Replaced stovetop

[T and C]

On a recent campout the DW found a small square of stainless steel on the floor of the TM. It was about 1/2 inch square. She asked me where it came from. I had no idea but I told her that we would be finding out soon enough when something fell out or fell off.

Unfortunately, I was correct. When we arrived home and opened up the TM to get our clothes and such out, the stove top was sticking out over the front of the oven about 6 inches. What I am calling the stovetop is the stainless steel stamping with holes in it for the burners to fit through. The grate sits on it as well with 4 grommets which the corners of the grate stand on.

When I tried to replace it I took a look at the way the thing is attached. There is a tab on each front corner that fits under a little metal protrusion that sticks out from the front of the stove. I'll call them "holders". Then there are two spring loaded tensioners at the rear of the stove that fit in two little holes. Their purpose is to maintain forward tension on the stove top which keeps the little tabs on the front corners tight under the little holders. Makes sense.


The problem was that one of the little tabs had vibrated off. (My TM is an '08) The rear tensioners then pushed the stove top forward as the TM bounced down the highway.

I called Matt at Custom RV and described the problem. He was not familiar with that situation. Custom RV does not handle parts for the Atwood stoves. But, another RV store in a nearby town does, so I went there. They had seen this problem before.

The price of a replacement was steep. A black porcelean stove top cost $80. A stainless one is $120. I ordered one. The first one they sent did not have the slots at the rear to attach the folding stove cover. I had to send it back and wait another 10 days or so for the correct one to arrive. It fit and that's that. (I hope).

One other thing. One of our burners had quit lighting when you turn the knob. When I took the old stove top off I discovered that the little wire that carries the current to the burner had rubbed against a fitting and was shorted out. A little tape fixed it.

Tom

[Northwoods]

Our whole porcelain top slid off. We now take it off and slip it into a plastic upholstery sleeve that I made for it. The oven is a joke and impossible to light. I had even brought my home made bread mix along to bake a batch: NOT. I made pancakes with the mix and have never, ever been able to use the oven. Good luck. Olga

[rvcycleguy]

I've had two TM's over the years and have never used the oven. I bring a slow cooker sometimes, microwave, and outdoor grill. The stove top is used occasionally. I'm considering, over the winter break, to remove the oven completely and retrofit a microwave in its place.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Northwoods

The oven is a joke and impossible to light... I have never, ever been able to use the oven. Olga

Well, that is sad. The oven is annoying to light, for sure, since it requires getting down on your knees and getting a lighter into the dark interior (flashlight suggested!) That is why I installed a piezo lighter (separate thread). But once lit, it does quite well for us. Is there anything I/we can do to help?

Bill

I never had trouble with the stove. Maybe the thermalcouple is defective or no gas is coming out. Possibly the thermal couple is not positioned correctly above the flame.

The pilot flame should stay lit after about twenty-five seconds.

We use the stove a lot and enjoy brownies only when we go camping.

Originally Posted by Bill

Well, that is sad. The oven is annoying to light, for sure, since it requires getting down on your knees and getting a lighter into the dark interior (flashlight suggested!) That is why I installed a piezo lighter (separate thread). But once lit, it does quite well for us. Is there anything I/we can do to help?

Bill

Oh, what a great mod. We use the oven all the time, but lighting the pilot light is a pain. Found the link: Bill's oven mod

It's now on my ToDo list.

[Bill]

Update:

Several months after I did the original piezo-lighter mod, my wife and I bought one of those free-standing patio heaters for our place in Arizona. It came with a spark lighter that was powered by a battery, rather than a piezo snapper. Thinking that one of those sparkers might be fun to play with, and useful in future projects, I rummaged around eBay and bought three of them, for about the same price as a piezo snapper. The one in the patio heater requires a 9-volt battery; the ones that I bought on eBay require require a single AAA battery. The battery lasts forever, of course.

The battery-powered sparkers have two advantages over the piezo lighters. First, the piezo snapper makes a fairly short spark - maybe 1/4 inch - which means that the placement of the spark electrode is a bit fussy. In contrast, the battery powered sparker can make a spark well over an inch long. Second, when you push the button on the piezo lighter, it makes one spark. When you push the button on the battery sparker, it makes a continuous stream of sparks for as long as you hold the button down.

This is not a huge improvement over the original approach, but it is nice. I'm not sure it is worth a retrofit to an earlier piezo mod, but if you are thinking of doing the mod for the first time, you might want to consider it. At the moment I don't see any of these posted on eBay, but patience is a virtue. Or a Google search on "battery igniter" brings up a lot of hits. Or go to Amazon.com and enter "weber grill igniter" in the search box.

Bill

Bill your idea is down right electrifying!
You are right, I have one on my grill and it has worked great for years.

[T and C]

Originally Posted by T and C

On a recent campout the DW found a small square of stainless steel on the floor of the TM. It was about 1/2 inch square. She asked me where it came from. I had no idea but I told her that we would be finding out soon enough when something fell out or fell off.

Unfortunately, I was correct. When we arrived home and opened up the TM to get our clothes and such out, the stove top was sticking out over the front of the oven about 6 inches. What I am calling the stovetop is the stainless steel stamping with holes in it for the burners to fit through. The grate sits on it as well with 4 grommets which the corners of the grate stand on.

When I tried to replace it I took a look at the way the thing is attached. There is a tab on each front corner that fits under a little metal protrusion that sticks out from the front of the stove. I'll call them "holders". Then there are two spring loaded tensioners at the rear of the stove that fit in two little holes. Their purpose is to maintain forward tension on the stove top which keeps the little tabs on the front corners tight under the little holders. Makes sense.


The problem was that one of the little tabs had vibrated off. (My TM is an '08) The rear tensioners then pushed the stove top forward as the TM bounced down the highway.

I called Matt at Custom RV and described the problem. He was not familiar with that situation. Custom RV does not handle parts for the Atwood stoves. But, another RV store in a nearby town does, so I went there. They had seen this problem before.

The price of a replacement was steep. A black porcelean stove top cost $80. A stainless one is $120. I ordered one. The first one they sent did not have the slots at the rear to attach the folding stove cover. I had to send it back and wait another 10 days or so for the correct one to arrive. It fit and that's that. (I hope).

One other thing. One of our burners had quit lighting when you turn the knob. When I took the old stove top off I discovered that the little wire that carries the current to the burner had rubbed against a fitting and was shorted out. A little tape fixed it.

Tom

I am reposting the above because no one mentioned having had the same problem. Northwoods' whole top slid off, but no mention of the holding tab breaking off. Am I really the only one who has ever encountered this?


It just seems to me that with all the discussion on this forum of how the trailer bounces and shakes so many things loose, this problem would have shown up before.

Tom

My stove top is on so tight that I had to have the dealer show me how to remove it.

The grate pops off, but the stove top is almost permanently attached.

Perhaps I have a different brand of stove.