What ho one and all,

I have an Ikea hob HGS4K which I believe to be from Whirlpool.

Need a replacement thermocouple but am gobsmacked at the prices for Whirlpool parts. (https://www.espares.co.uk/product/es146424/hob-thermocouple---520mm)

Oven thermocouples appear tobe a better price. Why? But more importantly, will an oven TC fit / work on the hob? Alternatively, are all TC the same so that a different manufacturer will fit?

Thanks and toodle pip

Posted By: RexOven thermocouples appear tobe a better price. Why? But more importantly, will an oven TC fit / work on the hob? Alternatively, are all TC the same so that a different manufacturer will fit?

All TCs are not born equal. Your oven TC looks more standard (single soft copper tube) whereas the hob TC appears to have an additional wire and a particular connection. (a type I have not seen before)

Thermo couples are electric devices and I have solved 'failed' TCs in the past by cleaning the tap end with fine sand paper or alike to improve the electrical contact (the type shown for your oven). Are you sure that it is the TC at fault? Check the connection and swap to another tap and see if the fault moves. The voltages are v. low so any resistance makes a big difference.

A quick search by part number showed ebay at 28.12GBP and from France at 13.51 euro (about 11 GBP) but you would have to factor in the Brexit charge
https://www.cyberpieces.com/21730-thermocouple-whirlpool-481010566187.html
And
https://spares4whirlpool.co.uk/thermocouple-thermocouple-alt.-481010566187 at 15 quid
Anyway it would seem worth doing the internet search.

Have found one on FleaBay that has the same hob code as written on the hob itself. With luck, it will fit the flame end correctly.

Removed the top one hour ago, cleaned the burner end of the TC with a bit of wet&dry, cleaned around the burner, reassembled and it is working just perfectly.

Not the first time. I personally don't think the flame end nor the valve end are the issue, just seems to be an electrical contact; probably too much spilt cooking. I have bought a replacement from a FleaBay seller, and my hob number was listed in the compatible section. However, the current TC's all have red gas ends, the replacement has blue. Don't know if that is significant or not.

Posted By: revor

Posted By: WillInAberdeenGas Safe tradesman to repair the hob, it's the law

That is not strictly correct. You are allowed to do your own gas work the law is you cannot do it for anyone else.

Many gas parts I think are labelled as only being available to purchase by a certificated engineer so if you can get a part readily available to Joe public you should be ok as long as you feel confident you can do a good job.

Theres a bit more to doing your own gas work as you still need to be competant and thats definitely not the same as confident!!

As a thermocouple could be part of a flame failure device it could well be classed as gas works so youd need to be competant. Using anything other than OEM parts relies on your competance to know if non OEM kit is up to scratch.

Highly unlikely anything is going to go wrong but just be aware that if it did and you caused an explosion, you could be asked to prove competance.

Posted By: Peter_in_HungaryWith regards to the comments above about DIY boiler install, usually the problem is finding a certified fitter who is prepared to sign off someone else's work, not so much that they don't trust the work, after all they can inspect it, but they take the view that it is taking work away (=income) from them. I've found the same with any work that needs sign off e.g. electricians.

In my situation I had known the guy for some time and I had offered him the whole install of boiler and gas connection but I wanted to do the plumbing work as I was integrating a thermal store, UFH, and solar thermal. He told me to go ahead and do the boiler install and he would do the gas side. (He did not actually do it one of his fitters did.)

On the electrical side of my build which I have done myself the part p was done via building control who arranged the first fix inspection the second fix is awaiting me do to complete a lighting circuit once plasterers have done the last ceiling. The inspector who was the company owner congratulated me on doing a better job than his electricians as if he had done it to the standard of my install they would not get many jobs. ( Cable drops were in conduit and chased in the blockwork and extensive labelling) I also wanted to be sure that the work was done right. I helped a friend to build a house his electrician ran the lighting feed erroneously with twin brown which caused issues with fixing pendants and there was a break in the cable of a ring after laying the flooring and discovered on final test. I tested all my cable runs with a multi-tester for continuation and insulation before 1st fix inspection. I do not understand why those tests are only done at final fix stage if fault in cable then quite an upheaval to replace as it was at my friends house. In 50 years of of doing houses i could write a book (well almost) on the shoddy workmanship I have come across.

I'd like to think that a competent gas fitter would start by working out why the TC on this particular burner has failed repeatedly, before replacing the component with one which they know to be suitable? Is there a misalignment problem in the burner, is the flame burning cleanly all the way round, what is the carbon monoxide level? If there is a poor electric contact problem, is it in the gas valve not the TC, and why does it reoccur after being fixed?

Posted By: philedgeTheres a bit more to doing your own gas work as you still need to be competant and thats definitely not the same as confident!!

I was reminded of Phil's comment when this article popped up this week:

"Non-pilots think they can land a plane after watching a YouTube video

"Garry and her colleagues enlisted 780 volunteers for their psychological study. Half of the participants were asked to watch an approximately 4-minute-long silent YouTube video showing two commercial pilots landing a plane in a mountainous area... They found that people who had watched the video were up to 30 per cent more confident in their ability to land a plane without dying, compared with the confidence ratings of those who hadn’t watched the video."
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2312478-non-pilots-think-they-can-land-a-plane-after-watching-a-youtube-video/

Peter, thanks for the explanation. The replacement is a somewhat different flame fitting so the clip will not hold it in place. Also, the probe is shorter so does not get close to the flame.

The existing has, and it does this time, work again after removing, cleaning the probe and the hob metal fitting. Following a non-start, I have not tried it on a different burner.

Because of when it is working, it works just fine, I tend to believe that it is dirty probe contacts, but what do I know? On the other hand, in 12 years, none of the other three TCs have had any problem!