OT: repairing/removing antique gas stove valves?
WayneC
(teens or twenties), converting it to propane. I've successfully
adjusted the
burners to propane, but I had to remove and plug the tubes that lead to
the 2 pilot light jets for the top burners because they were both broken
and the jet was missing on one; since I've no idea how to ever locate
replacements, I figure I can just use a barbecue lighter to light burners.
But now I find that the 2 valves that are used to "juice" (intensify)
the pilot
lights (by pushing a button on the front of the stove) are leaking gas
out the
front of the valves, so I'm trying to find a way to either remove those
2 valves
or to rebuild them to keep them from leaking.
Here's a photo of the outside front of the stove (one of the 2 "juicer"
buttons
is the one with the smoke stains above it):
http://tinyurl.com/23ax25
Here's a couple of photos of the backside showing the valves that the
keys are attached to (sorry, had trouble getting the pics in perfect focus
because of the cramped quarters; each photo shows the manifold pipe
with 1 pilot valve and 2 burner valves beneath it):
http://tinyurl.com/2vgodw
http://tinyurl.com/377ssd
I'm facing a "catch 22" situation:
The problem is that I can't unscrew the "juice" valves from the gas
supply manifold
pipe without first moving that same manifold pipe away from the front of
the stove
to provide clearance, and I can't move the gas supply manifold pipe
because the
outside keys on the 6 burner valves have set screws securing them to
their respective
valve stems, and those set screws are behind the stove face and aren't
accessible
(or at the least do not appear to be accessible) with the gas supply
pipe in place.
I am wondering if I'm going at this the wrong way, and perhaps...
1. there is some "trick" way all that all the valve stems (with keys)
can be removed
through the holes in the front of the stove... ie, maybe there's some
trick way to remove
the stem spring and a "keeper" from the back of each valve and simply pull
each key and valve stem out from the front of the stove. That would
allow me to
shift the gas supply manifold rearward so I could then unscrew the
"juicer" valves
and insert plugs. But, what is the "trick"???
or,
2. a similar "trick" could be used to pull just the "juicer" buttons &
valve stems
out through the hole in the stove front, clean them and lap them in
their valve
holes with lapping compound, then apply some stove valve grease and hope
the leaks
are gone when the valve stems are re-installed. But, the springs are not
accessible
from the rear, so this may not even be feasible.
Is there another way? Anybody have any words of wisdom?
WayneC
> On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:29:56 GMT, you wrote:
>
>> I am trying to resuscitate a very old "Detroit Jewel" 6-burner gas stove
>> (teens or twenties), converting it to propane. I've successfully
>> adjusted the
>> burners to propane,
>
> now, search on antique stove rebuilders.. you should find a lot
> of places that someone might know of new parts, OR be able to
> make them for you..
> dont give up yet.
>
> --Shiva--
>
>
I've done that... lots of parts for 50's & 60's stoves, not much of
anything for stoves
as old as mine.
At the moment I'm not so much seeking parts as I am seeking knowledge as
to how
the valves come apart and how I can get them out, and what can be done
to restore my
old gas valves once I have them out.
WayneC
> On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:44:45 GMT, you wrote:
>
>> I've done that... lots of parts for 50's & 60's stoves, not much of
>> anything for stoves
>> as old as mine.
>> At the moment I'm not so much seeking parts as I am seeking knowledge as
>> to how
>> the valves come apart and how I can get them out, and what can be done
>> to restore my
>> old gas valves once I have them out.
>
> http://www.antiquegasstoves.com/
>
> http://www.antiquestoves.com/ 1750's old enough? lol
>
> http://www.oldhouseweb.com/suppliers_of/11079_Antique_Stoves_.shtml
>
> http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2005/fev/kitchen.shtml
>
> http://www.goodtimestove.com/special_sections/66.html
>
> --Shiva--
>
>
Yes, I've been to all those websites. Most of them sell restored stoves
and offer
few, if any, repair parts (they hoard the parts they have to restore the
stoves they sell).
Some sell only "add-on" safety gadgets. One site sells "memberships" for
$40, at
which time (presumably), they allow you to use their members-only forum
to ask
questions of other "members"; looks to me to be a scam.
I'm not looking to ship a 400 pound hunk of iron 1500 miles for a $5k
makeover,
I am just looking for information on how to disassemble and refurbish my
stove valves.
com...@buckeye-express.com
business ("sigh," hopefully not escaping gas).
