Propane issue: Stove doesn't work, but fridge and furnace do?

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leecam

New member
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Aug 3, 2017
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Hi all,

I was troubleshooting a fridge LP problem that turned out to be a bad regulator and a near empty propane tank.  The fridge and furnace are now working great, but for some reason, the stove won't light.

I can't say for sure that the stove was working recently prior to the repair work, since we never use it.  We do use the furnace and the fridge; In fact we just used them over July 4th week (though the fridge was not cooling properly on LP, now fixed with new regulator).  When I turn on the stove burner(s) I do not hear any hiss and holding a lighter near the burner results in no ignition, as well as no deflection of the flame.  Also, no gas smell is present.  I have traced the line from the stove down below the galley and can't find any sort of inline valve or similar.  I have not checked under the camper.

I believe this is a low pressure stove since there is no regulator near it--it just relies on the regulator for the whole camper.  I know the stove worked when we first got the camper back in 2013.  The camper does have an LP leak detector, but I didn't do any troubleshooting with it.  I think during a portion of my troubleshooting, there was no power supplied to the camper.  I don't know much about the leak detector, but my understanding is it's just like a smoke detector in that it makes a loud noise, but doesn't actually control any gas valve or anything.  Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

The popup is a 2005 Fleetwood Allegiance.  Let me know if you need any more details.

Thanks...
 
I used to have a boat with a solenoid valve to shut off the propane. There was a switch that had to be turned on to open the valve. Could it be something like that?
 
Lift the top of the stove and see if there's a shut off valve where the LP line connected to the stove that may have been shut off at some time. Some RV stoves have their own small secondary regulator, also usually located at the LP connection point to the stove. The regulators are not a common failure point, but it can happen. It is not a standard LP regulator...
 
You won't hear a "hiss" in any case - the pressure and flow are too low for that. Regulated gas pressure is only about 0.5 psi.

Since the other LP appliances work, you can rule out a main shutoff or the primary regulator. If your stove has its own secondary regulator (few do) or valve, it will be built into the stove itself, so you will have to remove the top or perhaps pull the unit out of the cabinet if it's a stove/oven combo.  I would probably start by finding a junction in the gas line to the stove and opening that up to see if I had gas there (an LP "sniffer" is a handy tool to check this). If yes, the problem is in the stove; if no, then trace the line back toward the tank.

Consumer-grade gas sniffer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00628V0YO/ref=asc_df_B00628V0YO5105908/

The LP detector in a 2005 RV is just an alarm - no shut-off. Even if it did shut the gas off, it would do ALL the gas, not just the stove.
 
Is it possible this is related to the excess flow valve in the propane bottle?  I have seen people change regulators,  Full/Empty indicators, and bottles because they didn't understand how careful one has to be with these flow valves. 
If this is a possibility, I suggest turning off the gas to all appliances and shutting off the stem valve of the bottle.  You might hear a click when the excess flow valve resets.
Then, slowly open the valve on the bottle.  If you have a gas level indicator, let the needle rise into its maximum.  Then try to light the stove only. 
If the stove lights but has a weak flame, and the needle of the indicator drops, then the flow valve may be restricting the flow.
If the stove operates correctly, then add the other appliances.
 
Thank you to everyone with the helpful suggestions.  Checked underneath, no damage.  Removed the top of the stove, and there's a stupid regulator there. At least I know what the problem is likely to be.  Since we don't use it, I'm inclined to just leave it for now...
 
Since it is a pop up, is there any chance that there is a safety switch that shuts off the gas when the top comes down, that could be defective. I know my friends has two safety switches on his fold down galley, that disable the ceiling lights and the furnace when the galley is folded down. This is to prevent you from putting the top down with the lights on or the furnace. His stove clips on the trailer on the outside so Im not familiar with what kind of safety could be on an inside stove.  Would stand to reason you wouldnt want to put the top down with the stove going. Just a shot in the dark.
 
I checked for a safety switch, but there isn't one on this model.  My previous popup had one, but it only controlled the power to the overhead lights.
 
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