I have had a gas stove for about 1 1/2 years. It worked fine until one day it started having a flame that wsa more yellow/orange than blue.(nothing in the house was changed)
Called the utility, they checked it out and said that it was safe but not right.
Called the store, they sent out a repair man. He determined that the regulator needed to be replaced. He replaced it- no difference. Ordered a second regulator- same thing.
Store decided to send a new stove-- model no ,onger available-- newer one was 300.00 more-- OK it had more features also.

New stove- same thing. Utility came out and changed the meter and regulator outside-- no change.
Utility and repair man checked pressure at the entry to the house, at the stove, and at the burner-- all OK.
Repair man calles manufacturer-- they said that there was probably a "disturbance in the gas line and it should settle down or the air quality in the home is causing it.

This is inconsistant- sometimes (almost never) we get a good blue flame-- most times no.

What else should we do/check-- before returning thisd for an electric cooktop? My wife really wants gas.

Thanks

Since you said utility, your utility is probably natural gas. Any chance your stove was ordered for LP gas?

The stove's burners can be adjusted. Probably if you follow the burners air/gas supply you will find a simple plate with a screw just where the gas enters. That plate is not supposed to be closed, but rather it's rotated to change the amount of air. A yellow flame usually means too much air. Sometimes the screws become loose ans therefore the problem your experiencing could be sudden.

Take a burner out and take a picture and post using "go advanced".

Does the stove have an over or is it just a cooktop? Does the oven behave the same way?

Yes, there is an ovebn and yes the oven reacts the same.
This is the second stove, and responds the same out of the box.

Any chance the settings are wrong from the factory? They are both the same manufacturer.

Does the adjustment you advise have anything to do with the regulator? They changed it twice on the first stove.

Thanks

What's the model?

Make sure that the stove was ordered for whatever gas you have. LP is Propane. Natural Gas is what is normally delivered via a pipeline.

Right now it's a good hunch. Natural gas on a propane stove would burn cooler, hence the flame difference. Propane used on a stove configured for Natural gas would burn much hotter and would eventually damage the stove.

Yea, I'm going on a hunch that whatever stove you had, lets say a propane version. It didn't work. They asked for the model and they shipped you another stove that was for propane.

The regulator may have to be adjusted for a different gas.

So;

Model #?
What kind of gas is the stove configured for?
What kind of gas is delivered to your home?
a) pipeline is natural
b) Tank is LP or propane

So the old stove just changed from from NG to propane one day? And the new one was propane too?

Could the problem have started about the time you tightened things up for the winter? It seems unlikely you could get the house so tight the stove lacks combustion air, but you could see what opening a window or door does.

I don'tthink the buttoning up thing is the answer. Because of the issue, we have purposly left the window open and the exhaust fan on whenever the stove is on.

This is a Sears Kenmore I believe -- made by Frigedare.
Model- 790.7885 stainless steel
According to the manual it states that it is not necessary to adjust the burners, Howebver, the broiler and oven have an adjustment.

I initially asked about the propane/ natural gas thing and was told that these came in for natural gas and could not be hooked up improperly because addiotional fittings would be required.

This is just so frustrating. When it is initially turned on, there is a lingering smell of gas-- longer than I believe it should be- but if it is not burning properly-- I guess that may be a result.

Any other suggestions?

Please!!

Thanks,

The combustion air was one more straw to grasp. A different repairman?

I don't think there is enough digits in the model #. I could not find it on Welcome to the Parts Store (http://www3.sears.com).

I'd still like to be able to look up the unit.

There should be NO lingering smell of gas. That could be a clue. Again too much air to the burners or not enough fuel. That may have prompted the service tech to change the regulator.

When the stove was installed, was a "dirt leg" installed as part of the installation?
I know, "What's a dirt leg?". The gas pipe should exit the wall and then go to a "T". A short length of pipe should extend downward and be capped. This catches dirt and water before it reaches the burners. The top part of the "T" then goes to the stove.

Look at the gas connections to your water hearer and furnace for the dirt leg.

This could throw the color of the flame off too.

If the "dirt leg" was not installed then the lines would have to be purged and the orfices cleaned.

Do all the burners and the oven have the yellow flame? Did they change color one at a time?

Thank yopu for your assistance.

The model number is 790 7885 3602

Yes all burners changed at the same time. They are all the same colors.

I do not believe that there is a dirt leg anywhere.

Thanks,

I think this web site backs up my answer:

FAQ's About Grills, Stoves, & Fryers - GrillsDirect.com (http://www.grillsdirect.com/gas-grills/grillstovefryerfaqsarticle.cfm)

Bad fuel air mixture - can't change every burner at the same time
Dirt/dust in the lines high probability due to the lack of a dirt leg.

