Originally posted by: Rubycon
Glowcoil ignitors have this safeguard because they are susceptible to burnout and/or damage. What's scary are stoves with standing pilots with no FSG on the pilot feed! So when the pilot is blown out by a draft from the unfortunate homeowner leaving with the door slamming, the house fills slowly with gas.
If they are lucky and not gone long and there's a window open, they'll arrive to a smelly kitchen and (hopefully) know what's up. If they're not so lucky and gone longer allowing the gas to build up and reach another appliance with a standing pilot such as a water heater, things can and do go BOOM!
If they're really unlucky, the worst scenario is there's no other source of ignition until they've arrived home - turn on the lights, and the spark of the switch touches off an explosion giving them along with the house - the new look. :Q
Don't screw with gas and it won't screw with you.
Fortunately they do make (expensive) combination CO/explosive gas detectors now.
I do like the efficiency aspect of a gas range. With an electric range, first the fossil fuel is burned to make heat, converted to electricity, sent to a home, and converted back into heat. Multiple efficiency losses are incurred. Of course with the gas range, the fossil fuel is burned with the heat being delivered directly into what needs it.
I read about old glowcoils having a problem where their change in resistance no longer matches the temperature shift. In that case, the gas valve will switch on too soon, and the stove will fill with gas as the ignitor continues to heat up. Awhile later, there's a small explosion in the oven.
I was worried too that my oven wasn't working - turn it on, and there's no sparking, no sound of gas. "Ok, what's wrong with it?" and then immediately turn it off for fear of gas buildup. I had to track down some information online to find out how the glowcoil ignitors work, and that the oven has to be on for anywhere from 1-2 minutes before it ignites. I was accustomed to electric
everything. My parents when with the industry hype at the time when we moved into the house I mostly grew up in - buy electric appliances, heating, ranges, anything. We had electric: baseboard heaters, water heater, laundry dryer, and of course a range/oven. There is now at least a wood pellet furnace in the basement. Electric heat was damned expensive, and never could get the basement warm in the winter.