Have you been trying to light your gas oven, but no matter what you do, it just doesn’t turn on? The oven won’t catch a flame, and even if you manage to light it, it flickers and extinguishes right away? Have you been trying for hours, but nothing seems to work?
You’re not alone if you’re facing this issue. Gas ovens need to be adequately cleaned. Otherwise, you can’t expect the flame to light up. There could also be other reasons why you are facing this issue.
The internal burner grates and holes usually fill up with gunk and debris, so if you are unable to clean it out, it’s only going to cause problems for you. It’s imperative for you to make sure that you clean the burner out thoroughly.
Failure to do that could cause issues with the flame and make it more difficult for you to keep the flame lit. If you are facing this problem consistently, there are several things that you can do to fix it properly.
So, without further ado, let’s tackle the most common reasons because of which this problem occurs, and what you can do to fix it.
Gas Oven Won’t Stay Lit
- Check if the oven is getting proper gas supply:
Since gas ovens require natural gas to operate (it’s in the name!), the oven must receive an uninterrupted supply of the fuel to work properly. Therefore, the oven will not stay lit if the gas supply is less than required to ignite a flame.
Fix:
- Ensure there’s no gas leakage throughout the pipeline. If you smell gas in the kitchen, immediately turn off the main gas supply. It’s risky to ignite a flame if you can smell gas, but the flame doesn’t remain lit. This means the gas is leaking.
- Before you light up the burner, simply turn on the gas pipe and try to hear for any kind of leakage. If you can smell gas pressure leaking, then you might want to call a professional to identify the source of the leakage first of all.
- Make sure to clean the residue in the flame distributor pipe:
The flame distributor pipe tends to accumulate ash over the passage of time. If the distribution flame pipe is clogged, it simply won’t catch on because the extra ash and dirt interfere with the normal functioning of the flame distributor pipe.
Fix:
- If you’re not familiar with the oven, you can always call a technician to clean the flame distributor pipe. Otherwise, you can do it yourself too. Just unscrew the flame distributor with a screwdriver or use any other tool, and all the ash and dirt residue will fall out.
- The purpose is to give the flame distributor a slight shake to loosen all of the dirt and grime that settles inside the flame distributor over a longer period of time.
- Clean the pilot:
While you clean the flame distributor, make sure to give the pilot a proper clean. At times, it is not the flame distributor but the pilot that gets clogged. If you have a clogged pilot, then there’s an easy fix available. You can easily clean the pilot on your own.
Once the pilot is cleaned correctly and you’ve removed all debris and residue from it, your oven will start catching flame again.
Fix:
- It’s difficult to remove the pilot since it’s relatively small in size. Tap it if it’s possible; otherwise, get an old used toothbrush. The toothbrush will help you clean the pilot properly.
- The tiny bristles will remove dirt and grime from the smaller, harder-to-reach areas as well. Make sure you’re not using a worn-out toothbrush, however. Otherwise, the toothbrush bristles might break off.
- The sensor flame is dirty:
A broken sensor flame could be one of the reasons why your gas oven won’t work correctly. It is pretty standard for flame sensors to malfunction. This could be due to residual buildup.
Fix:
- It’s hard to identify the exact reason why a gas oven won’t light up, so it’s recommended to first properly clean everything inside the oven. If the malfunction is caused due to carbon or dirt buildup, the oven will start working correctly once you give it a thorough clean.
- However, if it’s an internalized issue that you are unable to spot, expect to pay a bit more. You will have to call a professional to inspect your oven from scratch and then identify the cause of the problem.
- Is your Thermocouple broken?
A broken thermocouple will prevent the oven’s burners from catching flame and could be a significant reason why your oven won’t work for a longer period of time. If that’s the case, you’ll need to get it fixed before you can start using your oven again.
You must understand that a gas oven is very challenging to fix, especially if you are someone with relatively little knowledge about them. Operating a gas oven might be easy but fixing it, not so much.
It’s okay if you can’t figure out what’s wrong with your gas oven because not many of us are equipped with the technical knowledge to fix things.
Most ovens come with a warranty. If something stops working properly or turns out to be faulty, the company replaces it at their expense. So instead of figuring it out on your own, contact the official support helpline set by the manufacturer.
They’ll most probably send a representative who will check your oven and figure out what went wrong. The representative will also guide you on what to do next. It’s always better to stay safe with gas appliances than sorry in case of a leakage.
Don’t forget to turn off the main gas supply while waiting for the company technician to show up. There have been plenty of situations where a gas leakage could result in a serious explosion.
That’s the last thing that you’d want. One of the most important things that you need to check when using your gas oven is the color of the flame. Ideally, the flame should be a cool, even blue.
This simply indicates that the gas is undergoing combustion properly, and there’s no inefficiency in the combustion process. However, if you notice a bright orange flame at the bottom, that’s cause for concern.
The orange flame usually indicates some form of leakage from the burner, and it’s imperative for you to take appropriate steps to fix this issue. If you do not call a professional to fix the orange burn, you should know that methane gas is going to leak out into the surroundings.
If your oven is kept in a location where it doesn’t receive a lot of ventilation, this could slowly also lead to methane poisoning, which is a serious concern. It starts with hallucination and can turn into something serious.
The best way to avoid any such problems with your oven is to call a professional cleaning company or appliance repair technician to your house at least once a year. They are going to take apart the entire appliance and fix everything up before putting it back together again.
Regular servicing and maintenance is the best way to avoid any such lingering problems with your gas oven and to ensure that it continues to work properly.