Propane to Natural conversion

higgsfamily5

I just bought a Frigidaier gas range that's approx 5-6 yrs old. It was set up for propane but I want to change it over to natural. After finding out how much the orifices were I did what an old appliance guy suggested. I figure he would know since he's been in the business since the 1950's. I drilled out the top orifices to 1/16. I forgot to ask him if I need to drill out the oven orifice as well as the broiler orifice (broiler is on top of oven). Well the guy is off for vacation now so I'm stuck without and in need of some direction. It seemed to work drilling out the top burner orifices because the top burners work great now. But, when you turn on the oven, the glow plug gets red hot, and when the gas turns on it has a really high pitch to it and it does not ignite. You can smell it, but it won't ignite. I'm afraid of having the oven fill w/gas and explode when it does ignite, so after just a few seconds I shut the oven down. Anyone have an answer to my prediciment? Thanks.

rjniles

There is more involved than just the orfices. Propane is regulated at a higher pressure than natural gas, that is why natural gas orfices are larger than propane. I would not drill out orfices, I would contact the manufacturer to buy the correct sized orfices for both the burners and the oven/broiler. Also find out if the gas regulator can be modified or needs to be replaced. Gas is not something to DYI unless you are exactly sure of the correct procedure. I would get it modified by a certified gas serviceman.

Wildie

If you are going to convert from propane to natural gas, every orifice in the stove must be changed.

It seems that you were given good advice, that worked for the burners, so why not try enlarging the oven also!
If it doesn't work, you can always buy the factory orifice.

higgsfamily5

I wanted to post this so that if anyone else ever has this problem then they will know what to do. On the top burners, you can either replace the orifices or drill them out to 1/16. The orifices for the oven and the broiler are both adjustable. You turn them counter clockwise 2 1/2 turns and you should be back to the natural gas adjustments. You might have to play with it a bit to get the adjustment just right. I got that info by looking up the instructions for the natural to propane installation kit and the instructions also give you the reverse for setting it up for natural gas again. If anyone needs the manual I can email it to them directly as I have saved it in a PDF format.

sv9779

What about the regulator??? Some regulators are fixed. Others have a cap over the diphram spring with instructions on reversing the cap for natural gas

higgsfamily5

Thanks for the reminnd on the regulator sv9779. On the gas regulator, you have to unscrew the cap and turn it over to the N side for natural gas. You don't remove the spring or anything, just flip the cap. The cap can be accessed by removing the storage drawer or by simply removing the regulator (which I did just because it was easier). Hope this info helps someone.