Gas cooktop failing to ignite after initial lighting

[artzend]

Hi

I have one burner on my Dometic gas cooktop where the flame goes out when you release the knob after lighting the burner. Any ideas? The other two are ok

Tim

[Old Techo]

G'day and welcome Tim

Applying the usual principle the odds are that the thermocouple has failed. This is the small thin jigger placed close to the flame and coupled back to the knob. They should be easily replaced.

Check that the proximity of this sensor is the same as the working burners.

Is this the burner used the most often?

Have you tried holding the knob in longer than usual to get more heat into the sensor?

[TramcarTrev]

Might be the thermocouple that detects the heat of the flame gone on the fritz. If the burner gets blown out this thing shuts off the gas to the burner to avoid you filling the van with LPG. Its the small conical thing that sits in the flame....
You can check it by swapping it with one of the other burners that are working if the problem transfers to that burner then you can be reasonably sure thats what the problem is.
There are 3rd party ones available, I have had to replace one on an other van and the genuine Dometic was around $100 a 3rd party one is around $20...

[TramcarTrev]

Minds thinking in synch again OT, maybe we should make it an Olympic event...

[artzend]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies. This burner seems to have never gone, we only got the van recently after it sat in a shed for 10 years. The other two burners are fine, but this one still looks new. I will have to check the thermocouple idea.

I have tried holding the knob in a bit longer, but no joy.

Any ideas for links to after market thermocouples?

Tim

[TramcarTrev]

ok to find non genuine thermocouples try eBay, just enter a search for Dometic xxxxxx (stove model) thermocouples...

[artzend]

I have no idea of the model, it's not written anywhere I can see. Also, how are the thermocouples held in place? I took the cooktop out as far as I could, without undoing the gas pipe, but didn't want to damage anything by use of brute force.

Is this what I need, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HIGH-QUALITY ... SwXSJXOkny

Tim

[TramcarTrev]

OK thats the sort of thing but that may not fit...It will be necessary I think to remove the top tray of the stove i.e the metal plate that sits under the burners and kind of covers the oven, the drip tray. Depending on the stove it may be a simple mater of undoing a few screws or you may have to slide the stove out to get at the retaining screws which may be on the side of the stove. Then you will see the rest of the thermocouple and its relevant connections, you will have to unscrew the connections but maybe take some pictures of the thing then hunt around for a similar one....

When you tighten up the new one do ensure you test all the joints with some spray and wipe or such like to detect leaks...

If you are not confident then maybe take it to a caravan repairer getting a quote first...depending on the stove this can be an hour job or it can be 10 hours... It just depends how far you have to go to get access. On mine the connection is back behind the control knob and the front of the stove has to come off to get to the connections...

[artzend]

Thanks for that. I thought the photo looked too big because the pipes on the back of the cooktop look a lot thinner. I had thought of talking to a caravan repair place too, maybe I should do that first. Thanks for the help.

Tim

[Old Techo]

My dometic thermocouples look accessible via the griller area. Here is a pic via a mirror.

'A' is the knob end of the copper pipe and 'B' the actual thermocouple (hidden under the knob control) where it pokes up to reach the burner.