Gas Stove Repair 5 Pieces of Advice For

Is your gas stove not lighting? There may be something broken that you can fix on your own without hiring a maintenance worker. Read more here for tips on gas stove repair.

It seems that these days, most new homes are being loaded with electric stoves instead of their traditional gas counterparts. This is a shame because they provide some tremendous advantages.

Gas stoves tend to heat food quicker and more evenly than the electric variety. They also provide major financial benefits by potentially cutting your monthly energy bill in half.

They are, however, a bit more finicky. If your stove is on the fritz and you need help with your gas stove repair, you'll want to check out these 5 tips.

1. Unplug Your Stove

If your stove's burners won't turn and you want to begin troubleshooting the issue, the first thing you need to do is unplug your stove. Even some gas stoves have electrical components, so unplugging it will allow you to safely check what's going on under the hood.

2. Check the Pilot Light

If your stove won't light the first place you should check is the pilot light. The pilot light(s) can be found by lifting up the top portion of your stove. It should hinge and prop itself up on a metal wire like the hood of a car.

Your pilot light should always be burning a bright blue. If it's off you may want to try re-lighting it with a barbecue lighter. If gas is still reaching it, the light should ignite. If the light is burning weakly, i.e. flickering or burning yellow, you should disconnect the gas and clean the pilot hole.

You can do this with an old toothbrush, brushing away any dust or debris that may have on the top of the pilot hole. Then, you'll want to poke a sewing needle inside the pilot hole, clearing away soot and other gunk.

3. Clean the Burner

If the pilot light is fine but the stove still won't light, your burners may be the components that need cleaning. For these, you'll want to do the same thing. Brush away built-up grease around the burner and all the portions that connect to it.

Then, you can poke a sewing needle through the holes on the burner. These need to be clear so that the burners can get an even flow of gas.

4. Check the Spark Ignition

New stoves use a spark ignition instead of a pilot light to light the stove's burners. These work like spark plugs in cars, which similarly fail to work if they're gunked up.

If you have one of these, you'll need to make sure there is no grease or debris between the igniter and the metal ground connection that may impede ignition.

5. Replace Old Parts

Sometimes, no amount of cleaning can fix what's broken. If you have a very old stove, it may just be time to replace your old parts. You can find the replacement components you'd need to buy for a gas stove here.

Need More Gas Stove Repair Help?

This article should've given you a good idea of what you need to do to tack your DIY gas stove repair project. If you need any more help with your stove or any other applications, check out our other DIY appliance repair tips.