Force 10 oven troubles

[Svan]

I have never seen a force 10 oven work right, so I read the manual and need some input on a problem I have.

Our 2004-era Force10 2-burn stove/oven combo only works ok on the stove. Except electric ignition - that seems to fire about once a year, randomly. I have replaced the battery and checked the connections. All seems fine. I've just given up on that and start it with a lighter.

The oven and broiler is a whole other thing - unusable. The broiler runs for about a minute, then with a foop, the flame disappears and a high gurgling sound starts coming out of the burner. No heat. Applying a lighter, does not light.
After some time, I believe the safety thermocouple closes and then small propane gas POOF, and it's stopped.

The regular oven burner experiences similar trouble.

The regulator on the system is quite old and corroded, so I am targeting this for replacement, and then I will see if I can find 2004-era parts and replace the burners.

Thoughts welcome, I don't know how well these stoves age, but I see no reason to toss it and replace when they are such simple things.

Particularly appreciate references for 2004-era parts. Should I try to get the electric ignition working? Is it needed for any part of the oven's operation after it's been lit?

[Bruce Beard]

Interesting post! We’ve owned two boats with Force 10 stoves, one an ‘05 Sabre 386, the other our current Tug.
Both have never failed to light quickly and easily. Both ovens work/worked just nicely including the broiler.
I do know that the ignition control relay assembly fails on the stoves, we have a spare aboard but ours have been fine. I believe that as long as you hold the knob in until the thermocouple warms up the stove should work fine no matter the ignition source.
I’m curious and will follow this thread.
Bruce

[jkleins]

They sell the ignition boxes at Defender. We just had to replace ours after 16 years. Works great now. The battery box on the old one is subject to corrosion and could be causing a random outage. They sell a new one that is more substantial. Also if it is not lighting on just one or two burners but will on the others Force 10 has a procedure on their website to increase the spring tension on the knob. It has worked for me in the past.

[ALANA ROSE]

There is a small earth terminal inside the stove that can rattle loose. My force 10 drove me nuts till I went to replace a thermocouple and saw this. Tightened it and been trouble free since. Guess it may not be your problem but all the best

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Alana Rose.


FWIW:

Troubleshooting begins page 16 ➥ ➥ http://www.force10.com/files/documen...e%20Manual.pdf

Troubleshooting begins page 12 ➥ http://www.force10.com/files/5-Burne...0%20Manual.pdf

[nhschneider]

When we did a major refit of our galley in 2000, we installed a new Force 10 4-burner stove. By 2016, the oven would only cook at 450°F and no replacement parts could be found anywhere. We bought a new Force 10 4-burner stove in 2017 and now that oven frequently goes out - despite the fact that we have replaced the regulator and have done everything that the Force 10 factory recommends.

This is a product that I cannot recommend.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by ALANA ROSE

There is a small earth terminal inside the stove that can rattle loose. My force 10 drove me nuts till I went to replace a thermocouple and saw this. Tightened it and been trouble free since. Guess it may not be your problem but all the best

Where is the earth terminal???

TudorSailor

[chuckr]

We bought a Jeanneau DS40 new in 2003 with a Force 10 4 burner and it worked flawlessly for a long time. We cleaned various parts on a periodic basis - In the Med it just did work as well and we lost a burner and the oven did not work great.


In Marmaris we had the stove rebuilt and the Admiral is very happy as everything works as it did when it was new. And much cheaper than a new stove - love it

[psk125]

The electric ignition system on our Force-10 stove and oven hasn't worked for about five years, so we use a lighter. For the fifteen years before that, it worked fine. Since it came to us with our 1981 boat, used, and still bakes blueberry muffins on cool Maine mornings, lasagna on overnight passages, and coffee, eggs & sausage on the stovetop, we don't complain.

[Jeanneau 45.2]

My 2000 Force 10 4 burner with oven has just experienced a failure with the oven/broiler gas regulator/thermostat. There are three versions of oven temperature regulation: manual adjustment sort of like controlling the cook top burner, an automatic high/low set up, and an automatic variable flame proportional to the temperature differential from set point. (the first two types have a dial thermometer in the control panel and the later operates like a home oven with temperature settings printed on the control panel.) I have the third type, the automatic variable flame.

I spoke with Force 10 in British Columbia and their US service center in Seattle. Both state the regulator/thermostat is not either owner or factory serviceable, the part is no longer available, and they do not know of any available compatible regulator/thermostat that I can source on the open market. They literally told me I am facing having to purchase a new stove !!!!

I'll spare you how I feel about their response. Has anyone experience the same failure (Force 10 acknowledges mine is not an isolated event). There must be a compatible valve with the appropriate temperature sensing bulb, safety shut down, and variable gas flow. I don't want to cobble together a Rube Goldberg solution given propane's dangers but I'd prefer to repair versus replace.

[meridian28]

Following

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

When we did a major refit of our galley in 2000, we installed a new Force 10 4-burner stove. By 2016, the oven would only cook at 450°F and no replacement parts could be found anywhere. We bought a new Force 10 4-burner stove in 2017 and now that oven frequently goes out - despite the fact that we have replaced the regulator and have done everything that the Force 10 factory recommends.

This is a product that I cannot recommend.

Fair winds and calm seas.

Yep I agree with Neil. For us the worst purchase in 35 years we have owned the boat.

From day 1 the stove never worked properly. Company had no clue on how to fix stuff. Maybe 30 emails and 10 boxes of parts later it’s still a
POS. We had the stove fully serviced by a stove repair guy in Mexico that helped slightly.

Our oven seems to have a mind of its own. Sometimes never getting up to required temps other times going to 450.

Never again would we buy a Force 10 stove!!!!

Chuck
Jacaranda

[Painted Skies]

Originally Posted by chouliha

Never again would we buy a Force 10 stove!!!!

Chuck
Jacaranda

Yep, we agree with Chuck.. this is absolutely the worst purchase we've made for a cruising boat in 29 years. Our Force 10 three-burner with oven will be replaced as soon as we return to the US; it is cheaply built and definitely not worth the price paid.

If interested, you can read about our frustrations with this product and company in Post #10 here:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...en-180180.html

Cheers, Katherine

[contrail]

I love my 1999 four burner Force 10. I don't use the igniter. From time to time, I have replaced things, such as burners, when they wore out. My oven has no thermostat, just a regular nob and thermometer. I suppose one could always take out the complicated thermostat and retrofit it similarly. My oven works find. Best ofluck

[Rex Delay]

I would tend to disagree with most of the above. Have been using Force 10 stoves for 20 yrs and love them. The spark ignition on the push the knob to spark could be improved but all in all the best marine stove I have encountered.