DIY Gas Cooktop Replacement - Viable ?

[SteveAndBelle]

Skew ChiDAMN (& everyone else)

We've just come home from buying a brand new cooktop for a bargain price of $177 from Retravision. It's old stock but it's an exact replacement for the one we currently have plus it has the bonus of a 'so-called' wok burner to boot !

Only thing is that it's an LPG model however the sales person told us that it can very easily be changed over to 'Natural Gas' simply by swapping out the jets for the correct type. I'm a bit hesitant to believe him because when we asked about how to convert our Weber BBQ over to Natural Gas we were told we'd have to replace the jets and the manifold which would set us back a couple of hundred dollars. I also don't understand that if it's that easy why do the manufacturers go the touble of selling cooktops in either Nautral or LPG types ? We bought the thing anyway as he said that we could take it back for a full refund if need be so that's nice to know.

Is changing the gas type as simple as chaning over the jets ? Seems logical enough to me as it's just the apeture of the jets that changes for the different pressures ... but why is it so hard to do on the Weber BBQ I wonder ?

Any have any ideas ?

Steve.

[Ashore]

Should be just change the jets , do it before you install it of course,

With the webber they are made to burn heat beads etc and to convert them to gas takes a bit of modification plus the brand name costs more. Also with a BBQ conversion you need to change the regulator and hose as it goes to a diffrent type fitting and thread, you wouldn't want to inadvertantly use the wrong regulator by connecting the wrong hose boom boom ( literally) :eek:


Rgds

[SteveAndBelle]

Ashore,

Our Weber is a four burner type and doesn't contain any hot rocks. It uses Stainless 'flavouriser bars' instead. Silly Weber names

Anyhoo, I just called up another Retravision store to see fi they had any NG jets and to confirm what the other guy had told me from the other store. He said that as it's a Simpson cooktop jet replacement is as simple as calling Simpson up and getting the NG jets as spare parts. He mentioned that some other brands it's either impossible or very difficult to changeover which is why the units are sold as one of the other from the factory.

I then realised that our current cooktop would already have NG jets (duh) and I there might be a chance of simply changing them over however it seems to have jets hidden deep down inside the cooktop & past an elbow so I can't easily get to them.

Not to worry, I'll just call Simpson during the week and get the NG jets as 'spares'. I can then replace the unit during the week or next weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

The story continues ... but thanks for all your help and feel free to add anything else as it might help others doing similar foolish things

Steve.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Only thing is that it's an LPG model however the sales person told us that it can very easily be changed over to 'Natural Gas' simply by swapping out the jets for the correct type.

Isn't it odd how even the simplest jobs can take on a complexity of their own?

[SteveAndBelle]

Ha ! Yeah ... but that's because I'm fussy and wanted to keep with a white cooktop, not stainless steel

Plus it was $177 reduced from ... wait for it ... $457, so for a saving of $280 I think I can deal with a few hassles

Called Simpson and found that they sell a 'Natural Gas Conversion Kit' for $31.75 so I'll go get it on Monday and hopefully have the cooktop in early in the week.

Steve.

[SteveAndBelle]

Well, here's how the story ends (not with a BOOM either ...

I had to order the Natural Gas Conversion Kit through Simpson (Electrolux) and wait 5 days. I bought a small tube of 'Leak Lock' and a small bottle of 'Gas Leak Detector' (a thick fluroescent yellow bubbling soapy type liquid) from BOC. I also bought the Jaycar Flammable Gas Detector which I highly recommend to anyone wanting to test for gas leaks, it's great & super sensitive !! The Simpson parts got to me on Friday just gone so I was rearing to go to get the cooktop installed yesterday.

