Oven Pilot Light

[fernsco]

Of course the manual skirts the question, but if we are in an area for a few days is it okay to leave the pilot light on for the oven or is it better (and safer) to turn it all the way off. Just trying to avoid getting on my hands and knees and sticking my hand in the oven every time! Thanks.

[bsmeaton]

Theoretically you are supposed to be able to leave it on. If you inadevertanly forget to shut it off, it will go out when you turn off the tanks and the gas valve will close it off when the thermocouple cools. It does generate a little uncessary heat though.

[noneck]

And, what we do is use the oven, then turn it off as relighting activity is a price we pay to have fun yet I would be making myself crazy wondering if it was still on!

[Waynem]

I lit mine and forgot abo it until we were ready to move. The fun was laying on the floor (with my bad knees) and lighting it. I figured out a faster way. Get one of those gas(butane) long stem candle lighters, hold it under the thermocouple for 10 or 15 seconds, and then tell DW to turn it to GAS. It lights the burner and the pilot will stay lit until you turn it off. It's not more dangerous than leaving the pilot light on at the stick house for the water heater, or stove oven, in my humble opinion.

I wonder how difficult it would be to change it out to a piezeo(sp) electric coupler????

[skypilot]

Wayne - you bring up an interesting question -- I've wondered why they, Dometic et al, haven't done it already. Has to be some reason but it would make sense -- we have electronic ignition on the ones in our stick homes so why not the camper??? Anyone know?

[bsmeaton]

quote:Originally posted by skypilot

Wayne - you bring up an interesting question -- I've wondered why they, Dometic et al, haven't done it already. Has to be some reason but it would make sense -- we have electronic ignition on the ones in our stick homes so why not the camper??? Anyone know?

That is a good question. The oven, now owned by Magic Chef, has been the same design for decades. I had the same oven back when I had to light the fridge and the HW tank. Maybe they just want to keep simple for all applications? Even those without electric like some of the tent trailers?

[Bill and Lisa]

In my previous trailer with an Atwood oven, I added a piso electric ignitor for the stove and it worked just fine. Haven't gotten around to it yet on the Monty.

[CanDo]

Okay, Bill and Lisa, you have definitely piqued our curiosity. Just how do you go about adding such an electric igniter? Hundreds of aching knees and sore shoulders would love to know!

[Okie Guy]

I would trade in for that feature myself!

[BB_TX]

I tell the DW after I light the pilot the first time to leave the pilot on. We do have both carbon monoxide and propane detectors after all. But she just can't bring herself to leave it on. So each time she uses the oven, I have to get down an relight it. That seems to get harder on the body each day.

[Bill and Lisa]

Darn, just searched through all my pictures here at work on two computers and I don't have an after photo. Correction to my earlier post....The stove I did this mod to was an ATWOOD. On that model stove/oven there was already a hole drilled in the control face plate for a push button ignitor. It was covered up with the sticker that ran the whole width of the stove and had the burner symbols and graphics on it. You could run your finger along the faceplate and "feel" the hole beneath the sticker fairly easily but you had to know to look for it.

I cut out the hole in the sticker and installed a replacement ignitor for an out door gas grill that I bought at Home Depot. The ignitor has a ground connection and a length of wire running back to the ignitor assembly. I ran the wire along the top of the oven (but under the actual stove burners) alongside the gas piping. I then snaked it down the rear wall of the oven which allows it to come inside the oven itself near the bottom of the oven cavity at the rear of the oven. The toughest part was finding/rigging a way to mount the actual ignitor part so that the spark would be in front of the pilot valve gas jet. Once I got it positioned correctly it worked well, lighting the pilot by the 4th or 5th push of the button. It still required getting down and looking under the lower shelf of the oven to ensure that you lite the pilot but it was much easier with both hands out of the space between my eyes and the pilot tube! Once modified, I used one hand to hold the oven know in to light the pilot and the other hand to push the red ignitor botton until the pilot lite.

[ols1932]

Nothing wrong with leaving it on for as long as you want. As Brad said, it'll go out anyway when you turn off the propane at the bottles.

Orv

[Waynem]

Use a mirror to check and see if there is a flame. No more down on knees.