Gas oven not heating (almost HVAC?)

[PCustoms]

Noticed last week my gas oven seemed to be slow and sort of had a gas smell.

Used it a few times since with no issues.

Used it this morning at 300F, went to bump it to 350F and it seemed like food was taking forever. Bumped it to 400F and went into the other room, came back and it was stalled out at 250F.

Ignitor?

Valve

 

[mm08822]

Gas valves are wired in series with the ignitor.
The ignitor is a glow coil that sees the flame all the time. They usually fail open which prevents the gas valve from opening or remaining open.

I've replaced 3 coils and never a gas valve FWIW.

 

[PCustoms]

Gas valves are wired in series with the ignitor.
The ignitor is a glow coil that sees the flame all the time. They usually fail open which prevents the gas valve from opening or remaining open.

I've replaced 3 coils and never a gas valve FWIW.

I replaced the ignitor years ago, I don't recall the symptoms.

It is definitely working, at least once. I suspect it might be failing on the re-ignite. Seems to be an issue only with settings below 400.

 

[PCustoms]

Hmmm, pretty damn close to exactly 4yrs

 

[mm08822]

Always good to have a spare onhand.

It's easier to just re-place it cold than to troubleshoot it hot due to poor access.

This helps - put stove up on 4×4's to get easier access underneath the stove.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Just replaced the igniter in ours. The original lasted a couple years, aftermarket ones last about a year although the last one only lasted a couple months or maybe 10 uses.

Definitely a marginal design on our Samsung stove. If the resistance goes out of spec the valve won’t close so make sure the connections are good.

 

[PCustoms]

Always good to have a spare onhand.

It's easier to just re-place it cold than to troubleshoot it hot due to poor access.

This helps - put stove up on 4×4's to get easier access underneath the stove.

Access isn't bad, 4 screws at bottom of oven IIRC.

I think I had to cut the plug and use the special nuts, can't remember exactly. Just remember it was fast after fighting the damn oven for a week.

For $24 I'll fire the parts cannon first. I bet it's here Wednesday. There were slightly cheaper/faster choices but this brand/seller still had 2x the reviews anything else did and a high rating.

Guess I'm not making pizza for dinner...

 

[fitter30]

Hot surface igniters even if they turn red if they don't pull a minimum amps will not open gas valve. Remove it take it to a appliance parts house. Stoves have their info back side of very top part. They will be on metal strips and rotate up from a pivot screw
Stove doesn't need to be pulled out.

 

[Milton Shaw]

The ignitor specifications are usually in the range of 1.75 amps to 2.25 amps for the valve to open fully. The element can crack all the way and sometimes its open and no heat, to a crack that just barely makes connection and doesn't open the valve but just a little which would be slow to heat and maybe not even enough to get gas to flow and ignite but enough to give gas smell. Replace the ignitor and that should fix the problems. Also gas pressure can be off and cause the same type of problem but unless you have made changes in house that should not be problem. You don't say if on NG or on propane and could have supply problems on either one.

 

[rlitman]

...You don't say if on NG or on propane and could have supply problems on either one.

Propane can have issues in extreme cold.

 

[PCustoms]

Also gas pressure can be off and cause the same type of problem but unless you have made changes in house that should not be problem. You don't say if on NG or on propane and could have supply problems on either one.

Propane, no changes to plumbing in several years.

On demand water heater, furnace and garage heater all still work correctly so not a supply issue.

Oddly it's been fine since I posted this thread, but just gave me issues last week. Have the ignitor in the drawer next to the stove....

 

[PCustoms]

Oddly it's been fine since I posted this thread, but just gave me issues last week. Have the ignitor in the drawer next to the stove....

Well can't even remember what I was trying to cook Friday but it took forever and the oven was not keeping temp.

Swapped the ignitor this morning, oven shot right to 350F while I was chopping veggies for a pork roast.

 

[hobie18]

Test the igniter for ohms. Telltale way to know. Glad you got a new one for cheap. Last one I replaced for a friend... a lot more.

Well done.

 

[Firebrick43]

Propane can have issues in extreme cold.

Yea, in the -30’s

Propane will boil at -44 F

Even International Falls was not hitting those temps this month, let alone Vermont.

Only if the tanks is grossly under size will auto refrigeration cause issues in those temps.

Had two calls last week of incompetent HVAC guys blaming propane levels (30 and 40%) during 5 deg weather for faulty furnaces. Both a solid 11” WC pressure at the house, 10 psi at the fist stage, and 25 psi in the tank.

Neither had put a manometer on either to actually check

 

[rlitman]

Yea, in the -30’s
Propane will boil at -44 F
Even International Falls was not hitting those temps this month, let alone Vermont.
Only if the tanks is grossly under size will auto refrigeration cause issues in those temps...

No argument from me there. Though snow can be very insulating, so the auto refrigeration effect can be an issue if your above-ground tank is buried in snow. Then it only needs to be moderately undersized and overused. I don't think that it's likely the issue, but if the problem miraculously goes away when the weather warms up, that should be cause for a follow-up.

 

[PCustoms]

No argument from me there. Though snow can be very insulating, so the auto refrigeration effect can be an issue if your above-ground tank is buried in snow. Then it only needs to be moderately undersized and overused. I don't think that it's likely the issue, but if the problem miraculously goes away when the weather warms up, that should be cause for a follow-up.

No other appliances had gas issues, and the problem was miraculously fixed when I changed the ignitor.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

No other appliances had gas issues, and the problem was miraculously fixed when I changed the ignitor.

Where is the tank regulator located?………. Maybe a frozen regulator? Keep an eye on the outdoor temps when this happens.
Hopefully it was just a bad ignitor and now it’s fixed.

 

[mm08822]

Buy a spare and tape it somewhere cool within the enclosure where you will find it next time.

 

[rlitman]

Buy a spare and tape it somewhere cool within the enclosure where you will find it next time.

There's nothing anywhere in an oven that gets nearly as hot as a hot surface igniter. But they're terribly fragile. I'd keep the spare in the cardboard box, protected in the foam sleeve.

...the problem was miraculously fixed when I changed the ignitor.

That's generally the first place to start.

 

[ipgenie]

I just did the same thing with our oven. It's an LG and calls for 3.2A before opening the gas valve. The ignitor was cherry red hot but only pulling 2.9A. New ignitor took care of the problem. The old one was probably hitting the amp requirement sometimes and would light but wouldn't re-light.