Jump to content

Insufficient heat from Stoves Vanette oven


Froggy

Featured Posts

We bought our boat in November last year, and amongst many other things had the jets on the cooker checked and cleaned. We have a Vanette hob and a Vanette cooker, i can't give the model number atm because am not on the boat, but it's the equipment originally fitted to the boat in 1997.

The oven has never really produced enough heat to cook efficiently requiring extra cooking time, but recently it's got worse to the point where it's not much use for cooking anything requiring high temperatures, merely for warming things up. I've done a bit of investigating and there are two separate gas pipes inside the cupboards, one leading to the hob and one to the oven and grill. Now curiously, not only does the hob work well, but so does the grill. It's only the oven that doesn't perform satisfactorily. We've cleaned the holes in the gas jet matrix to the best of our ability but to no avail. Now the thought did strike me that the oven is the only part of these appliances that would employ a thermostat, so maybe it's this that's at fault, but i'm not sure if or how this could be replaced. Certainly there is no noticeable to change to the flame when turning the control knob up from low to high. Another possible clue is that our surveyor noted that the gas regulator looked to be over ten years old and that it is good practice to replace every five years; however, our boat passed the BSS test a few months after purchase and, as previously mentioned, sufficient gas seems to reaching both the hob and grill for them to run satisfactorily.

Any ideas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably not much help. We had a similar problem on a different make oven. It turned out that the gas control knob internals were no longer lined up. I took it apart and fixed it. It lasted two years and has since happened again. Time to bin ours and buy a decent one. 

Its probably not the same fault on yours. 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, rusty69 said:

Probably not much help. We had a similar problem on a different make oven. It turned out that the gas control knob internals were no longer lined up. I took it apart and fixed it. It lasted two years and has since happened again. Time to bin ours and buy a decent one. 

Its probably not the same fault on yours. 

Thanks, i guess this is at least worth looking at if it's easily accessible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to add that my partner wants to replace the oven, but i can't afford my half of this as we have other more important expenses on the boat and i already owe her for work previously carried out, including the blacking; therefore, i'm happy to live with what we have, since it's possible to cook some good meals on the hob and we do also have a microwave as a standby. However, if nobody here can help resolve the issue we will probably get a gas expert in to at least diagnose the problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How old is the gas  regulator? Has the static and flow pressure been checked at the cooker with the oven firring?  Check the gas pipe for physical damage or crushing. Replace the flexible to the cooker ( if fitted)  and at the bottle for a new  one  in case they have degraded  inside. If the system is very old you may well have a problem with the gas tap being gummed  up, fixable if you have the knowledge.

If you have to buy new, without changes you may be lilimited for choice. If it is fitted under the gunwall even worse if a lid is fitted. Bought an lpg convert able cooker from curry s last year then had to swap for a motor home type when replacing my vaneette 

 

 

 

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, adrianh said:

How old is the gas  regulator? Has the static and flow pressure been checked at the cooker with the oven firring?  Check the gas pipe for physical damage or crushing. Replace the flexible to the cooker ( if fitted)  and at the bottle for a new  one  in case they have degraded  inside. If the system is very old you may well have a problem with the gas tap being gummed  up, fixable if you have the knowledge.

If you have to buy new, without changes you may be lilimited for choice. If it is fitted under the gunwall even worse if a lid is fitted. Bought an lpg convert able cooker from curry s last year then had to swap for a motor home type when replacing my vaneette 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this useful information, I can't give you a greenie atm because they don't seem to work on my smartphone. We're not sure how old the regulator is but the surveyor recommended changing it stating it was at least ten years old. The only tests done on our system would be those done as part of our BSS. Our cooker isn't fitted under the gunnel fortunately, and as far as I know Stoves are still trading so I would have hoped something similar to what we gave would still be available, but am on the boat atm with limited data allowance on phone so will have a look some other time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a very similar problem with my Vanette oven of the same age.

At the back of the oven there is a metal plate protecting the burner assembly with one screw holding it in place. Slacken the screw and the plate will slide out to reveal the burner assembly.

I found some bits of old, charred food and a small pool of sticky fat. Once this was all cleaned out the burner came to life again with a much better gas flow and the thermostat now works correctly and the oven gets hot.

HTH

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, colinnorth said:

I had a very similar problem with my Vanette oven of the same age.

At the back of the oven there is a metal plate protecting the burner assembly with one screw holding it in place. Slacken the screw and the plate will slide out to reveal the burner assembly.

I found some bits of old, charred food and a small pool of sticky fat. Once this was all cleaned out the burner came to life again with a much better gas flow and the thermostat now works correctly and the oven gets hot.

