Hardwick gas stove PF3616-W-81R oven won't heat

[Alison & Duncan]

 

we have a very old Hardwick gas stove, with no electrical connection.  We’ve been here almost 40 years and the previous owner 68 years before that.   

the oven has been working fine for decades, just stopped reliably coming on and staying on in the last few months.  

—  Hardwick  PF3616-W-81R.   Hardwick was bought by Maytag, then Whirpool, the model # doesn’t find a match on either company’s repair and parts site, nor any website so far. We fear the stove is just too old to get parts, and hope it just needs cleaning but don't know how.  our stove has no electrical connection.  We’ve been here almost 40 years and the previous owner 68 years before that.   

. The pilot light is blue, gets larger and goes down when the temp. is turned up and apparently engulfs the sensing bulb.  Nothing appears to be out of alignment.   We hear the gas comes on, and if we repeatedly slam the door, moving air and jarring the oven a little, eventually the gas lights along the central gas flame tube, but also eventually goes out again, assumedly because the thermostat has turned off the gas.  We can also light it with a match from the front, when we hear the gas going, but again, it will eventually go off.  Any ideas?  It seems like the pilot light is just not reaching the gas emerging from the flame tube.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Remove and clean the pilot assembly and make sure all the holes in the burner tube are clean, especially near the pilot, (the white ash build up around and near the pilot will plug the burner ignition ports.