Looks Can Be Deceiving: Investigating Assembly Issues and Their Role in a Gas Range Explosion

A kitchen range was purchased by a homeowner at a local big box retailer. The range, originally configured for natural gas use, was converted to propane use with a kit installed by the homeowner. The range was connected to the home propane supply, which was then turned off overnight. The homeowner completed the range installation the next morning and turned on the propane supply. During initial use of the range, an explosion occurred.

In litigation arising from the accident, it was alleged that a compression fitting leaked gas, causing the explosion. Specifically, it was suggested that the broiler gas tube connection to the safety valve was mis-assembled in the factory. ESi inspected the subject range components, studied the factory manufacturing process, and performed exemplar testing on the same type of tube and compression fittings to assess the nature of witness marks and variability present in the samples. The results of these tests were used to comparatively evaluate the subject components and gauge the validity of the factory mis-assembly claim.