1950s(?) gas cooker servicing

[Galfredus]

Hello All,

A friend of mine has the attached extremely old gas cooker. He bought it second-hand thrity years ago. It continues to give apparently good service. However, when having his boiler serviced a couple of weeks ago, he asked the engineer to run his CO meter over the cooker. The oven and the hob burners are all fine, but the grill burner it lethal! Gas man suggests replacing the cooker, but said friend likes his vintage appliances. Are there any firms out there specialising in servicing/restoring things like this? If it was a Morris Minor there would be any number of options, but historic kitchen appliances seem to have a more limited following. In the meantime red tape has been applied to the grill burner knob.

It appears to me that the grill burner has become clogged with grease/carbon, which restricts the gasflow. I have not turned it on myself for obvious reasons, but it was reported to give a fairly puny and yellow flame. Trouble is that the grill burner is very difficult to get at without removing two of the hob burners, which then starts to become plumbing, and beyond my expertise...

Any advice very gratefully received!

Regards,

Galfredus

 

[snowhead]

Looks just like the Main my Mother used to have.
There should be a vent from the grill at the rear of the hotplate section,blocked maybe?
I seem to remember the grill burner bar is removable, or was that the oven bar.
Cast iron and the holes get blocked.

 

[AWheating]

the appliance should be disconnected and labeled untill its either replaced or fixed. What area are you in? maybe somebody gas safe registered on the forum can help or point you in the right direction. It is unlikely parts will be available.

 

[Galfredus]

What area are you in? maybe somebody gas safe registered on the forum can help or point you in the right direction.

We are in Tooting, south London.

 

[Bernie2]

The old trick was to remove burners and soak in caustic soda (Go very careful with this). Check vents are not blocked and nozzle injector area is clean. After that you are getting into Gas Safe areas. I would also have carbon monoxide detector fitted, cheap enough. Check ventilation air as well. Can door open? Can window open? On these old cookers it was assumed I think, the user would take the burners out and wash them every so often. Also check the burners aeration port is clear and the adjustment mechanism has not rusted or been damaged or come loose, it may need resetting.

If your unsure get a Gas safe guy or gal in. But if it is thirty years old and somebody had never done this sort of user maintenance before it would have probably stopped working years ago.

If your still unsure about it get a Gas safe person in to check it out.

 

[Galfredus]

The old trick was to remove burners and soak in caustic soda (Go very careful with this).

Thanks Bernie! I hadn't thought of caustic soda - we use it in ovens, so obvious really! On initial inspection the first problem was getting at the burner. It has a shround sitting on top of it (cast iron?), which fouls the feeds to the hob burners when I try to get it out, and without removing the shroud I can't get at the burner, so I've fallen at the first hurdle. I'll have another look and perhaps take some more pics when I'm next round.

G

 

[mountainman]

Those cookers were pretty easy to work on, you really need an old ex gas board fitter who is still GSR (like me, but I'm too far from you)

Incidentally, you say that the CO readings were high. Do you have the actual readings?

 

[Galfredus]

Those cookers were pretty easy to work on, you really need an old ex gas board fitter who is still GSR (like me, but I'm too far from you)

Incidentally, you say that the CO readings were high. Do you have the actual readings?

I'll enquire about the actual readings. Glad to hear of any nostalgic gas fitters!

 

[mountainman]

Make it soon, I've probably not got much time left.

Having just renewed my ACS blah blah!, I'll be really fed up if I don't get my full five years worth

 

[SimonJohns]

This appliance needs to be disconnected and not used in anyway until it has been recomissioned and tested by a competent gsr with a fga.

I would also recommend the installation of a combined co and smoke alarm in the kitchen.

This will kill if left.

 

[AWheating]

assuming the op is not gas safe registered? please do not attempt to work on the gas appliance yourself. We should only advise you to contact a gas safe register engineer to take a look.

 

[mountainman]

Why would one disconnect a cooker because just one section may not be working correctly. Just render that part inoperative.

Evidently a GSR flagged the fault and didn't feel the need to disconnect.
In addition, cookers can produce high levels of CO and still be regarded as safe as per regulations, which is why I asked for the actual readings.

 

[SimonJohns]

Do you really think that a bit of red tape is a suitable form of protection. This is an immedialy dangerous appliance.

 

[SimonJohns]

Wow I just zoomed in on the pic. Have you seen the height of that flame

I think it's time for a newer, safer cooker!

