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Discussion Forum

might a gas range have 2 pilot lights?

Matt | Posted in General Discussion on July 12, 2007 03:24am

As in one for the burners and one for the oven?

It’s in an unoccupied rental unit in a city about 250 miles form here so I can’t tell you the model or even the make.  At this point all I know is that it is a 30″ standard cheap looking gas range (oven and cooktop in one unit) and that it is about 35 years old.

Or is there likely one pilot light for both the cooktop and oven?

The thing worked about a month ago when I checked it but now the RE says the oven is not working but the cooktop burners are OK.   In the mean time I had the apartment maint man turn off the gas and set off some flea bombs, and then turn the gas back on and relight the pilot.

Thoughts?


Edited 7/11/2007 8:36 pm ET by Matt

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Replies

  1. pgproject | Jul 12, 2007 03:38am | #1

    Older ranges had a separate pilot for the oven. Newer ones use some type of electric ignition for the oven.

  2. WayneL5 | Jul 12, 2007 03:40am | #2

    Old gas ovens did not have a pilot light, they were lit with a match.  I never owned one with a pilot, we went right from a match to electronic ignition.

  3. DanH | Jul 12, 2007 03:50am | #3

    My recollection is that some units had two pilots. But it's been a long time, and only had a gas stove briefly in college.

    So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
  4. ClaysWorld | Jul 12, 2007 03:58am | #4

    Yes and some of the pilots on the stove/broiler are finicky to get lit.

    Usually there are really 3, one on each side for 2ea burners and one for the stove.

    The stove has a thermocouple so it has to stay lit so the gas won't run and blow the place up.

  5. User avater
    IMERC | Jul 12, 2007 04:13am | #5

    2 seperate pilots...

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!! What a Ride!
    Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

    1. DanH | Jul 12, 2007 04:17am | #6

      separate. There's a rat in there.
      So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Jul 12, 2007 04:21am | #7

        if it was rez's there would be...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

        WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

    2. User avater
      Matt | Jul 12, 2007 04:22am | #8

      Thanks a bunch guys.  How might the oven pilot light be accessed?  Maybe in the top of the oven when you bend down and look up? 

      Edited 7/11/2007 9:26 pm ET by Matt

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Jul 12, 2007 04:24am | #9

        yur welcome...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

        WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

      2. MrBill | Jul 12, 2007 04:30am | #10

        Matt,

         The one in our first house was in the bottom, under the burners. You had to lift a cover in the "floor" of the oven to get to it and light it. The one in my parents house had an access hole in the floor of the oven that you could stick a match in and light it.

        Hope this helps,

         

        Bill Koustenis

        Advanced Automotive Machine

        Waldorf Md

        Edited 7/11/2007 9:30 pm ET by MrBill

        1. User avater
          Matt | Jul 12, 2007 04:40am | #11

          Thanks Bill

          BTW - we drove through your town this past weekend.  Visited sis just south of Deal so we traveled up and down 301 (I live in NC).

          My wife picked up a booklet at the rest stop about John Wilks Booth and MD in the Civil War.  It was pretty interesting to hear about how southern MD had heavy rebel influnces, and the way they made it sound So MD was more tied to the Confederacy than to the Union...

  6. barmil | Jul 13, 2007 05:22am | #12

    Any stove that still has a pilot light is just plain too old, unless you have a restored one for looks, like an old Okeefe & Merritt like my parents had. Get a new one.

    1. rich1 | Jul 13, 2007 07:13am | #13

      And why would a pilot light make it old and bad?

      1. User avater
        IMERC | Jul 13, 2007 07:26am | #14

        negative side....

        they waste gas and are prone to go out but the gas keeps flowing....

        gas build up then generates a possible seriously dangerous problem...

        plus side...

        keeps the farmers pot warm...

        ummmmmmmmmmmmmm..........................

        the pluse side wins....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

        WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

        1. rich1 | Jul 13, 2007 08:45am | #15

          No arguement here,

           

          If said pilot has a thermocouple, generally speaking there will be no boom.

           

          Most commercial ovens have standing pilots.  More reliable than electronic ignition, and cheaper to repair.

          1. dovetail97128 | Jul 13, 2007 09:07am | #16

            I recenty helped install a small commercial range in a residence.
            Not 1, not 2, but 8 pilot lights.
            One ea. for burners (6) and 2 for the ovens. Each did have it's own thermocouple ."Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca

        2. Stray | Jul 13, 2007 04:53pm | #20

          Damn nice to be able to finish cooking your thanksgiving turkey in the oven when the power is out though. 

          Electronic ignition stoves you can light the burners with a match, but you ain't going to get the oven gas valve open without power...

          Pilots are simple, and don't really fail.  Good for decades.

          My understanding is that the amount of gas a blown-out pilot light seeps out can virtually never build up to a dangerouse explode-the-house level due to normal room air exchange (I'm sure there could be an exception, tight as a drum house).

          Last I heard it costs about $5/year in gas to keep a pilot going.  In heating season, you get 100% efficient heat out of the thing anyway.  You only "lose" money in cooling season.

          Pilots aren't bad, and certainly no reason to get rid of a stove. 

