Gas Range Igniter Circuit

Status
Not open for further replies.
infinity said:
Has anyone ever heard of inspectors not allowing the receptacle for a gas range be GFCI protected? Since they can be on the SABC they usually end up being wired from the counter receptacle and GFCI protected. We have an inspector here in NJ who makes contractors ensure that the range receptacle is not GFCI protected because if the GFCI trips and someone could turn on the gas and it would never ignite. In his mind this is a good idea.
Click to expand...
I don't believe it's required but I can tell you, as a matter of fact, that I have had a problem with a range igniter being on a GFCI circuit and nuisance tripping. I don't remember if I ran a separate circuit after that or just tapped into an non-GFI circuit but that solved the problem. Nowadays, I just don't take any chances and I just install a non-gfci circuit for the range. Nobody likes to do double work.

Hope you're not working up north near me. I have enough problems with certain inspectors who like to make up their own rules. Sometimes they just like to run things up the flagpole to see if they fly. If you know you're right I would challenge him, in the most respectful way of course.:thumbsup:
 
GeorgeB said:
Don't all currently produced GFCI outlets and "switches" turn off on power failure and have to be reset?
Click to expand...
No. AFAIK the "portable" GFCI units used for construction tools must be reset after loss of power. Built in devices for residential use do not. (Although newer ones may do a self test on power application, they do not require a manual reset.)

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
goldstar said:
I don't believe it's required but I can tell you, as a matter of fact, that I have had a problem with a range igniter being on a GFCI circuit and nuisance tripping. ..
Click to expand...

Same here after range-cleaning & liquid spills, but if the cord & plug passes Megger to ground prong, I unplug it and tell people to let it dry out. Never had to remove GFCI.

goldstar said:
..Nowadays, I just don't take any chances and I just install a non-gfci circuit for the range. Nobody likes to do double work...
Click to expand...

That may be a Fire-Code violation 110.3(B) with Range appliance OEM's including GFCI requirements in the instructions.
http://www.vikingrange.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2730066_F20543.pdf
 
infinity said:
Has anyone ever heard of inspectors not allowing the receptacle for a gas range be GFCI protected? Since they can be on the SABC they usually end up being wired from the counter receptacle and GFCI protected. We have an inspector here in NJ who makes contractors ensure that the range receptacle is not GFCI protected because if the GFCI trips and someone could turn on the gas and it would never ignite. In his mind this is a good idea.

I agree that this guy is making up his own code rules and should write a code change proposal. :slaphead:
Click to expand...

IMO inspector's concept is not valid, GFCI or not if the knob is past the ignitor setting the stove will not ignite.
 
The Standard for Leakage Current for Appliances, UL 101, can not exceed 2.5mA @ 60hz under any circumstances.

NFPA-70 90.7 requires factory equipment "has been listed by a qualified electrical testing laboratory", (to avoid AHJ approved field-testing).

If kitchen appliances trip a counter-top GFCI, the appliance is either defective, or un-listed. An illegal fire hazard, either way.
 
kwired said:
Aren't you supposed to be right there to assure your burner actually lit when you turn it on? Many other possible reasons for it to fail to light and you are in same situation. Standing pilot ranges have been around forever, pilot lights went out all the time on those.
Click to expand...

Mine has an electric igniter and the burners fail to light quite regularly. I have a lighter for a grill for just such occasions. The upshot is that I don't need electricity to use the burners, so in a power failure I still have a stove. Just not an oven.
 
Any appliance that trips a properly functioning Class A GFCI is a fire hazard, by failure of UL 101 test standards.

Property damage or injury claim investigations can prosecute jokers who willfully advocate bypassing a GFCI, to operate a faulty appliance.

These Jokers should not touch your appliances, much less your wiring, or property.
 
Guys I happen to have some timely insight to the OP's question, and the answer is, the problem of the oven not lighting if there is a power outage is one that is addressed by the appliance manufacturers both in practice and in law.

To cut to the chase, I have a malfunctioning Maytag oven that sometimes won't light. Turns out the ceramic igniter, which heats to a brilliant orange glow when heat is called for, is in series with the gas valve. If the igniter develops a high resistance, the igniter may glow, but there is not enough current to open the gas valve. This is by design.

Therefore if there is no power, the gas valve won't open.

On the other hand, not so for the burners. But again, this is something that is regulated and policed by many other agencies dealing with the appliance industry. I found things passed by congress going back to the 1930s requiring pilot monitoring (thermocouples). The EPA in the 1980's passed laws outlawing the manufacture or sale of kitchen appliances with standing pilots, mostly because they waste gas.
 
infinity said:
..We have an inspector here in NJ who makes contractors ensure that the range receptacle is not GFCI protected ..
Click to expand...

Show the inspector the Viking range instructions and ask, under 110.3(B) what law prevents owners from plugging the range into a GFCI outlet?

Much less, what law requires rewiring the kitchen to avoid GFCI protection for the range?
 
Last edited:
ramsy said:
Show the inspector the Viking range instructions and ask, under 110.3(B) what law prevents owners from plugging the range into a GFCI outlet?

Much less, what law requires rewiring the kitchen to avoid GFCI protection for the range?
Click to expand...

The instructions you posted states "Must be fused seperately from any other circuit".
 
ramsy said:
Same here after range-cleaning & liquid spills, but if the cord & plug passes Megger to ground prong, I unplug it and tell people to let it dry out. Never had to remove GFCI.



That may be a Fire-Code violation 110.3(B) with Range appliance OEM's including GFCI requirements in the instructions.
http://www.vikingrange.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2730066_F20543.pdf
Click to expand...
While only 2 letters long the word IF can have a very big meaning in the English language and can carry a lot of weight, depending on your interpretation.
...shall be used IF the NEC requires it..........IF a GFCI is used
Click to expand...
With that being said, IF you have a GFCI in an area where it is required then you have to live with. Those instructions also state that IF you use a GFCI protected circuit you have to use a receptacle type GFCI and not a breaker type. Can you imagine installing that behind a range and having to pull out the range every time the GFCI trips ? They also state that you have to run a dedicated circuit. Think about this - the only current draw are the igniters, the digital display and the light inside the oven. Seems like a waste of a circuit for something that's only going to draw about 2 amps max. in a worst case scenario.
 
goldstar said:
While only 2 letters long the word IF can have a very big meaning in the English language and can carry a lot of weight, depending on your interpretation. With that being said, IF you have a GFCI in an area where it is required then you have to live with. Those instructions also state that IF you use a GFCI protected circuit you have to use a receptacle type GFCI and not a breaker type. Can you imagine installing that behind a range and having to pull out the range every time the GFCI trips ? They also state that you have to run a dedicated circuit. Think about this - the only current draw are the igniters, the digital display and the light inside the oven. Seems like a waste of a circuit for something that's only going to draw about 2 amps max. in a worst case scenario.
Click to expand...

The instructions appear to require a dedicated circuit whether GFCI or not.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top