Go Back   Cruiser Log World Cruising & Sailing Forums > Cruising Forums > Living Aboard > The Galley
Cruiser Wiki Click Here to Login

Join Cruiser Log Today

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-16-2009, 01:05 AM   #1
Ensign
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 21
Default

Ahoy , Has anyone had problems with a Force 10 stove, thermocouple not functioning ?

There seems to be more than one type of thermocouple. There is the mili volt kind, described in Nigel Calder's book, and this other, non-electric, kind.

I can't figure out how this non-electric thermocouple works . Yes , I understand that when the flame upon start-up, heats the thermocouple head and that transmits a signal to the stove valve, to remain on, feeding propane to the burner.

When the burner won't stay on , after the thermocouple head has been heated , I expect a problem with the thermocouple.

This thermocouple only has a small copper tube attaching to the head, then the tube goes to the valve .

Looking at the valve, I can't see how it receives or reacts to the signal from the thermocouple head, can anyone explain this to me ?

I suspect that the small copper tube is filled with a liquid or a gas ,,,, can this be recharged in the field ?

This malfunctioning thermocouple hasn't just started this problem , instead that burner has never stayed on, since the unit was new.

We have had very slow email replies from Force 10 in Canada .

What to do ?

Douglas , S/V Calliste , Singapore
__________________

__________________
Calliste is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2009, 01:48 AM   #2
Admiral
 
MMNETSEA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,067
Default

Is the copper tube an integral part of the Valve? - resulting :- heat the tube = gas expands = valve opens = sends gas to burners?

Here's a pdf note from Force 10:-

Thermocouple_Ground_Tech_Note.pdf
__________________

__________________
MMNETSEA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2009, 03:17 PM   #3
Ensign
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 21
Default

[QUOTE=MMNETSEA;34564]Is the copper tube an integral part of the Valve? - resulting :- heat the tube = gas expands = valve opens = sends gas to burners?

Here's a pdf note from Force 10:-

Attachment 1001

Ahoy MMNETSEA ,,,,, T Y , for your reply and the PDF file .

Is the copper tube an integral part of the Valve? Answer : NO , the end of the copper tube has a brass acorn soldered on to it, and a brass gland nut compresses that acorn into the aluminum valve housing .

For clarification,,,, the thermocouple head at the burner looks like the illustration in the PDF file, that you listed and also, saw, too .

The other end of the small copper tube , has a brass acorn , soldered on to it , a nut screws into the aluminum valve body , and compresses the acorn , to make a positive contact between the end of the copper tube, and a spot inside the aluminum valve body .

There is no observable green corrosion in either end of the connection,,, all connections are bright brass .

Just why it never worked from the initial installation, is still a mystery ,,,,,, as the right side burner works just fine .

My next step, is to remove the thermocouple from the working, right burner, then replace it with the left burner thermocouple, to see what happens ?????

I think that if the good right burner fails to stay lit, with the left burner thermocouple installed,,,, I would suspect a faulty thermocouple .

Do you know if all thermocouples use electricity (mili volts) or could thermal pressure activate the valve in some way ,,, to stay on ?

Do you know what the small copper tube contains ? Is it a liquid or a gas ? How can that tube be recharged, if needed ?

There is no electrical wire conductor , to either burner, thermocouple or aluminum valve , only the small copper tube .

Have I missed something, in my observations ? Remembering the right burner works just fine, with only that small copper tube , no wires .

Douglas
__________________
Calliste is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2009, 02:35 PM   #4
Commander
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 129
Default

Just looked it up and - - -"What appears to be a capillary tube which goes from the thermocouple end (which is immersed in the pilot flame) to the gas valve is actually a coaxial wire with the copper exterior being one conductor and the inner insulated wire being the other. Most Thermocouples connect to the gas valve with a hex nut and if you look closely you will see that the "button" type end has a piece of insulator disk to separate it from the flared copper exterior. When the nut is tightened the electrical connection is made firm to the internal circuitry of the gas valve. "

So the copper tubing is actually "two wires" made to resist heat and breaking. As mentioned it is important that the metal to metal connections at the business end of the sensor at the burner be clean and good. Maybe some debris, grease, etc. is not allowing a good connection. Also the burner to stove chassis must be electrically good. Then the Control valve to stove frame needs to be electrically good and finally the little "acorn" on the end that inserts into the control valve must be good. Probably like the end of a small light bulb there is a section of the acorn for each of the two conductors. So there are multiple places for error/problems.

Switching the thermocouples to another burner/control valve should allow you to see if the thermocouple is bad or the control valve is the problem. then clean and repair or just buy a new control valve or another thermocouple. Sounds like it might not be a bad idea to have a spare of each anyway. Having a spare magically seems guarantee that the original will always work and you will be carrying those spares around forever unused.

