Gas stove with a red flame or no flame: safe checks at home

• Close the regulator valve and open the doors and windows.
• If you smell gas, do not light a flame, operate a switch or turn anything on.

Do every check below with the stove off and cool. Parts of the stove stay hot for quite a while after the flame goes out.

LPG that burns completely gives a steady blue flame. The flame turns red, orange or yellow when the gas-air mix at the burner is off balance, usually because there is not enough oxygen. Modena's gas stove manual explains it from the room's side: if the kitchen air does not circulate, it holds more combustion gases than oxygen, so the gas burns incompletely and the flame turns yellow. That is why a room with gas appliances must have good ventilation.

The second cause lies in the burner itself. The troubleshooting table in the same manual lists three causes of an abnormal flame, meaning red, small or unsteady. They are a gas supply that is restricted or blocked, gas that has run out, and a lack of oxygen because of poor air circulation. The recommended actions are simple. Make sure spilled food is not covering the flame holes, and clean the burner, holes included. Then check the gas level on the regulator gauge and make sure air circulates freely.

Do not ignore a red flame. Besides wasting gas and blackening the bottoms of your pans, incomplete combustion releases more combustion gases into the kitchen.

1. Wait for it to cool. The Modena manual warns that parts of the stove and things around it stay hot for quite a while (about 30 minutes) after the stove is turned off. Close the regulator valve before you start.
2. Lift off the pan support and burner. According to the manual, the burner can be removed and cleaned with soapy water, and the enameled pan support can be washed.
3. Clear the flame holes. Coconut milk, oil and soup that boil over harden in the flame holes. Clean until every hole is open, using a soft brush and nothing that could break off inside a hole.
4. Dry it completely. The manual says to dry the burner thoroughly before putting it back. A burner that is still wet lights poorly or burns unevenly.
5. Seat it correctly. A burner cap that is tilted or not fully seated gives an uneven flame. Put it back exactly where it was, then light it and watch the flame color.
6. Check the pan. Use pans with the diameter the manual's table gives for each burner, and do not exceed the recommended load: a maximum of 10 kg for cookware and contents on Modena glass-top stoves. A pan that is too wide traps heat and, on a glass top, can crack the glass.

Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) published LPG safety tips with Pertamina, the state energy company. They say the stove and cylinder should stand on a flat surface in a room with good air circulation. LPG is heavier than air, so leaked gas collects near the floor; ideally a kitchen vent sits low on the wall and the kitchen door stays open. The cylinder should stand away from the stove and other heat sources. The Modena manual adds minimum clearances of 15cm from the side or back wall and 100cm from the ceiling.

With the hose and regulator, you inspect; you do not take them apart:

• Make sure the hose is not crushed, kinked or touching a hot surface, and that its outer layer is not cracked.
• Make sure the hose is clamped tightly at the regulator and at the stove, as ESDM and the Modena manual require.
• Make sure the regulator sits on the cylinder valve with its knob pointing down and is locked so it cannot come off. The Modena manual stresses that the regulator must be a low-pressure type, never a high-pressure one.
• Use LPG equipment that carries the SNI mark (the Indonesian National Standard): cylinder, stove, regulator and hose.

Test for leaks with soapy water, never with a flame. Brush soapy water onto the connection between the regulator and the cylinder valve, between the hose and the regulator, and between the hose and the stove. According to ESDM, a leak shows up as bubbles in the soapy water, along with the typical gas smell.

First, check the gas level on the regulator gauge, as the Modena manual advises. If you have just fitted a new cylinder but no gas comes out, ESDM says not to poke at the cylinder valve; exchange the cylinder at the shop or the nearest agent.

Second, make sure you are lighting it correctly. ESDM explains that you press the knob and turn it counterclockwise, and when you are done, turn it back to off until it clicks. If you have just washed the burner, make sure it is completely dry and properly seated.

If the flame does not catch, do not keep pressing the igniter, because unburned gas collects around the stove. Turn the knob back to off, open the windows, wait a while, then look for the cause. In some homes, the kitchen shares a room with a bedroom or dining area and has no ventilation. There, ESDM says to open the doors and windows first thing in the morning, before switching on the lights or the stove, so any gas that has collected can escape.

Stop using the stove and get help if:

• the gas smell remains after the valve is closed and the connections are checked. The Modena manual says to take the regulator off the cylinder at once, not to light a flame, and to contact the service center;
• the soapy-water test shows bubbles at a connection, or you hear hissing from the cylinder or regulator;
• the hose is cracked, stiff or peeling, or the regulator is damaged. To replace the regulator or replace the gas hose, go to an official LPG agent, a certified gas technician or the stove brand's service center;
• the cylinder valve releases no gas (exchange the cylinder at the agent, and do not take the valve apart);
• the flame stays red or unstable after the burner is clean, the kitchen is ventilated and there is enough gas;
• a knob sticks, the igniter does not work, or the stove gets hot in places it should not.

Opening the gas valve body or connecting gas pipes is not a household job. The Modena manual also recommends a routine check of the stove every 3 months so problems are caught early. If there is a fire or a very strong gas smell, leave the house and call the fire department.