Ranges with Electric Pilot Ignition

Friday afternoons can either be incredibly hectic or just the opposite.  Luckily, all the craziness today occurred prior to three o'clock so I was able to spend some time with Jerry Perkins, a manufacturer's representative for Garland, Intermetro, and Frymaster, amongst others.  I asked him to help me specify a range for a new project and we began discussing ranges with electric pilot ignition. Jerry also helped with some of the content in this post.  

Electric pilot ignition operates similar to the residential gas range.  The user simply pushes in the gas valve, which begins the flow of gas and then presses the electric ignition, which creates a spark that lights the pilot.  Once the pilot is on, the valve is used to increase or decrease the flame just like a standard restaurant range.  Gas will not flow until the user is ready to start cooking, which differs from a standard restaurant range. With a standard range, the pilots are open and gas flows at all times, whether you light them or not.  These open pilots typically operate constantly or if the gas supply is interrupted, someone on the kitchen staff has to manually light them.  Safety pilots supplied with electric ignition are closed and gas will not flow to a pilot or burner unless the operator required it.  

There is no question that a restaurant range with this feature is significantly more expensive than a standard but the benefits are significant.  First, you are not wasting gas that leaks out when the pilots are on as with a standard restaurant range. In today's commercial kitchen, the gas often turns on when the exhaust fans are turned on but users may not light the range for hours. Second, you only need to operate as many burners as required.  If you only need four burners on a six-burner range, simply turn those on and the other two will remain off and not leak any gas through the pilot.  Third, electric ignition ranges are safer to operate because only burners that are operating need gas.  Many school districts are now making this type of range mandatory for safety reasons.  

Boston Showcase Company works with several manufacturers who provide restaurant ranges with electric ignition including Garland, Blodgett, Southbend.