Propane range can't simmer

September 29, 2020 5:44 AM

We have a propane-fueled gas range that can't go low enough to hold a simmer. I've tried troubleshooting (details inside). I know how to adjust the little screw behind the knob to make the low setting even lower, but if I do, blowing hard on the flame blows it out. That's an unacceptable safety hazard, not a common condition, right? If you turn your gas range to the lowest setting, can you blow it out?

The little screws behind each knob are lowered as far as they can be without getting the flame so low that I could blow it out, as my understanding is that that's a safety hazard: If a draft blew it out, the house could fill with gas. I've considered adjusting one burner that way anyway, and making sure we don't use that burner unattended (e.g., when simmering a stockpot for hours) unless we close all the windows. Since it's the kind of risk that's extremely unlikely but extremely dire, would you do that?

I've considered calling a pro, but on another page about those little screws, lots of people commented that the pros they'd called hadn't even gone as far as knowing to adjust that screw.

I've checked with Samsung that the right parts were used for the propane conversion.

I've tried a simmer plate.

I'd prefer not to have a separate hot plate, and I'm not ready to change out the whole range. Is there any better option left?

posted by daisyace to Home & Garden (20 answers total)

If you turn your gas range to the lowest setting, can you blow it out?

In every range I've ever had, yes. For Science, I just went and tried it. Same on every burner, even the huge one in the middle - I can blow any of them out when they're turned right down.

Usually if I want a low simmer, I use the smallest burner. If that's too much, I move the pot so it's off-centre and therefore isn't getting the full output of the burner.

I've never (in 25 years of daily use) had a burner blow out due to a draft.
posted by pipeski at 6:04 AM on September 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

If you turn your gas range to the lowest setting, can you blow it out?

Yep, on every range I've ever used too (and I just tested again as well). A focused 'blow out the candles' type blow is actually a pretty good breeze. A cough or sneeze can (briefly) hit 50-100mph, a good ol' blow can easily hit 25-35 mph I'd think, and it's highly directed.

Don't leave a bunch of windows open in a storm whilst simmering all day, but otherwise you're fine.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:21 AM on September 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

I can also do that on our natural gas stove, and for low simmers, I've taken to using the crock pot (or the slow cook setting on the Instant Pot.)
posted by advicepig at 6:35 AM on September 29, 2020

You need a gas burner heat diffuser. Mine are just steel plates big enough to stay horizontal on the protective grates, but this is the more popular kind.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 6:54 AM on September 29, 2020 [6 favorites]

My ceiling fan will damn near blow out a low simmer on my Samsung. Which I love BTW.
posted by ftm at 6:54 AM on September 29, 2020

If you're simmering something, you'll be home, checking on it occasionally. You'll also notice the smell of gas if it blows out, long before it becomes dangerous. This just isn't a big deal.
posted by fritley at 6:57 AM on September 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

I have that stove (converted for liquid propane). I can only simmer on the back right (smallest) burner. We have never had the flame get accidentally blown out.
posted by belladonna at 7:00 AM on September 29, 2020

This is enough of a problem for me (random mid/low end stove that's 15+ years old) that I never leave something on a very very low simmer if I'm not going to be monitoring it pretty frequently.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:15 AM on September 29, 2020

The site you linked to (for which thanks - I had no idea!) even addresses this:

CAUTION: If you set the simmer flame to be too low, the flame may go out. If this happens, the stove will continue to send a steady trickle of gas to the burner, which will not be burned. This is VERY DANGEROUS and could even lead to an explosion if it is allowed to continue. Make absolutely sure that the simmer flame will not extinguish, and monitor it closely while you are using it. A rule of thumb is to set the simmer flame so that it stays burning even if you blow on the burner (from a safe distance, of course). If you are able to extinguish the flame by blowing on it, it is probably set too low. If you are unsure, get a professional to make this adjustment for you.

