Options for a piloted stove/oven

[nospam]

A few months ago we moved into a rented house that uses a propane tank for heat, and the owner isn't willing to replace the piloted stove/ oven combo with one that isn't sucking up propane 24/7 (at $3.50/ gallon). We've adjusted the pilots best we could, but we can tell by the amount of heat that a lot of energy (and $) is being wasted. The owner won't even allow us to replace the unit at our own expense!

Short of shutting off the valve to it entirely, and losing functionality (practically speaking) of a stove/oven, do any other options exist?

[Pat]

Turn the pilot off and light it with a match. I bet the landlord would agree to a new one if you make it clear that it will remain after you leave.

[nospam]

Pat, as far as we can see there's no valve on the unit except the main one behind it. So simply turning the pilots on/off entails moving the whole thing out from the wall. I was hoping we could install a separate LP valve that is accessible without moving the unit.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Matches. Or one of those long lighters made for grills and such. It is not uncommon to do it that way in Europe. The villa I rented in Italy had no pilots but it was not a big deal as we only had breakfast there most days.

Turn them back on during heating season as it won't make much difference then as you need heat anyway.

[Pat]

You should be able to use the adjustment for the pilot to turn it off. Simply adjust it down to nothing.

[hrhofmann]

Buy a $2.00 firelighter and shut the pilots off totally. Get out of the lease after having the owner committed as new electric ignition stoves are readily available at reasonable $$, and you offered to buy it for him.her..

[gpsman]

messagenews:bdedneh80L-Ao5DVnZ2dnUVZ_gudnZ2d@mcminnvilleaccesscompany...

I think (but don't know) that you can just blow them out and a safety valve will shut them off. Then you can just light "by hand".

If I'm wrong somebody will most likely correct me within 30 minutes, if not 30 seconds, if not 30 nanoseconds... -----

- gpsman

[gpsman]

[cshenk]

"nospam" wrote

See if they will let you replace it if you agree in writing to the following: Professional de-install then reinstall later when you move out. You store it in a safe place.

Had renters here several years and they wanted to shift to an electric (I have gas). I told them fine as long as they do the above plus pay for the electric line that would have to be run. Told'em Garage was fine as storage with us but not the back porch under a tarp as they first suggested. They decided to keep the gas unit once they found the price of operation for a gas oven where we are, is far cheaper.

[hallerb]

_gudnZ2d@mcminnvilleaccesscompany...

n tell by

nope no safety for that. theres a screw that sets pilot flame size, just screw it down turning off pilot.

and yes in winter it helps heat home so turn it back on, as it costs nothing

[nospam]

messagenews:bdedneh80L-Ao5DVnZ2dnUVZ_gudnZ2d@mcminnvilleaccesscompany...

Yeah, we tried blowing out the pilots and all that happened was the kitchen smelled like raw propane.

We'd still like an easier solution. The burner pilot screws are below a panel that has to be removed, the same is true for the oven pilot. What a PITA.

The unit model# is G.E. JGBS03PPA3WH. The label mentions an electronic ignition option, anyone know if it can be easily/cheaply added?

[Joseph Meehan]

...

That is the best advice. Think of it as a romantic thing, using a match.

[Joseph Meehan]

I remember the old one we had when I was a kid (1950's) and it did not have a safety pilot, in other words if it was not lit, it would just continue to leak gas.

[gpsman]

You city slickers had everything. We had to light, oven included, with matches kept, where else, on the stove. -----

- gpsman

[Larry Fishel]

Ummm... Since no one's pointed this out yet: The pilot light exists partially as a safety feature...to prevent you (or your cat) from accidentally leaving an unlit burner turned on and blowing up your house.

Whether that is a legal requirement or really a significant risk, I have no idea.

[Mikey S.]

Theoretically that's possible but I wouldn't worry too much, with the pilot lights out the risk is about the same as with electronic ignition, where it's quite possible to turn the burners on 90% of the way, with gas flowing, and never turn them on all the way to the point where the ignition sparks are generated. I was a bit concerned when I first moved from an old pilot light stove to a spark ignition one and realized there is no safety interlock for the burners but that is the way it is for the stove top burners, and it doesn't seem to ever present a problem for anyone I know.

The oven is a different case, you might want to leave that one on as a precaution, to prevent having a buildup of gas in the oven, then a big surprise when you try to light it!

[N8N]

_gudnZ2d@mcminnvilleaccesscompany...

Depends on the age of the unit. if it's really old it won't have a flame sensor or thermocouple. Now the question is, what is "really old?" I know that my grandparents' 1930s era stove didn't have one as I recall, but every other stove I've messed with did, but that's not a very large sample size.

nate