Running a full-size stove off of a 20-lb propane tank

[user.69169]

Might help a lot if you post the make & model of the stove. Most stove diagrams are on line.

YES, you need a regulator on the tank to bring tank pressure down to 11 inches.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

There is apparently a switch on the thermostat for some reason. All the conversions I have done required the oven burner to be re-jetted and the carburetion adjusted for a clean flame. Yes, you need a regulator on the tank. 20 lb. might freeze up on you with heavy use, but it should run the stovetop just fine.

 

[IXLR8]

I have been running my gas stove top, converted to propane, for the last 6 years. Wife and I go thru about one 20lb tank a year, I did not add a regulator at the tank. We are just using the regulator at the stove and we have had no issues.

 

[hslogger]

I have run propane for home stove for over thirty five years. You would be best served by going to a propane supply store and buying the high end standard rural tank type regulator. What ever you do, don't use some bottom of the pay scale set up from the local discounter on this project. SAFETY FIRST. There is a reason some regulators are fifteen dollars and others are fifty.

 

[joshuabardwell]

There is a reason some regulators are fifteen dollars and others are fifty.

I hear you there, but I do find myself thinking... this appliance is not going to be run in a home. It's going to be run outdoors, same as a propane grill. So if a given regulator is good enough for a grill, shouldn't it be good enough for this application? Or is there something fundamentally different about a stove, other than the fact that it's usually used indoors, where a propane leak would be much more dangerous?

 

[joshuabardwell]

All the conversions I have done required the oven burner to be re-jetted and the carburetion adjusted for a clean flame.

What was involved in re-jetting the oven/broiler? I have been reading these instructions (Converting Ranges from Natural to L.P. Propane Gas) which indicate that it's just a matter of turning some nuts to tighten down the "orifice hoods," but my stove isn't set up like the one at that page. It came with separate orifice nipples that had to be screwed into the top burners, but there wasn't anything like that for the oven/broiler.

I'll have to go out to the barn and get the model number of the stove. I'm sure that would be helpful.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a propane grill that has 5 grill burners, a side burner and rear burner that are catalytic type and they will all run on a 20# propane tank with the standard regulator that is provided on them. I would think you could do the same on a 4 burner home range with oven after you convert the tips to propane as the flow shouldn't be any more for a home range than on my big grill. I am at a loss to understand why you would need to change the thermostat, after all heat is heat regardless of the source whether wood, propane or natural gas. Perhaps it is the type of thermostat with the built in pilot light which also has a gas jet in it so it would need to be changed also if that it the case.
Regardless, once all the jets are switched out, a standard $20 propane regulator should be all you need. The main reason for the larger home regulators as used on 250 - 500 gallon and larger tanks is because they are not just for the oven. Most homes that use propane for cooking also use it for whole house heating, hot water and cooking so you need much more flow than just for the oven.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I am at a loss to understand why you would need to change the thermostat, after all heat is heat regardless of the source whether wood, propane or natural gas. Perhaps it is the type of thermostat with the built in pilot light which also has a gas jet in it so it would need to be changed also if that it the case.

That's my understanding, yes.

Regardless, once all the jets are switched out, a standard $20 propane regulator should be all you need. The main reason for the larger home regulators as used on 250 - 500 gallon and larger tanks is because they are not just for the oven. Most homes that use propane for cooking also use it for whole house heating, hot water and cooking so you need much more flow than just for the oven.

Also my conclusion.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

What was involved in re-jetting the oven/broiler? I have been reading these instructions (Converting Ranges from Natural to L.P. Propane Gas) which indicate that it's just a matter of turning some nuts to tighten down the "orifice hoods," but my stove isn't set up like the one at that page. It came with separate orifice nipples that had to be screwed into the top burners, but there wasn't anything like that for the oven/broiler.

I'll have to go out to the barn and get the model number of the stove. I'm sure that would be helpful.

I don't know. I used to do fair food, and set up several ovens for propane. They were all the old style that had a jet that fed into a cast iron oval flame ring, and used a pilot light. Just ahead of the jet there was a sheet metal sleeve with a set screw that could be rotated to adjust carburetion. I remember using a large diameter welding torch tip cleaner in the flame holes of the burner to get a clean, even burn.

 

[charlz]

The high output regulators are what you need for weed burning torches etc. your typical BBQ regulator does not put out enough flow to run these types of torches. I would think it probably puts out enough to run a 4-burner stove though. Possibly not the oven and all four burners at once though.

As for your question on the thermostat, that would have to be related to the oven and hence should be located somewhere around the oven burner.