(That said, I'll nth that it's happened to me on multiple stoves.)
posted by trig at 7:27 AM on September 29, 2020

I don't think any sort of adjustment will fix this. A low flame that's out in the open is easy to put out and no amount of tinkering will fix that, short of building some sort of draft-protection cage around the burner itself. If it was impossible to get a low flame at all, yeah, there'd be adjustments to make. But the problem isn't that you can't get a low flame, it's that the low flame is behaving the way low flames do. If it was an uneven flame, only burning on one side of the burner, which I've sometimes seen happen with a gas range, then there might be adjustments you could make to get one that's more spread out and thus less likely to blow out, but from your description, it sounds like it's functioning as well as it can and that what you're hoping for is more-or-less a physical impossibility.

If the safety situation is a problem, then reversing the adjustmant you did (i.e., making a low flame impossible) is really the only solution.
posted by jackbishop at 7:58 AM on September 29, 2020

This is basically inevitable with gas. If you decide you really need a very low simmer you can buy a portable induction unit and use that (with correct pots) for your low-simmer needs (that one is more or less chosen at random, but Duxtop units are frequently recommended so at least that manufacturer is a good place to start looking).
posted by aramaic at 8:07 AM on September 29, 2020

This may not work on your range, but on mine, if I turn the knob back PAST the highest flame, it will actually go lower than what should logically be the lowest flame. My range is pretty quirky though.
posted by padraigin at 8:11 AM on September 29, 2020

I agree that being able to blow out a low flame is fairly normal. One thing that's a little different with higher-end ranges is that they use ignitors which include flame-sensing circuitry, and if the flame goes out then the ignitor immediately starts sparking again.
posted by jon1270 at 8:47 AM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Set up a double boiler. Whatever you want to simmer goes in the top of the boiler above the boiling water that heats it to a simmer. The simplest way to do this is with a vegetable steamer in a large pot and the second small pot inside the first one on top of the steamer. You can also work with one of those big pasta pots that has an inside strainer.

Or get a diffuser of some sort. Some of them are just a ring to support the pot a little higher from the heat, others are a flat plate perforations in it, that has a handle.

If you're going to use professional cooking systems, get the tools that go with it to use it properly. It is well worth it.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:49 AM on September 29, 2020

Agree with Jane the Brown. Another search term for diffuser in this context is "flame tamer". An oft proposed DIY solution is a crumpled piece of aluminum foil in a circle to lift the pot higher.
posted by mmascolino at 9:16 AM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

The flames on my stovetop are blown out quite regularly, and they can't go low enough for a simmer. So I have a heat diffuser like the one I claim sanctuary linked to and I keep an eye on my pot while I cook. If I want something to slow-cook while I'm doing something else, I put it in the oven. But while I understand why you don't want to buy a separate hot plate, and I haven't, now I often think of buying a single induction plate. A good one is also useful for getting water to boil very rapidly, so I'm thinking it might replace my kettle when it breaks. Something needs to go before something new moves in here.
posted by mumimor at 10:44 AM on September 29, 2020

Response by poster: Ok, great, I'm going to adjust one of the burner's lowest settings to go lower, and that might be all I needed to know! If not, and it's still too high to simmer, a few of you mentioned diffusers. I tried the simmer plate linked in the original post, and it didn't help enough. Are there other types that are significantly more effective? E.g., is the style with holes like i claim sancturary linked likely to work even though the one I linked doesn't?
posted by daisyace at 12:29 PM on September 29, 2020

Yes, the style with holes works perfectly. I've never encountered any problems with it, except that I generally need to keep an eye on the stove when it is on a low burn.
posted by mumimor at 1:54 PM on September 29, 2020

I agree a flame tamer/heat diffuser is significantly different from the simmer plate. The perforated plates are set in series to about a half inch thickness, and has air between the plates, circulating because of the holes. I am able to simmer sauces and stews even on wider burners at their lowest flame, which is higher than the puny simmer flame on the smallest burner on my stove. (On my stove only the smallest burner will simmer at the lowest flame, and that just won't work for large pots of soup.) I use it sometimes for scrambling eggs, too, as it gentles the heat and prevents overcooked and rubbery eggs.

My flame tamer is at least 30 years old and the handle folds for easier storage.
posted by citygirl at 7:23 PM on September 29, 2020

I asked the same question about a gas stovetop a while ago -- some answers may help you.
I ended up using the last answer on the thread: "stacking an additional grate or 2 from an unused burner on top of the burner you're using." Worked perfectly at no cost.
posted by LonnieK at 8:04 AM on October 6, 2020