On my quest, I met a local hardware guy who does stoves for Greenfield
Village. With the sure voice of experience, he told me of doing some things
I would consider outrageous. Re-threading modern iron valve bodies and
coating the outside with POR to look like stove enamel, for instance.
Cutting valve bodies and brazing them back together to create angle-mount
valves (of course, he had a pressure-test rig in his shop, so maybe not as
death-dealing as it sounds).
I too had no luck at all with the supposed parts suppliers on-line; they
were all selling restored stoves. But I did come up with a REAL MEANINGFUL
safety warning: many of these stoves were pressure-tested on low-pressure
"town gas," a cooked-coal product we may see again, not natural gas or
propane. Make sure you have a regulator installed upstream to ensure
delivery pressure is equal to what the stove was used to. Too high is
obvious; too low is bad too, since some valves seat against a detent
spring--too low a pressure will cause them to seep.
I had the same problem with the Chinese-puzzle aspect of manifold bolt-up
sequence. From what I got told, there isn't any easy way. Analysis of thread
direction will reveal in what order the factory bolted it up. Some fittings
far downstream in the piping can only be changed out by disassembling the
whole damn thing. You'll occasionally find a union, but there usually isn't
room to add one. Big as the stoves are, the plumbing is very compact.
ALEX M.
valves so they seat better. Maybe just cleaning them up with baking soda as
a compound would work? Maybe you could put stronger springs on them if they
weren't designed for todays higher pressure?
Alex
"WayneC" <Way...@linkline.moc> wrote in message
news:EBoyi.7638$563.6970@trndny08...
WayneC
Thanks for the comments and encouragement. I've now exchanged a couple
of emails
with a stove shop in Ventura CA; his replies are terse, but he told me
something that should help:
he says the valves have 2 ROUND nuts holding the spring:
http://www.linkline.com/personal/car-nuts/MiscPhotos/stovevalve.jpg
Who would expect ROUND nuts without a knurled circumference????
That's the "trick" that may help me remove the valve knobs (with valve
cylinder attached),
through the front of the stove, since the knob set screws are very
difficult to access.
There is a union in the supply manifold pipe, but I need to get all the
valve knobs off
before that union could help me free the pipe. I do not intend to
unscrew any other
joints in the supply pipe if I can help it. I just need to displace the
pipe rearward
a half-inch or so, enough to be able to unscrew the pilot light
"flamethrower" valves
(that's what the stove shop guy called those push-button valves) and
replace them with plugs.
I may get a chance tomorrow to make the attempt.
I do have a pressure regulator upstream, thanks for the warning.
Here's a couple more pics:
http://www.linkline.com/personal/car-nuts/MiscPhotos/stove.jpg
http://www.linkline.com/personal/car-nuts/MiscPhotos/stovemanifold.jpg
WayneC
afterward, and
how much to apply...
Thanks for your comments.
Studebaker Kid
temp silicone grease for everthing. It was good up to 700 degrees F
so if you have a local college maybe you could get a little tubet
from then. The containers only held and ounce. You should be able to
order it from Fluke online too.
WayneC
I had some luck... I found there was a narrow fold-down panel beneath
the burner
handles that gave me a little better access to the screws that hold the
knobs onto
the burner valves, but I couldn't budge them with a screwdriver because
I couldn't
get a direct shot at the screws. Then I discovered the screw heads were
square
and would fit into the drive end of a 1/4 inch drive socket, so I rigged
a tool by
taping a hex wrench into a 1/4 socket and used the drive end to loosen
the screws.
That in turn enabled me to loosen the gas supply pipe enough to move it
back and
remove the leaky pilot flamethrower valves.
I still have a slight leak somewhere that I need to track down, but by
using a shutoff valve
between uses, I've been able to use the stove!
com...@buckeye-express.com
> I had some luck... I found there was a narrow fold-down panel beneath the
burner handles that gave me a little better access to the screws that hold
the
____________________________
Hats off. There was an engineer at work here once.
I'm happy for you, and don't forget to think of those wonderful guys every
time you touch her off.
oldcarfart
wrote:
I have taken some of the old stoves and put modern guts in them and
retained the old knobs as ornamentation, many of the old valves had
leather seals and used a plumber's grease mixture, try pinging Freddy
Badgett as he is a master plumber with boiler certifications, etc. and
is a wealth of knowledge, it's worth a trip to Mayberry if you live a
reasonable distance away to treat him and his bride to Mexican buffett
(his secret downfall <grin>) and get some one-on-one with him, neat
guy & good people.
com...@buckeye-express.com
Hell, about anything's worth a trip to Mayberry!