just cleaned the stove top. I use a lighter to get it going, burn it off for five minutes and it's fine.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    St. Louis
    Thanks everyone. I decided to just let the stove sit in place for another day, and the burners lit this morning.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by rasputin View Post
    Thanks everyone. I decided to just let the stove sit in place for another day, and the burners lit this morning.
    Ah, my favorite solution. Do nothing and the problem disappears.

    Seriously, I ran out of propane due to a miscommunication with my new provider. The stove worked but the gas-powered fireplaces lost their pilot lights. Took a service call -- there was undoubtedly air in the gas line due to the outage.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Quote Originally Posted by OZZIE4DUKE View Post
    Call the gas company. Don't mess around with a gas leak - we don't want to read about you in the newspaper, either from carbon monoxide poisoning nor about your house blowing up. If they can't fix the not-lighting problem, call a gas appliance repair company, probably a store that sells the brand of stove you have.
    In a somewhat related anecdote, when the hurricane/tropical storm passed through NJ a few weeks ago my whole home generator kicked in with the loss of power and within a few hours our carbon monoxide detector in the basement went off with an "evacuate" message. We've run the generator many times before without incident. Turns out that the high, swirling winds and close proximity of my neighbor's house blew CO through the seems in a closed basement window. It was in the middle of the afternoon so we heard the alarm as soon as it went off and were not in danger, but the fire department had to come and air out the house as we waited outside.

    That same week I had to have a building inspection for the installation of a new chimney liner and water heater in my basement. The inspector said he smelled gas and that I should have our gas company check it out. I have never had a utility company respond so quickly - they had someone over within the hour. I guess when you say "gas leak" it's a pretty big deal. They identified the problem, turned the valve off as a precaution, and a plumber took care of it this week.

    So, to sum up, a gas leak and carbon monoxide scare in one week! Oh the joys of home ownership!
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by Rich View Post
    In a somewhat related anecdote, when the hurricane/tropical storm passed through NJ a few weeks ago my whole home generator kicked in with the loss of power and within a few hours our carbon monoxide detector in the basement went off with an "evacuate" message. We've run the generator many times before without incident. Turns out that the high, swirling winds and close proximity of my neighbor's house blew CO through the seems in a closed basement window. It was in the middle of the afternoon so we heard the alarm as soon as it went off and were not in danger, but the fire department had to come and air out the house as we waited outside.

    That same week I had to have a building inspection for the installation of a new chimney liner and water heater in my basement. The inspector said he smelled gas and that I should have our gas company check it out. I have never had a utility company respond so quickly - they had someone over within the hour. I guess when you say "gas leak" it's a pretty big deal. They identified the problem, turned the valve off as a precaution, and a plumber took care of it this week.

    So, to sum up, a gas leak and carbon monoxide scare in one week! Oh the joys of home ownership!
    When you say "gas leak," that IS a big deal. Remind me to tell you of the time when my grandchildren sprayed themselves with bear spray (red pepper spray) inside our house. But when everyone went into convulsive reactions, we didn't know what it was, and reported it as a "poison gas" problem. Had a pretty big turnout of the local emergency people, I would say.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

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