Dacor pgm-365-1s cooktop

[leeelson]

I have a Dacor pgm-365-1 natural gas cooktop. It is not the high altitude version (above 5000'). We are at 5000'. We have a burner that doesn't work well, apparently due to high gas flow extinguishing the flame resulting in an igniter that comes on at high settings. The parts catalog clearly states that conversion to high altitude is not to be done in the field, but I'm wondering if this is true. As far as I can tell, there are no parts that are marked “high altitude” in the parts catalog. Is it possible to adjust the gas pressure regulator to improve things? Would this help? How is this done?

[Hiroshi]

In Natural Gas to LP gas conversion situations, the burner orifices are exchanged and LP gas tanks have their own regulator, so the appliance regulator is removed. You have to keep the regulator when operating on Natural gas!  This unit has "sealed burners" so you can't take the burners apart...

[Budget Appliance Repair]

17 hours ago, Hiroshi said:

and LP gas tanks have their own regulator, so the appliance regulator is removed.

NOOOOOO!!!  Hiroshi, if the appliance has a regulator you never remove it, you convert it to LP or Nat setting depending on what gas you are using.   Either the regulator cap itself is unscrewed and turned over or there is a plastic peg that snaps into the cap and is reversed to the correct setting.

The only LP gas tanks that have a regulator that is set pretty much correct for a single appliance use is the small bottles used on travel trailers or for camping.

The large LP tanks that are for a complete home use a low pressure regulator but they only regulate the pressure down to around 14.5" W.C. pressure, so that it can supply more than one appliance at the same time in the household.   Each individual appliance then has the regulator that will regulate the pressure for the individual appliance to around 11.5" W.C. pressure.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Hiroshi may be thinking of gas dryer conversions from NG to LP where a blocking pin is used to block the dryer regulator wide open, in effect, take it out of the "circuit." The flame in the dryer then just runs off whatever the regulated LP supply pressure is from the tank. 

It's a little more nuanced with cooking appliances. The flame has to be regulated more carefully to avoid flame fluctuations and ensure good cooking results. So the regulator in a cooking appliance isn't blocked wide open, it's just adjusted to operate at and maintain a steady 11" wc to the surface burners and oven flame tube. 

[Hiroshi]

 I have had to install regulators on machines moved into town from unincorporated areas, it was tough to catch it the first time I ran into it... A customer swiped a cooktop from his mother's house when she moved, the first clue was the pattern of the burners with LP orifices trying to run on Natural Gas- they worked, but oddly. I noticed the lack of a regulator and the hair on the back of my neck stood up a bit...

[Budget Appliance Repair]

If you see any old cooking ranges like O'Keee&Merit, Wedgewood, etc. you will see lots of these from the olden days without regulators.

[Hiroshi]

Would adjustment of his air-shutter be sufficient to limit blowing of the burners at altitude?