Questions about propane stove

[Rohan]

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question but not sure which forum covers propane stoves.

My newly purchased 36' boat has a pretty typical 2 burner gimbled stove.

When we did the survey, one burner worked, but the other one didn't. No big deal, I thought, I seldom use two burners at once anyway. Then later after purchase and transfer, we happily discovered that both worked for us just fine. OK, even better. Then next weekend we took it out in the bay, and while on the water neither worked, at all. When we brought it back to port I tried everything - I made sure the cut off switches were both on, made sure the connection to the tank was secure and that the valve was fully open, etc. I even swapped to another tank I knew was full. No change. OK, so I assume something broke somewhere. I come back a few days later, and check it and then - one burner works again! This is driving me nuts because it's so random and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it at all.

TL;DR condensed version:

Week 1: one stove burner works
Week 2: both burners work
Week 3: neither burner works
Week 4: one burner works

Any ideas what the problem could be?

[Dsanduril]

Could be the safety shutoffs on the burners, those are a bit of a pain to check. You can use a match to heat them and see if that releases gas, if not then you have to start tracing them back to the burner valve.

Another option, sometimes quite common, is dirt in the orifice. If the dirt is rust flakes (it quite often is on a boat - even on marine stoves) then these can move around, block the orifice at one time, then not at another time. Most orifices come out from the top side of the burner with a socket wrench. Pull them out, check underneath for debris. You can also clean the orifice holes at the same time, just take care to not enlarge the holes (using a tool that is softer than the orifice material is the way to go - I usually try to find some monofilament fishing line that is the right size but anything relatively stiff that you push through the hole will work).

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Rohan

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question but not sure which forum covers propane stoves.

My newly purchased 36' boat has a pretty typical 2 burner gimbled stove.

When we did the survey, one burner worked, but the other one didn't. No big deal, I thought, I seldom use two burners at once anyway. Then later after purchase and transfer, we happily discovered that both worked for us just fine. OK, even better. Then next weekend we took it out in the bay, and while on the water neither worked, at all. When we brought it back to port I tried everything - I made sure the cut off switches were both on, made sure the connection to the tank was secure and that the valve was fully open, etc. I even swapped to another tank I knew was full. No change. OK, so I assume something broke somewhere. I come back a few days later, and check it and then - one burner works again! This is driving me nuts because it's so random and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it at all.

TL;DR condensed version:

Week 1: one stove burner works
Week 2: both burners work
Week 3: neither burner works
Week 4: one burner works

Any ideas what the problem could be?

Mr Rohan, I'm going to suggest, as gently as I can, that you need to dig into this problem a little bit yourself. You have given us very little to work with. As a boat owner you will undoubtedly encounter many breakdowns in the future on many of your boat's systems, at least everyone I know does. You need to develop some problem solving skills.

When either burner is not working:
1. Is gas coming out? (you should hear it or smell it). Get close.
2. If gas is coming out is the automatic lighter clicking? (could be a battery or loose wires)
3. Can you light it with a match or portable lighter?
4. Does it light but fail to stay on?
5. Could a gas line in the stove be plugged with soot.

A gas stove is pretty simple, and the fixes are basic. The biggest problem I've had is getting into the area under the stove top on some stoves.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by wingssail

When either burner is not working:
1. Is gas coming out? (you should hear it or smell it). Get close.
2. If gas is coming out is the automatic lighter clicking? (could be a battery or loose wires)
3. Can you light it with a match or portable lighter?
4. Does it light but fail to stay on?
5. Could a gas line in the stove be plugged with soot.

A gas stove is pretty simple, and the fixes are basic. The biggest problem I've had is getting into the area under the stove top on some stoves.

To clarify, when I say the burners are not working, I mean no gas is coming out. There is nothing to light. Yes, I know a stove is an extremely simple system, that's what makes this so frustrating. I assure you I went through every possible step short of removing the stove before posting this on this forum.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Rohan

To clarify, when I say the burners are not working, I mean no gas is coming out. There is nothing to light. Yes, I know a stove is an extremely simple system, that's what makes this so frustrating. I assure you I went through every possible step short of removing the stove before posting this on this forum.

