Fabulous 400 Woes...

[dalangdon]

Something is dreadfully wrong with the Fabulous 400!

Last night I started the oven and broiler. The broiler lit up just fine, but the stove wouldn't light (the pilot was on, but nothing happened)

So I turned off the broiler, and went to clean the little area around the oven's pilot, thinking it was a build up of the white stuff, which sometimes happens with the broiler, but it didn't work.

Then I tried to turn the broiler back on, and now it won't catch either. The burners are fine, however.

Anybody have any thoughts on this? It might be related to that weird issue with the gas the other day, but since the burners are working, I'm not sure that's it.

I've called a repair company (NOT Sears ;-) from a used appliance store I trust, but I'm awfully fearful it will be one of those "My gosh I've never seen one THIS old, I wouldn't know what to do with something THIS old, You could probably buy a new one for what it would cost for me to fix something THIS old" situations.

 

[58limited]

Sounds like a safety valve issue. Not sure on your stove, but the burners don't have a safety valve on my stove, just the oven. My broiler is under the oven and uses the same burner as the oven. If you have a wider stove with a separate broiler, you might have two safety valves.

My parent's oven stopped working 13 years ago. We decided it was the gas regulator valve and bought a replacement. When I installed it, there was black residue in the gas line from the meter that was blocking the line. I cleaned that out and replaced the regulator even though the old one was probably good. If the gas lines in your area have been serviced, you might have debris in some of the lines in the stove.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember the ads for these ranges and they talked about the safety valve that shut off the the gas if the pilots failed. You mentioned that you turned the pilots down after some work was done because suddenly they were too high. I would look for gunk in the gas lines and that "safety sentry" might be a place to look for trouble. First, though, check to see if the trouble might be related to the pilot lights being too low to heat the thermocouples above them. You should probably get in touch with someone at The Old Road Home, an organization that is primarily dedicated to restoring old gas stoves. You don't have a service manual or anything to go on and you really need to tap into a source of expert knowledge about this range. They might even know of someone in your area who is an expert on these high oven ranges.

When the stove was operating properly and you turned on the broiler (where you could see what was happening) did the pilot get larger and then after a minute or so, the valve would open and the burner would light?

 

[coldspot66]

Do the pilots grow to standby size when you turn the thermostat to a temp? Is there a manual setting on the clock that may have been switched by mistake to "time bake"? Let me know.

 

[dalangdon]

Well, as I predicted, the repairman wouldn't touch the "antique". I've been tinkering with the back end, which is just depressing: The electrical system on the stove has been messed with several times over the years, and there are lots of dangly wires (probably associated with the thermostatic burner and the non-working oven indicator lights.)

I've called good old Larry at Modern Parts House (thanks again Greg!) to see if safety valves are still available for these guys, and he's always a good source for information on other things that might be bad.

TOAC/TORH are much more interested in the classic gas ranges. The last time I checked, they wouldn't touch a 400, but they might have changed their ways since then.

If all else fails, I can swap it out with the Flair. With summer coming up that might be the best bet anyway

 

[dalangdon]

The patient is doing much better!

As always, your advice was right on. We took the safety valve and blew it out with compressed air, lit it up again and, after we banged it on the side a few times, it worked! We also blew the broiler out with the compressed air, and that got it to work again.

We also tried to sort out the wiring, but that was a thankless task. I think the only hope for that is finding some old timer who knows these stoves.

Thanks again for the great suggestions. Hopefully it will hold for a time.

 

[pdub]

Glad to hear you got it working again Dan. It is a beautiful range and I can only imagine the work involved to switch it out, although your Flair is mighty nice too.

Good Luck and hope all stays well.

Patrick

 

[mixfinder]

Tom Terrific

Thom,
I am so impressed with your willingness to share, troubleshoot and support all of us in giving life support to our precious collections.
Dan,
I'm glad you were able to get it operational again. I have a friend who is in his eighties who was a VP for the Gas Company here in Seattle. I'll ask him if he knows of any "craftsmen" who still tinker with vintage gas appliances.
Kelly

 

[dalangdon]

Kelly, that would be great! I get so frustrated with Seattle repair people who don't want to repair. They don't even take the touble to let you down easy. I bet you I could find a repair person back in Council Bluffs

 

[swestoyz]

Repairs in CB....

I bet you could Dan, I bet you could!

I'm glad to see everything has worked out for the Fab 400 - such an awesome range! I can only imagine what the wiring issues are that lurk from your descrptions ~

Ben