Adjusting the simmer flame on a gas stove
We recently installed a stove in our home. This stove required a conversion from natural gas to propane (LP). The installation instructions walked us through the process, which included changing the pressure of the regulator valve, installing smaller orifices in each of the burners, and adjusting the air flow for proper combustion.
When we were done, everything worked fine, except the range burners would not go lower than this:
This, the lowest flame, would still sustain a full boil in a large pot. That’s far too much heat for slow cooking for rice or stews.
I called Whirlpool to ask if there was any way to adjust the burners to give a lower flame. They asked a lot of questions about the conversion – had I changed the orifices, had I changed the regulator’s pressure, did I adjust the air flow – and suggested I call an appliance repair service to take a look at it.
While searching the web for answers, I came across this text on DavesRepair.com:
One detail that’s commonly overlooked on these is the simmer settings. Each top burner valve has a small screw inside its shaft that can be adjusted to provide a low simmer. This adjustment must be made on each burner once the range has been converted, or ‘simmer’ settings will be far too high to be useful.
A small-bladed screwdriver is needed for most of these. If you can’t find one small enough, it’s possible to grind one down to fit. I’ve noticed some of the most recent ranges are using a larger screw that’s a lot easier to access, and that’s a welcome change.
You’d think if this were true for our stove, this information would have been in the installation instructions, or at the very least, that someone at Whirlpool would have mentioned that when I called. I had to pull off a knob and see for myself.
What’s in the center of the shaft? It looks like a small, flat-head screw.
Sure enough, none of our screwdrivers were narrow enough to fit into the shaft. I took a bench grinder to one that I wasn’t particularly attached to, and ground down the flared sides to make it fit into the shaft.
I put the knob back on the oven, lit the burner, turned the knob to its lowest setting, then pulled the knob and adjusted the screw. It didn’t take very much movement to significantly change the flame – maybe 1/2 turn from smallest to largest.
After the adjustment, the high flame is the same as before, but the low (simmer) flame is much, much lower.
CAUTION: If you set the simmer flame to be too low, the flame may go out. If this happens, the stove will continue to send a steady trickle of gas to the burner, which will not be burned. This is VERY DANGEROUS and could even lead to an explosion if it is allowed to continue. Make absolutely sure that the simmer flame will not extinguish, and monitor it closely while you are using it. A rule of thumb is to set the simmer flame so that it stays burning even if you blow on the burner (from a safe distance, of course). If you are able to extinguish the flame by blowing on it, it is probably set too low. If you are unsure, get a professional to make this adjustment for you.
Posted: February 1st, 2007 under Home.
Comments: 50
Comments
Comment from Jenn
Time: April 2, 2007, 12:35 pm
You officially rock my socks for posting this. My husband and I just purchased a home and had the very same stove installed and converted from natural gas to propane.
After a week of burning everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to vegetables to bacon, sausage and pancakes (the last three were all done last night), and thus setting off my smoke alarm and deafening everyone in the house, I went to google to try and find an answer on how to adjust the simmer flame. Your site was the first result.
My husband is adjusting our stove right now. 
Thank you so much!
Pingback from kitty.nu » Blog Archive » Untitled
Time: April 2, 2007, 2:56 pm
[...] And found this. [...]
Comment from Joe
Time: March 9, 2008, 1:30 pm
thank you thank you thank you…. i too had the same experience as above… i put up with it for 4 years. I feel like I just got a brand new stove! AND the pictures are awesome!
thanks a million… cheers!
Comment from Anonymous
Time: April 14, 2009, 4:29 pm
thanks, huge help! not on whirlpool site!
Comment from ernie
Time: May 12, 2009, 6:06 pm
Thanks, we just had our new premiere gas range hooked up today and almost did backflips when we were cooking a pot of rice tonight … it was boiling instead of a low simmer like our old stove … we stacked the old stove top trivets on top of the new stove 3 high and it was still simmering too high to make a nice pot of rice … my wife said, well maybe we should sell it with a very sad look on her face … she’s been waiting months for this pro grade stove to arrive (on order) hahaha and really looking forward to it. A momentary massive disappointment … luckily I thought to google how to adjust the burners and found this!! Duh!! Thanks so much for posting this simple fix. (There was no information in the Premiere Range owners manual about it either, even in the trouble shooting section) I guess you’re supposed to call the dealer and have him come out and give him another hundred dollars to adjust the burners besides the $100 he charged to hook the hose on the back! Jeez! Anyway … thanks.
