Opening up Sealed Burners and Changing Spark Wires.

[scoots]

I have a Hotpoint oven range combination that was built about 2005. The model number is RGB 735. The unit came with the house when we purchased it. It’s apparently bottom of the line but has given reasonable service until recently.

The first problem is that the unit features “sealed gas burners”. In ordinary stove tops the burners and gas piping are supported directly by a drip pan built into the carcass of the machine. For cleaning, you simply lift the front of the burner deck up like the lid of a washing machine and the area under the burners can be cleaned of old spills and food debris.

Apparently with the sealed gas burners a good deal of the support is instead provided by the upper deck itself. The instructions are very coy about this point but apparently you’re not supposed to open the unit by lifting the top deck because doing so will bend the gas delivery pipes considerably, and repeated attempts to do this will cause metal failure and cause a gas leak.

There is in fact no directions in the manual on how to clean or access under the burners. I have come to the conclusion that the burners have to be unscrewed from the deck lid and only then can the interior be accessed-however-the instructions say nothing about this procedure.

Personally, I am furious. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Is this correct? Am I expected to disconnect the burner from the upper deck frame before I can access the burner pit?</span>

My second question is about the wiring to the burners. One of the wires has developed a break in the insulation and is now shorting out to the metal frame meaning that my front two burners will not light a spark ignition. Are these wires heat resistant? The short is all the way under the control panel with a wire bundle goes through an aperture. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Can I just use ordinary thermal shrink jacket insulation?</span> This would save me the difficulty of the cost of finding OEM wiring.

Many thanks, Bill

 

[askolover]

The spark wire on my furnace was doing that too.  I wrapped black electrical tape around the spot and it's been working fine for at least 3 years since.

 

[combo52]

Removing The Cook-Top On A Sealed Gas Range

Hi Bill, You have to remove the 12 screws [ 3 on each burner head ] lift the parts off and then lift the CT.

 

DO NOT try lifting the CT AT ALL  without removing the burner heads properly, We are. actually replacing what was a perfectly good range this afternoon that someone tried to clean and broke two of the burner tubes.

 

The problem, Often after a number of years the screws are rusted and stuck and you may have drill them out and replace a lot of expensive and possibility NLA parts.

 

Consider leaving it alone or buying a new range, the one burner that is not lighting can be lit with a hand held lighter.

 

If all the screws look pretty and you want to proceed put some good penetrating oil on all the screw heads and have the correct size torx bit and go for, keep in mind if enough of the screws break off you will be spending a lot or buying a new range.

 

John L.

 

[launderess]

Speaking for myself, and I am unanimous

Sealed gas burners are a vast improvement over what came before....

Recall being told to "clean the kitchen" which including lifting up the top off burners and cleaning god only knows what crud lay beneath.

Every apartment one had since moving out was same; a veritable vermin fest of crud built up over ages from no one cleaning beneath burners on range or burners.

Two reasons roaches, rats, and mice love ranges/burners is the insulation and the crud that gets beneath burner tops that can fed generations.

Sealed burners contain spills, messes, boil overs, etc... Just wipe things up, then once a week or so scrub down top. No muss, no fuss.