Gas stoves

[riboflavinjoe]

hey.

when i woke up and opened my bedroom door this morning, i smelled that unmistakeable smell of gas... i have a gas stove. the pilot on one side had gone out. the house was full of gas. luckily, i had my bedroom door closed, or else i probably would not be here writing this!!! this is the second time this has happened since i moved in in mid december.

what i would like to know is, what precautions can i take to make sure this doesnt happen again? sure, i know i can check it every night before i go to bed, but i'm hoping there might be something a little more simple... i don't want to have this on my mind for the next year and a half until my lease if finished and i move out into a place with an electric stove...

any help, as always, would be appreciated.

joey

[vengroff]

Call your landlord immediately and ask that the stove be repaired or replaced. I don't know where you live, but in most places the landlord will be legally obligated to fix this dangerous problem. This is not supposed to happen with gas stoves, and it doesn't happen to properly functioning ones.

[riboflavinjoe]

so what you're telling me is that gas stoves always have a precaution that re-lights the pilot... ? it is nigh impossible for a modern, brand new gas stove to lose its pilot...?

[jackal10]

All gas appliances (at least in the UK) must have a flame failure device. Usually this is a mechanical themostat (bi-metallic strip or mercury in a copper tube) heated by the pilot light that cuts off the main gas supply if the pilot light goes out.

Its one of the resons that makes gas boilers such a pain to light from cold - you have to manually hold down the bypass valve until the flame failure device heats up. Its also the thing that fails most often - the copper tube corrodes, so the device never turns on. You need to get them replaced every couple of years.

If your stove doesn't have this its is likely illegal, and certainly dangerous.

OTOH nothing beats gas for instant, controllable heat for cooking on.

Edited March 9, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[riboflavinjoe]

thanks... ill go see my landlord right away. not sure what the laws are for canada (particularly quebec and MONTREAL, where i live,but we'll see).

joey

[col klink]

Most modern gas ranges that I've seen use an electric ignition, negating the need for a pilot light so you might get a new gas stove and you won't have to worry about the pilot light.

[=Mark]

Do check this out as it is not normal. There has been a gas cooktop in my home since 1955 and have never had this problem.

This is the first time I've heard someone actually want an electric range over a gas one...

[fifi]

If there is some type of valve that will let you shut off the gas supply to the stove, go close it... NOW! Like everyone has said, this is not normal and definitely NOT a good thing. Also, if you do smell gas, DO NOT flip any light switches or mess with anything electrical.

[Nick]

Whether you're renting or have your own place you should definitely call a gas repairman tomorrow.

In the meanwhile, check to see if some breeze (air current) might have blown out the pilot light. If you're in Canada it's not likely you have any open windows that would do it, but a swinging door could.

[riboflavinjoe]

F*ck that, I'm calling the repairman tonight, and going to sleep at my inlaw's house, a ten minute walk away!

thanks for the serious heads up, folks... btw, i went to check the pilot again a few minutes ago, and sure as heck, it went out again... and the landlord wants nothing to do with it... looks like i might have myself a fun little adventure in the next few days, trying to deal with this...

as for it being blown out, i don't see anything in the environment which could cause it to go out. there is nothing that would cause an air current or anything like that. you're right, the windows are all closed in this exceptionally cold winter we're having this year. i gotta keep the stove on just to keep me warm (just kidding)

joey

(hey wow, this is my 69th post

Edited March 10, 2003 by riboflavinjoe (log)

[Mottmott]

I'd call the Gas Company. It's a safety issue; they'll fix it or tag it and the landlord will have to replace it. (In most places.) Just make sure your next stove has an electronic pilot.

[riboflavinjoe]

the gas man was here, and all is taken care of. i just cant use my oven until the landlord replaces the gas hose... i got a warning, and the gas company will visit again in two weeks or so.

but as for the pilot light, it needed a cleaning. the gas man also told me it is not a huge deal if it goes out and leaks gas for a few hours. they infact put odor in the gas so that we can detect it at all...

[riboflavinjoe]

woo hoo!!! I got me a new gas range!!! brand spanking new!!! cool, my fridge was brand new when i moved in here, too. wicked!!!

[col klink]

So does the new one have a pilot light or a electric ignition?

[Cook on Ice]

You found a rental with decent appliances in MONTREAL???? I'd say you're well ahead of the game....

