Gas range emissions
 

Coming to the TOTV brain trust once again. Bought a new range. Wanted a double oven and had a Samsung electric range w/ double oven in 2 prior residences. Here in TV, we don't have electric hook up for our range, and the cost of installing electric is pretty high these days. So we bought the Samsung gas equivalent.

When using the range on convection setting (which is the only option for one of the double ovens), whatever is being emitted in the way of fumes or smell or whatever you want to call it makes is difficult for me to breath. Obviously making the oven unusable. When using the other oven in normal mode, we run all the fans in the house and open the front and back door to create a cross breeze. Even this procedure doesn't resolve the issue with using the convection setting.

We started trying to return the oven inside of 30 days of purchase, when we realized this wasn't just initial use burn-off. Home Depot wouldn't authorize the return. Samsung won't either.

At this point, we know it's going to be junked and replaced.

What I am looking for is any experience you have with reporting a product safety issue. I have a case open with U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission; they don't seem to be interested, but I am staying focused with them.

Any other ideas?

Gas appliance exhaust should be vented to the outside just like a gas water heater or furnace and gas dryer.

Wouldn’t the installer of the stove know that?

If the house was made for use with a gas range, it will have a vent to the outside, normally the roof.
If the installer didn't install it correctly, this could be an issue.

Also: Often new gas appliances have an oily smell for some time due to the factory (manufacturing processes). The oil should disappear after a period of annoyance.

If you smell rotten eggs (a warning gas added to natural gas so you'll know you have a leak), you should stop using immediately, and call the appliance company or an appliance repairman. Make sure they tell you they can do warranty work (no charge to you) or hunt for someone else.
Don't agree to pay $39 to have someone come to your house and tell you they do warranty repairs but this will cost $3000 to fix it, and then you can bill the appliance manufacturer (modus operandi for Frank Gay). I fell for this exactly once.

Do other members of your household have trouble breathing when using the oven or is it just you? If so, it may be an allergic reaction to what may be harmless odors. Just one possible explanation.

IMO If new the new stove will emit new burn off smell. That smell should burn off and go away? I guess SHOULD being optional word? I have Samsung gas stove. Sometimes I smell perfume in gas. I took my lighter and ran it around burners and found couple shutoff valves leaking enough to flash flame. Don’t do it every time and seep small enough it won’t stay lite. I know that’s also been problem with Samsungs? If I replace it I’ll get electric, luckily my house has 220v plug for electric stove. I wish my water heater had 220v plug. I prefer electric water heaters cause they are simple to replace.

From Google

it legal to have a gas stove without a vent?
There's no national code for gas venting in the United States. Generally, in the U.S., you don't have to vent a residential gas range to the outside. But, we recommend that you buy a range hood to vent contaminants from your gas range to outside your home.

Have you done any painting lately?

I've noticed something like that after refinishing wood floors or staining furniture.

Gas stoves are not like water heaters and furnaces, they are not required to be vented to the outside. In fact they do not have their own vents at all.

If you are referring to the exhaust vent in the range hood or microwave then of course it's best if they are vented to the outside but that will not fix the OP's problem because the stove still vents into the kitchen before it can be vented too the exterior.

My first though is that when the unit is first used it is burning off oils or other item left over from the manufacturing process. Of course to be safe the OP should consult with an appliance repair person to make sure the unit is installed and working properly.

My gas oven that came new with my spec home emits gas fumes every time I turn it on. I called TECO several times. The first time they wanted me to vacate the home and send a person over immediately. I wasn't in any danger that I knew of, and I wanted to get on with my dinner preparations. By the time the person with his gauge showed up, the fumes were gone. The second time I called TECO, a rep came out to my home and said it was normal and not to worry about it. But I do worry about it. I don't know what to do at this point.

When turn gas on the igniter may not lite gas immediately. Any delay you will smell stink the put in gas so you can smell gas leak. My Samsung nearly every time don’t immediately lite gas and get faint smell of gas. Now if smell gas with stove off and you haven’t used it for awhile then I would be concerned providing all th e burner knobs are completely off.

