Dick Adams wrote:
> A while back I asked for help with an oven thermostat problem.

> Now that I see what it is, I really like it. It seems to have lasted more
> than a half-century with no more trouble than dirty switch contacts.
> But time must yet tell that cleaning the contacts (with crocus cloth)
> fixed the problem. Today's stoves may have electronic ignition.
> So far the electronic ignition devices I have come across did not
> distinguish themselves by their high reliability. In any even, in stoves,
> they take mains power, which, with terror (terrorism!) we can count
> on less nowadays.

> The old Kenmore range detaches from gas with a union under the stove
> top at the level of the burners. So you just raise the top, uncouple the
> union and pull the stove out, after turning off the gas in the basement.
> New stoves have the connections at different places, apparently
> involving that you should pull out the stove slightly, and send a midget
> in to do something with a flex line, assuming you have a stove which
> is enclosed on both sides and the back by walls and counters like
> we do.

Old plumbing design, now deprecated, since it is difficult to hook up
and replace (as you find), and with the valve in the basement, very
dangerous in case of an earthquake or other emergency disconnect
situation. Some jurisdictions would also require an aotomatic cutoff
valve that shuts down upon loss of line pressure. (Excessive flow)

> But, in the meantime, I am looking for a cheap
> range with "millivolt control" for the oven, and stainless-steel burners
> ignited by pilot flames. Those are good because you can pull them
> out a soak the out in the dishpan when they get dirty. Presumably
> such things are still made for 3rd-world people who cannot not afford
> the kind of complexities which make our lives very expensive.

That's the on;y supply you're likely to find, as the pilotless designs
are legislated most places in the US, for energy efficiency.

Dave