[FIXED] One Burner does not light easily

[braddgood]

Model Number: 79079013100
Brand: Sears Kenmore
Age: 6-10 years

Hi,


I have a Kenmore gas range model 79079013100
Here is a link to the user manual so you can know the one I'm referring to:
Link to user manual Owner's Manual - KENMORE Free Standing, Gas 79079013102, 79079019100, 79079019102, 79079013101, 79079012101, 79079014102, 79079013100, 79079012100, 79079014101, 316258007, 79079012102, 79079014100, 79079019101 - ManageMyLife.com


I would guess it's about 8-10 years old. It's been great and I would like to keep it for a long time.


One of the burners, the most used, has been hard light for a couple of years. The gas ports are all clean. I see that the electrode is firing fine, meaning that I see a spark and it looks fine compared to the other burners that work fine. If it doesn't light right away I either blow on it a little or wave my hand near it and it lights right up. The burner when lit looks great - all nice even flame all around.


So I'm not sure what the problem is. On this range, all of the electrodes fire no matter which burner is being turned on, so I'm not sure it's the electrode because why would that wear out faster if they all are firing each time? Unless it just had more spilled on it and more heat next to it longer because it was used more?

Anyway, I sure would like to understand what's wrong and fix it.

Also, I can't figure out how to open the top. I saw the videos where a putty knife is inserted. I tried that and can't seem to figure out how to release it. I used a flashlight and see the clips or something but can't get them to move or release.

Thanks for your help.

[Doc Ryan]

There are a few possibilities. You could have a spark module that is going bad. This is what generates the spark, and one of the outputs could be failing. You could have a bad burner switch, if the burner switch it failing, then you wouldn't hearing the clicking noise when you turn on the burner. The other possibilities are the gas not flowing properly. This could be from the burner being clogged or orifice being clogged.

[braddgood]

Thanks for the info. The biggest problem I have right now is how to access underneath the top. I took off the front plate where the knobs are and the top is connected in many areas to the main gas tube, including being connected to the warmer burner in the middle. There is no easy way to lift up the top for access that I can see. It appears that I would have to disconnect the main gas tube where it enters in the back and maybe disconnect wiring and lift the whole top unit, gas tubes wiring and all out to work from the bottom.

Thanks

[Doc Ryan]

What are you trying to access underneath the top?

[braddgood]

The orifices

[Doc Ryan]

You shouldn't need to lift up the top to access the orifices. You should just be able to remove the burner cap and burner, and then use a nut driver to remove the orifice.

[braddgood]

OK, thanks, that's cool. I'll check it out. What I'm realizing now is that I was confusing the orifice with the whole orifice assembly, like here

To replace the whole assembly would require getting in there some other way. How would one do that just out of curiosity? I would love to get in there and make sure that tube is completely cleared.

Thanks

[braddgood]

Hi Doc Ryan and everyone,

I'm just following up on this. The issue is fixed! All burners are working great now. The thing that worked was I took a wire twist tie, removed the paper from half of it to expose the wire, and used the wire to clean out the orifice of all of the burners. That did the trick!

For those reading this who don't know what I'm talking about, when you lift the burner cap and head (the pieces that lift right off), you will see a small thing with a small hole in it. This is the orifice where the gas comes out. It makes sense that food or liquid got in there at some point and clogged it up a little. Just run a wire of some kind in there to clear it out really well.

Doc Ryan - thanks for the help.

[Doc Ryan]

Great, thanks for following up and letting us know what the cause of the problem was!