There might be one other reason and that is there is not enough gas flow, but if it happens on the lowest heat burner, it's not likely the problem.

So, I'll still suggest the lack of a dirt leg and the burners need to be cleaned.

One other possibility - Is the pipe used to plumb the stove the correct size? Is the shutoff valve installed backwards?

I really apreciate your responses. I checked again and it appears that thee is a pipe that comes off near the water heater, that is on about a 45 degree angle to the supply line. It is of smaller diameter, apox. 6-8 in long and has a shut off on it and is capped. I guess that I assumed that it was disconnected from something else at one time.

Could this be the leg that you are referring to?

This is at the extreme opposite end of the basement to the stove. The pipe that was installed for the stove is the correcty size for what was called for-- It was originally electric range.

So, if this is the leg you are referring to, what do we do now. The pressure at the burner has already been checked and I am told that it is well within specs.

Thanks

Let me think for a bit. In the meantime:

Here is an example "Dirt Leg"

http://www.escapecontrol.com/images/dripleg.jpg

It appears that "Dirt legs" only really need to be installed when the gas line is above the appliance. Gravity will naturally keep the debris out of the appliance. So, when the natural gas pipe enters in the basement and the heater and hot water heater are installed there, dirt legs are mandatory. This makes sense.

Dirt legs on a 45 degree angle do no good.

You still didn't tell me if you have natural or LP gas?

How much of the gas line was installed for the new stove?

Have you ever cleaned the burners?

Can you call the manufacturer direct and see what they suggest.

What really bothers me is that a new stove did it immediately. If you go to the sears site, there is the burner diagram for your stove. The color of the jets are different for Natural and LP. That still needs to be looked at.

Debris, pressure regulator, dirty burners, bad gas, air out of adustment and wrong jets are about all it can be unless there is something seriously wrong with the air quality in your house.

On a hunch, can you see how the flame burns on your heater, water heater, gas dryer if you can?

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking and looking.

Thank you.

I actually have a set up as pictured. In fact the utility opened that initially to ck. The pressure. This may negate needing to consider this as an option at this point.

I have natural gas. According to Sears, A stove set up for propane would not be able to be hookeed up to natural gas. Anyhow, the first stove worked OK for 1 1/2 years. The gas line that was installed is about 40-50-60 ft. No one indicated that there would be a problem, and again, it worked fine for some time. The entire line is brand new-- 2 years old-- from the water heater to the stove.

The burners haven't really been cleaned because the unit is brand new and there is no difference in appearance of the flame from the old one.

The Sears repair man called the manufacturer while he was there and the net result from them was " there is probably a disturbance in the line and it should settle down in a short time"?? This has been going on since before Thanksgiving.

The flame on the water heater and furnace seem fine.

The only constant that I can see is that there was a flexable hose used to connect the initial stove to the line in the kitchen. When they pulled the first stove and installed the second, I was not there and no one can verify to me if the flex hose was replaced as well.

I was thinking that possibly there was a failure/ split/etc. in this hose and it may still exist.

No one really seems to know what to do-- other than going with an electric stove.

OK. I think we have most of the facts here.

First, go to Welcome to the Parts Store (http://www3.sears.com) and type in 790.78853602 as the model #. Click "Burner diagram" and locate 44(A-D) and 47. Make sure the orfices are NOT Peach in color. That will rule out stove designed for LP. I don't think it's likely.

Verify that the gas lines installed were black pipe and not galvanized. Again, I don't think this is likely.

Debis could have entered the system due to a sloppy installation. I think that since the new stove had the same problem, this is again not likely.

What is the significance of 1.5 years? Fatigue/cracks due to temperature cycling? The flex line is an interesting observation. The lingering gas smell is an interesting observation.

Those observations lead to two possiblities:

1) Adjust the air for the burners. This might correct the problem, but with the lingering gas smell, I think that problem needs to be solved first.

2) Replacing the flex line. This should mean that the smell should always be there unless the burner flame changes during operation. I think you stated that the condiition is not 100% constant. Replace the piece of flex pipe being careful about cleanliness, overtighening etc.

3) Find a company that owns a sensitive electronic leak detector and/or a combustion gas analyzer. I own the former. Have them check for leaks under static conditions, while moving the flex pipe and when the burners and/or stove have been operating a while or when the condition is present.

FYI: Some leak detectors are located here: Combustible gas detectors | combustible gas leak analyzers (http://www.professionalequipment.com/combustible-gas-detectors/?CMP=KNC-Google)

Good one. I appreciate this post.
http://www.authenteak.com/