[Suzanne F]

The timing of this thread is very interesting to me. You see, on Wednesday this week we had a gas pipe relocated as part of the renovation of the building's lobby. This pipe feeds 2/3 of the apartments in the building. Needless to say, we were very very worried that: 1) something could go wrong and the building blow up, or 2) a resident might panic before their pilot lights were relit and call the gas company. Number two is the more serious problem in the long run -- the gas company would shut us down and walk away, and it could take months to get the gas back on (no cooking! ) (Number one mattered less to me, since I'd be blown up with the bldg, as would HWOE. And then I wouldn't be Board president anymore )

Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch. But yes, gas is scary.

[NeroW]

My understanding is that your landlord is LEGALLY OBLIGATED to correct this problem.

But since you got a new range I guess you're all good now.

[SteveW]

Joey, got to this thread late. As you know, I'm also in Montreal. What you should of done immediately, was call the landlord ordering him to fix the problem ASAP(also send him a certified letter, to make it official). Give him a ten day limit. If it's not done, then you call a repairman to have it fixed. And then you can give the bill to the landlord. Fortunately Montreal has a useful Rental Board, that takes care of these situations. Also we have several excellent tenant rights organizations. I understand in many big cities in North America, they're practically no tenant rights. Hope your new gas range, is to your satisfaction.

--------------

Steve

[riboflavinjoe]

well, things are all being taken care of... i got my new range (without electric pilot...) and they are going to repair the gas plumbing too.

[nyfirepatrolchef]

If there is some type of valve that will let you shut off the gas supply to the stove, go close it... NOW! Like everyone has said, this is not normal and definitely NOT a good thing. Also, if you do smell gas, DO NOT flip any light switches or mess with anything electrical.

this includes battery operated devices AND telephones...anything with a possibility of generating a spark at the opening or closing of a circuit.

Also...little know fact....

there is a narrow window of percentage of atmosphere during which a methane explosion will occur...namely between 5 and 15%.

What most folks dont REALIZE also is.....theres TWO periods during which that range occurs....during buildup AND during ventilation. Dont forget...just as it goes through the 5-15% range building UP...it ALSO comes back DOWN through that range.

[riboflavinjoe]

how much danger is there if i go to sleep with my gas on, filling the house, never mind the explosions and all that, but will i fall peacefully to permanent sleep? or will i just wake up with a headache? or what, etc.

[nyfirepatrolchef]

Methane does NOT support life.

Chances are, choice *A*

[quattroporte]

To my horror, I opened my Wolf 36" gas oven the other day to discover what looks like large burn marks on the bottom of the oven. It looks like someone took hydrochloric acid and a metal scub brush and scratched through the enamel coating right down to the metal, in a perfect square, over what must be the heating element.

I've only had the range for 5 months, and have never cleaned the oven - it just isn't dirty enough to warrant a cleaning. I did put foil on the bottom for Thanksgiving, but from what I understand, the problem with using foil (which you should never do, I discovered) is that it can melt on to the porcelain and can't be removed.

Can anyone enlighten me? I'm having a technician come in to evaluate it, and would feel much better if someone else out there could comment on the problem. I would hate to know that I ruined my dream oven

Thanks!!

[cbread]

I'm fascinated by what people do to modify their cooking tools.  Example: I filed down the front edge of my aluminum pizza peel to sharpen it so it now slides under pies much more smoothly.   But I'm hesitant of a much bigger hack that nonetheless tantalizes me...

 

I read in a wonderful old New Yorker story that Kenny Shopsin, of "Shopsin's", drilled out the jets in his gas cooktop to get more heat in his old restaurant location.  Probably a seriously bad idea for a home kitchen, but darn it, I'd like to get more heat, a lot more heat.  I feel like too often I'm just kinda warming stuff when what I really want is immediate access to massive, volcanic, huge, heat.

 

Has it been done?  Does it even work?  Am I an idiot for thinking such thoughts?

 

I'm assuming this is a "don't try this at home" Darwin Award level stunt, that there are big big issues with safety and insurance - but - that's just assumptions.  Does anyone have actual facts they could pass along? 

[dcarch]

For each burner, it is a jet, not "jets".

 

The jet is designed to optimize gas pressure (PSI), gas quantity (CFM), and air in take design for complete combustion based on the Venturi effect.

 

Don't do it. If you make a mistake, it is not reversible.

 

Buy a stove which has higher BTUs.

 

dcarch