OK, that is good. Now where is it blocked? Start backwards from the attachments of the gas lines to the valve. Open one with a wrench, then turn on the gas at the tank. This takes two people, obviously. Does it flow? Since it happens on both burners I'd guess it is farther back, but anyhow, that is the type of problem resolution process even the gas stove repairman will have to go through.

BTW, I've had the gas lines from the valve to the burner become obstructed with loose soot. That blockage can be intermittent.

[Cat36Mahalo]

What does your pressure gauge say when you do a leak test?? ( tank on, solenoid off, tank off, 5 minutes no pressure drop. Then solenoid on - 5 min no pressure drop. ).

[islandermike]

Hey buddy, look in the inlet side of the hose,( near the tank end), look down inside the fitting, inside the hose, is there a small metal, spring loaded valve in the hose? Take it out, its a crappy/faulty excess flow valve. More dangereous than the condition its trying to alleviate.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mike.


Reset the Over Fill Protection Device (OPD) by turning the tank valve off, and then disconnecting the regulator. Set all of the stove burner knobs to "High", and wait for a minute. Then turn the burner knobs off, and reconnect the regulator, and open the tank valve slowly. This should reset the OPD safety, allowing gas to flow to the stove.

[canvasman]

Check the electrical connections at the solenoid and work back from there. It should be close to the tank. Sometimes the regulator fails but I've only had this happen once in seventeen years.

[Sailmonkey]

Ok, one burner works more reliably than the other?

I’m assuming you’ve got thermocouples on these burners.

Does the oven work? If yes, I’ll bet the problem is both thermocouples are near end of life. Replace them and all should be well.

[RaymondR]

I would suspect the solenoid valve but the one burner working intermittently working is a mystery which might be explained by it not fully opening and different sized burners.

What are the battery and solenoid input at the solenoid voltages doing when the problem occurs.

[skipmac]

When I overhauled the propane system on my 30 year old boat I found the hoses and fittings full of a dark brown, oily, gooey residue. Apparently sludge from impurities in the gas that collected over the years.


Maybe pull some stuff apart and see what you find.

[Suijin]

I agree that it is probably the solenoid. They go bad and will work intermittently when they do. To have the burners work fine at one point and not at all the next points to the solenoid or the thermocouples. The latter dont work intermittently when they fail.

All that said on a 30 year old boat I would replace the whole gas line and it's fixtures as a matter of course. It's not a big or expensive project and will give you piece of mind with respect to an important system on the boat.

[Daniel Grant]

Sorry if this is a repost of a prior comment as I did not read all of them. My two burner has a 2AA batter under the top. You have to raise the tow. if it is dead or the terminals are corroded it will not light under normal conditions.

[Telemark43]

Originally Posted by Rohan

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this question but not sure which forum covers propane stoves.

My newly purchased 36' boat has a pretty typical 2 burner gimbled stove.

When we did the survey, one burner worked, but the other one didn't. No big deal, I thought, I seldom use two burners at once anyway. Then later after purchase and transfer, we happily discovered that both worked for us just fine. OK, even better. Then next weekend we took it out in the bay, and while on the water neither worked, at all. When we brought it back to port I tried everything - I made sure the cut off switches were both on, made sure the connection to the tank was secure and that the valve was fully open, etc. I even swapped to another tank I knew was full. No change. OK, so I assume something broke somewhere. I come back a few days later, and check it and then - one burner works again! This is driving me nuts because it's so random and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it at all.

TL;DR condensed version:

Week 1: one stove burner works
Week 2: both burners work
Week 3: neither burner works
Week 4: one burner works

Any ideas what the problem could be?

What brand is the thirty year old stove?
If it's a Mariner made in New Zealand, one has to turn the knob conterclockwise, push in, and wait... takes a bit to get the gas flowing.