Just installed a used Imperial 36" range that the seller converted to propane.. After hookup, all 6 burners work fine. Oven pilot lights and stays on nicely, makes hissing sound, but gas will not exit the burner when oven control is turned on. I'm suspecting the conversion may be incomplete because no sort of pressure regulator was installed on the stove. There is just the ordinary regulator at the tank. When I had my US Range hotplate converted to propane, a regulator was installed. What could be the problem here? Thanks.
John, near Fresno, CA
There
are basically two types of ranges to deal with:
those with
sealed top burners, which are pretty much the standard today,
and the conventional, 'non-sealed' ones.
While
they operate in much the same way, their conversion is
usually different. There are still a few ranges that use adjustable
sealed burner orifices, but most are 'fixed' and must
be individually replaced to convert each burner from one
fuel to another.
(An orifice is simply a small brass fitting with a specifically sized
hole very accurately drilled through it, and, if adjustable, has
a provision to change the size of this hole by turning closed
a threaded portion).
Either
way, basically what you're doing when going from natural
gas to LP is changing to a smaller orifice to allow for the
higher pressure supplied by the 'bottled' gas (The available energy
in each ft of gas is different too, but for our purpose here
that's not important). Natural gas supplies typically run around
a pressure of 5.5 inches water column, while LP runs at
twice that pressure, averaging around 11 inches.
The orifice through
which the gas travels to the burner must be smaller to accommodate
this difference.
Adjustable
orifices are simply 'snugged' down, clockwise, with a
1/2 inch open-end wrench, to convert them. Nearly all oven burners
use these too - more about that in a minute.
Fixed
orifices are replaced, and the good news is: the LP parts are
usually included with the new range. On some brands (GE being
one), the unused set is
attached to a storage point on the stove,
and this is a great idea. This way, they can't get lost, and if
you ever want to convert
back, there they are!
The
not-so-good news: these little top burner orifices very often require
a metric wrench to remove & install. And some can't be changed
without a very slender wrench or nut driver.
If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/craig_3fa289bf857b1a3c
439 views
Usually answered in minutes!
×