Frozen Oven Control Knob on Atwood Wedgewood Oven

Question

We went to light the pilot light today on a standard Atwood Wedgewood RV oven and had a strange thing happen. As you may know, you turn the oven knob to "light pilot light" and depress it while you light the pilot, then after holding it for a short period, turn counterclockwise to the temperature and the oven lights. This time, the pilot light lit, and the knob was frozen. We couldn't turn the oven on, we couldn't turn it off, the pilot light was burning and we couldn't get it off. We finally shut off all propane at the tank and it went out. Its still frozen in the "light pilot light" position. I sprayed a little silicon on the knob when it had cooled (don't know whether I should have done that, but it made no difference)
One thing that could be a factor. My wife was baking something and the oven was very hot. She turned the oven off, and then decided to relight the oven to further cook the item. That's when we attempted to light the pilot light again and the switch jammed. We think that may have had something to do with the malfunction. All the burners on top work and the pilot lit normally so I think the thermostat and regulators are ok. Seems the switch is shot now. Any thoughts? (other than use the microwave?) I remember years ago, our door lock on an RV wouldn't work when it got hot as the tumblers expanded, and later it the day, the key would work.

drewe · Answer

Have you tried pulling the knob outwards? Maybe it's sticking in the "push on to light the pilot" position because of a bit of crud on the shaft or something.

That control knob is the thermostatic valve for the oven, by the way. If you can't get it to work it should be fairly straightforward and not overly expensive to replace it (or have it replaced), assuming parts are available. Some older thermostatic oven controls do not have replacements available anymore because they used mercury in the thermostat sensor.

dougrainer · Answer

Regardless of what you do on the existing tstat---REPLACE IT!  It is a safety hazard now. There are no legal serviceable parts on this type LP system control. When it malfunctions, you replace it. Doug

dutch_12078 · Answer

When the oven control on our Wedgewood stove failed (erratic temperatures) and there was no direct replacement available, I found a complete manifold and control set on eBay that had been removed from a newer model damaged new stove by an RV dealer. It also included the complete oven burner/pilot assembly. Installation was mostly a direct bolt in with the only mods required a small notch in the control panel and an added support screw. I also had to replace the oven control knob, also found on eBay, to get the correct temperature scale. The total cost including the knob came to about $60. A major benefit of the swap, beside having reliable temperatures, was that the new oven assembly doesn't turn the main burner completely off between heating cycles, but instead modulates it down to a low flame. We've found that keeps the temperature much more uniform throughout the oven.

ksg5000 · Answer

In the old days we just turned the knob and used an extended lighter to light up pilot/flame.  Not familiar with your rig but that's what I would do/try unless the fix was cheap.

wallynm · Answer

Read this thread to understand correct description to use. it ain't frozen as it is not below 32

mexicanpiloto13 wrote:
We went to light the pilot light today on a standard Atwood Wedgewood RV oven and had a strange thing happen. As you may know, you turn the oven knob to "light pilot light" and depress it while you light the pilot, then after holding it for a short period, turn counterclockwise to the temperature and the oven lights. This time, the pilot light lit, and the knob was frozen. We couldn't turn the oven on, we couldn't turn it off, the pilot light was burning and we couldn't get it off. We finally shut off all propane at the tank and it went out. Its still frozen in the "light pilot light" position. I sprayed a little silicon on the knob when it had cooled (don't know whether I should have done that, but it made no difference)
One thing that could be a factor. My wife was baking something and the oven was very hot. She turned the oven off, and then decided to relight the oven to further cook the item. That's when we attempted to light the pilot light again and the switch jammed. We think that may have had something to do with the malfunction. All the burners on top work and the pilot lit normally so I think the thermostat and regulators are ok. Seems the switch is shot now. Any thoughts? (other than use the microwave?) I remember years ago, our door lock on an RV wouldn't work when it got hot as the tumblers expanded, and later it the day, the key would work.

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Frozen Oven Control Knob on Atwood Wedgewood Oven

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