Hob flame failure device doesn't work

[Paul H]

A couple of years back I bought a secondhand cooker. It was about 10 years old but had never been installed.

 

Its a Flavel Wayfarer but very similar to the Spinfo Nelso .

 

Although flame failure devices are fitted to all burners and the one on the oven works fine, the ones on the hob burners seem to be faulty. What is there to go wrong? I'd have thought if the thermocouples were faulty I wouldn't be able to light the burners whereas I can and if I blow the flame out they keep hissing with gas.

 

Any ideas? It's an attractive cooker which I would like to keep if possible.

 

Many thanks.

 

Paul

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya Paul

Hissing out gas in a boat is seldom good is it.

In my opinion,its important to get advice on such things from people who ACTUALLY know there stuff.(may be a shout to Mike the Boiler Man for starters) I do hope you get it sorted soon. So get a takeaway tonight.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[Captain Fizz]

Photo please.

[Paul H]

Sorry I don't live on the boat and can't take a pic. I don't regard it as dangerous - its operates no differently than cookers did on boats for decades but it does have FFDs which should work and I need to get through a BSC.

Paul

[springy]

I seem to remember that it actually takes a suprisingly long time for ffds to shut off the gas - do you have to hold the button/knob in to get the flame to light or can you just turn the knob on, release & still light the gas ?

If you have to hold the knob pressed in to get it to light then your ffds are working.

 

springy

[Pete & Helen]

Bit of reading for you. May not solve your but may help understand a bit better. But in essence what "Springy" said is true

http://www.radmidlands.co.uk/ControlsDom.pdf

[jodansgang]

The FFD won't shut the burner down immediately, anything less than 50 seconds is considered operational.

[Paul H]

Ok perhaps I'm being a bit impatient. I'll try again when I'm up at the boat next week. But if I recall I don't have to hold the knob in while I light the burner - much as if there was no ffd fitted. There clearly are thermocouples though and if thry fail I would have expected the burner to be impossible to light.

Paul

[Pete & Helen]

The burner will still light if the FFD fails but as soon as you take your hand off the knob it would go out. Despite what is said (even in the doc I linked for you) I have never known a FFD to keep the gas on for more than a few seconds if it didn't detect a flame. It seems odd though that both burners are faulty ( I am assuming its both)

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I hate the idea that up to 50seconds of gas per extinguished burner can be happily settling in my bilge!.

[jodansgang]

No not good but better than a full cylinder.

[by'eck]

A couple of years back I bought a secondhand cooker. It was about 10 years old but had never been installed.

 

Its a Flavel Wayfarer but very similar to the Spinfo Nelso .

 

Although flame failure devices are fitted to all burners and the one on the oven works fine, the ones on the hob burners seem to be faulty. What is there to go wrong? I'd have thought if the thermocouples were faulty I wouldn't be able to light the burners whereas I can and if I blow the flame out they keep hissing with gas.

 

Any ideas? It's an attractive cooker which I would like to keep if possible.

 

Many thanks.

 

Paul

 

Usually its the heating sensing part of the thermocouple that fails, such that the manual override (used to light burner) has to be operated continually to keep the flame.

 

In your case its clearly the device that locks the gas on that's failed such that its permanently on. This utilises a cunning locking mechanism ingeniously designed to be operated via the tiny current from the thermocouple.

Edited October 18, 2013 by by'eck