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american range oven M1
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Izzygreen
I know I am coming in late on this.
First of all, I want to commend you for taking on this challenge and sticking with it. I like and respect your morals (becoming a rarity these days)!! I agree with ectofix, in this business, it is all in hands on experience. We are becoming a dying breed that is lacking younger replacements.
if you have found that the flame switch is bad, than you have another option that I have done in the past rather than the upgrade to 24v. A 900 series Vulcan grill flame switch will work for direct replacement. They are 120v.
By the way ectofix, I remember the tube testers in the grocery stores. No, I am not that old yet, getting there though. Only because I grew up in a way back in the woods hick town that didn’t have a traffic light until late 80s and still has 90% dirt roads. Lol
good luck.
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Blazer454, thanks for your input.
Just want to point out that getting a direct replacement for that mercury flame safety switch is a moot point as of TODAY. Even a search on PartsTOWN under ANY manufacturer who once used them comes up with a ZERO in inventory.
This issue has also been pursued aggressively by homeowners who have gas fireplaces. Some fireplace manufacturers offer a pricey conversion kit…while others just say “SORRY. Buy new fireplace“.
Keating no longer carries them. Vulcan doesn’t. American Range doesn’t.
NOW…apparently there’s some company out there that will take a retrograde one from you, then sell sell you a refurbished SAFELY switch?
As a technician trying to make a living fixing this stuff? AHHH…NOPE. That’ not OEM. I won’t take the chance of being help culpable if that NON-OEM “safety” was found as suspect for causing a fire.
Additionally, for a safety like that, I wouldn’t cross-match it as a solution for replacing it. In other words, I wouldn’t put a VULCAN safety in an AMERICAN RANGE oven. AGAIN – making that decision is on ME. NOT VULCAN. NOT AMERICAN RANGE. I’m not taking the chance that, if its failure was to be determined as the possible cause for a fire, it’s on ME!
Have I done these things in the past? YES. That was before I knew better.
YES, I always want to be the hero and get them cooking again. But NO, I’m not risking a lawsuit in my endeavors.
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Ectofix
The fact that you end your rant with he concern of “lawsuit in my endeavors.” Tells me everything about your work ethics! So sad. It is narrow minded people like you that won’t do their research before spouting off, are the reason I do not reply to these boards. This is supposed to be a site to help fellow technicians fix issues that they have not been able to resolve on their own. It is not a site for one to slam someone that they do not know anything about their experience. I have read all the posts on this site since its start and have been apalled at some of the suggestions and comments made here. This was the first time that I have replied to a request for help on this site, and this will be my last post.
Yes, I can honestly confess that I, just like every other technician that has worked in this business as long as me, have taken short cuts or used another part that was not OEM matched to get a customer “up and running” when I believed it was not completely safe. Even back then, that repair would have been until I could return with the correct part and cringe until I had installed the correct part. I was fortunate that I never burned a store down or hurt anybody. This no longer is an option with me.
What you do not know about me is; SAFETY IS RULE #1, IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, THEN DON’T EVEN GET OUT OF YOUR SERVICE VEHICLE. It is actually a sign that one of my previous technicians made and hung above my office door. (That same technician has now had his own successful service company for 9 years!) This rule goes for all of our customers including more than 50 national restaurant chain accounts, including over 1000 sites with the top 5 national fast food chains nationwide. All of our customers will tell you that I will be the first to disable, disconnect, and “red tag” a piece of equipment for safety. This includes going behind other well known service companies that had bypassed safety’s and limits! All of our customers know that their revenue means nothing to me when safety is neglected. For this reason, our customers trust our service and renew their service agreements year after year without negotiation. That is also why the average relationship we have with our customers is 7+ years with over half of them have been with us for 10+ years and counting!
You can ask all of the 170+ professional commercial technicians that we currently employee nationally and have trained under me, along with the over 300+ technicians that I have trained over the past 30 years. They will all tell you the same thing, I only believe SAFETY FIRST FOR THE CUSTOMER AND TECHNICIAN. If you cannot work by this, then you will have to find employment elsewhere. Trust me, there has been many through the years that could not or would not accept this one simple fact and they do not work for the same great company that my men and I do.
With all this said, I am insulted by your statements. You need to do your research before you post.
You obviously did not do your research about the part I recommended before replying to my post so blatantly. You would have discovered that the switch is made by the same manufacturer and has the same specs as the original American Range part that is discontinued.
Izzygreen,
I appologize to you and all the other well meaning technicians on this site for my repose to the above person.
The part I referred to earlier is Parts Town # VH00-714321 FLAME STCH 30 CAP SLV. This is a replacement for the original Vulcan part number 00-714321. The original switch contained Mercury, the new part does not contain mercury. It is gas filled, but is a direct replacement for the old mercury switch.
good luck with your repairs.
Again, I commend you for following a craft that is slowly dying due to the lack of “new blood” to replace quickly exiting old farts like me.
Always remember:
SAFETY IS RULE #1, IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, THEN DON’T EVEN GET OUT OF YOUR SERVICE VEHICLE!
Kudos and good bye
Chris
Senior Training Mgr
OSHA site trainer
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So…with my presumed insultation of our revolted guest aside, what was the final outcome of that oven?
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Izzygreen, I should clarify what I meant about the safety. With a hydraulic safety, temp from the pilot is critical. A minor change in gas pressure or air quality/mixture will do just what you are seeing. If the bulb on the safety isn’t to temp quick enough the unit will not light. And if the bulb gets too hot, it will destroy the bellows inside the safety. Check the pilot. Many of the hydraulic units use a special pilot that is made of a special metal for reaction purposes. The bulb should glow a dull red.
I suspect that either the manifold pressure is dropping due to high load of the kitchen, or the amount of available O-2 in the air changes as they cook.
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Waiting to hear from the client to see what direction he wants to go with. I’ll let you know soon as he doe.
Frankly I’m hoping he tells me to install that safety switch just to see if it works
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Chris:
Wow. What a jackass!
Ecto clearly stated that was his position and how he would or not proceed without insulting anyone.
You on the other hand need to get over yourself.
Differing opinions are great. If you are indeed so experienced your wealth of knowledge and willingness to assist younger techs is more than welcome.
If you cannot do so without attacking others, especially someone who donates countless hours researching info for complete strangers on this site, please do not return.
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