HTH

Many thanks, this is well worth a greenie when I'm back on dry land. We wondered whether that plate was removable, the screw must be hidden away behind it. We will investigate over the next couple of days and report back. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some ovens use a thermocouple that limits gas flow when you first light it (to prevent a hair-singeing WOOOOMPH) and only after a minute or two when it's heated up, allows full gas flow. I've no idea whether your oven has this, but anyway it does sound as though something is stopping the thermostat going to full blast. Or quite possibly the thermostat / gas control valve is faulty.

Edited by nicknorman
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reckon that the gas has got itself twisted in the pipe, even tied itself into a complex series of knots causing a gaseous blockage and severely constipated pipes and regulator making it not regular anymore and unable to pass any gases.  A mixture of bicarb and reduced blackberry juice forced through the regulator and pipework under high pressure should be administered immediately before any leakage seaps back into the bottle destroying it,  rendering the entire system unserviceable and dangerous and needing complete renewal. After this treatment and the system and oven is working again a dose of neat loganberry juice plus a thimble full of ''Dr Collis-Butaneous's special propanial anti-bunged up potion'' should be injected up the ovens gas jet three times a day until symptoms cease. :closedeyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, bizzard said:

I reckon that the gas has got itself twisted in the pipe, even tied itself into a complex series of knots causing a gaseous blockage and severely constipated pipes and regulator making it not regular anymore and unable to pass any gases.  A mixture of bicarb and reduced blackberry juice forced through the regulator and pipework under high pressure should be administered immediately before any leakage seaps back into the bottle destroying it,  rendering the entire system unserviceable and dangerous and needing complete renewal. After this treatment and the system and oven is working again a dose of neat loganberry juice plus a thimble full of ''Dr Collis-Butaneous's special propanial anti-bunged up potion'' should be injected up the ovens gas jet three times a day until symptoms cease. :closedeyes:

I think you're posting in the wrong thread. See my post about Mansfield Travellers. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/08/2017 at 16:45, Froggy said:

Just to add that my partner wants to replace the oven, but i can't afford my half of this as we have other more important expenses on the boat and i already owe her for work previously carried out, including the blacking; therefore, i'm happy to live with what we have, since it's possible to cook some good meals on the hob and we do also have a microwave as a standby. However, if nobody here can help resolve the issue we will probably get a gas expert in to at least diagnose the problem.

Can't you get a part time job to make a bit extra cash, lots of short term jobs from now to xmas. Money is a good souce of argument for a couple, you might be looking for a new roof over your head soon :)

and it might not be the oven. I'd be getting it serviced tbh.

Edited by LadyG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

Can't you get a part time job to make a bit extra cash, lots of short term jobs from now to xmas. Money is a good souce of argument for a couple, you might be looking for a new roof over your head soon :)

and it might not be the oven. I'd be getting it serviced tbh.

We'll probably at least get an expert in to examine it if we can't resolve ourselves, so we know what to throw any available money at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Froggy said:

We'll probably at least get an expert in to examine it if we can't resolve ourselves, so we know what to throw any available money at.

Its a matter of safety. Hard enough to get a professional who is qualified on boat gas systems, experts are as rare as hen's teeth.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/08/2017 at 16:33, Froggy said:

We bought our boat in November last year, and amongst many other things had the jets on the cooker checked and cleaned. We have a Vanette hob and a Vanette cooker, i can't give the model number atm because am not on the boat, but it's the equipment originally fitted to the boat in 1997.

The oven has never really produced enough heat to cook efficiently requiring extra cooking time, but recently it's got worse to the point where it's not much use for cooking anything requiring high temperatures, merely for warming things up. I've done a bit of investigating and there are two separate gas pipes inside the cupboards, one leading to the hob and one to the oven and grill. Now curiously, not only does the hob work well, but so does the grill. It's only the oven that doesn't perform satisfactorily. We've cleaned the holes in the gas jet matrix to the best of our ability but to no avail. Now the thought did strike me that the oven is the only part of these appliances that would employ a thermostat, so maybe it's this that's at fault, but i'm not sure if or how this could be replaced. Certainly there is no noticeable to change to the flame when turning the control knob up from low to high. Another possible clue is that our surveyor noted that the gas regulator looked to be over ten years old and that it is good practice to replace every five years; however, our boat passed the BSS test a few months after purchase and, as previously mentioned, sufficient gas seems to reaching both the hob and grill for them to run satisfactorily.

Any ideas?

 

The bit I highlighted indicates with near certainty the thermostat on the oven has failed. Provided only that the gas supply pressure to the oven is correct, which it almost certainly will be if the hob above it works correctly. 

I had the exact same symptom on my very old Stoves Vannette and a new thermostat fixed it. Was quite difficult sourcing the new one though. I ended up scavenging the spare identical oven I have in the car port. :)

You might possibly have the tar-like brown gloop that accumulates over long periods in LPG gas pipes but this is unlikely unless the installation is more than about 20 years old.

