How do you light a stove?

[model 10]

I have never had the courage to light our oven. I am afraid of propane explosions because a little explosion blew me off my feet once and it has left me a chicken. I have no reason to think our Shipmate oven does not work, the broiler seems to work fine. I cannot seem to summon up the courage to turn the oven on , then wait for enough gas to accumulate for it to light. Are there any logical ways to light an oven? Faith will not work for me.

[Wotname]

Does it have an ignitor (piezo or similar) or do you need to use a match, lighter etc?
Presumably it has flame failure protection.

If it has the flame failure and it's own ignition source, you need to man up and try it .

If you need a match, I suggest trying those very long BBQ type matches or my favourite, the MAPP Gas bottle. The MAPP gas makes lighting anything so easy

Have the match (or mapp gas) going, hold near burner, turn on gas control (and flame fail override) and wait for flames. If nothing happens after 5 seconds, turn everything off and wait some time before next attempt.

As I use kero burners with an alcohol preheat, gas seems easy (and safe)

Assuming this is not a tongue in cheek thread

[MBWhite]

Guy,

I pretty much agree with the method used by Wotname, I prefer to use the butane BBQ lighters that you can buy anywhere:


These things are around a dollar. If your oven is hard to reach they have flexible ones that cost a couple bucks more:


Whatever you get, if you wind up using it get a couple as they seem to die somewhat more frequently than you'd expect.

Anyway, make sure the gas is turned on to your stove then hold this flame next to the burner and turn the stove burner on. Ifv the gas main valve has been turned off (which is what I do) it may take a minute for the gas to purge the line and actually light in the burner. Anyway, no harm done with just standing there holding this flame against the burner until the stove lights.

[model 10]

I am absolutely serious. It has no piezo lighter. So you are saying, turn it on an start flicking the lighter right away?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Guy

I am absolutely serious. It has no piezo lighter. So you are saying, turn it on an start flicking the lighter right away?

Wrong sequence. Use one of the lighters shown above.

1. Trigger the lighter first.
2. When you get a flame on the lighter, hold it against the gas burner.
3. Then turn the gas on - only when you have a lighter flame right beside the gas burner.

[roverhi]

I like to wait a bit after turning the gas on before hitting the igniters on the Weber. That automatically opens the Webers hood with a nice wooompphh!!!!!

Get one of those gas matches others have suggested, light it before you turn on the gas to the oven, place it next to the ignition hole for the oven burner and turn on the gas. The burner will ignite almost immediately without any drama.

If you can't get over your somewhat rational fear of propane stoves might think about switching to kerosene. Equal or better heat than propane and no explosion worries. A little humbug to light as you have to preheat with alchohol but becomes second nature quickly. Way easier to get fuel cause you don't have to schlep around those heavy awkward bottles and it's available at any hardware store or chandlery. No fear of explosion and very limited fear of fire because it's hard to get it hard to ignite. Have used kerosene on various boats for going on 4 decades.

[Wotname]

+1 roverhi - kero is king!

But most prefer gas

Anyway, good advice so far. Personally I prefer long wooden matches to the gas lighters shown above but each have good / bad points. Matches always work until they get wet! But they are dearer...

[MBWhite]

Originally Posted by Guy

I am absolutely serious. It has no piezo lighter. So you are saying, turn it on an start flicking the lighter right away?

Use the method Stu has outlined. I'm somewhat cautious around propane so when I am finished using the stove for a while I'll shut of the main gas valve on the propane bottle, then no worries about it leaking out from anywhere. That is what I meant- first open the main gas valve on the bottle, then light the BBQ lighter, hold it next to the burner THEN turn on the stove knob.

[Hard Rock Candy]

I learned to light the propane stove back when I was in the third grade, about 69 years ago. I do not know if you have been taught what happens when you light the oven on a propane stove. When you turn the oven on, it actually only turns on the pilot light to the oven. First the pilot light lights and then after the sensor for the oven gets hot enough, It turns on the oven burner itself. It needs to have the pilot light keep the sensor hot to keep the gas on to the burner. If for some reason that the pilot light goes out the gas to the burner will quit, So that you will not get a gas buildup which could blow up your boat. This explanation is only about the oven, Because it is the only part that you walk off and leave it to do the cooking. Mac

[FamilyVan]

This whole conversation scares me. Why 90% of cruising boats are equipped with propane cookers boggles my mind.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Greenhand]

On our oven, we have to hold in a safety button and hold the lighter to the pilot light until the thermocoupler is heated, so that gas continues to flow.

I found the directions for our specific model online.

[JPA Cate]

Guy,

You can do this. What Hard Rock Candy wrote is how our propane oven does, too. I use a BBQ lighter when the piezo one doesn't work, but have also used a cigarette lighter, and hurricane matches. What you light is only the pilot. After it has been burning a while, then you set the oven burner control and the big burner ignites, with a whoosh of flame, but it is not at all explosive.

Ann

[boatpoker]

Shipmate has not made a propane stove for many years and while they were quite solidly built I have never seen one with thermocouple shut-offs .... no thermocouple, get rid of it.

[Rustic Charm]

My wife starts our land lubbers bbq by turning the gas on and holding the knob and when she can smell gas she pulls the trigger on the lighter. The kids and dogs always step away when she volunteers to light up as if with some 6th sense of something not going to well.

Hence, I don't let her light the stove in my boat.

[wiekeith]

You could change to diesel, a lot safer than gas on board, IMO. Diesel hobs and ovens have come a long way over the last decade - try Googling 'wallace diesel ovens'.