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OK,I'm new here and new to Chambers. I just bought a 1952 61-C dual gas lowback on ebay after looking around for a few weeks. I am restoring an old cabin, and there was a piece of junk 1980's thing in there that looked better on the curb. We just kind of fell in love with the Chambers once we started reading about them, they are gorgeous!
So... it was in great shape and used until about two weeks ago. Everything works except for the lever that raises the broiler door, so I figured I got a great deal. I had to adjust the pilot light for the burners down, and the pilot light for the thermowell up in order to get it to light. I know the previous owners never used the thermowell or the broiler. I found the adjustments to those pretty easily.
Here are my questions. The broiler does not have a pilot that I can see, I assume that is normal, right? Also, there is a pilot light in the oven, but I cannot keep it lit. It appears to be on when I light the oven, but is there an adjustment(I assume there has to be) and where is it? If I light both pilots (burners and thermowell) it still seems like I can smell a little gas with the oven off. I cant find any leaks in the lines from the house gas to the stove. I do not have any safety system, I will put one in, but I want to use the oven until I do that.
Shouldn't the pilot light in the oven stay on? If it is adjusted too low and doesn't stay lit, could this be the source of the smell?
Yes, I know, I will order the service manual, but it's killing me not to cook tonight on this beauty.
Suggestions?
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There is an adjustment for the oven pilot on the
thermostat for the oven. There are different models
and if it is the original and or an aftermarket
replacement the adjustment may be different.
Open the oven door and remove the big heavy cast iron oven bottom so that the burner is viseable.
Open the service door and feel on the left front
of the theremostat for a lever facing toward the
front of the stove it should have a handle. there
will be two of them. One on the left and one on the
right they will adjust the burner height and the pilot height.
Call your insurance agent and increase your life insurance and change your beneficiary to Pokey Roberts.
If you are brave and careful turn on the oven gas
and light the main oven burner. Do this in one
quick motion. Have the match lit and in place
when you turn on the gas. If the burner looks
good then start to work on the pilot light. See
if you can get it lit and gradually turn the adjustment handles you found in the service door.
Gently turn one way and then the other and observing what the flame on the burner does. One
of the adjustments increases the gas to the oven
burner and the pilot at the same time. Hopefully
you can get the pilot to light and stay lit. The
Other adjusts the bypass gas when the oven is in
cool down mode. Whatever you do, do not forget
where the original setting was. If you get
it totally out of whack you can always go back to
the original setting.
Having said all this now is a good time to give a
plug to the gentleman that started this site and
one of his contributors. BUY A SERVICE MANUAL
Either Todd or Uncertain will sell you one. You
should be convinced by this that you need one.
If all else fails use the stove and change the
menu or use the thermowell with a home made thermobaker.
Pokey
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The majority of these stoves did not come with a safety system installed, which includes the oven pilot that stays on. These stoves were meant to be lit with a match every time. The pilot that you see only worked while the oven was on. You can verify the lack of a safety by looking in the service cabinet area.
A safety can be added aftermarket, either by purchasing one already put together or doing it yourself. There are several discussions about that on this list.
Enjoy your new stove!
Gwen
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Hi-
Welcome to the 'Chambers family.'
Most of the broilers do not have pilots on C models & earlier. I believe there were a few later Cs that do, but really late ones (like just before the D models came out).
Regarding the oven pilot--do you mean that you expect the pilot to stay on all the time, like the ones for the burners & thermowell? If that is what you mean, most of them don't, unless they were modified later. There is a pilot that stays on while the oven is operating, so that the main burner can re-light when the temperature drops. But this is only on after you light the oven manually through the little hole in the middle of the bottom of the oven & it goes off when you switch off the oven, of course.
--Danny
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Pokey, thanks - I am both brave and careful and stubborn and have increased my life insurance to $12.49 and added you as a benificiary. I promise to order a Service Manual as well as the Idle Hour Cook Book - I just got the Chambers Friday and joined this board on Sunday.
Danny - that was good information. I always expect pilot lights to, well, stay lit. Just kinda figured that was their job. Now I know.
Looks like I'll have to pick the beast up one more time and see if the oven pilot gas tube got squashed during the move. Probably a good time to replace anyways. I've rebuilt cars, bikes and houses, so how hard could an oven be?
Since I'm new to this, I expect to learn as I go.
Never had a thermowell either, but I'm looking foreward to chili during Bears games. Keep up the good information. I want to keep this puppy running another 55 years.
Thanks,
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Thanks lorikeets, I am just learning what I need to learn.
I understand the importance of a safety, have read all the threads, and will be installing one soon. I have a healthy respect for things that can go boom, and I like the walls in my kitchen right where they are. Luckily this is a second stove, so I have no problem keeping the gas off until I am ready.
Thanks to everyone for their advice - you should know that you are partly responsible for my purchase of the stove. As a guy that rides a 37 year old motorcycle I understand the importance of parts availability and support networks, and would not have considered purchase without reading all the good things you had to say about it and finding Chamberstoves.net. Awesome site.
I also read the "posting pictures" thread, and so added a few. Looks like I got the original tag on the thermowell kettler, the shipping invoice from 1952, and a page on the Thermobaker if anyone is interested in looking.
Thanks all...
Flickr page of my new Chambers
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Wow. What a beautiful shiny stove!
Congratulations on finding it, and welcome to our little group.
-Jenn
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Dundee,
Rebuilding these stoves is not that difficult or expensive. I recently refurbished our Model B. The sides come off quickly with a little effort. I would bet that you will find a broken spring that prevents the griddle from raising with the handle. I put the safety system, that LowRacer documented, on for under $200.00. When you do that, you will be replacing the tube to the pilot in the oven so if your tube is smashed, so be it. Good luck with that Chili.
Welcome to the board,
Gasseous
