# Not happy with brand new GE gas range



## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

Ours is GE and it does the exact same thing.
It has for years, so it's not anything that's new to them.

DM


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I called GE again and they said this is normal, as in it is designed this way. But they can't tell me why??

Do all the gas range mfgs make their burner controls this way now? I want to send the GE back but not if this is how they all come nowadays. Hard to shop because none of the stores has them set up and connected to gas to actually see how the burners work.

So, anyone here with a newer Jenn-Air, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Frigidaire, Kitchenaid, etc? Do those burners allow continuos seamless modulation throughout the enitre range of the control knob, or do they have a middle constant flame "dead" zone like the GEs?


----------



## Jacques (Jul 9, 2008)

Interesting point-i never noticed this. i have a 5 yr old Whirlpool [5] burner gas cooktop. it does the same thing on all burners. i cook a lot and it hasn't been a prob. thinking maybe they do it due to the low btu's on residential ranges.


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback, Jacques. 

I have found this to be troublesome already... having to look at the flame as I turn the control to see when I get to the point when the control actually starts to make a diference. Very annoying.

I still don't understand why they wouldn't make the controls have a constant linear "gain" for the entire range of motion. Instead they give us of 2 areas of steep response at the ends of the range of motion and a broad flat area of zero gain in the middle? Maybe they are giving us a "feature" that makes it easy to get a fixed predictable "medium" heat as long as the knob is anywhere except towards the hi and lo ends. If so, I don't want or need it. I'd rather have a continuous linear low gain for precise adjustments w/o having to look at the flame and control.

I am going to look at some more ranges and if there is one I like I'll call the mfg to see if they can tell me in detail how the burners work.


----------



## Master of Cold (Aug 7, 2011)

The way I understood it was that there are only 3 positions; low medium and high.


----------



## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

all gas range burner valves pretty much operate this way. very little differnece in the gas flow at the mid range setting. I'm not a big GE fan but as far as ranges go they are probably as good or a little better than anyone


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Can you explain how these valves work? Is there a technical reason they can't be linear having to do with gas and air metering? Or is it just an intentional design element that maybe some other mfgs do differently?




hardwareman said:


> all gas range burner valves pretty much operate this way. very little differnece in the gas flow at the mid range setting. I'm not a big GE fan but as far as ranges go they are probably as good or a little better than anyone


----------



## Jacques (Jul 9, 2008)

I think you'd have to talk to one of their design engineer's as to why. probably Hi End like Wolf/Viking or pro series may not do this. they all have very high btu burners-imagine everything is cost related as far as this is concerned. Go to big dealer selling those brands-they're usually pretty savy and may be able to tell you. let us know.


----------



## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

Perhaps a stab in the dark, but in order for a control valve to work through a given range you would have to have enough pressure differential. 


Given the realitively small pressure being supplied, there is not enough delta P to allow the valve work effectively through the range of control.

That being said is the incoming pressure to the unit high enough? 

Have you tried to connect a slack tube to the burner gas tube and visually check the outlet pressure of the valve through the range of operation?

Just a couple of thoughts.

Mark


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I tried to get the GE support line to refer me to someone with technical knowledge but they didn't have that ability. Not going to make a special trip to one of those high end showrooms but if I come across one in my travels I'll pop in and ask. I guess I'll have to get used to how this works since I won't be paying $4k or more for a Viking or somesuch.


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

I just went through checking the gas manifold pressure for my recent furnace install and it is good: 8.5" WC. Not sure what a slack tube is?? All the burners work this way and GE claims it is normal.




Jackofall1 said:


> Perhaps a stab in the dark, but in order for a control valve to work through a given range you would have to have enough pressure differential.
> 
> 
> Given the realitively small pressure being supplied, there is not enough delta P to allow the valve work effectively through the range of control.
> ...


----------



## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

raylo32 said:


> I just went through checking the gas manifold pressure for my recent furnace install and it is good: 8.5" WC. Not sure what a slack tube is?? All the burners work this way and GE claims it is normal.


Is there a regulator on the unit?

Slack tube------http://www.dwyer-inst.com/PDF_files/1211_iom.pdf

Mark


----------



## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Oh, that's a fancy manometer with a very wide range. Interesting. I just have a DIY rig I made with tubing on a piece of plywood.

Yes, stove has a regulator and the manual specs a NG input pressure of 5" through 13" WC for "proper operation". So I am good. Line is 3/4" so plenty of gas. I am convinced this is entirely normal. But I don't know why they are designed this way....




Jackofall1 said:


> Is there a regulator on the unit?
> 
> Slack tube------http://www.dwyer-inst.com/PDF_files/1211_iom.pdf
> 
> Mark


----------



## robwas (Jan 12, 2012)

My parents recently bought a GE profile SS range and the non linearity of the flame response was the first thing I noticed. I was actually going to replace my range with a GE similar model but this has made me want to shop around and learn more about this (how I found this thread). If it's of any help, oddly enough I have an old "magic chef" range that looks like hell but the flame response is fairly consistent throughout the range. My friends are going to think I'm nuts but next time I visit I'm going to check out everyone else's ranges because I never noticed this so much until I tried out the Profile range at my parents house.


----------



## Jay 78 (Mar 2, 2011)

I have a GE less than a year old and it does not do this. The size of the flame doesn't change much within that range, but the change in gas flow is definitely audible.


----------



## ghostlyvision (May 11, 2011)

I have a 6 month old Hotpoint gas range (made by GE) and it does the same thing. We considered getting an electric when we had to replace the gas range that came with the house but everything I read when researching ranges said gas cooking was superior to electric but that hasn't been my experience, at least when you adjusted the electric burner to a 4, 5 or 6 there was a difference in burner heat (and simmering was much better on electric), with the gas it really is high, medium or low. And the oven takes longer to heat up, too. lol


----------



## mem (Dec 15, 2010)

I purchased a Frigidaire Gallery FGGF3076KW back in late '09 and there is a definite visual change in flame size throughout the control knob range. It is less noticeable on the smaller simmer burner than on the higher output burners. The center oval burner for the griddle has a very narrow range to begin with and does not get very high, but still changes some. The knobs are calibrated 1 (lo) thru 7 (hi). Not sure if it makes a difference but I also installed a conversion kit to operate the range from my LP gas supply


----------



## TarheelTerp (Jan 6, 2009)

raylo32 said:


> I just went through checking the gas manifold pressure for my recent furnace install and it is good: *8.5" WC*.


I hope you're on LP gas.
If you're on natural gas "normal" is 3.5" to 4" WC.
(and never more than 5" at the appliance)

Aside (I used to do restaurant equipment stuff):
Back in the late 80's there was a demand for "more Btu's" and "more power"...
it was taking too long to boil water... So the companies changed the regulator they used so that *the same exact burner casting they always used* to produce X Btu at 4" WC ...could be advertised to suddenly be "25% more powerful" when you ran it at 5"WC. You had to look for the fine print in their literature to find the manifold pressure setting scam.


----------



## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

FWIW we had a GE profile gas range at our old house that I put in about 6-7 years ago. It did not behave this way. The change from simmer to full flame was pretty evenly distributed around the dial.

I just bought a Bertazonni for our renovated kitchen and it does not do this either. I don't think anyone can claim that "all stoves behave this way" because clearly they don't.


----------

