Easy new-to-me range fix or am i toast?
- Thread starter Stephen Trapani
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stove
My propane stove has 3 burners of which 1 is real low btu output and two are moderatley highy ...I repair rv's for a living and looking all over it his is what you get. adjusting air mixture should be left to a qualified tech as this only changes the mixture not the btu output..You may try removing each burner and cleaning them as spiders love propane residue and also cleaning with a tookthpick each little burner hole around the burner itself also have someone check your lp regulator for correct pressure
Stephen,
Check the main burner of the oven. If that is also low you may have a bad regulator which is near the tank. These appliances usually want about 11" of water column and if you know someone with a manometer this is an easy test but regulators are inexpensive to replace. It may also be your solenoid as over time they can often get corroded internally and not fully open.
If your oven burner is strong then the problem is likely to be with the upper system and not the regulator or solenoid. The upper system consists of three valves or two depending upon your range.. If everything is weak start at the tank end if only the top burners are start at the stove.
You'll also want to be sure this range was not set up originally for CNG as the orifices and main t-stat/valve are different for CNG and LPG. Lots of Hillerange's were sold and or set up for CNG..
If it is CNG Seaward can sell you a conversion kit for the Hillerange and IIRC consists of a new t-stat valve, orifices and perhaps some other parts depending upon the age of your range.. Many of the old t-stats and mercury based valves used on those older units are only available from a few places and even then only in re-mans. To meet USCG and ABYC these valves needed to kill the pilot when the oven was turned off and this is not standard for gas valves hence the somewhat limited availability of older parts.. It's been a few years since I converted one so I can't recall the kit price.
Check the main burner of the oven. If that is also low you may have a bad regulator which is near the tank. These appliances usually want about 11" of water column and if you know someone with a manometer this is an easy test but regulators are inexpensive to replace. It may also be your solenoid as over time they can often get corroded internally and not fully open.
If your oven burner is strong then the problem is likely to be with the upper system and not the regulator or solenoid. The upper system consists of three valves or two depending upon your range.. If everything is weak start at the tank end if only the top burners are start at the stove.
You'll also want to be sure this range was not set up originally for CNG as the orifices and main t-stat/valve are different for CNG and LPG. Lots of Hillerange's were sold and or set up for CNG..
If it is CNG Seaward can sell you a conversion kit for the Hillerange and IIRC consists of a new t-stat valve, orifices and perhaps some other parts depending upon the age of your range.. Many of the old t-stats and mercury based valves used on those older units are only available from a few places and even then only in re-mans. To meet USCG and ABYC these valves needed to kill the pilot when the oven was turned off and this is not standard for gas valves hence the somewhat limited availability of older parts.. It's been a few years since I converted one so I can't recall the kit price.
Yes but I believe the CNG systems ran at 8" +/- of WC vs. 11" which the LPG systems do so the flame theoretically should be bigger if using LPG on CNG but the over pressure to the valve, if set for 7-8" vs. 11" sometimes has a safety affect of closing it down too so the flame does not go out of specifications. Could just be a dirty orifice or two as well...
The lower pressure would result in less fuel at a lower velocity it would have the effect of turning the flame down.. Sometimes the orifice is marked with a two digit number. That is a number drill size which can be used to clean the hole.
Check out these pictures. When I lifted the pan to look for orifices and stuff I found these pipes detached and apparently a piece missing. You can see two screws going down into the stove that were holding the piece on, two threaded fittings male and female that should have gone into this mystery piece, and another male fitting not connected. These are all going to the oven control, which I never turned on. What is the missing piece and where can I get one? This wouldn't have affected the low burner flames, would it?
Both stove burners have low flames at full power. My Force 10 cabin heater still has a full, strong flame. I have a new solenoid and regulator that was working fine on the old stove. Does that narrow down the burner problem? Sheesh, what a weekend I've had. Add in the check engine light coming on in my car at the top of Snoqualmie Pass four hours from home and the frikken busted bolts on the manifold and it's been quite the adventure last weekend! I'm hoping for three happy endings but my friends say I'm a pie in the sky dreamer.
Both stove burners have low flames at full power. My Force 10 cabin heater still has a full, strong flame. I have a new solenoid and regulator that was working fine on the old stove. Does that narrow down the burner problem? Sheesh, what a weekend I've had. Add in the check engine light coming on in my car at the top of Snoqualmie Pass four hours from home and the frikken busted bolts on the manifold and it's been quite the adventure last weekend! I'm hoping for three happy endings but my friends say I'm a pie in the sky dreamer.
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Stephen,
I would not flip on your solenoid!
If you are in Washington try Sure Marine Services, they are out your way, and they should be able to fix you up. It looks like you're missing your oven control valve.
It will likely be significantly easier and probably safer to just bring them the range and have them repair it and give it the once over..
Sure Marine Services
[FONT=arial, verdana, helvetica][SIZE=-1]5320 28th Avenue NW, Seattle, Washington 98107
800-562-7797, 206-784-9903[/SIZE][/FONT]
I would not flip on your solenoid!
If you are in Washington try Sure Marine Services, they are out your way, and they should be able to fix you up. It looks like you're missing your oven control valve.It will likely be significantly easier and probably safer to just bring them the range and have them repair it and give it the once over..
Sure Marine Services
[FONT=arial, verdana, helvetica][SIZE=-1]5320 28th Avenue NW, Seattle, Washington 98107
800-562-7797, 206-784-9903[/SIZE][/FONT]
I'll strongly consider that, Maine Sail. Meanwhile the boat is DITW on the hook due to the manifold problem and a very difficult paddle and too much stairs to climb up to get the stove back out as it sits. Too bad there isn't something "easy" I can do with it to fix it in the meantime.
The problem with these older units is that there were a number of configurations over the years and the parts are slightly different. Without that valve it would be tough to guess which one to replace it with and get everything to line up. With this being propane you want to do it as safely as you can. LPG can accumulate like snow in the bilge until it gets deep enough and goes booom...
Can't hurt but you may also try Sure Marine as they are right in your local area and do lots of Hillerange repairs. I am on the East coast so a West Coast location is irrelevant but for you it could mean brick and mortar, touchy feely walk in, vs. mail order and hope you got the right part.
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