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Old 04-06-2020, 12:10 AM
 
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I read that a gas oven won't work in a power outage but the burners will so you can still cook. You just have to light them with a match. Have you had firsthand experience with this being true?

I was thinking of buying a small camp stove in case of emergency, but I won't need one if the above is true.
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Old 04-06-2020, 12:14 AM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,020 posts, read 85,838,736 times
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Why not??
On most gas cooking stoves, the top burners can be lit with a match if the electric power fails and the electronic burner ignition goes out. To light a top burner with a match, hold a lighted match to the burner and turn the burner control knob to the low-flame position. Turn the burner full-on once it ignites. It works like a charm and worked that way before the pilotless ignition was invented.
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Old 04-06-2020, 06:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elnina View Post
Why not??
On most gas cooking stoves, the top burners can be lit with a match if the electric power fails and the electronic burner ignition goes out. To light a top burner with a match, hold a lighted match to the burner and turn the burner control knob to the low-flame position. Turn the burner full-on once it ignites. It works like a charm and worked that way before the pilotless ignition was invented.
Exactly correct and having a gas stove and water heater (not a tankless) is a huge advantage for power outages. We’ve had plenty when back in the NE and we did have gas so we only needed a small generator to run the hot water heat, lights and WiFi so having natural gas was great.
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Old 04-06-2020, 09:31 AM
 
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I use my pilotless gas stove in power outages all the time. Well, several times a year. it would be silly to use a little campstove when you have a perfectly good gas stovetop in your kitchen.

Match, gas, and you are cooking. Elnina’s instructions will work perfectly well.
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Old 04-06-2020, 10:18 AM
 
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I find of the idea of not being able to use a gas cooktop because it is not fully automatic... boggling.

Do camp stoves now operate by thought-control?
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Old 04-06-2020, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Raleigh
13,627 posts, read 12,242,954 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Therblig View Post
I find of the idea of not being able to use a gas cooktop because it is not fully automatic... boggling.

Do camp stoves now operate by thought-control?
The question isn't boggling. The unit uses electricity, for the clock, for the oven, etc...It's a reasonable question if in fact there is an electric safety mechanism or something preventing its use. Afterall, the oven is unusable without electricity.
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Old 04-06-2020, 02:06 PM
 
3,346 posts, read 2,158,655 times
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Originally Posted by JONOV View Post
The question isn't boggling. The unit uses electricity, for the clock, for the oven, etc...It's a reasonable question if in fact there is an electric safety mechanism or something preventing its use. Afterall, the oven is unusable without electricity.
Which requires a very complex evaluation sequence:
  1. Turn on a burner knob.
  2. If you hear and smell nothing, the unit has some complex electrical safety interlock. Game over.
  3. If you hear a faint hiss and smell gas odorant, turn the knob off and follow the safe-lighting instructions above.

I suppose an adult in this day and age could have never encountered a non-automatic gas appliance or tool, and thus have no notion how to light one.

And most ranges with gas cooktops have a gas oven (which would be almost impossible to use safely without automatic light/relight). Units that have a gas cooktop and an electric oven are another class, called "dual fuel." (Gas cooktop and a good electric convection oven is perfection, IMVHO.)
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Old 04-06-2020, 03:04 PM
 
10,226 posts, read 7,487,948 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PilgrimsProgress View Post
I read that a gas oven won't work in a power outage but the burners will so you can still cook. You just have to light them with a match. Have you had firsthand experience with this being true?

I was thinking of buying a small camp stove in case of emergency, but I won't need one if the above is true.
Yes, I used my pilotless ignition gas stove during power outages several times. The gas stove on top worked great! Could make coffee w/drip pot, boil water, make soup, etc.

I didn't try the oven & didn't know where the ignition for it was. I wouldn't want to cook that much during a power outage...doesn't seem safe to me. Just stove top, like camping.
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Old 04-06-2020, 03:10 PM
 
13,011 posts, read 12,951,790 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Therblig View Post
Which requires a very complex evaluation sequence:
  1. Turn on a burner knob.
  2. If you hear and smell nothing, the unit has some complex electrical safety interlock. Game over.
  3. If you hear a faint hiss and smell gas odorant, turn the knob off and follow the safe-lighting instructions above.

I suppose an adult in this day and age could have never encountered a non-automatic gas appliance or tool, and thus have no notion how to light one.

And most ranges with gas cooktops have a gas oven (which would be almost impossible to use safely without automatic light/relight). Units that have a gas cooktop and an electric oven are another class, called "dual fuel." (Gas cooktop and a good electric convection oven is perfection, IMVHO.)
All of this requires understanding the basics of how such a device functions. As you noted, it is quite possible for an adult today to have never encountered a simple mechanical version. I can see being concerned about damaging a mysterious lighting mechanism, or not understanding if there is an electrically operated safety mechanism that prevents the flame from going up the gas lines and causing an explosion. For the uninformed, there is not such a mechanism because gas lines and combustion don’t work that way.

Because I have too much time in m6 hands, I recently saw an Ellen Degeneres bit where she invites young millennials onstage and has them try to work a simple mechanical device. It can be amusing watching a 19 year old try to dial a rotary dial phone, or load paper into a typewriter.
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Old 04-06-2020, 03:18 PM
 
24,503 posts, read 17,956,220 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bpollen View Post
Yes, I used my pilotless ignition gas stove during power outages several times. The gas stove on top worked great! Could make coffee w/drip pot, boil water, make soup, etc.

I didn't try the oven & didn't know where the ignition for it was. I wouldn't want to cook that much during a power outage...doesn't seem safe to me. Just stove top, like camping.
I replaced the igniter on one of my GE gas ranges so I’m now familiar with how all it works. The gas for the oven and the broiler are both controlled by solenoids. Neither will let the gas flow without electricity to the circuit board that controls them. The four burners work fine. No problem lighting them with a match or a butane fireplace starter. I imagine any newer gas range is the same way.
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