Despite the popularity of gas stoves due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and excellent cooking performance, many still neglect their purchase and installation due to safety, having heard and heard about numerous accidents involving gas stoves. Nevertheless, the development of technology does not stand still: it becomes better, better and safer every year, including gas stoves. One of the introduced safety systems was gas control, which is now installed in almost all models and controls gas supply.
Gas control in a gas stove - what is it?
Many, meeting gas control in the passport of the stove, are wondering what it is, what kind of additional function it is, and whether it is worth paying for it.Gas control is a security system that prevents gas leakage, allowing you to protect against the risk of fire or explosion, which could result in death or significant damage. In essence, gas control is a device that stops the gas supply if the flame goes out for any reason.
In the first models (this still remains in some old variations), gas control was installed as a whole on the entire stove. Now each burner, as well as the oven is equipped with its own sensor, which allows you to selectively prevent the gas supply to various elements of the furnace, and not to deprive the entire stove of gas at once. Using this opportunity, you can leave the oven while cooking unattended, without worrying about the occurrence of a dangerous situation or a sudden cessation of cooking all food.
Important: gas control relieves the user of the need to closely monitor cooking, but does not allow for a long time to leave this process unattended and even more so leave the apartment with a working stove.
How gas control works in gas stoves
Gas control, regardless of whether it is supplied to the entire stove or to its individual elements, is not significantly different in its device. It includes the following components:
- thermocouple;
- solenoid valve.
A thermocouple is a combination of wires from two different metals. They are fused to each other from one end, which looks like an even small ball. When it is heated, a thermoelectric power arises, which is then converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the electromagnetic valve, thereby opening the valve, which creates pressure on the hotplate valve and gas begins to flow.
If the fire extinguishes, then the thermocouple loses its temperature, because of which it first weakens, and then the electrical signal decays altogether. The electromagnetic valve can remain open only if there is a signal, therefore, after its disappearance, it closes, and the gas supply accordingly stops.
If we ignore the technical principle of work and move on to everyday life, then everything is presented in the aggregate of the following actions:
- It is necessary to press the button or turn the knob (it depends on the method of gas control implementation) - this will open the gas supply.
- Light a fire with auto ignition or matches while holding the gas control button depressed. It takes a few minutes to warm up the thermocouple, after which the button can be released. If this is done earlier, the gas will go out, since a sufficient signal still reaches the solenoid valve, allowing it to remain open.
Reference: most gas control systems allow you to re-ignite a burner without holding time for heating, if, after the flame has gone out, only a few seconds have passed and the thermocouple has not had time to cool down yet.
Advantages and disadvantages that characterize this system
Like any technical element, the gas control system has its advantages and disadvantages. The first, as a rule, border on its functions and come down to the fact that gas control allows you to:
- automatic shutdown of gas supply when the flame extinguishes on the burner or in the oven;
- getting rid of constant control of the furnace during its operation;
- prevention of dangerous situations associated with fires and explosions.
Nobody relieved the gas control of the shortcomings. Inventors are working to eliminate them, but so far they are still there. They usually include:
- the need to hold the knob or button pressed while waiting for the thermocouple to warm up and transmit a signal to the solenoid valve;
- lack of stable operation of burners and oven in case of failure of the system;
- difficult repair (especially if you decide to carry it out yourself and do not have similar skills in work).
Due to these shortcomings of the gas control system, many users resort to disabling it. To achieve this goal, you must adhere to the following algorithm of actions:
- disconnect the gas supply from the gas pipeline;
- Find where the gas monitoring system is located in your case (in all models its location is different);
- disconnect and remove the solenoid valve;
- pull out the spring, which is responsible for the flow and shutdown of gas;
- return the solenoid valve to its place.
Removing the spring is precisely responsible for ridding the stove of the automatic restriction on gas supply. In this case, the valve will always be in the open state, regardless of whether the signal from the thermocouple arrives at it or not.
Turning off the gas control will not be difficult, however, any independent operations with gas household appliances can lead to an accident, therefore it is best to call a specialized craftsman for such work.
Important: in some cases, for independent disconnection of gas control, the gas company may impose a fine on you or completely stop the supply of gas due to violation of the terms of the contract.
When the wizard shuts down the system, at the end of work, it makes appropriate notes in the device’s operation log indicating the date and reason for the action (very often the gas control is turned off when exiting and operating, so as not to waste money, time and effort on repairing it).
Gas control ceases to function properly in the following cases:
- with severe contamination of the sensor elements;
- when the thermocouple is shifted (its rounded end should always be on the border with the flame);
- Thermocouple obsolescence
- solenoid valve wear;
- weakening compound elements.
Repairs associated with the replacement of elements are best provided to a specialized organization in order to protect themselves and avoid problems with the law. It is possible to clean the thermocouple from dirt or to tighten the joints yourself.
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