Right then. I closed the valve feeding the old cooktop, undid the pipe and the cooktop popped out of the bench without any dramas so that was 30 seconds well spent Just to be sure I stuck the Jaycar Gas Detector into the end of the open pipe to check if the valve was really cutting all the gas off ... which it was. I quickly turned the valve on & off again just to be sure and the detector instantly went into alarm mode so at least I knew everything was working OK. Once I rechecked the gas pipe I then compared threads of the old and new cooktops and of course they were different (3/8" for the old vs. 1/2" for the new) however on closer inspection the old cooktop was connected via a reducer so I thought I'd just be able to reconfigure the pipework a bit and get it working. Well that's what I thought anyway

After stuffing around with different fittings for a few minutes and realising that the old pipe connections use a much different sealing system to the new ones (flared metal pipe ends on shaped metal connections for the old vs simple fibre washers for the new) I decided to toss in the towel. It wasn't that it was difficult to put together it's just that I wasn't confident that mixing the old and new connections & seals would give me a perfectly 'leak free' system. Also I noticed that the old connections on rigid copper pipework from the isolating valve feeding the regulator looked a bit 'dodgy' (even though they're probably perfectly OK) so I thought it'd be best to get a 'pro' in just to be on the safe side.

So, that's where I'm at. I'll call a 'pro' tomorrow to hookup and 'certify' the new cooktop during the week. Shame I couldn't do it myself as I was keen to gain the extra experience however I don't want to blow the house or the wife up ... well, not yet anyway

Even after the extra expense of the sealant, leak detector and gas detector (about $70 total) plus the $30 for the Natural Gas Conversion Kit we're still way in front as most stores could only offer me their very basic models of cooktop for $350 - $400 ... and that was their super-special prices too ! Including everything we're currently only up to $280 (thanks to finding the brand new yet superceded model cooktop at Retravision for $177) plus I've now got myself a cool gas detector so I'm happy with that

I'll update this thread once the new cooktop is installed just to let you know how much it was etc.

Thanks again for all your input and if anyone else is thinking of doing a similar thing I'd highly recommend you go for it but at the same time I'd recommend you identify your limits and pull out if things just don't 'feel' right.

[Tools]

Thanks again for all your input and if anyone else is thinking of doing a similar thing I'd highly recommend you go for it but at the same time I'd recommend you identify your limits and pull out if things just don't 'feel' right.

well said !

[renomart]

The money was well spent on your 'education'.

[SteveAndBelle]

The cooktop was installed by a 'pro' today. 1hr and $150 later I have a fully certified installed cooktop ! Yay

Funny thing was that the gas fitter installing it actually turned on all the burners and lit them up before checking for leaks on his joins ! We were chatting all the way through the install and when he did that I asked "shouldn't you check for leaks before igniting the cooktop" ? He replied "Yes but being Natural Gas you don't really have to worry about it ... you can stick your head inside and oven & turn the gas on all day and it wont bother you" and he then proceeded to check his work for leaks. He also explained that its the LPG connections you've got to worry about as LPG expands up to nine times its size when in contact with oxygen and is much more explosive ... but still, there would be no way I'd be lighting up a freshly installed gas cooktop without checking my joints first :eek:

Anyhoo, he was a really nice guy and his work was very slick, neat & tidy so I suppose I had nothing to worry about. After all he IS a professional !

Thanks to all for all your comments & suggestions. It's just a pity I wussed out and didn't do it myself but not to worry, at least my insurance will pay out now if the house goes BOOM

Seeya.

[PKG]

Hi All
Just joined the Forum, so pretty new newbie!

Wonder if someone can advise on how to do the above conversion?

Thanks.

[SilentButDeadly]

In a cooktop............I EMPHASISE AGAIN........in a cooktop, all that is typically required is changing the little brass jets in the bootom of each burner. Usually cheap and simple.

In other gas appliances (especially those with thermostats such as HWS) you may also need new controller.....

[Abba]

Anyone get a plumber out to change the gas bottle on their BBQ? :eek:

Let's compare what happens if connection is leaking?

With the BBQ at your backyard you will run out of gas.
With the cooktor you may (God save us from such a fate) lose your house or even someone you love.

The choice is yours...

P.S. I am not a gas fitter.

[bricks]

Thanks again for all your input and if anyone else is thinking of doing a similar thing I'd highly recommend you go for it but at the same time I'd recommend you identify your limits and pull out if things just don't 'feel' right.

Nice work,