Wolf Range R366 IR Burner exploding on start

[appliances R en]

Just wondering do you have a carbon monoxide detector and did it ever go off when using the oven

[AccApp]

14 hours ago, diamondrichlb said:

1: I seem to remember the gas company coming out years ago and they hooked up an instrument that looks like a curly glass tube with water in it.......help me out here. What is that instrument called.

2:And what would a plumber look for when testing the gas supply?

1: Manometer

2: Pressure and flow

[diamondrichlb]

5 hours ago, appliances R en said:

Just wondering do you have a carbon monoxide detector and did it ever go off when using the oven

Yes, and no. Why do you ask. Once the broiler lights the flame is normal on the H pattern on the top of the oven.

[diamondrichlb]

4 hours ago, AccApp said:

1: Manometer

2: Pressure and flow

Supply Pressure 5" 12.5mb

Minimum Line Pressure  7" 17.5mb

Max Regulator Pressure 14"34.9mb

The Supply pressure is read after the gas regulator at the wall? The Minimum Line Pressure and Max Regulator pressure is read after the range regulator?

Or is the Supply before the wall regulator, the line after the wall regulator, and the Max Regulator after the range regulator?

If there was a problem with the gas supply why would the burners and oven working normally? Is the broiler burner more sensitive?

[diamondrichlb]

While we're talking about natural gas, does pipe size matter or does the pressure from the street make sure there is enough supply.

My late father-n-law was with the gas company for over 40 years and I know when we build a couple of our houses he sized the LP line for us because that depended on distance from the tank for the sizing of the pipe. How about natural gas in a 40 story condo. How is that controlled for all 40 floors?

[diamondrichlb]

Ok, the plumber just left. He measured the gas just after the shut off valve and before the range. The reading was 9.15 with a digital gauge. Wolf specifies Min Line Pressure at 7". The tested reading should be ok?

 

[diamondrichlb]

Oh wait, now Wolf says we should have tested the gas pressure with the burners and oven on. Say what? How does that make any difference with having a problem with the IR burner lighting off without exploding? We're not trying to light it with all the burners running and the oven on!

And how do you even do that? You put a T in the line and test the pressure out the T with everything on?

[AccApp]

6 hours ago, diamondrichlb said:

And how do you even do that? You put a T in the line and test the pressure out the T with everything on?

Yup, have all your neighbors max out all their gas appliances as well.

But seriously, static pressure isn't a way to measure flow. If you really want to get nuts you can clock the meter.

[Scottthewolf]

Quote

 

Last time this happened with a broil burner it was on a Viking gas range and because the broiler burner was cracked.

[Hiroshi]

Wolf blathering about gas pressure is a dead-end. Improper pressure would affect the BAKE burner as well... I still think a good tear down and rebuild of the broiler is the way to go... one spider web can deflect natural gas enough to change performance.

[diamondrichlb]

I've alway thought the same in regard to the gas pressure issue. All functions are normal, except the IR burner, intermittently at all hours of the day.

Having said that, we can put this to bed. I have no idea why this IR burner has never worked, even after changing it out, along with every other part at one time of another. At any rate, Wolf has agreed to take it off our hands and given us a very good deal on a new GR366 range. It will be nice to close the book on this.

Thank you to all who have offered help.

 

[diamondrichlb]

To follow up and finish this thread, the new range was installed today. What a difference. The new range is like a Rolls Royce compared to the old one. The fit and finish is way better.

The broiler did not explode when it lit off and it took less than 10 seconds to light. The old one - when it lit - took upwards of 45 seconds. The oven (not broiler) reached 500* in no time and something my wife always complained about - the outside of the oven door can be touched even at 500* interior temperature. The old range door varied from 95* to 170* on the outside at 500* inside.

So, I guess the gas pressure was not the problem.......uh, ya think?

Thank you for all the input on this subject. You folks were a big help.

Aloha 

 

[Hiroshi]

Thanks for the update- happy cooking!

[AccApp]

I always thought those early all-gas jobs were clunky and the poor cousin to the dual-fuel ranges. Not exactly straight outta Compton but very close to it.

[diamondrichlb]

The new one does seem to be a different animal. A step up for sure.

[tward]

diamondrichlb said that he replaced the "#7 801690 Cover, Igniter Shield, Range". I also need to replace that part, but cannot find ANYWHERE that sells it. Do you remember where you purchased this part? Thank you.

[Terry Carmen]

1 hour ago, tward said:

diamondrichlb said that he replaced the "#7 801690 Cover, Igniter Shield, Range". I also need to replace that part, but cannot find ANYWHERE that sells it. Do you remember where you purchased this part? Thank you.

Depends on where you live.

For the northeast, it would be mid-atlanticparts.com

Not sure about other areas.

Also, that appears to be a small cover that just sits on the ignitor. Did yours go bad somehow?

Edited November 29, 2020 by Terry Carmen

[tward]

Thank you so much, Terry. I'm not sure what happened to the cover. I have a two-oven Wolf and one oven's igniter has the cover and the other does not. A couple of weeks ago when the igniter in one oven went bad I unscrewed it to make sure it wasn't a loose wire. I concluded the igniter was just old / bad and placed an order for a new igniter. When I went to install the new igniter yesterday I could not find the cover anywhere. I just about lost my mind. So I don't know if it was missing originally or if somehow I absent mindedly / foolishly tossed it! I think that technically this broiler igniter can be installed without the cover, but that it reduces the life of the igniter.