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	Subject - Millivolt gas stove Old Fan I have a Buck Stove which works from a millivolt thermostat or at least it used to. I began having trouble with it lighting and thought it was the thermostat. So, I bouyght a new one, the same exact model (mercury) and it says right on it that it is for millivolt applications. It even says that for millivolt operation to set the capacitor at 1.5. I connect it and no luck. Even returned it for another one. BUT, if I touch the two wires (exactly like Lionel train wire) together, that normally connect to the thermostat, IT LIGHTS. The stove also has a manual ON/Off switch which is disconnected when I use the thermostat. This switch when connected still lights the stove as it should. I'm thinking that the wire, being old, is providing too much resistance. Does that sound like the problem or is it something else ??? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Nick N Scott Vickrey Nick, The fact that the stove kicks on when you touch the two wires together indicates the wire and Millivolt Pilot Generator are in working order. This makes the thermostat or the connections to the thermostat likely suspects. Since the thermostats where both new and they seem to have failed I would tend to think the problem might be at the connections. Either they are miswired or simply do not have good enough contact. Millivolts can not bridge poor connections. What are the other possible settings on the capacitor? Try scraping the wires with a knife or file. Old Fan The capacitor can be set anywhere from about .5 to 3.0. I tried moving the capacitor with the wires connected to see if it would kick on but no luck. You mentioned scraping the wires. I actually had to do that to make it work when I touched the wires togehter. I' m using train wire - would thinner wire make a difference?? Thanks for your interest and help. Nick N Scott Vickrey Yes, wire size can be a factor. The larger the wire size the greater the capacitance of the wire. I can't remember what train wire looks like it's been a while. Is this the same wire that work in the past? I've requested an expert in this area to have a look at this post. His page is located at http://www.toad.net/~jsmeenen/ Old Fan Yes, it's the same wire. But, the problem began and slowly got worse - the stove would not light occasionally without tapping on the thermostat. I'm thinking, especially since I mentioned that I had to scrape the wires to make it light when touched to each other, that simply getting brand new wire might be the solution. I bought two new thermostats - hard to believe I could have bought two BAD ones!! Nick N Scott Vickrey I don't believe both thermostats where bad either. Try replacing the wires use copper How about the connections at the stove? Have you tried cleaning them up? The slow onset of the problem could have been due to oxidation where the wire meets the terminal screws.