Defect: gas line rubs against oven!

[ShrimpBurrito]

I was doing a bit of an inspection in preparation for an 8,000-mile trip, and came across an unpleasant surprise: the gas line that feeds the oven is rubbing against the back bottom edge of the oven. As far as I can tell, the line is still in good shape, but I want to address this, and not sure yet how to do it. As far as I can tell, there is inadequate slack in the line to add a gap between the line and oven, and even if there was, it would require re-bending the line, which I think would probably be difficult to do in such a confined space. Even if I disconnected the line from the regulator under the burner covers and added an extension, I'd still have that problem.

My initial thought is to put a few layers of some abrasion resistant woven wire protector over it. Either the plastic kind (or fiberglass or whatever it is; it is black) or maybe even the steel braid that covers plumbing lines. I'm concerned that the latter may not do much as it too is harder than the plumbing lines, so it may contribute to the problem as well.

This is obviously a manufacturing defect. I'm rather disappointed, and you might want to inspect yours.

Any thoughts on a solution?

Thanks,
Dave

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

I was doing a bit of an inspection in preparation for an 8,000-mile trip, and came across an unpleasant surprise: the gas line that feeds the oven is rubbing against the back bottom edge of the oven. As far as I can tell, the line is still in good shape, but I want to address this, and not sure yet how to do it. As far as I can tell, there is inadequate slack in the line to add a gap between the line and oven, and even if there was, it would require re-bending the line, which I think would probably be difficult to do in such a confined space. Even if I disconnected the line from the regulator under the burner covers and added an extension, I'd still have that problem.

My initial thought is to put a few layers of some abrasion resistant woven wire protector over it. Either the plastic kind (or fiberglass or whatever it is; it is black) or maybe even the steel braid that covers plumbing lines. I'm concerned that the latter may not do much as it too is harder than the plumbing lines, so it may contribute to the problem as well.

This is obviously a manufacturing defect. I'm rather disappointed, and you might want to inspect yours.

Any thoughts on a solution?

Thanks,
Dave

The best chafe resistant material that I have found is leather....like a piece from an old belt.

It this were a sailboat with a gimbaled stove, I'd be more concerned. Both the gas pipe and the stove are rigid and chafe should be rare (as witnessed by the lack there-of now). However, now that you've found it, you won't sleep well until you protect it (at least I wouldn't)........

A piece of leather and a couple of wire ties and you're done. I used to do stuff like that on my yacht all the time.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I like the leather idea, Wayne. Thanks for the tip. I actually have some leather swatches a photo album company sent me to sample that will work perfectly in this application. And I almost threw them out last week. Whew!

Dave

Thank you both for sharing this. Will check mine as well. What a spot for a possible leak!

'possible leak!' Definitely... been there, done that. Purchased a '99 3124KB last year.. kept smelling propane, could not find leak, detector would go off occasionally. Finally, first trip out this year, went to light burner and had a flame-up inside the top of the stove. Shut everything down, aired out and turned gas back on with top of stove up.... using lighter, moved it around (probably stupid idea at time, but was fortunate nothing bad happened) and found pinhole leak at back of stove where line angles in and rubs across entry hole. Replaced line, checked for leaks, happy to say all is well. No more smell, no more detector sounding off.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Yikes, you are very lucky you weren't injured or killed. Thanks for sharing. It's a very sneaky leak. I cannot believe the factory does not do a safer install of that line.

For your future reference, a dish soap/water mixture applied with a brush or spray bottle is a MUCH better leak detector than a match. Nothing like living on the wild side.....

Dave

[countrygirl]

I have been think about Dave's photo...and what could prevent the chaffing. I am not sure if the chaffing on the gas line is from the curved sheet metal that shows under the gas line or the top flat edge abovd the gas line. I think if it is the curved area to eliminate a possible proble you could take a piece of wide heavy duty sticky back velcro and with the backing plastic still on cut slits on both sides so you can make it curve. Then remove backing and encase the shap edges. If it is the flat areaabove the gas line just apply as needed.

[Bill]

My thought, like yours, Dave, would be to slip on some plastic wire protector slit sleeve, the same stuff that is used in a lot of places under the hood of a car. Perhaps even two sleeves, one outside the other. Taped shut, again just as they do in cars. Cheap, widely available in a number of sizes.

In some cases, a better solution would be a nylon cable clamp as shown in the picture below. Again, cheap and widely available in a number of sizes.

Bill

Rubber hole grommets can easily be slit and slipped over tubing to prevent chafing.

Checked ours.
At first it looked good. Underneath, the gas line is nowhere near the stove and is covered with a blue plastic protective sheath. But when the stove top was lifted, I found the gas line resting heavily against the back edge of the stove. Not good. So added some protective plastic (for trailer wiring) just 'cause I had some close by.