Comment from Barb
Time: July 30, 2009, 10:51 am
Oh so many thanks from me too! Also a Premier Pro owner and also stacking trivets to achieve “low” temps. Can’t wait to try this tonight. And thanks for saving me the $$ too!
PS the photos are perfect!
Comment from steve in VA
Time: August 2, 2009, 11:54 am
Your post was as marriage saver. Thanks!
I adjusted the burners on my Jenn Aire after changing from a gas grill insert to a double burner inset. I didn’t know to I could adjust the simmer until I found this site. I thought I had bought the wrong burner set!
I now have my gourmet chef wife happy because she can simmer our food properly, and now thinks perhaps I am a genius (well, not quite).
Comment from rhiamom
Time: September 13, 2009, 6:51 am
Woohoo! I just moved into an apartment with a Whirlpool gas stove, and have the same problem with all the burners being set way too high. I will be adjusting them later today!
Comment from GEstove
Time: November 3, 2009, 7:44 pm
THANK you!!! I’ve had my stove for about 6 years. I love it, but could never cook rice without it sticking to the bottom of the pot. Thanks to you, I’ll have fluffy rice forever now!
Comment from Anonymous
Time: November 27, 2009, 2:54 pm
The svc tech came out and said there’s no way to adjust for a lower simmer. The company said the same by phone. Thanks to your post, I will no longer risk serious injury. I’ve had a few near misses with large pots of stew slipping off my make-shift spacer to get the pot further from the flame.
My small screwdriver shaft was not long enough, so I fashioned my own tool from a bamboo skewer with a razor blade. Thanks ever so much.
Comment from Kellie
Time: December 26, 2009, 1:54 pm
YOU rock!! That is all I can say. We have been dealing with this for four years and then it just hit me…maybe we can adjust the flame. We would have had no idea where that adjustment needed to be made without your photos. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Comment from Carmen
Time: January 18, 2010, 1:49 pm
I can’t thank the person who posted this solution enough!!!! I moved into an apartment with a brand new Whirlpool gas range that has been giving me this problem all along, and driving me nuts since I couldn’t simmer anything. I made the adjustment and now the flame is low like it should’ve been to begin with. THANKS SO MUCH for the post!!
Comment from dave
Time: January 25, 2010, 10:43 am
thank u so much.we just got a new stove and found that not one thing was not getting burnt.after ur post all is well your a life saver.well done!!!
Comment from Luke W10196161C
Time: February 24, 2010, 8:12 pm
I just adjusted my whirlpool W10196161C range. Excellent. I can’t believe they don’t put this info in the conversion instructions. Thanks
Comment from Scott
Time: April 2, 2010, 8:43 am
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Enjoying toasted pine nuts now as opposed to pine nut cinders.
Comment from Dean
Time: May 2, 2010, 8:19 am
thank you so much now my wife can make her sause which needs to simmer for hours thanks again.
Comment from James
Time: May 18, 2010, 8:15 pm
Thank you! I thought it was the new reality with a propane gas stove. I am very relieved to know that it can be adjusted.
My wife will be very happy we can cook dinner without burning it!
Comment from s. willey
Time: May 23, 2010, 3:13 pm
Hi, your advice is right on…i already have done this effective procedure years ago to my Sears gas range top…Now, perhaps you can help me with my problem with the same range (Sears Kenmore model#75885…propane gas fueled): Is there any way to adjust the broiler flame? Since i’ve had this unit, there is no difference between the “Hi” and “Low” broiler settings. In addition, the broiler is very inadequate (i usually have to take food outside to my Weber grill if i want it broiled (not fun in the snow) …it takes forever for the food to cook, and it never gets that just right “sear,” I can’t even broil a grapefruit or caramelize brown sugar. The broiler flame is not a “drawer” style, but rather is mounted on the top or “roof” of the oven box. Any advice you may have would be most gratefully appreciated!!!
Thank you very much!
Comment from Joe
Time: May 24, 2010, 10:40 pm
OMFG! You’re a freek’in genius! Thank you so so much! Home made spaghetti sauce is now a possibility! Wooot!
Comment from agsserv
Time: June 8, 2010, 12:45 pm
Wonderful discovery and explanation. Nice photos that really help.
Thanks!
Comment from Esther C.
Time: June 26, 2010, 1:07 pm
Found your site by accident. But a divine one, indeed. I had the same problem with my gas range. Got my very slender screw driver and wouldn’t you know, IT WORKED. Thank you so very much.