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎29‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 08:59, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The bit I highlighted indicates with near certainty the thermostat on the oven has failed. Provided only that the gas supply pressure to the oven is correct, which it almost certainly will be if the hob above it works correctly. 

I had the exact same symptom on my very old Stoves Vannette and a new thermostat fixed it. Was quite difficult sourcing the new one though. I ended up scavenging the spare identical oven I have in the car port. :)

You might possibly have the tar-like brown gloop that accumulates over long periods in LPG gas pipes but this is unlikely unless the installation is more than about 20 years old.

Hi Mike. Our cooker is just over 20 years old, but given that the hob and grill work fine I'm doubtful about the tar issue. The thermostat is presumably the rod that clips to the top of the oven at the front? If so, is it easy to remove the side plate to get at the connection?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Vanette oven (also about 1997 built) was the same. Nothing cooked to time and the thermostat would take forever to click out, sometimes it never did. I just assumed that the seals were kaput since that's something that I had happen to an old oven in some rented accommodation when I was a stude. Are the seals something you can check and replace on yours?

Eventually I was told by a BSS examiner that the whole cooker was on its last legs and probably ought to be replaced before the next BSS. So I changed it for a Hotpoint in the end which has been much better. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/26/2017 at 15:39, Froggy said:

Thanks for this useful information, I can't give you a greenie atm because they don't seem to work on my smartphone. We're not sure how old the regulator is but the surveyor recommended changing it stating it was at least ten years old. The only tests done on our system would be those done as part of our BSS. Our cooker isn't fitted under the gunnel fortunately, and as far as I know Stoves are still trading so I would have hoped something similar to what we gave would still be available, but am on the boat atm with limited data allowance on phone so will have a look some other time.

 

On 8/26/2017 at 17:26, Froggy said:

Many thanks, this is well worth a greenie when I'm back on dry land. We wondered whether that plate was removable, the screw must be hidden away behind it. We will investigate over the next couple of days and report back. :)

 

On 8/29/2017 at 08:59, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The bit I highlighted indicates with near certainty the thermostat on the oven has failed. Provided only that the gas supply pressure to the oven is correct, which it almost certainly will be if the hob above it works correctly. 

I had the exact same symptom on my very old Stoves Vannette and a new thermostat fixed it. Was quite difficult sourcing the new one though. I ended up scavenging the spare identical oven I have in the car port. :)

You might possibly have the tar-like brown gloop that accumulates over long periods in LPG gas pipes but this is unlikely unless the installation is more than about 20 years old.

On further research, Stoves are no longer operating. Replacement thermostats are still available but are around £130. I think this is a non-starter for us given that we can't even be certain it's the thermostat at fault.

 

On 8/29/2017 at 08:50, Tacet said:

Won't there be a gas jet - probably of brass and located just before the burner?  If so, I'd be checking that it is clear.

 

On 8/26/2017 at 16:31, colinnorth said:

I had a very similar problem with my Vanette oven of the same age.

At the back of the oven there is a metal plate protecting the burner assembly with one screw holding it in place. Slacken the screw and the plate will slide out to reveal the burner assembly.

I found some bits of old, charred food and a small pool of sticky fat. Once this was all cleaned out the burner came to life again with a much better gas flow and the thermostat now works correctly and the oven gets hot.

HTH

I followed your very useful advice, colinnorth, and removed the plate and thoroughly cleaned the area. I found about seven matchsticks in the void in front of the burner - who knows how many years they had been lying there, as we don't use them! - as well as plenty of grease. Unfortunately none of my cleaning efforts made any difference. However, i'm going to have another look in view of Tracet's comment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Froggy said:

 

On further research, Stoves are no longer operating. Replacement thermostats are still available but are around £130.

 

Buy a second hand oven on ebay to get the thermostat.

Not an easy fit though. Yes the rod thing you describe is the sensor, but the other end carries gas and needs to be competently fitted. Easy to get at once the oven is removed. It's right there on the top, with the control spindle sticking through the front carrying the oven control knob. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Buy a second hand oven on ebay to get the thermostat.

Not an easy fit though. Yes the rod thing you describe is the sensor, but the other end carries gas and needs to be competently fitted. Easy to get at once the oven is removed. It's right there on the top, with the control spindle sticking through the front carrying the oven control knob. 

This seems like both a lot of work and expense, Mike. It's maybe something for the future..... but unless we can diagnose another, simpler to resolve, issue with the oven we are, for the time being, going to accept it's only useful for warming things up, and enjoy the many delicious meals that can be cooked merely using the hob.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.