 

[Galfredus]

Gosh! Quite a flurry. Friend does not know what the exact reading is. I'm sure you are right - as a GSR the man who did the measurements would not have left it connected had he considered it unsafe to do so. My use of the word "lethal" may have been overegging the pudding in that regard.

I think the point is that there are likely to be GSRs who are more sympathetic to keeping an old applicance going, and there are those who would rather flog my friend a new one. In my job I have to work with ancient electric motors, some now pushing a hundred years old. When it comes to safety inspections there are electricians who simply condemn, and there are those who take them apart and mend them because they get more satisfaction from doing that. I am hoping to find their gasman equivalent....preferably somewhere near Tooting.

G

 

[mcniven]

Its not really a case of flogging your friend a new one. Its so that the gs registered engineer could sleep at night.

 

[keltoyboy]

Wow I just zoomed in on the pic. Have you seen the height of that flame

I think it's time for a newer, safer cooker![/QUOTE)
just zoomed in also......reminds me of the lpg ones i get called to with the ng jets still in them....not uncommon to see element burned out of extractor!!!

 

[mountainman]

Simon, I wouldn't have used a 'bit of red tape' to make it safe.
I would have disconnected it sympathetically and safely.

While we are on the subject of unsafe appliances, perhaps disposable BBQ's should be banned due to yet another fatality caused one being used on an enclosed space.

 

[SimonJohns]

BBQ's aren't fixed appliances. And are usually used in the great outdoors.

Now if you want to start a debate about dangerous appliances that I strongly believe should be banned; flueless gas fires!

 

[mountainman]

Apart from candidates for the Darwin Awards of course.

I agree with you on flueless gas fires, I don't particularly like catalytic fires either.

 

[Puddle]

I live near Tooting,I can pop round and help you carry it to a skip if you wish.having heard what you said about grill and looking at burner on hob section ,this appliance should have been removed from it's supply and labeled 'ID",otherwise St Georges is going to have another occupant very soon me thinks or the cemetery across the road !!

As for alleged gas bloke who left on with a bit of tap over grill control ......... report him !!

but other than that ,have no opinion on situation really

imho

 

[Puddle]

While we are on the subject of unsafe appliances, perhaps disposable BBQ's should be banned due to yet another fatality caused one being used on an enclosed space.

No,not banned but would expect a big warning label on the front saying not to be used in confined spaces,as with camp stoves ect as well and the rip off charges made by camp sites ,I would expect big signs of the dangers of using such equipment in side tents and maybe a warden walking round distributing leaflets and checking tents on camp sites ,especially when the weekend weather turns bad and folk are stuck inside tents cold and just thinking of getting warm and not the safety aspects
This is really serious problem that is only now hitting the press

imho

 

[Bernie2]

I don't know why the guys on here keep on trying to tell you to get a new cooker. Many modern cookers are not a patch on the quality of materials used in the old ones. A competent gsr should be able to sort it out in a couple of minutes one way or the other. The burner flame height just looks like the aeration control is out of place or needs adjusting or the burner is partly blocked. A decent service would probably do it.

 

[mountainman]

Agreed B2.

 

[tamz]

A decent service would probably do it.

I agree too. The trick is finding someone who knows how to do one.

 

[Puddle]

So.is anyone here saying a service will defiantly sort out the problems on this 50 odd year cooker ? because to full service on this cooker is going to cost over £ 150 in Tooting and that is being conservative and if not sorted ,you can not get parts ,so a new cooker will be required,so now we have spent over £150 and still have to pay for a new cooker

 

[tamz]

I agree with you too Puddle.
Even if they find someone who can do it it won't be cheap and no guarantee of it being returned to full serviceable condition but only the man standing in front of the job can answer that.

 

[keltoyboy]

agree with both puddle and tamz.....but if the guy is determined to keep his classic cooker....gotta be a bit like a classic car....you just gotta throw buckets of money at it and nurture it!!!

 

[Bernie2]

We are all right probably, it just comes down to cost as usual. Must admit I do not like some of the modern stuff, not because it doesn't look right, its just that the matériels they are made of seem fairly weak. On some the stove enamel you can virtually see through it, it is so thin. I had a 3 month old well known make in which the burner glass lid hinge which operated the burners safety shut off valve broke. Taken apart the inner workings had disintegrated being that cheap grey alloy stuff. It also burnt nearly everything put in its oven.

But as said if the cooker is wearing badly is it worth renewing?