Oven pilot flame goes out

03-02-2012, 08:59 AM

We can't seem to keep the pilot light lit in our oven. We can get the pilot lit to start the oven (and imediately set the oven temp) and it seem to work fine. That is the oven turns on and off while cooking and keeping the proper temp. However when the cooking is done and we turn the knob down to pilot the pilot light goes out and should we need the oven again we have to got down on our knees and re-light the pilot and start all over again. Is there a adjustment that can be made by a lay person??

Thanks

03-02-2012, 09:54 AM

If I'm understanding your issue, I think your oven is working fine. I have to light my oven (and my stove burners) with a lighter every time I use them.

**Bill** · 03-02-2012, 12:09 PM

I don't know what oven came with your Elkmont, but I would think that if there is a Pilot position on the knob, then the pilot ought to stay lit. Have you read the manual that came with your oven? That is always the best place to start troubleshooting.

From your description, it appears that the pilot flame stays lit as long as the oven knob is turned up to some baking temperature. As the main burner cycles on and off to maintain oven temperature, it is the pilot that relights it on each cycle, so the pilot must be on. I can think of three potential problems.

1. With the knob in the Pilot position, the pilot gas valve is actually off. As soon as you advance the knob, it opens the pilot valve. This would be a valve fault, and there is no adjustment that a layman can make to fix it.

2. When you turn the knob down, you are unintentionally turning it too far - it is actually going most of the way to the OFF position. Does the knob have any slack on the shaft as you turn it back and forth? The layman's adjustment may be as simple as "Don't turn it down so far." What I would do is light the oven, then turn the knob down to the lowest marked temperature (maybe 150 degrees?). Then kneel down and watch the pilot flame as you slowly turn the knob down even further. At what point does the pilot go out? If you leave the knob just above this point, does the pilot stay lit, without the main burner ever coming on?

3. The thermocouple (a small metal cylinder) should be bathed in the pilot flame. The manual will show a sketch of this. When the thermocouple is hot, it generates a small amount of electricity, which is used to keep the pilot gas valve on. If the thermocouple is mispositioned off to the side of the flame, it cools a bit, and generates less electricity - perhaps too little to keep the valve open. This seems unlikely, since you've said that the pilot flame stays on. But perhaps when the main burner cycles off, there is enough residual heat to keep the pilot valve on for the few seconds until the main burner starts again. At any rate, it is easy to see if the thermocouple is properly positioned, and easy to tweak it a bit if it is not quite in the center of the flame.

Let us know what you find.

Bill

07-31-2012, 05:42 PM

Sorry Bill it's been 3 months sence my first question about the oven. We tried everything we could do. And nothng. Because this was/is not a problem that only TM could solve we went to a local Trailer Repair place. They said they cleaned the pilot (what ever that means) and re-set the Pressure Regulator, a regulator that is just for the oven.

Wife tried to lite the pilot and oven at the dealer--worked great. Took it home put in in storage and just for good measure tried to like the pilot and oven. It worked great. We waited a few minutes and tried 3 more times. Worked each time.

Now I just have to talk wife into making a cake or pie next time we camp. Which will be as hard a job as getting the pilot to lite. LOL

07-31-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beak12

Now I just have to talk wife into making a cake or pie next time we camp. Which will be as hard a job as getting the pilot to lite. LOL

On every camping trip I enjoy fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

**Bill** · 08-01-2012, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beak12

... we went to a local Trailer Repair place. They said they cleaned the pilot (what ever that means) and re-set the Pressure Regulator, a regulator that is just for the oven.

Aha! Thank you for getting back to us on the fix. The fact that the stove has a secondary pressure regulator simply didn't register in my mind, even though I have seen it. I bet that the repair place boosted the regulator setting a bit, which was enough to cause a previously-weak flame to burn stronger and stay on. This adjustment is not something that a home handyman like me can or should do, since it requires a special tool - a manometer - and I don't have one. But from now on we'll know where to look when this problem arises, and will be able to make better suggestions.

Incidentally, there are a lot of articles online about build-your-own-manometer. I'm cautious, and fussy enough about gas plumbing, that I probably won't do it, but it seems simple enough. The remaining question, then, is what the pressure at the regulator output should be set to. I've read in many places that you can't really set it by eyeball - by simply looking at the flame.

Bill

08-01-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

On every camping trip I enjoy fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

You just motivated me to look into getting my oven fixed. The pilot comes on correctly-everything seems fine, and then when I set the temp up I get the normal flame from the burners, but I also have a small flame coming up from bottom of the oven area clear in the back (it's like the flame is actually from under the oven bottom)

I'm making the assumption that that's not right. And guess that since the oven temp control knob seems to shut it off, it's an internal leak in the oven instead of a leak in the gas line leading to the oven.

Cooktop works fine. We were prepared to just forget the oven was there, but I don't get any warm cookies that way LOL

**Bill** · 08-02-2012, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeWoo

The pilot comes on correctly-everything seems fine, and then when I set the temp up I get the normal flame from the burners, but I also have a small flame coming up from bottom of the oven area clear in the back (it's like the flame is actually from under the oven bottom). I'm making the assumption that that's not right.

Is this different from the Pilot flame? In other words, with the oven lit and the knob in the Pilot position, can you see two separate small flames? The pilot flame is located toward the rear of the oven, just under the oven shelf.

Bill

08-02-2012, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Is this different from the Pilot flame? In other words, with the oven lit and the knob in the Pilot position, can you see two separate small flames? The pilot flame is located toward the rear of the oven, just under the oven shelf.

Bill

Yep-2 separate flames. The second one is at the very back coming up from under even the cavity the pilot is in

**ShrimpBurrito** · 08-02-2012, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeWoo

Yep-2 separate flames. The second one is at the very back coming up from under even the cavity the pilot is in

It sounds like you have a gas leak somewhere -- maybe a small hole in a line or the oven burner tube, or maybe the oven burner tube is not fully seated against the line in the back. It just slides on back there, and is only held in place by where it screws on to the shelf at the front of the oven.

Dave