Faulty Oven.......

[JOHN_374225261]

Hi,

Sorry about this, i'm a newbie on here and relatively new to caravanning. Now, the question is this. I have fitted a Maxol Monte Carlo 3000 oven to my van and the flame on the oven is very poor. On 'low' it is exactly that, on med the flame is a tad higher but on high the flame remains the same. The oven isn't heating up to any sort of temp where you could cook.

Any advice on what maybe the cause of this or indeed, anyone with a similar yet fully functional oven for sale i'd be glad to hear.

Regards

John T

 

[MikeP]

Alarm bells are ringing ......

You have fitted an oven. Are you sufficiently experienced to do so? I think the CORGI rules only apply to buildings rather than caravans, but if you've done a DIY job then I think you need to get it checked out. You can't take any risks with gas.

 

[JOHN_374225261]

There are no leaks, it has ventilation and i have used the correct pipes, olives, fittings etc as guided by Coachman Caravans and Glossop caravans. I 'T'd into the feed for the hob, i have even boxed out the cupboard where its situated with alloy plate. My problem is that the flame doesn't get big enough, the vendor advised me the flame was poor prior to fitting.

 

[Damian]

John, notwithstanding the assumption that you have fitted the oven correctly, you bought a presumably second hand item, which the previous owner stated the flame was a problem,why did you buy it?

Having said that,it sounds like the thermostat is faulty and needs replacing, so probably a case of oven removal already to change it.

 

[JOHN_374225261]

I bought it because i thought i'd take a gamble on it being something simple. Its easy to fit/remove etc, i can whizz it out in 5 mins.

 

[MikeP]

Scary.

 

[gary]

Probably a simple answer, the gas feed pipe to the burner on these tends to rust and the flakes gather at the bottom of the pipe and partially or completly block the jet.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello John,

Mike P is corrct, strangely Touring caravans are exempt from the legal requirenenst for gas appliances to be installed . , serviced/removed by a Corgi fitter, (ref The Gas safety instalation and use regulations) BUT you are still obliged to complete the job in strict accordance with theh ACOPS for gas appliances, and to follow all safety guidelines.

If you insurance company become aware of your DIY job, and you are not deemed to be competent to install gas appliances your cover may be void.

Having said that, many older ovens suffer with poor flame pattern, through blockages in gas supply pipes, or in the burner. Grease from cooking, or even spiders and other insects finding teh burner t obe abou the right size to make their 'nests' It is possible the thermostat control is damaged.

 

[gary]

Quote: "Mike P is corrct, strangely Touring caravans are exempt from the legal requirenenst for gas appliances to be installed . , serviced/removed by a Corgi fitter, (ref The Gas safety instalation and use regulations) BUT you are still obliged to complete the job in strict accordance with theh ACOPS for gas appliances, and to follow all safety guidelines".

Exempt from Corgi but still obliged.. is not that the same thing?

As I understand the 'Law' whether it be gas or electric you must be 'Competent'not simply a member of this or that organistion albeit again is that not the samething?.

Example, Corgi registered Motorhome dealer sells a motorhome to an end user stating "the fire does not work, needs a new gas valve which is not available etc". End user comes to see me and I check to see what is wrong and find the fire gas feed pipe disconnected and open to air however it's switched off at the isolation valve.

Seem reasonable? well no it's a criminal offence,(literally), to leave an open end like that, moreover had a correct 'gas tightness' check been undertaken this would have been discovered so that was not done? More criminal perhaps though was the fact there was nothing wrong with the gas valve but something else simply fixed causing the problem.

So yes JohnL and others I fully agree to caution but sometimes I despair, the word is Competant not Corgi

 

[JOHN_374225261]

Thanks John L,

I shall seek some expert assistance in sevicing the appliance and see if i can cook my tea in under 2 hours.

I'm not a complete novice at this kind of install though.

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Gary,

I agree the correct wording is Competent.

From your narative I take the inference that the fitter involved was CORGI registered. That means that at some time he/she must have been deemed competent to receive the accreditation, so even competent people can stray from the straight and narrow.

I share your dispare at poor workmanship, but until there is another legally accepted alternative to CORGI we have to work within those limitations.

Bearing in mind the serious nature of the failure you relate, it is such a fundamental error that I hope you reported the incident to the HSE and CORGI.

 

[Ogre]

John:

Throw it out, and get an oven fitted by a specialist.

Old caravan ovens are just that, OLD and for all the reasons listed here, you should not be even considering taking risks with GAS. Unless you are familiar with dealing with gas pressures, blockages, regulators and thermostats, it's all guesswork, and you could easily blow yourself and your family up if you get it wrong, not to mention other people in the near vicinity.

Sorry, but this is an absolute NO NO. Don't mess with things you don't fully understand.

I accept that, like most caravanners, you are probably good with DIY etc, as we all are, but gas fitting is a job for experts.