Heating, Cooling and HVAC

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There are three different mechanisms for lighting the burners in gas ovens:
1. Pilot lights. A pilot light oven has a small flame (pilot light) that must remain lit to ignite the burner. You can identify a pilot light oven by looking at the burner assembly, usually visible through the broiler drawer opening. You’ll see a gas tube with a “thermocouple” mounted near its tip. The thermocouple is a small cylinder with a thin copper tube leading to it. If your pilot light is out, refer to your stove manual for lighting instructions, or call the local gas company. Few ovens now have pilot lights, and we won’t cover repairs here.

2. Spark ignition. If you turn your oven on and normally hear clicking, you have a spark ignition pilot assembly. It’s a pencil-shaped porcelain tube with a metal tip on one end and a wire running to the other end. Since it, too, is less common, we won’t cover repairs here.

3. Glow coil igniters. If your oven has a glow coil igniter (the most common type). You can spot it at the rear of the burner.When you turn on the oven, the igniter should glow brightly, signaling the gas valve to open and lighting the burner.

If the igniter is bad, it won’t open the gas valve and your oven won’t come on. If the igniter fails to glow, glows dimly or fails to light the burner after glowing for 30 to 45 seconds, replace it.

Start by removing the oven racks and lifting out the metal burner cover on the bottom of the oven compartment. Your oven may look a little different, but the procedure is the same. This is also a good time to clean out the little holes in the burner with a stiff-bristle brush.

A new oven igniter will cost $35 to $60. Handle the new igniter carefully and avoid touching the dark gray element. Body oil will decrease the life of the igniter.

Source:The Family Handyman

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