How to Light a Gas Oven

Taking Safety Measures

Turn off the oven and make sure all the stove burners are off. Turn all the knobs on your gas oven and stove to “off”. Make sure that your kitchen doesn’t smell like gas before you try to light the oven. The “off” position will be with the knobs turned all the way to the right and the dial facing straight up. Listen to make sure there is no hissing sound that means gas is coming out. Sniff for the smell of gas.

Open all windows and doors in your kitchen for ventilation. It’s important to make sure your kitchen is well-ventilated before you try to light the oven to be extra sure there is no standing gas. This is especially important if you’ve already been trying to light the oven for a while and turning the knobs on and off. Once you have ventilated the kitchen as much as possible, it’s a good idea to let it air out for a few minutes if you were already trying to light the oven before. This will allow any gas sitting around to disperse.

Open up the oven door to look for the pilot light hole. Open the oven door all the way to safely locate the pilot light. Make sure the door is all the way down and locked into place. Locating the light before you turn on the gas is important so that you don't leave the gas running while you search for it.

Look around the bottom of the oven for the pilot light hole. It is a small hole that is usually located in the front center, near the door, or in a back corner. Some ovens will have it labeled “pilot light”. If you don’t see a hole in the bottom of the oven, and your model of oven has a broiler drawer at the bottom, then the pilot light could be in the back of the broiler drawer.

Clean the area around the pilot light hole with a microfiber cloth. Wipe away any grease and crust from around the pilot light to remove things that could catch on fire. Use a grease-fighting spray cleaner to get off any stubborn gunk. This is an extra precaution and is more important if the gas stove and oven hasn’t been used in a while and is particularly dirty.

Lighting the Pilot Light

Push in and hold the oven knob and turn it to the “ignite” setting. Push in the oven knob with one hand so you can turn it and keep holding it until you have lit the pilot light. Turn it to the left to the “ignite” symbol or the first temperature setting. Every oven model is different, but there should be either a little picture of a flame or the start of the temperature numbers right in the middle of the dial on the left hand side. This is where you want to turn the knob.

Hold a long match or lighter near or in the pilot light hole to light it. Light a long match with your hand that isn’t holding the oven knob, or use a lighter with a long tip (like a BBQ lighter). Slowly move the flame towards the pilot light hole until it lights. If you only have small matches, you can light one and drop it into the hole to be safe. Another alternative is lighting a twisted up piece of paper or a wooden skewer to use as the lighter.

Keep holding the oven knob for 10 seconds to let the pilot light heat up. You need to let the pilot light heat up for about 10 seconds before you adjust the temperature. The pilot light will just go out if you try to change the oven’s temperature too soon. If you accidentally let go of the knob and the pilot light goes out, then you should turn everything off and start from the beginning.

Close the oven and adjust the temperature as needed. Shut the oven once you are sure the pilot light is staying lit. Turn the oven knob to the temperature you want to set it at. If you have tried this process several times, and still can’t light your gas oven, there may be a problem with the pilot light and you should call a professional to come take a look at it.