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The gas oven fire is not working. The oven has no brand outside so I can't right now search for a manual. The surface burners clearly say to press and turn, and you hear the ignite working as soon as I press the button and it works well.

The gas oven however does not have this instruction (to press and hold to start ignite). You still have to press a little to turn the knob to the temperature. When I start turning, I hear a click (once) at the beginning and nothing else. The oven does not start and I smell gas. My first assumption is that the igniter is broken, but it's the first time I use an oven that has electric ignite (my previous one had a pilot light).

Questions:

  • The unique click I hear when I start turning the knob is the ignite or just the electrical component inside the knob trying to start the ignite?

  • If the ignite was working (maybe it is, maybe it is not), it would be loud enough to hear it (several loud clicks), just like the surface burners? I don't hear anything after that single click in the beginning.

  • Is it safe to remove the cover for the gas/ignite and try to turn it on to confirm if the ignite is working or not?

  • Shouldn't the gas oven have a protection that if the ignite fails, the gas does not come out? I smell gas even though the ignite is supposedly not working.

  • So far I don't have any idea of the brand/model. Buying an ignite that looks like the one I have is safe to use?

Thank you for any help!

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  • Has the oven always not worked, or is it just recently?
    – mmathis
    Mar 5, 2018 at 16:22
  • I don't know! I moved to this apartment recently. The oven was dirty with food and I cleaned it, so I assume it worked in the past.
    – igorjrr
    Mar 5, 2018 at 16:52
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    If it's electric ignition, it's almost always the igniter, which is a different sort than the one for top burners (the oven is a hot surface igniter that is on all the time the oven is on, no clicks, while the top burners are typically a spark while pressed in and the clicks.) In a rented apartment, I'd be contacting the landlord to get it fixed. If you own the place, it's on you, unfortunately. The oven igniters are relatively expensive.
    – Ecnerwal
    Mar 5, 2018 at 17:01
  • @Ecnerwal Thank you, what you consider "relatively expensive"? Because one user said they are about $30. Also, if the igniter is not glowing, how come gas is coming out... it should not, from my understanding?
    – igorjrr
    Mar 5, 2018 at 18:45

2 Answers 2

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Actually everything is working. This kind of gas oven, that uses the Hot Surface Ignitor / Igniter, can take up to 25 seconds to fire the gas. After turning the oven knob: Between 0-5 seconds, I don't see anything happening. Between 5-15 seconds, you see the igniter getting brighter (orange color). At some point after 15-20 seconds, you finally have fire.

Coming from a gas with a pilot light, I was used to have close to instantaneous fire as soon as you turn the oven knob (because there is fire, pilot light, already).

Thank you all!

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Igniters for gas ovens are typically different than those for gas stoves, so there are no clicks. On a burner igniter, the clicks correspond to sparks that are produced, which causes the gas to ignite. In the oven, though, the igniter heats up, at which point the gas is allowed to flow and ignites as it passes over the hot igniter. This is because the oven will need to turn the gas on and off periodically to maintain the desired temperature in the oven, whereas that's not an issue on stove-top burners.

There is definitely protection in the oven so that if the igniter is not working, gas will not flow. If you are smelling gas (and continue to smell gas), it may not (only) be the igniter that's a problem.

You can certainly take off the bottom of the oven to expose the igniter and other gas-related bits. Upon turning the oven on, you should see the igniter start to glow after a minute or so. If it doesn't, it has failed and needs to be replaced. Also see this video (taken from here), which describes how to check the igniter.

Depending on the model, the igniter is a cheap and easy part to replace. I replaced one on a Kenmore range a couple years ago, and got the part off amazon for about $30. There are numerous videos online which walk you through the steps; different ranges / ovens will have parts in different spots but the general idea is the same.

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  • Thank you, just one point: you said "... igniter start to glow after a minute or so", I don't think it's safe to leave gas coming out for a minute. It takes really a minute to see it glowing? How is it supposed to turn on the flames if it takes a minute to become hot? Could you please clarify this part? Thank you!
    – igorjrr
    Mar 5, 2018 at 18:44
  • @igorjrr The gas doesn't flow until the igniter is hot; the hot igniter is what ignites the gas. Turning the temperature knob on the oven doesn't cause gas to immediately start flowing like it does on the stove-top burners; instead, it causes the igniter to start heating up. Gas only starts flowing once the oven detects that the igniter is hot enough to ignite the gas.
    – mmathis
    Mar 5, 2018 at 18:49
  • Understood. But I smell gas just a few seconds after turning the knob, and I certainly never left it more than 10-15 seconds on (afraid) so why there was gas smell so quickly? Any idea? Thank you.
    – igorjrr
    Mar 5, 2018 at 18:55

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