Comment from Carol N
Time: August 8, 2010, 2:43 pm
Yay for your post here. I tried to find other posts that mentioned adjusting the air shutters or the orifice, neither of which I could never find on my Whirlpool. It’s a brand new stove but I’m a renter and they didn’t even leave the owner’s manual. Your info here did the trick! Thank you.
Comment from Karen
Time: August 20, 2010, 9:17 am
Any idea how to do this with a GE profile model JGSP44BEY2BB – there is no screw visible when I take off the knob. Nothing in the users manual either, and no instructions for how to lift/remove the range top either. Very frustrating.
Comment from Nick
Time: October 20, 2010, 4:46 pm
you just make our life so so so so so much better. Life saver. . . It’s unbelievable that whirlpool doesn’t manage to include this anywhere. . .
Comment from Chuck
Time: October 24, 2010, 10:39 am
Thanks much for the helpful hint. Worked like a charm for me, once I found my eyeglass repair kit and used the screwdriver to fit into the impossibly tiny hole.
Comment from Craig
Time: October 26, 2010, 8:40 pm
My problem was the opposite. We converted from LP to Natural Gas, and the guy who did the conversion was not detail oriented. I showed him that our simmer setting was so low, the the flame goes out on one burner, and on the others, it is so low that it wouldn’t take much to blow them out. He opened the panel behind the knobs and showed me that there was no adjustment for the lowest setting, as he had seen on other stoves. His conclusion was that the Kenmore (Whirlpool) gas stoves have no adjustment.
After reading your post and looking at our knob shafts, I got a small screwdriver and turned the screw in each one until it was perfect. It only took about an eighth of a turn counter-clockwise to increase the flame to a reasonable simmer height.
Thanks!
Comment from Lyne
Time: January 2, 2011, 2:52 pm
Thank you so much. The gas company didn’t know how to adjust the flame, so I’ve been using an electric skillet when I didn’t want to cook on high heat. I finally decided to research the issue and found your instructions. Although I couldn’t see a screw on my stove, under the knob, I decided to try anyway. I bought a precision screw driver set and put the 3/32 flathead on the base and it wouldn’t reach all the way to the screw. So – I took it off the base and inserted it into the burner knob stem and it reached with a little poking out. I took the base and (without the gold screw part), fit the notch on the base onto the notch of the tip; pushed and turned. Amazing – I can now simmer things on my gas range.
Comment from AJ
Time: April 5, 2011, 5:01 pm
I remember hearing of this adjustment, but couldn’t remember the details and didn’t see anything about it in the manual of our new gas stove. Sure enough, popped the knob off, and way in there were those screws! I can’t thank you enough.
Comment from Joe
Time: June 11, 2011, 11:34 am
To give Whirlpool credit, they now give instructions on adjusting the burner flame in the installation manual.
Comment from Makoto Cole
Time: June 26, 2011, 8:58 pm
Thank you so much for posting this article. It helped me out tremendously.
Comment from Jack Whitney
Time: July 7, 2011, 9:49 am
Thank You, just the info I needed. Well Done!
Comment from Feliz C.
Time: July 30, 2011, 7:58 am
Thank you so much for this info, now i can finally cook my rice without burning it or standing at the stove and watching it all day..
Comment from Ty W.
Time: August 8, 2011, 4:04 pm
THANK YOU! We just moved into a new home…apparently they converted from gas to propane in this neighborhood a few years ago. After basically making fried rice enough times, we called a recommended handyman who pretty much told me I needed to learn how to cook with gas. Just found your article, and after adjusting the simmer setting as you instructed, I now have a wonderful low flame and great low-to-high range on all four burners. THIS IS AWESOME!!!
Comment from JC
Time: August 22, 2011, 12:16 pm
Thank you! My wife has been on me to fix this issue on our LP-converted stove for over a year, and your site told me exactly how to fix it. Not a word about it in the user’s manual for the thing. Thanks much!
Comment from Dale
Time: September 6, 2011, 9:42 am
THANKS!!!! My wife was not happy with the new stove and if Mamma ain’t happy nobody’s gonna be happy. And if Mamma don’t cook there’s gonna be a hungry Hubby. Finally she said didn’t we have this on a stove when we were first married? I thought and then remembered I adjusted the flame and my new bride thought I was as great(almost) as her Dad. So now that I’ve fixed this (with your advice) I’ll be a hero all over again. Oh wow maybe there’s something I can fix in the bedroom too!! Wahoo!! Thanks again.
