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Brand:Kenmore
Model Number:79072803012
Main Symptom:oven smells when using
What happens & when:smells like gas components, I suspect the use for LP was not done correctly
Error Code (if any)NA
Parts or tests already tried: tried to bu new orfices for LP but they do not exist
Photos / video link:
Yes — on Kenmore 790.72803012, a gas smell during oven operation can absolutely point to an incorrect or incomplete Natural Gas-to-LP conversion. And you generally do not need a separate LP oven orifice for this style of range. The existing oven burner spud/orifice is typically adjustable for LP.
If the cooktop burners operate normally on LP but the oven smells strongly of raw gas, concentrate on the bake and broil burner conversions and air adjustment.
1. Check the oven burner flame
Run Bake and watch the burner after ignition. You want mostly blue flames with well-defined inner cones.
A little orange occasionally from dust or contaminants isn’t unusual. What isn’t normal is:
If you get a strong raw-gas smell, shut the oven off and don’t continue operating it until the problem is corrected.
Unplug the range and shut off the gas before accessing it.
Remove the oven bottom and flame spreader/baffle to expose the bake burner. Follow the burner back to where it fits over the gas valve/orifice.
On these Frigidaire-built Kenmore ranges, LP conversion commonly involves tightening the adjustable oven orifice hood down for LP, rather than replacing it with a different numbered LP orifice.
If that hood was left in the Natural Gas position, the burner can receive far too much gas when supplied with LP, resulting in yellow flames, poor combustion and odor.
Don’t just tighten random fittings—the adjustment is specifically the orifice hood/spud at the burner valve.
Also inspect the adjustable air shutter where the burner fits over the orifice.
LP requires considerably more primary air than natural gas. If the shutter wasn’t opened sufficiently during conversion, you’ll get a yellow, lazy flame and combustion odor.
With the burner operating correctly, the flame should be predominantly blue and shouldn’t continuously produce yellow tips or soot.
If this model has a gas broiler, its burner also needs to be converted/adjusted for LP. It’s possible for somebody to convert the surface burners and bake burner but miss the broil burner.
Try Bake and Broil separately. If the odor only occurs during one mode, you’ve narrowed the problem considerably.
This is another commonly missed step.
The appliance pressure regulator must be changed from NAT to LP according to the conversion instructions. Depending on the regulator design, this normally involves reversing/repositioning the regulator cap/plunger.
So the complete conversion isn’t simply changing the cooktop jets. It normally involves:
Surface burner LP orifices → pressure regulator LP setting → bake orifice adjustment → broil orifice adjustment → oven burner air shutters.
That actually makes sense. I wouldn’t assume they’re discontinued or missing.
On ranges using an adjustable oven orifice hood, there isn’t a separate LP bake orifice to purchase. The same valve/orifice assembly is mechanically adjusted during conversion. The surface burners, on the other hand, generally use specific LP orifices.
One other distinction is important: a slight combustion/exhaust odor from an LP oven can be normal, particularly during preheat. A strong raw-propane smell is not. If you can smell raw LP before the burner lights, after ignition, or elsewhere around the range, shut off the gas and have the installation/leak-tested before using it again.
If you have a multimeter, it can also be useful to check the oven igniter amperage. A weak igniter can cause delayed ignition and excess gas odor even when the LP conversion itself is correct.