          1. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 13, 2007 05:22pm | #21

            and they are the last word in keeping the farmers pot warm...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          2. Stray | Jul 13, 2007 05:31pm | #22

            The whole "Farmer's Pot" reference is going over my head.  What is it?

            I do remember my mother loved the warmth of the pilot light when she was setting bread dough to rise.  She'd put the bowl between 2 burners and drape a big kitchen towel over the bowl to capture the heat. 

          3. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 14, 2007 06:27am | #31

            a farmers pot is one of those old porcilen coffee pots that you boil coffee in, not perk,,,

            and you add a pince of salt and an egg shell to it...

            after the coffee is made ya set it on the pilot to keep it hot and ready..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          4. Stray | Jul 15, 2007 02:45am | #32

            Ahhh...Yet another good use of a pilot. 

            I'd heard the pinch of salt as an "old Navy" trick.  Never heard of the eegshell, curious what it adds.  Maybe I'll experiment tomorrow.

              

          5. DanH | Jul 15, 2007 03:35am | #33

            Throw in the entire egg.
            So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

          6. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 15, 2007 08:09am | #35

            cool...

            coffee flavored poached or hard boiled eggs.....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          7. DanH | Jul 15, 2007 03:45pm | #36

            Old "chuckwagon" coffee -- put grounds in the pot (no basket) & boil. Add egg (& shell) to coagulate the grounds. The shell alone supposedly absorbs some of the bitterness.
            So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

          8. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 15, 2007 03:58pm | #37

            never used the egg.. only the shell....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          9. DanH | Jul 15, 2007 04:00pm | #38

            Well, to be completely honest, I've had egg coffee and it wasn't all that exceptional.
            So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

          10. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 15, 2007 04:01pm | #39

            wouldn't think so...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          11. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 15, 2007 04:02pm | #40

            time to go chase down some fish....

            later...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          12. DanH | Jul 15, 2007 04:08pm | #41

            (It's easier if you use bait, so they come to you.)
            So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

          13. User avater
            IMERC | Jul 15, 2007 08:08am | #34

            helps the grounds stay clumped together...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

            WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

          14. User avater
            BillHartmann | Jul 13, 2007 10:30pm | #28

            Well I was in school I was on co-op one time and had this apartment. It has a small galley kitchen.The gas oven did not have a pilot. You had to light it with a match. And it would blow the door open.Leanr the proper place to stand while doing this.The kitchen was narrow and if you stood right in front of the stove you would get kneecapped when the door blew open..
            .
            A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

          15. JohnT8 | Jul 14, 2007 12:23am | #29

            You ever try not waiting quite so long to light it?

             

             

             

            ;)

             jt8

            "If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep."  -- Dale Carnegie 

        3. TomT226 | Jul 13, 2007 07:52pm | #24

          I still have a 25 year old gas stove with 3 pilots, one for each two burners, and the oven pilot.  It's out in the BBQ building so I can hook a propane bottle up to it when I need extra burners or an oven.

          The pilot light was accessable through the broiler door, under the oven. Think it's a Whirlpool.  Still works great.  Just have to remember to light the pilots when I use it.

          Those old pilot lights were good for letting bread rise and keeping your sourdough "starter" going... 

        4. BryanSayer | Jul 14, 2007 12:57am | #30

          Pilot lights in ovens are also great for raising bread dough. Just enough heat to allow the yeast to do its thing.

  7. Piffin | Jul 13, 2007 02:34pm | #17

    I've seen as many as five pilots on a commercial style.

    Older gemnration did have two for the size you have. Sounds like maybe the bug bomber re-lit the pilot for the ramgetop burners but not for the oven.

    To light it, you just turn on the oven and use a lighter to light the burner and the pilot retrolights and then stays on. That is my memory anyways.
    If it does not stay on, you need service call to replace the thermocouple controling things

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. DanH | Jul 13, 2007 04:23pm | #19

      Of course, it takes about a minute for the thermocouple to warm up so that it will stay on.
      So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

  8. User avater
    popawheelie | Jul 13, 2007 02:45pm | #18

    The pilot will be next to the burner for the oven. The burner should be below the oven. There will be a button you have to reset to get the pilot ot work. Sometimes the button is hard to find. The last gas stove we had it was hard to find. Hope this helps.

  9. YesMaam27577 | Jul 13, 2007 06:13pm | #23

    I had a gas range in a house that I bought in 1981. The range was 40" wide, with only four burners. The extra space was in the middle between the burners.

    It had two pilots for the cooktop -- one for the left pair, and one for the right pair. It had none for the oven --- that was match-lit only.

     

     

     

    Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.

  10. JohnT8 | Jul 13, 2007 08:09pm | #25

    Someone probably already answered you, but yes.  I've got an old gas stove that has two cooktop pilots and one in the oven.

     

    jt8

    "If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep."  -- Dale Carnegie 

    1. DanH | Jul 13, 2007 08:31pm | #26

      You got a pilot in the oven? Isn't that a little early to be planning occupations?
      So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

      1. JohnT8 | Jul 13, 2007 08:50pm | #27

        Boooooo!

        Actually the oven pilot is just under the oven.  I open to broiler to get to it.

         jt8

        "If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep."  -- Dale Carnegie 

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