Range and rangetop · Bellevue
Viking Simmer Flame Goes Out When the Hood Is On
When a Viking simmer in a Bellevue kitchen holds steady until the hood comes on, then flutters out or starts clicking, what Viking Repair Bellevue usually finds is a strong exhaust in a tightly built room: Downtown Bellevue towers, and remodels that added a bigger hood. The burner is often fine. If the flame fails with the hood off as well, call (425) 696-2636.
What we usually find
- Most often
Replacement air. The hood draws air out faster than the room lets it back in, and the incoming draught crosses the cooktop, where a low flame has the least to hold it.
- Sometimes
A burner that is marginal before the hood starts: a few clogged ports or a cap slightly off level, so the simmer is already patchy and the draught finishes it.
- Rarely
The low setting on that burner's valve has drifted, or its re-ignition is not answering. It shows as a simmer that dies in still air too, and it is a technician's adjustment.
The flame, the hood and the room
Air a hood sends outdoors has to come back in from somewhere. Viking’s guide asks owners to keep a gas range’s fresh air supply clear, and even tells them to turn an exhaust fan off before flaming spirits, because its draught can push flames out of control. A full flame rides that pull out; a simmer turned right down may not.
On ranges with automatic re-ignition, Viking’s current 5 Series among them, a burner that loses its flame while gas still flows tries to relight. So the first sign is often a burst of clicking at the lowest setting, not a burner that simply goes dark.
A hood that filters the air and returns it to the kitchen moves little air out of the room. If yours works that way, look at the burner first.
Whose job it is
Burner work is ours: cleaning, seating, and checking the low flame and the re-ignition. More air for the kitchen is ventilation work, for a contractor or, in a tower, the building, and Viking Repair Bellevue says so plainly when that is where the answer lies.
Safe checks before you call
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Run the window test
Open a nearby window a few inches, light the simmer, then switch the hood to the speed that normally puts it out. A flame that now holds means the room is short of air.
-
Try one hood speed lower
Keep the pot simmering and drop the hood a speed. If the flame steadies there and fails only at the top setting, the cause is the same air supply.
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Light the simmer with the hood off
With the hood off and the doors as they usually are, run the simmer for a few minutes. If it still dies or keeps clicking, the burner needs a visit whatever the hood does.
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Reseat the cap on that burner
When the burner is cold, lift the cap, wipe it and the burner beneath it dry, and set it back so it sits level with no rock.
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Stop and hand it over
If none of that changes what the Viking is doing, leave it there and ring Viking Repair Bellevue on (425) 696-2636. Tell us what you already tried; it narrows the visit before we set out.
Asked about this
Is it safe when the simmer goes out with the hood running?
Viking's re-ignition relights a burner while gas is still flowing, so a few clicks and a returning flame are the system doing its job. A burner that stays out without relighting is different: turn its knob to off, let the gas clear, and relight with the hood lower. Then call Viking Repair Bellevue on (425) 696-2636.
Should I just switch the hood off whenever I simmer?
Not as a habit. Viking's guide wants a gas kitchen kept well ventilated, so a gentler hood speed with a window open a little is the better compromise while the cause is found. If the simmer needs the hood off entirely to survive, Viking Repair Bellevue can check the burner first on (425) 696-2636.