One related subject on "spares" I purchased one of those kitchen vacuum packer units and several rolls of the different sized bags. I put my spare in the bag and "vacuum pack" it which preserves the spare part from water, salt air and corrosion, rust, whatever. When I do need the spare part it is fresh and ready to use.
__________________
osirissailing is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-10-2009, 03:59 AM   #5
Ensign
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 21
Default

Problem Found, but was not the thermocouple or the valve.

When turning on a burner you have to depress the knob turn on, then depress the piezo ignition button and the burner lights,,,, then still holding the knob down, wait a bit until the thermocouple heats up and keeps the gas flowing thru the valve.

Our problem turned out to be, that the knob skirt was bottoming out on the stove top dial, and not allowing the knob stem-shaft to plunge to full depth.

We found an adjustment for valve stem height, and adjusted that so the knob skirt didn't bottom out on the stove top dial anymore ,,, that solved the problem.

Don't understand why this check and valve adjustment proceedure wasn't mentioned in the trouble shooting guide.

We needed all 3 sources of information to sus out this problem ,,,, TY to Nigel Calder's book, the Force 10 owner's manual, and of course the replies above on this forum.

Thank You , everyone ,,,,, Douglas S/V Calliste, Singapore
__________________
Calliste is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2018, 09:33 PM   #6
Ensign
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Home Port: Sydney
Posts: 1
Default

Hello all,

I have only just joined Cruiser Log as I was looking for information on exactly the same problem and here you have given me what I needed.

Thank you all again.
__________________
Ebtide1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2019, 11:14 AM   #7
Ensign
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Home Port: La Garenne-Colombes
Posts: 2
Default

Hello All,
I've also issues with my oven on Force 10 3 burners Modele #61350.
Does anybody have a spare parts breakdown for the over/broiler valva?
Thanks if you can help.
__________________
Sirius78990 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2019, 12:54 PM   #8
Admiral
 
Auzzee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Home Port: Darwin
Vessel Name: Sandettie
Posts: 1,917
Default

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I ran into the boss of Force 10 at a boat show and he was exceptionally helpful. I explained the problem, contacted Force 10 following the boat show and he sent me the part within days.
Here's a link to their contacts: FORCE 10 - Cooking Without Compromise - Contact Us
There is no doubt these are a very good product, occasionally let down by the failure of a small part.
I hope this helps...Please let us know the outcome.
__________________
"if at first you don't succeed....Redefine success"!


Auzzee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2019, 01:35 PM   #9
Ensign
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Home Port: La Garenne-Colombes
Posts: 2
Default

Thanks for help.
I'm currently in touch with ENO. This is the french company which bought up Force 10 some years ago.
They have a very poor experience with the product.
If all the technical documentation was online it would be easier for both the clients and the service department to identify the problem and find the solution.
Good product indeed but poor service.
__________________
Sirius78990 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2021, 11:26 AM   #10
Ensign
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Home Port: Kiel
Vessel Name: Rafale
Posts: 1
Default

Hi all,
I had a similar problem: one burner did shut off all the time once knob was released.

Digging into it: Attach a multimeter to the acron at the valve (at the very tip) and the outside of the nut or copper tubing (past the isolating washer. It will read 0mV but should climb to 25mV (yes just a couple of millivolts) once you heat up the sensor tip with a lighter. If it does so, the Thermosensor is intact. I cleaned the acron well and also the receiving seat in the valve -with a 6mm drill just carefully by hand. So that the electical connection is ok. Then connected it and tested and everything was back to normal.
__________________

__________________
SY Rafale is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

« Egggs | - »

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Force 10 Oven Not Getting Hot Enough To Bake Trim50 The Galley 20 06-08-2016 04:57 PM
Force 10 Propane Oven Problem Sea Note The Galley 0 04-14-2011 11:24 PM
Type K Thermocouple Egt To Display redbopeep Power & Electronics 2 11-04-2009 03:24 PM
Rust Problems... Kuapaa General Cruising Forum 17 07-27-2007 01:24 AM

Our Communities

Our communities encompass many different hobbies and interests, but each one is built on friendly, intelligent membership.

» More about our Communities

Automotive Communities

Our Automotive communities encompass many different makes and models. From U.S. domestics to European Saloons.

» More about our Automotive Communities

RV & Travel Trailer Communities

Our RV & Travel Trailer sites encompasses virtually all types of Recreational Vehicles, from brand-specific to general RV communities.

» More about our RV Communities

Marine Communities

Our Marine websites focus on Cruising and Sailing Vessels, including forums and the largest cruising Wiki project on the web today.

» More about our Marine Communities


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0
×