Stove problem solved.
Posted by Phil Aaronson at 8:52 AM
After a week, the Viking stove people finally emailed me back with a list of repair guys in my area. Pathetic.
The oven's problem was simply two worn out igniters. Apparently if you use your gas oven quite a bit, they'll only last four to five years. Who knew? Igniters are the small electrical elements that glow red hot and ignite the gas in your oven. This is in place of a pilot light, or a match for that matter back in the day. More expensive, but a whole lot safer. The repair guy I called in said for most people they can last as long as 10 years. I guess we're heavy users compared to the average yuppie Viking owner. The problem I was having with the backfiring was caused by the worn out igniters only drawing about 3 amps of current. The new ones draw 4 amps, and there's some logic built in that closes the gas flow valve below a certain amount, for fear of, well, explosion. The 3 amps ours were drawing was right on the limit. The backfiring was the gas starting, then stopping, then starting again because of this logic. Makes me wonder if this isn't my furnace's problem?
I chalked it up to $120 worth of training, I've paid more for less useful information :) Replacing the igniters was really pretty easy, in four years when they go out again I'll have no problem.
Also picked up this tip: after you clean your stove top, run each burner for about four minutes. Dries out the burner, keeps the stove top igniter working properly and you'll years of rust free operation.
The oven's problem was simply two worn out igniters. Apparently if you use your gas oven quite a bit, they'll only last four to five years. Who knew? Igniters are the small electrical elements that glow red hot and ignite the gas in your oven. This is in place of a pilot light, or a match for that matter back in the day. More expensive, but a whole lot safer. The repair guy I called in said for most people they can last as long as 10 years. I guess we're heavy users compared to the average yuppie Viking owner. The problem I was having with the backfiring was caused by the worn out igniters only drawing about 3 amps of current. The new ones draw 4 amps, and there's some logic built in that closes the gas flow valve below a certain amount, for fear of, well, explosion. The 3 amps ours were drawing was right on the limit. The backfiring was the gas starting, then stopping, then starting again because of this logic. Makes me wonder if this isn't my furnace's problem?
I chalked it up to $120 worth of training, I've paid more for less useful information :) Replacing the igniters was really pretty easy, in four years when they go out again I'll have no problem.
Also picked up this tip: after you clean your stove top, run each burner for about four minutes. Dries out the burner, keeps the stove top igniter working properly and you'll years of rust free operation.
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