CONVERTING A GAS STOVE

[bobhenry]

OK the old 1940'ish Magic Chef is now hooked up to propane. My problem is the flame.
On low it is a pretty blue but as you turn it up it gets wild and orange. I have adjusted the air bleed at the front of the burner unit full open, full closed , and 1/2 and 1/2. With little change. I almost feel the pressure is too high but the wall furnace runs off of the same line with a nice blue flame and no problems. Any thoughts ???


This picture is with it lit on natural gas. This is what I was expecting to be able to adjust to on LP but I haven't gotten the adjustment right yet.

[MtnDon]

Did you change the orifices? Propane uses a smaller orifice. The regulator output pressure is also different for propane and natural gas. Propane pressure is higher than natural gas.

[48Rob]

Bob

It requires a different orafice from propane to natural, in addition to air adjustments.
Sometimes the conversion parts are with the range, sometimes not, and some are not convert able.
Look at the info tag to see if it lists both orafice sizes to know.
Rob

[MtnDon]

Further to what I posted... A gas range has a regulator on it and needs the regulator on the propane tank as well. . The regulator on the range itself fine tunes the pressure the tank regulator sends. It is also recommended the tank pressure goes through a 2 stage regulator for more even regulation. I don't have any idea if you are running that off a cylinder or a large on ground tank, that's why I mentioned that. The big home tanks have 2 regulators.

When you combine the higher pressure of the propane system with the larger natural gas orifices (one for each burner including the oven burner) you end up with much too much propane flowing out at the burner.

The air adjustment on the range is to tune proper air / gas mixing at the burner.

The orifice size selection is also altitude sensitive. Smaller orifices for higher elevations. That's both for natural gas and propane.

Most modern ranges have a regulator on the back that has an adjustment for propane to natural gas. No idea if the older ones did.

[crpngdth2001]

NG to propane isn't as easy as propane to NG.

The orifice holes are larger for NG, and you can't make them smaller, so you will need to replace with the proper orifice size or get blanks and drill incrementally until you fine tune it correctly.

Propane to NG is easier, you just drill out the orifices. All of the above assumes you have the proper regulator attached.

BTU to Orifice / Drill Size for LP:
http://www.grillparts.com/howto/btu_guide.htm

[Dale M.]

Also even well regulated and adjusted fuel/air mix, propane tends to have yellow tips on flames....

Dale

[bobhenry]

I boiled some eggs on it last night and the pan was black and sooted up like it had been 2 days on a camp fire.

I have looked everywhere but under the burner caps for a metering orafice and they don't exist.

Looking online they show the entire burner cap as the metering method on some stoves.

I will continue to look there is an answer somewhere.

[MtnDon]

The sooty pans would be a pain to clean up but more importantly is what you could not see, smell or taste. The air in the room would also have had a large increasing concentration of Carbon Monoxide. Using that stove as it now is could kill you.

[Dale M.]

Metering orifice (jet) should be where gas enters venture at air metering plate....

Example...



Dale

[bobhenry]

Well that makes sense. I will have to look a bit closer when I get home. Sounds like some epoxy putty and a tiny drill bit might be in order.

[crpngdth2001]

Well that makes sense. I will have to look a bit closer when I get home. Sounds like some epoxy putty and a tiny drill bit might be in order.

I've also taken a set to a jeweler and had them silver solder a set for me as well so I could redrill.

[Glenlivet]

Maybe this is something that would make a gas fitter recoil in horror but my buddy had an old trailer furnace that someone had butchered up the convecting furnace and the orfice was way too big. I saw the head was of brass so I donked it with the peen of hammer a few times and it closed up, then I redrilled it with a number 63 drill I believe, and it works like a charm still, five years later.

[bobhenry]

OK I knuckled under and went out and bought an LP gas stove last night. It was a $300.00 plus Frigidair gas stove. My sister was chatting at her favorite watering hole and ran across Gary. Well Gary is down and out and needed to sell an LP gas stove he had stored at his sisters. Well long story short I now have an LP ready gas stove for a whopping $40.00



It is obvious the guy can't cook, the oven appears to have never been used. I glossed over the top with some cleaner to remove the bird poo for the picture. I will get some oven cleaner and degrease the unit inside and out and hook it up and then it's happy days at the house in a house. I can really cook again.

[Wanna Be]

It's good to see someone getting the "Good " deals !!!!!!!!!!!

[bobhenry]

I am happy to report the new LP stove works like a champ. I got the new fitting to adapt the delivery pipe to the 1/2" flex gas line. Took about 3 minutes to install the fitting and leak check the line. I then lit the pilots and checked all the burners and the oven

I can cook again !