Comment from heidi siebels
Time: November 5, 2011, 2:12 pm
I finally googled this topic and found your answer. I am so excited about having this information. Thank you.
Comment from Lisa
Time: November 10, 2011, 7:11 pm
Awesome, Thank You soooo much. It was so simple but we wouldn’t have figured it out on our own.
Comment from Eric
Time: November 13, 2011, 11:00 am
Thank You very much. I have been burning food for awhile and now will be able to actually simmer instead of boiling everything to death………
Comment from Gail
Time: November 13, 2011, 2:38 pm
Thanks so much!!! I finally googled to find a solution and found you answer. It worked!!!!
Comment from jEFF
Time: November 13, 2011, 7:02 pm
you are a ROCK STAR – THANKS!!!
Comment from Craig
Time: November 27, 2011, 8:16 pm
I seem to have the opposite problem on my Kenmore 665 502210 model, using natural gas. The burners do not go high enough to boil in a reasonable amount of time AND the broil function does not work. I see the spark ignite the broil when first lit, but it then goes out. Bake function seems to work OK.
Using a Whirlpool troubleshooting guide, I checked the Gas Distribution Valve. Resistance readings for the Broil and Cooktop solenoids were good.
What’s the most likely problem–bad Distribution Valve or low gas pressure to the stove?
Thanks,
Craig
Comment from kevin
Time: November 27, 2011, 9:43 pm
Hi Craig, I would first check the gas pressure to the stove, then the regulator. Once the proper pressures have been confirmed, I’d troubleshoot the top burners first — they’re the simplest — by confirming that the correct top burner orifice “spuds” are installed and then by adjusting the venturi airflow. Your broiler problem could certainly be a bad distribution valve, but low gas pressure could be the root cause of both problems, so I wouldn’t spend time or $ on troubleshooting the broiler problem until you’re sure you have the right pressure. Hope this helps, Kevin
Comment from david hamilton
Time: January 1, 2012, 10:09 am
this helped me too. i have been using my whirlpool for a year now at full flame.one does adjust a little .but now after i saw this .its great .seems though they would put this in owners manual.they just want you to spend money for a service man.
thanks
dave hamilton
Comment from Steve
Time: January 2, 2012, 8:06 pm
The most frustrating problem in the history of mankind, solved.
I love you. <3
Comment from Rollin’
Time: January 4, 2012, 1:25 pm
THANKS!!! This was very helpful. I was about to have a tech come in to adjust it. It was costing me $45 just to do this. Hey by the way do u have any idea how i can adjust the oven? I have a electric oven with a gas stove top.
Comment from kevin
Time: January 4, 2012, 5:26 pm
Sorry- it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve had an electric oven, and I’ve never had to adjust one. Best regards, Kevin
Comment from niksi
Time: January 9, 2012, 2:30 pm
Thankyou so much.!!! I have been tearing my hair out for months trying to simmer on my new LPG converted Flavel Aspen 100 range. The guy who converted it, couldn’t find anyway of adjusting it. After reading through the comments on this site, we removed the knobs on the range and there was no sign of a screw to adjust, but with a torch and a small screwdriver, we moved the rubber round the knob fixing to one side, and located a screw. Hey presto after a bit of hit and miss getting the screwdriver in the right position, we moved the screw and adjusted the flame down to a simmer.!! Thankyou you are a star.!!!
Comment from Anonymous
Time: January 15, 2012, 9:22 pm
AWESOME!! We have been struggling with this problem for some time now and we just want to say THANK YOU and God bless you for taking the time to share vaulable “free” information with the public. You have obviously made alot of people very grateful. My husband said that the information shared along with photos worked like a charm and was easy to follow instructions!! KUDOS!!
Comment from ajk
Time: January 18, 2012, 1:22 am
This is what makes the internet great. I was trying to figure out how to lower the simmer for weeks and on a whim just googled it. Next thing my stove is set perfectly, and all this in less than 60 seconds at 11pm at night. My inner-chef thanks you for this true pearl of wisdom!
Comment from Penny Benson
Time: January 19, 2012, 12:29 pm
I can’t believe how easy this was to do after I read you instructions. I have been dealing with this issue for 8 months now in the home that I recently purchased. I asked several different people who are well educated (plumbers, electricians, etc.) and everyone said that this problem can’t be fixed, telling me I would have to buy and new range. Couldn’t cook stew, spagetti sauce, etc. without burning it or standing at the stove all day and stirring it. Took me about 2 minutes to adjust all of flames. I am amazed!! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this information. I can finally cook again without burning it.
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