Why Does A Gas Hob Need Electricity? (Explained)

Today, I will be walking you through to help you better understand why does a gas hob need electricity.

It may be odd to some, but modern gas cookers do need electricity for them to function.

Gas hobs or gas cookers have many different designs.

Nowadays, the latest gas hobs have an ignition device… almost all of them.

Either designed powered by an AC power source or just by a battery.

Which means…

It will need electricity to power the ignition system.

So, join me once again as we learn why electricity is needed for the gas hob to work.

Why Does a Gas Hob need Electricity

Gas hobs need electricity to power the IGNITION DEVICE. The ignition device will then produce HIGH-VOLTAGE electricity that will be supplied to the spark pin to create a SPARK after the GAS VALVE switch is turned ON- it will ignite the gas burners then FLAME is formed. In addition, HYBRID types such as Range Cookers and or Gas Cookers with an electric cooking zone will also need electricity for them to function.

1. Electricity is needed to power the Ignition Device

This is the first main reason why gas hob needs electricity- it’s to power the Ignition system or the Ignition device.

Commonly referred to as Igniter in the appliance industry, see below sample image;

This piece of component material is responsible for producing High-Voltage electricity that will be dispersed to the spark pin and or spark plug that is necessary to produce sparks to ignite the gas burner.

This part is solidly encapsulated to ensure that there will be no current leakage.

In the above sample image, the ignition device is installed with the metal bracket holder.

And as you can see, the terminals are deep and covered, while the wire terminals come with heavy-duty insulation to ensure safety.

The flow of current is mainly concentrated on the ignition device’s terminals (any leakage on any part is not allowed).

Then it transfers and passes through the high voltage wires of the spark pins (there should be also no leakage here).

Next, it will then go through the ceramic body of the spark pin (likewise, leakage is not allowed in any part of the spark pin body) and then to the tip of the spark pin where the arcing will be diffused to ignite the gas burners.

Remark: Different types of ignition devices vary accordingly. Some designs use AC as the power source, while others use a Battery to drive the ignition device.

2. For Spark Pin to create a spark needed to Ignite the Burners

As I have pointed out above, electricity will be needed to create a spark by inducing electricity coming from the ignition device to the spark pin.

Also known as a spark plug…

The spark pin aided by the ignition device is responsible for producing a spark to ignite the gas burner.

Below image is an example of a spark pin;

There are different designs of spark pins. Some include a metal jacket (like the below image) to prevent damage during handling and transportation. But this kind of spark pin will be more expensive.

And depending on the design of the gas burners, some spark pins are fixed on the inner ring while others are installed on the outer part of the gas burner.

As you can see in the above image, the spark pin produces a spark (arc) once I started to push the switch knob down.

Next…

Turning the switch counterclockwise will open the valve to let the gas flow to ignite the burner then the flame will be formed.

3. Hybrid type of Gas Hobs will need electricity to function

As mentioned earlier, there are hybrid types of gas hobs. That will need a constant supply of electricity to operate normally.

One good example is the Range Cooker.

The above range cooker has three gas burners, one electric hotplate, and an oven at the bottom… which will need electricity to function.

Another type of hybrid cooker that’s becoming popular is like below;

This is a combination of an Induction cooking zone and a Gas burner.

Just the same…

Electricity is needed for this type of cooker to operate.

Hybrid cookers do have some advantages.

For example, if you have run out of gas, you can use the electric cooking zone to continue cooking and vice-versa.

Generally, these types of cookers are more expensive compared to their ordinary counterparts.

Related article ➡️ What is a Gas Hob and How it Works

Final Thoughts

So, finally, we have identified the reasons why a gas hob needs electricity.

To summarize, once again they are the following;

• First, electricity is needed to power the Ignition Device

• Secondly, electricity is needed to create a spark to ignite the burners, and…

• Thirdly, for a hybrid type of gas cooker electricity is needed for them to function accordingly (as I have explained above)

So, there you have it folks, thank you for reading.

If you find this article helpful, or you have some questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below. And I will try to answer them as soon as I can to the best of my knowledge.

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