Instead of junking your nearly new gas stove, why not donate it to a charity. Habitat for Humanity comes to mind. And I'm sure there are others that would put it to good use.

Do homes in the villages have hoods?
 

When we stayed in Newell on our Lifestyle Visit, as I recall, it seemed as if the microwave above the range had a vent. I did not study it, but I assumed it was only a filter device that did not vent to the outside.

Often a new appliance will have a plastic film over the touch panel and on the oven window. These are meant to protect the appliance during shipping.

Did you remove the plastic films?

You can purchase a gas detector for under $40. Better to do this then just assume.

Right ! Can't imagine why this would not have happened here ? Lived in several states, have always used gas stoves, including convection ovens, and have never seen one NOT vented ? ? Something seems wrong here. Are you the original owner of the home ? If not, do you have the history of who the builder was, for instance West was one of the major contractors 16-20 years ago, you should be able to get this fixed without a law suit to Samsung, I suspect someone slipped up on the construction inspections for the occupancy certification. I'd contact TECO, they did our inspection, and also did the inspection after the recent installation of our new gas furnace.

If you care for a genuine report, rather than all of our speculation (much of it wise, but maybe not as exact as you need), contact Frank D'Angelo. His business is home warranty inspections and he certainly knows what to expect, and the construction practices of the various builders. I'm sure he will be able to diagnose the problem.

As an aside... my quandary is the opposite of yours. We've always had gas ranges, but our village, Chitty Chatty has no gas service for any of the homes. So, we have electric and I'm still getting used to scorching things. Our frequent "emissions" are from burnt offerings. Best luck with finding your answer.

I replaced our piece of junk new gas range with the top of the line Samsung gas range. You are supposed to cook a sheet of rolls the 1st time you use it so the rolls will suck up the fumes. After this, stove doesn’t smell. You know it’s under warranty for a year or 2. Call them as many times as it takes to fix it

Article on venting,

Why Does A Home Gas Range Not Have To Be Vented? -

Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? If you don’t you should.

Who installs range hoods in TV ?

You guys rock ...
 

As I suspected, I am getting a lot of great perspective and advice.

To answer some of the questions:
. We have a vent in our microwave above the range and it vents outside - I use it, and create a cross breeze in the house whenever the range is on; when in convection mode, even that isn't enough and the fumes are still strong and effect me
. We've had 2 Samsung tech visit the house and assess the situation. Both agreed they smell the fumes and it's well past the burn-off stage. They said there is no fix nor adjustment they can make. It's working ... wait for it ... you've heard this before ... "as designed". They are walking a line here, and implied the design is poor but of course could not say it directly.
. This disaster of a range replaced a single oven gas range that didn't have this problem so I know there are gas ranges that work properly out there. Samsung just didn't make one.
. We are junking it (instead of donating it) because I wouldn't wish the range on my worst enemy.

Thanks Bob for the recommendation and name of the home warranty professional. That's exactly what I was hoping to get as a result of this post. And I wish we could switch ranges with you, but I like you and never would do that to you.

And thanks to everyone for your perspectives. TOTV comes through again. Good questions and sound advice.

I've had my new gas range going on 2 years. When the news came out last year about these possibly stirring up asthma I was a little concerned since I have very mild asthma that rarely comes around and it never made it worse. I've done the overhead fan thing at times but recently don't even use that. I'm used to the light smell when standing near it. I don't smell it when I'm over 5 feet away. The stinkier gas smell when I turn the knob and it clicks, misses, then lights after a few tries eventually goes away. I have a gas detector in the house that never went off yet. I've been comfortable cooking with gas for a while now so not particularly worried. Gas bill is around $20 a month.

Could it be because it's a convection oven? A convection oven uses fans to blow the heat around which would also blow the gas smell around. We've had gas ovens before and never had this problem.

The microwave vent vented outside, just like a regular vent above a stove should. It wasn't to vent the actual microwave, it's had a built in vent because when it;s above the stove it's replacing the stove vent.

I've always had gas ranges and the only one that is vented is the one in my Airstream trailer. Never had a vented one in my houses.

It's probably just the burn off smell.

