Home Anyone have a gas oven in the kitchen?

[drk]

Since PSers know pretty much everything under the sun, I need to pick your brains on this.

We just bought our first house, and it has a gas cooktop and oven. Cooktop works fine. When I tried turning on the pilotless ignition gas oven, it heats up but I can smell a faint smell of gas. There''s NO smell of gas when everything is off.

Is this normal after 2-3 weeks of no use? Will it just burn off? Or is there going to be a faint smell of gas every time I use the oven? I''d hate to drag out the gas company and/or call Jenn-Air service for something that may be totally normal!

Can you tell me what you experience with your gas ranges/ovens?

 

[somethingshiny]

I''ve had gas stoves for years (until very recently) and my mom has only ever had gas.


You should NOT smell gas. The pilot stays lit and should constantly be burning off any gas. If it''s an electronic ignition, the ignition should light before the gas is released. I''d call someone.

Good Luck.

 

[butterfly 17]

You''re not supposed to smell anything, I would definitely call the gas company. It doesn''t sound like a big problem, but it is better to be safe.

 

[HVVS]

It might be normal for a whiff of raw gas smell to happen when you first turn the oven on. (The smell is actually an odorant that they add to the gas so that you know there's a leak.) There is no pilot, so the gas valve has to open and the gas/air mix get to the right proportions where the gas ignites. But if you are smelling a raw gas smell the whole time the oven is on then there is a leak someplace. Call an appliance repair to check it. All the gas company will do it red tag and ban you from using something. I don't think they do any repairs or adjustments, unless it's just something very basic. The gas oven may give off a combusted gas odor, but that's different from unburned gas.

 

[drk]

Hm. Maybe I''d better try the burners again and see if they smell at all like that. Or let it run for 4-5min and see if whatever it is burns off?

 

[VRBeauty]

I''d have it checked out. My gas company has always been very helpful in detecting problems, and even fixing minor problems.

I wouldn''t trust my own senses in this case.

 

[Mara]

drk i put this in the preggo thread too but we had the same thing happen with our new gas oven when we moved in. it was brand new and i had the construction guys who installed it re-check it after we used it and it smelled faintly of gas. it was setup correctly with no issues. anyway after about ~2-3 times of using it, it didn't smell anymore and it has been over a year with no issues.

i was worried too obviously since it's gas. i'd def have your hub or someone double check it's setup correctly (did your inspection already happen? if you are still finalizing you can put this in the final walk-through as a requirement) and no leaks appear to be happening, but it may be just that it's new. good luck!

 

[Lanie]

Ours smelled for a couple of uses too when we moved in to our new house. New oven. You prob aren''t used to it. I''d give it a couple more times, then call someone if you still smell it. The sound of it kicking on still makes me jump!

 

[Hera]

We get a little bit of an odor when initially turning it on, but there''s nothing wrong with it.

 

[gardengloves]

Sometimes I smell gas if the cook top range burner doesn''t catch on all burners. I turn it off and start over, but there should be no gas smell with the oven.

I would check with gas company. That''s what they are there for. They will help and ease your mind.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 1/23/2010 6:45:07 PM
Author: heraanderson
We get a little bit of an odor when initially turning it on, but there''s nothing wrong with it.

same with us.

 

[shimmer]

Date: 1/23/2010 7:40:41 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 1/23/2010 6:45:07 PM

Author: heraanderson

We get a little bit of an odor when initially turning it on, but there''s nothing wrong with it.

same with us.

Same over here!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

If you can smell gas all the time you should contact your gas company and have a tech come out and check the gas levels in your home. This should only take a few minutes. If it''s the stove that''s the problem the tech shoud be able to tell you how to get it fixed.

We have a gas stove and it smells in our kitchen a lot. My DH works for a neighboring town''s gas company and he brought the detector in and there''s no leak - just stink

There is a fitting on our stove that is a bit loose so we''re going to replace that and see if it helps.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 1/23/2010 8:51:23 PM
Author: shimmer

Date: 1/23/2010 7:40:41 PM

Author: mrssalvo

Date: 1/23/2010 6:45:07 PM

Author: heraanderson

We get a little bit of an odor when initially turning it on, but there''s nothing wrong with it.

same with us.

Same over here!

Me too!

If you''re worried I would just call your gas company. I had a technician come once when I was still in an apartment and he tested the levels all over the place. The visit was free and he got there quickly. Everything was fine but better safe than sorry!

 

[drk]

Thanks for all the responses. Turns out my Mum also has a gas oven, and said she gets a faint smell sometimes. I don''t even remember her getting gas put in!

I think I''ll just give the gas company a call on Monday to check it out. I was looking for the manual shut-off valve that''s supposed to exist according to the installation instructions, and couldn''t find that either. So unless our contractors can tell me that that''s in the furnace room somewhere, I may need to get it looked at anyhow.

This buying-a-house thing is a challenge for me mentally. Weird to go from student living and crap appliances, to good appliance and a great house. But little things are bugging me - the dining room floor squeaks way more than I remember it, the buzzing of the potlight dimmers is really noticeable, and there are a few light switches that don''t seem to do anything. Etc etc. Hope I get it figured out before I go nuts!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Aren't you suppose to have a carbon monoxide alarm (that plugs into your wall) when you have gas appliances? We've had one in all our homes. We lived in one house (9ish years ago - rented) and the alarm would go off. With that house, the odor never went away. There was only a faint smell but it was obvious. Believe it or not, the owner sent the gas company over and then showed up in a super low cut shirt with her boobs hanging out and got the guy to write the smell off as safe! I was pregnant at the time and the owner didn't even care. Crazy.

 

[elrohwen]

I can always smell gas immediately when I turn my oven on, but the smell dissipates after less than 5 minutes. If yours continues to smell like gas more longer than a few minutes, I would get a repairman in to check it out.

 

[radiantquest]

We smell an odor when we use the oven. I never smell it when we use the cook top. Other than that the only time we smell gas is when it is getting really low and we need the tank refilled. Which I think is silly. Keep that in there and let us use it longer. but that is the way it is.