O'keefe and merritt stove converting to LPG gas

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christer89

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Dec 20, 2014
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sweden
Hi everybody! I just bought an O'keefe&Merritt stove, In SWEDEN! That not regular! I saw it on loacal "Craiglist" the lady i bought it from lived in LA, but moved back to sweden after 11/9, then she shipped the stove overseas! She bought it total restored in 1995, savon appliance burtbank, Its an 36" range in now days used but still great shape! The only problem is that its not converted to LPG gas, they just hooked it up to an LPG-Tube, her boyfriend showed me the range an fired each burner up, and I can tel it wasn't the smallest flame. And the oven total yellow, i found out the airshutter closed total. She told me it was abit hard to bake bread.....no shit,
The Guy WHO showed me,"how to use the stove" (like an expert) is from LA and always cooked on gas,...before.
What ever, it has not any regulator to Select lpg /nat,
Do i need that? Or can i just turn each nut on the gasvalve to lower the gasflow, and adjust the air shutters? (After youtubeing okeefe and merritt gas adjustments) pilot adjustments,
,
Why is it not any safety valve on stovetop pilots? Ain't that dangerus? Im not Sture Im comfy with that,
If i what to turn the pilots off on stove top, can i just snug the adjustment screw?
Your thoughts please! U people that are used with beautiful gasrangers!
Is propane "more" dangerus than naturalgas that you have in the pipe?
 
Converting A NG Gas range to propane

First of all how old is this range, if you don't know I could get a general idea with a picture.

 

There are usually no safety shut-off systems on top burner pilots on gas ranges, you can easily turn the top burner pilots completely off by turning in the adjustment screw all the way.

 

Propane is generally more dangerous that lighter natural gas. In most parts of the world it is cheaper and more satisfactory to cook with electricity than propane gas, NG is usually about 1/2 the cost of propane.
 
From what I have read here in the past, you need to use a different size orifice for LP than for natural gas. 

 

Others here will have to provide details.
 
Nice Range

Early 50s gas ranges were usually built to either be used on NG or propane, it can likley be converted however. The first thing to do is see if the burner and oven and broiler orifices are adjustable for propane gas, if not they all have to be replaced with ones with a smaller correct size hole for propane gas.

 

If the range has a pressure regulator it must be adjusted for the higher pressure propane gas or be removed.

 

The air shutter and pilot size adjustments are the last step in adjusting this range for use on propane gas.

 

If you are not experienced in doing these steps it is better to get someone who is, usually your propane supplier can do this or suggest someone that can as they have a strong incentive to get you to buy overpriced propane and an incentive to see you use their product safely so a story does not appear in the news about a home that blew up using propane.
 
Im gonna try to adjust the orifices, hook it up and se if flames gets low, and If they do, I'll guess it was made for both sorts of gas, previuse ovner Used LPG so it cant be that bad, I mean the last ovner cant be that dumb to let the whole family be in danger,

But i have been Reading online that i could buy some type of pressure regulator that handels the problem with nat/lpg, just to lift of a cap and select witch sort of gas its conected to, and maybe som air adjustments etc, then no need of adjust or change orifices, is that to good to be true?
Som experience?
 
I've often wondered if it would be a simple operation like installing a pressure regulator/modulator like those used on gas BBQ grills to convert a natural gas range to propane. 

 

I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, but we seem to be thinking alike about this particular possibility.
 
That was easy, just to adjust gasflow on each burner, / air, and the pilots,
One thing i dont know, the oven saftey valve , how it works or shuld work,
Its the okeefe and merritt original saftey valve MR 2 , (reabuildt in -95j
when i turn on the gas i light the pilots on the stove top, and then in oven, gas just flows directly in the to pilot in oven, without pushing any thing or so!
If i dont light the oven pilot, shuld the saftey valve Cut the gas flow to the pilot? or just the oven burner? Shuld i just turn on gas, and not light the oven pilot sniff after 5min and se If gas still flows out the oven pilot?
( ofcourse Keeping oven and brawer open and Windows open etc)

I have to Hold the red bottom to light the oven, then next time it works by just turn oven on to light it, If i blow out the pilot in oven, no gas comes to oven burner, so that feels safe...., but gas still flows to the pilot, that part i dont feel safe with, it shuld stop after a while right?
, easyer If i knew exactly how it SHULD work,
 
Normally,

I would say don't worry about the pilot lights - they waste gas, but if you're using Natural Gas, there's no real danger if they blow out.

With propane, it's another story.

These stoves were wonderful. Very, very good stoves and well worth restoring. I suggest you find someone who knows how to do the conversions to look at it and to check the safety features. It would even be possible to convert the stove to a modern ignition/safety system.

Keep us up to date on your progress - O'Keefe and Merritt built great stoves back then.
 
Thanks!

Thanks! Yes ofcourse the stove is a beauty! Im so lucky to have one! And here i sweden!
The real thruthe, i dont dare asking any gas fixing company , things about this stove, in sweden i think we never had pilot lights in the 50s-60s, (stoves), they would think i was chrazy, and dangerus using the stove at all. I'll rather contact vintage stove repair in US, If a have to,
Thats why Im asking her in stead, what i have ben Reading about pilots an stuff online, it sems that,in us it was standard ignition until just a few years ago, so i guess alot of apliances still have pilots even today,

1/3 waste of gasusage?! Thats alot, just watched that small little flame, and thougt that can't consume much of gas,
The problem with not use the pilots is If you are in a hurry when cooking, If you whant a lower flame, it is a risk of the flame to go out, thats not safe Ither, on newer Stove the smallest flame setting often is when the nob is fully turned to max, or with a clearly mark where small flame setting is, on okeefe and merritt its just on and off and no Marks or so, If the flame gose out the pilot relights the flame,
Im having (bbq tank of lpg gas, so not a line,)
Regards Chris
 
Pilots will consume a standard BBQ sized tank of propane very quickly.  I left the small pilot burning on a patio heater and the tank was empty in about three days. 
 
Every one here that have gasrange has bbq tanks, Im having big model of it, 2x40ibs tanks, se If the pilots run that much it dosen sem to be that big flames, soner or later ill fundout :) previus ovener used 7gallon gas tank 1/2 ear, not using pilots, with this okeefe and merritt stove, cooking normaly and bakeing, My tanks 2x 11gallon tanks lpg gas,
 

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