If you put the purchase on a credit card, contact them. Most of the time you have product protection through the credit card company. I ran into the same problem with a GE refrigerator that didn't work properly. When I contacted Lowe's about it is when I found out they (and Home Depot and Best Buy) have a 48 hour return policy. I contacted my credit card company who reimbursed me fully.

You should have an exhaust fan over your stove, gas or electric! If not it's a problem with the house not your stove!!

Exhaust fan!!

In Missouri our gas range has no vent (we replaced an electric with Gas last year). You might check state law. More importantly is to have your house checked for leaks by the gas company. Should be free.

If a person is having an allergic reaction, it is by DEFINITION harmful (to them).

A lot of older houses are so leaky that fumes from a stove will dissipate. However, for several decades, homes have been made much tighter, what with better weatherstripping. While the national building code does NOT require ventilation for a gas range (California does), it’s an excellent idea. The chemicals released by burning gas and cooking food leave smells that can linger for hours, and some of them are not good for your lungs.

The ventilation above stoves most often found in The Villages is combined with a microwave oven, and that just filters out grease and blows the rest into the room. That’s not good enough for gas, and I don’t think it’s even good enough for electric. I like foods like broccoli, but I hate the smell. The ventilation for a gas stove should go outside, either through the attic or out the side. It should be 600 cubic feet per minute or more for gas. If you have a vent that sucks out 300 cubic feet a minute or more, then you also need a vent with a damper that will let fresh replacement air be sucked into the house from outside. Without that, the fan won’t work properly.

These fans aren’t cheap, and installing them isn’t cheap. Get Pike Electric to do it. They do great work. You can also get them to rewire for an electric stove. They are very reasonable.

I don’t have a range hood, as I don’t do much cooking except with the microwave oven, so I had a very quiet 190 cubic foot exhaust fan (Panasonic) installed near the stove in the ceiling, and that vents through a 4” hole in the eaves, like the bathroom exhaust fans. It’s on a timer. I also have a 4” vent for make-up air. When I cook something that will smell up the house all day, I turn on that exhaust fan for an hour, and it sucks out the smells.

Do gas ranges require venting? (And Our Recommendation).

Do gas ranges require venting? (And Our Recommendation).

Stove needs to be vented to the outside!!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is considering a nationwide ban on NEW gas stoves, which are a source of childhood asthma. 13% is caused by gas stoves. If you switch from gas to electric, you are eligible for up to $840 through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Don’t buy any Samsung kitchen appliances! My daughter found out the hard way when she bought a fridge with bottom freezer and ice maker in the door. It was a disaster and Lowes wouldn’t stand behind the product and they had to deal with Samsung which offered no help for their faulty fridge not even some kind of compensation or credit towards another purchase. Samsung should stick to making TVs.

I wouldn’t buy Samsung TV either. :highfive:

Gas first responder for 36 years. The normal products of combustion if a gas range is properly installed and clean are carbon dioxide and water vapor both of which are harmless. There are oils installed to protect oven flame pans and spreaders during shipping, usually vegetable based oil which will smoke in the first hour or so of operation then it will burn off. There are odors which are also harmless that can be caused from contaminated primary combustion air on which oil-based products can be processed through the flame and it creates an odor that smells like kerosene. Once the oil-based contamination is removed this odor will go away a common source can be plug in air fresheners, paints, solvents, stains, varnishes and water proofing materials but there are endless others. I would imagine TECO checked for gas leaks and carbon monoxide which can only be created by a lack of primary air or impingement of the flame. Finally, and probably most likely are that you either have a sensitivity to the sulfur content in the water vapor or there are some who have an ability to smell normal biproducts of combustion if they have never been exposed to it and have lived in all electric or alternative energy source homes. Couple side opinions Samsung appliances ugh...This country has enough natural gas to fuel the world for hundreds of years and was the clean burning alternative to coal and oil that has made our air some of the cleanest in the world don't fall for agenda-based propaganda from those who have agendas that weaken our leadership in the world. Many Blessings and sorry for your difficulties.

Great info!

I hope replacement solves the OP's problem.

It's interesting the odor was only noticed in convection mode. Maybe related to the confection fan motor insulation outgassing?.