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We were given a secondhand Smeg gas hob. It didn’t come with any instructions etc so I don’t know which model it is. It’s all Stainless-steel, with 6 burners in total; 4 small-medium-sized ones, plus a small burner within a larger one which I think is for a large Wok.
The spark ignition works OK on all but the largest burner, (it probably needs cleaning) but the actual ignition is peculiar – let me explain. You push in the burner knob to start the spark, then the burner lights as you turn the knob. However, when the knob is released, the flame goes out. We’ve tried all manner of sequences; turning the gas fully on, down to it’s lowest setting etc, before releasing the control knob and yet the flame still goes out. Yes all 5 burners do light – after maybe 4 or 5 goes at it. Sometimes they light (and stay lit) straight away, but it’s not consistant. It seems like the knobs have to be pushed in for several seconds before the flame is stabilised and continuous.
This didn’t happen with our old cooker; as soon as the gas lit, you could let go of the knob and that was it. But is there a ‘secret’ with the Smeg hobs, or some kind of built-in safety feature which is different to the norm?
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
Hi
You need to get hold of a CORGI registered engineer for this , do not mess around with gas appliances, is it set up for mains or bottled gas.
Mike
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
Hi Mike.
Thanks for the reply. The hob runs direct from mains gas. It does work (we use it every day), but what baffles me is what cuts off the gas after the burners first ignite. All the burners do, not just one. We’ve found that you have to hold in the knobs for several seconds before releasing them to ensure that the burners stay on.
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
mike_jw wrote:We’ve found that you have to hold in the knobs for several seconds before releasing them to ensure that the burners stay on.
Correct – you are waiting for a safety thermocouple to warm up.
Penguin45.
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
I have had exactly the same symptom on a NEFF hob. I eliminated the termocouple by swapping it temporarily with an ok burner. The problem was the gas valve stem was partially siezed – it is the most infrequently used burner – the siezure was not allowing the valve stem to be pushed down far enough (the operating knob actually pushes onto a spring, so the max force on the valve stem is the spring poundage not your weight). This lack of travel was stopping the thermocouple latching the control valve. A judicious bit of polishing – no need for CORGI as no dismantling required – and exercising the valve solved the problem. Hope this helps 😆
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
First let me appologise for the long delay in replying; would you believe that it took four visits from Virgin Media to re-site my Modem from the first floor to the ground floor. I moved my desktop PC, CRT monitor etc in anticipation that it would be done on the first visit, then waited 10 day for the 2nd visit, 10 days for the 3rd – and so on. True, I could have used an Internet cafe or public Library, but decided just to hang on.
Anyway, to the subject in question; as I originally said,
We’ve found that you have to hold in the knobs for several seconds before releasing them to ensure that the burners stay on.
Penguin45, you hit the nail on the head when you replied’
Correct – you are waiting for a safety thermocouple to warm up.
Thanks for that knowledgable bit of info. The spark ignition works OK on all but the largest burner. It obviously needs (cleaning?), but seems like such a small job to call in an engineer. Any suggestions on this one?
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
take off the burner cap and then press the ignition button
if you can see a spark you just need to clean the cap and the diffuser
if you can`t see a spark you need an engineerwhy are people giving ANY advice on a gas hob?
its faulty, its apparant what the problem is, the thing needs repairing, a part needs replacing.. by a corgi registered engineer only
please call someone out, thank you
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
CALM DOWN i am only advising them to check bits that can be taken off to be cleaned anyway
Pull off the control knob in question and push down on the shaft directly to light the burner, push in ignite and hold for 5-10 seconds, if it doesnt stay lit you will require an engineer, if it does stay lit then come back.
ps. One last thing is the burner lighting all the way round and evenly compared to the others ?
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
On that one particular burner there’s no spark whatsoever. It’s a combined inner & outer burner, the small inner one works fine but it’s the larger outer one where the spark is absent.
We had a similar occurence with out previous Stoves hob. After a number of years the spark on one burner failed. My son took off the cap and the diffuser, unscrewed something, gave it a wipe, and it worked ever since.
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
The spark isnt working on the outer ring and thus not warming the thermocouple.
Buy a box of matches.
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
mike_jw wrote:On that one particular burner there’s no spark whatsoever. It’s a combined inner & outer burner, the small inner one works fine but it’s the larger outer one where the spark is absent.
We had a similar occurence with out previous Stoves hob. After a number of years the spark on one burner failed. My son took off the cap and the diffuser, unscrewed something, gave it a wipe, and it worked ever since.I thought you were saying it was lit but when you let go of the control knob the gas went out.
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
wsts wrote:
I thought you were saying it was lit but when you let go of the control knob the gas went out.
Correct (on the remaining burners that are igniting), but, as petalpop pointed out, this is due to a safety thermocouple, something I’ve not encountered on a hob before.
Sorry for the confusion – I don’t blame you!
Re: Unusual ignition on Smeg gas Hob
mike_jw wrote:wsts wrote:
I thought you were saying it was lit but when you let go of the control knob the gas went out.
Correct (on the remaining burners that are igniting), but, as petalpop pointed out, this is due to a safety thermocouple, something I’ve not encountered on a hob before.
Sorry for the confusion – I don’t blame you!If it lights then goes out when you let go do as I said in my last post, remove the control knob… turn on and light the gas while keeping the gas tap shaft pushed down…. hold down for 5-10 seconds and see if it remains lit.
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