Did'ja Know?

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I figured my gas oven was all but electric free. I knew it needed power for the burner spark ignitors, timer/clock, oven light and glow coil for oven ignition. What I didn't know was that the glow coil sucked nearly 400 watts the entire time the oven is on.

 

[Ken g6]

Is that what glows orange in the oven? I had an oven with a pilot light for the longest time; I haven't looked into the guts of my current one.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Yeah. Kind of a little thing too. Sort of like a light bulb filament in a small cage.

Seems that the coil needs to be on to heat a thermocouple to keep the gas valve open and then doubles as a way to ignite the burner.

I need a new range and this makes me wonder what to look for. This one is 20 years old and I'm wondering if new ones use the same system.

 

[shortylickens]

My oven, dryer, and furnace are electric.
And they suck.
And they cost more than gas. I spend about 300 a month in the winter.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Yeah. Kind of a little thing too. Sort of like a light bulb filament in a small cage.

Seems that the coil needs to be on to heat a thermocouple to keep the gas valve open and then doubles as a way to ignite the burner.

I need a new range and this makes me wonder what to look for. This one is 20 years old and I'm wondering if new ones use the same system.

It might make more sense if you flip your description around. The stove is likely intentionally designed to ensure that the thermocouple needed to ignite the gas is hot and ready to ignite the gas before the gas value is allowed to open. I do not have gas kitchen appliances, but our gas furnace has a control scheme that requires that both the ignition thermocouple and the combustion exhaust fan to be working before the gas value is allowed to open.

I grew up in the age when gas appliances depended on pilot lights to ignite the gas. Those pilot lights frequently went out, and then you'd end up scurrying around the house to relight them when the rotten egg smell permeated the house. These new designs are much safer IMHO.

 

[BoomerD]

I figured my gas oven was all but electric free. I knew it needed power for the burner spark ignitors, timer/clock, oven light and glow coil for oven ignition. What I didn't know was that the glow coil sucked nearly 400 watts the entire time the oven is on.

That's about normal for the electric igniters. Somewhere around 3.5 amps or so. (IIRC, some draw as much as 4.5 amps as normal operation.)