Oven Smells Like Gas When Preheating

The gas that fuels your stove has an odor. An additive produces a sulfur or rotten egg scent, making a gas leak easily identifiable.

Propane-fueled appliances often smell more strongly like gas when igniting when the supply runs low.

It is normal to smell some gas when starting the oven. After the oven ignites, the smell should go away.

Warning: If the smell doesn’t go away after the gas is ignited, you likely have a dangerous gas leak.

Open the doors and windows, turn off the appliance and evacuate the house. Then call your local gas company.

If the oven was moved recently, the gas plumbing connections may now be damaged or loosened. Gas will leak if these connections aren’t tight or when they are bent or punctured.

• Fittings can be checked with soapy water. If you’re able to pull your oven out, inspect the gas inlet connections on the back of the unit. Cover each joint with a soapy water solution and look for bubbling. Inspect the supply line for cracks or cuts.
• If you feel uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to call a professional to determine if you have a gas leak.

After the control turns on the igniter circuit, the current will begin to flow. As the current flow increases, making the igniter hotter, there will be enough current to open the safety valve. At this point, the igniter is supposed to be hot enough to ignite the gas. Over time, the igniter can weaken and fail to open the safety valve correctly. This is the most common failure for a gas oven.

• Remove the covers and shields at the bottom of the oven, then turn on a bake setting. Observe the igniter to see if it begins glowing.
• If the igniter glows, but the gas hasn't been lit after 90 seconds, there's reason to believe the ignitor has weakened. Replace the igniter. You can also check current flow in the igniter circuit, but you will need a service tech sheet or manual to verify how much current is needed to open the gas valve.
• Since a weak igniter will frequently light the gas but take longer, the smell of gas when the oven is turned on can be a sign of this. The valve may open but not quite sufficiently, and the resulting gas flow will be harder to ignite, especially if the igniter is slightly cooler (less current flows as they start to fail, so less heat). This will release a greater amount of unburned gas at first and it dissipates from the oven so that the smell is noticeable.

You may notice too that your oven ignites oddly:

• It may have something like a whoomph sound
• It may ignite when the oven door is slammed as the shock causes the gas valve to open more fully when it is only partially opening.

Here are some oven igniters

Ovens with a spark ignition system may have a stronger smell of unburned gas since the gas valve must open before the spark igniter ignites the flowing gas. If the spark is weak, the gas valve may have been opened for 3 or 4 seconds with no gas burnt. Then since the oven (Whirlpool for example) also pauses for 40 seconds between attempts, you might smell the gas between attempts.

When oven mats or food residue block vents, you might experience unpleasant gas odors. Verify that nothing is blocking the vents.

• Oven Not Turning On