Magic Chef Gas Range Heats Poorly On Propane

Magic Chef Gas Range Heats Poorly on Propane

Dave -- Saturday, 17 February 2001, at 8:09 p.m.

I have a Magic Chef freestanding gas range running on propane. It takes forever to boil water. The flame appears sufficient but a five quart pot takes twenty minutes to boil. Altitude is not a factor as the unit is located at sealevel.

Re: Magic Chef Gas Range *LINK*

Dan O. -- Saturday, 17 February 2001, at 8:57 p.m.

: I have a Magic Chef freestanding gas range
: running on propane. It takes forever to boil
: water. The flame appears sufficient but a
: five quart pot takes twenty minutes to boil.
: Altitude is not a factor as the unit is
: located at sealevel.

Are the flames totally blue or are they yellow (see the link below)?

How old is the range and what BTU are the burners?

Dan O.

What should my gas range's flames look like?

Re: Magic Chef Gas Range

Dave -- Sunday, 18 February 2001, at 9:59 a.m.

: Are the flames totally blue or are they yellow?

: How old is the range and what BTU are the burners?

The range is a Magic Chef model #CGR3742ADW, Serial # 12428651WD. It was purchased 10/99. The BTU rating for the stove top burners is 2 @ 8,500 and 2 @ 8,000. The flames are totally blue in color with a periodic flicker of yellow at the tips. Could it be that the installer did not do the Natural Gas to Propane conversion? The manual says it is factory-set for Natural Gas. Thanks for your advice.

Re: Magic Chef Gas Range *LINK*

Dan O. -- Sunday, 18 February 2001, at 2:12 p.m.

: The BTU rating for the stove top burners is
: 2 @ 8,500 and 2 @ 8,000. The flames are
: totally blue in color with a periodic
: flicker of yellow at the tips.

: Could it be that the installer did not do the Natural
: Gas to Propane conversion? The manual says it is
: factory-set for Natural Gas.

No, if it was not converted your burners would not burn properly which yours sound like they're doing.

8,000 BTU is on the lower end for surface burner heat on domestic ranges and when converted to propane usually looses in the area of 20%.

I think the heat you're getting is all you're going to get with that particular range. If you want more heat from the surface burners, you'd have to start with a model with 12-15,000 BTU NG burners which would be reduced to ~10-12,000 after conversion to LP.

I know of no way to increase the BTU output of the burners but you could try contacting Magic Chef customer server (see the link below) and ask if there's any modifications that can be done to increase it.

Something that may help is to make sure the cookware you're using is of high quality, if it isn't. Absolutely flat bottom, solid heavy base pots and pans help to conduct heat to the food you are cooking better.

Dan O.

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Re: Magic Chef Gas Range

Dave -- Sunday, 18 February 2001, at 2:59 p.m.

: if it was not converted your burners would
: not burn properly which yours sound like
: they're doing.

Thanks Dan.
You are correct about the Natural Gas to propane conversion. I checked the regulator and it had been done. We have tried different cookware and settled on the type you described, heavy and flat bottomed. I will check with Magic Chef about ways to boost the BTU rating. Thanks again for your advice!
Dave

Re: Magic Chef Gas Range *LINK*

Dan O. -- Sunday, 18 February 2001, at 5:37 p.m.

: You are correct about the Natural Gas to
: propane conversion. I checked the regulator
: and it had been done. We have tried
: different cookware and settled on the type
: you described, heavy and flat bottomed. I
: will check with Magic Chef about ways to
: boost the BTU rating. Thanks again for your
: advice!

No problem. I don't know if Magic Chef will be able to help because when made ranges are designed to certain energy standards. I don't know if they allowed by law to modify a range in such a way as to change these.

We did do service for one company that made available new burner valve parts that increased the gas flow increasing the burner BTU. I don't know if Magic Chef has anything like that or if the burner valves are serviceable at all. You could also check with local gas fitters or gas service companies and ask if they can suggest something.

As a last resort you can try contacting RePco (see the link below). They rebuild older gas range components and may have an idea that may work for your newer range.

Dan O.
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