Despite a general dislike for most of the appliances I inherited with my first house, I feel lucky to have a gas stove (or range, as in appliance jargon).
I love cooking, so I appreciate the power and responsiveness of gas.
However, unlike their electric counterpart, gas ranges can’t just be dialed on; their burners must be ignited.
I occasionally struggle with lighting my burners — and I know I’m not alone — so here’s what to check if you’re struggling.
Burner cap
A lot of ignition problems and uneven flames result from food spills and related dirtiness. Routine cleaning and general unslobbiness will avoid this.
After a spill, use a nonabrasive plastic scrubbing pad and mildly abrasive cleanser or soap to thoroughly clean the cap.
Make sure the cap is completely dry before replacing it over the burner. Take care that alignment pins are lined up with with the cap.
(I know I usually would never say this, but) Don’t put them in the dishwasher.
Burner ports
Burner flames should be about 1″-1.5″, with a proper shape like the flame labeled “A” in the adjacent spiffy illustration. The flame should be blue, not yellow.
If these aren’t the case, your burner ports could be clogged, so you should clean it, following these steps:
- Make sure all the controls are off and the stove is cool. Don’t use oven cleaners, bleach or rust remover.
- Clean the burner cap as instructed above..
- Clean the gas tube opening with a damp cloth.
Clean clogged burner ports with a straight pin as shown. Do not enlarge or distort the port. Do not use a wooden toothpick. If the burner needs to be adjusted, call appliance service.- Replace the burner cap, as shown in the first illustration.
- Turn on the burner. If the burner does not light, check cap alignment. If the burner still does not light, call appliance service.
Knobs
(This one falls under the “duh” category, but you never know…) Push in the burner knob before turning to light to ensure that it’s set correctly.
