need advice on gas range

[ap]

Hello, We have had a whirlpool gas range with electronic ignition. The range is about 7 years old and gives us trouble sparking the pilot light. It takes a while to light up and there is some gas smell.

We are fairly heavy users of the stove and home cook all meals.

We are considering purchasing a new range. A few questions:

Some stores carry the older pilot light models (w/o the electronic ignition). Are these models better in terms of lighting up immediately?

Which models/brands do you recommend and have worked well for you?

Also, with gas ranges, do you occasionally smell gas and does your pilot light ever go out?

thank you!

[Lawrence]

I have always had a stove with a standing pilot. They have their good and bad points but they are reliable with concern to lighting. When I have had the occasional trouble it was because I slopped sudsy water into the works. Was able to fix it with and air compressor and a pipe cleaner.

I don't know about brands but I do know that domestic stoves with pilots are typically the cheaper ones. Commercial restaurant stoves always have a standing pilot. So you can either buy a domestic cheapie with a pilot or you can buy a commercial style. Commerical stoves are often available used from restaurant equipment suppliers. Auctions of restaurant equipment is common and is another place to look for good deals. I have attended one such auction and stuff was going for pennies.

[CJT]

That sort of thing usually means the burners are dirty. A few minutes with a wire brush should help.

[mm]

My mother cleaned the burners once a year or more. A friend's mother cleaned them once a month. But friends of mine from my generation didnt' clean them for the entire 10 years they had had the range. Of course it was dirty and didn't light. (To be fair, his were harder to clean than my mother's or mine when I had a gas stove)