If you don’t know how to start a gas stove, it can seem a wee bit intimidating. After all, no one wants to start a kitchen fire or blow the house up! Turns out, it’s not that hard. Keep reading to find out what you need to know.
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Who Needs to Know How to Start a Gas Stove?
Whether you’ve just recently moved homes and it came with a gas stove, or you’re planning on purchasing your very first one, we’re sure that you’ll be in agreement with us when we say that trying to use one correctly can be quite daunting – especially if you’ve never used one before.
Gas stoves offer plenty of benefits, with the biggest advantage being the ability to use them with a match in the event of a power outage. Luckily enough, the latest generation gas stoves are specifically designed to be nice and simple to start up, but it’s still a good idea to make sure that you’re well aware of what you’re doing.
How To Start A Gas Stove With An Igniter
Kicking this guide off, we are first going to be talking you through how to light your gas stove in the most traditional way: with the igniter!
An igniter on a gas stove is an electric part that creates a spark. That spark “ignites” the gas to create the flame used for cooking.
Depending on the gas stove model that you have, you might find that the way that you will need to use your igniters to light your stove will differ from the method that we are going to share with you below.
Nevertheless, the following method will give you a better idea of how to start a gas stove with a regular ignition design. Let’s take a look:
- First, you will need to begin by pushing the ignition button in with one hand/finger. Once you have done this, you should begin to hear a clicking sound.
- Once you have done this and you can hear the clicking sound, you will then need to choose the knob that you would like to use, and then gently push it in and turn it on.
- Once you have done this and turned the knob, you should find that the corresponding burner lights up with fire. It really is as simple and as easy as that!
- If you would like to increase the flame, then all you will have to do is simply turn the dial further which will increase the intensity of the flame. When you are ready to switch your gas stove off after you have finished using it, all you will need to do is turn the dial anti-clockwise, until it is right back in its starting position. This will turn your hob off and you won’t have to do anything else.
- Note that some models of gas stoves do not have an ignition button that’s separate from the temperature dials. Rather, you push down on the temperature button that corresponds to the burner you want to use and that creates the ignition.
How To Start A Gas Stove With A Match
So, now that we have taken the time to talk you through how to start a gas stove in the traditional way of using an igniter – we are now going to be sharing with you how to start your gas stove in the event of a power outage.
During a power outage, you will not be able to use your igniter to power up your gas stove as there will be no electricity, which means that you will need to, in turn, use a set of matches instead. Let’s explore how to safely do this below:
For safety reasons, you are going to want to make sure that you are lighting your ignition prior to actually firing up the gas, as this will help to prevent the chances of a gas cloud, which may explode when a flame is brought into contact with it.
Taking your chosen match (we recommend using one that comes with a long neck, as this will allow you to stand back from the stove at a safe distance. When you are ready to fire up your stove, strike your match and gently place it over the gas burner. (You can also use a pocket lighter instead of a match, but a match is easier.)
At the same time, you should then begin to slowly turn the knob of your choice clockwise to fire it up, and you should find that the hob begins to emit flames almost immediately.
As soon as you can see the fire, you should then proceed to immediately click off of the ignition switch, as well as remove the match/lighter from hovering over the gas burner.
Once the gas stove is turned on, you should then proceed to adjust the knob to the flame intensity that you would like.
Then, whenever you are ready to switch your gas stove off, all you will need to do is simply turn the knob anti-clockwise to return it back to its original point, which will turn the flame off.
Top Tip
Even though the two methods we have talked you through above should be able to help you get your gas stove up and running in no time at all, it is important to remember that gas stoves vary from model to model.
For this reason, it is worth noting that the instructions we have provided you with above should only be taken as general guidelines, as it is highly likely that your particular gas stove will require a slightly different method to switch it on – especially if you happen to have a more modern, latest-generation stove!
With all of that being said, if you are feeling unsure about how to turn on your stove in particular, then we strongly recommend that you check out the owner’s manual that accompanied your gas stove when it was purchased.
However, if you do not have it to hand, then you could alternatively look at the website for the stove’s manufacturer. They often have links to manuals there. Barring that, there should be contact information for customer service.
