Gas Stove

A gas stove is a cooker which uses natural gas, propane, butane, liquified petroleum gas or other flamable gas as fuel source.

The first gas stoves were developed as early as the 1820s. They were rather unwieldy, but soon the oven was integrated into the base and the size reduced to fit in better with the rest of the kitchen furniture. A high-end gas stove called the AGA cookers was invented in 1922 by Gustaf Dalén. It is considered to be the most efficient design and is a much sought after kitchen "must have" in certain circles—despite the hefty price tag.

Gas stoves today use two basic types of ignition sources, standing pilot and electric. A stove with a standing pilot has a small, continuously burning gas flame (called a pilot flame) under the cooktop.

The flame is between the front and back burners. When the stove is turned on, this flame lights the gas flowing out of the burners. The advantage of the standing pilot system is that it is simple and completely independent of any outside power source. Oven manufacturers have also developed and installed a safety valve in the oven.

The safety valve uses a pilot flame to ignite the main burner when the oven is turned on. The pilot flame heats a thermocouple that sends a signal to the valve to stay open. If a draft blows out the pilot flame or it goes out due to loss of gas pressure, the thermocouple cools and signals the valve to close, shutting off the gas to the oven.

Electric ignition stoves use electric sparks to ignite the surface burners. This is the "clicking sound" audible just before the burner actually lights. The sparks are initiated by turning the gas burner knob to a position typically labeled "LITE." Once the burner lights, the knob is turned further to modulate the flame size. The auto reignition is an elegant refinement. The "wait-then-turn" sequence must be understood.

The burner knob is simply turned on to the desired flame size...the sparking is turned off automatically when the flame lights. Auto reignition also provides a safety feature: the flame will be automatically reignited if the flame goes out while the gas is still on--for example by a gust of wind. If the power fails, surface burners must be manually match-lit.

Electric ignition for ovens uses a "hot surface" or "glow bar" ignitor. Basically it is a heating element that heats up to gas's ignition temperature. A sensor detects when the glow bar is hot enough and opens the gas valve. Very easy simple to use.
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