13/44 Burners
Viking Simmer Assembly: Why Low Won't Stay Low
The low-flame setting inside each burner valve that decides how gently a pot can simmer.
- Written by
- Hollis Yamada
- Works on
- Service technician — refrigeration and cooking
- Experience
- 21 years in the trade
- Published
Where low is set
Turning a Viking knob to its lowest mark does not simply close the valve further. The top-burner gas valve behind each knob carries its own low-flame adjustment: Viking’s service manual for its freestanding gas self-clean ranges describes a slotted screw inside the valve’s hollow shaft, set so the low flame just reaches the burner rim and lights at every port. Viking calls that low end VariSimmer; its 5 Series and 7 Series guides list a VariSimmer setting on every burner, a band of positions rather than one.
How it fails here
Two opposite complaints turn up in Issaquah. In open kitchens a hood on high pulls the small flame off its ports and the burner relights. On a range fed propane but set for natural gas, low runs too tall to simmer. Resetting it is routine range repair; how much a stubborn simmer counts against an older range is weighed in a 15-year-old Viking gas range.
Signs and thresholds
| What you notice | The line it crosses | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| The lowest mark boils instead of simmering | Low flame reaches well past the burner rim | Low-flame setting on that valve checked and reset by the technician. |
| Flame goes out at low, then the burner clicks and relights | Happens with the hood off and no draught | Low set too small or ports partly blocked; cleaned first, then adjusted. |
| At low, only part of the ring stays lit | Still patchy with a clean, dry head and a flat cap | Low setting reset until the flame reaches every port. |
| Knob stiff or jumps past low | Any change in how the knob turns | The valve behind it is inspected, then serviced or replaced. |
What you can do yourself
- Try the burner at low with the hood off and the windows shut; if it holds, the draught was the cause.
- Knobs off, cooktop cold: seat the cap flat and clear any port that stays dark.
- Leave the low-flame screw alone; it is set with the burner lit.
- Stop there. Anything past this is a job for Viking Repair Issaquah — call (425) 920-9484.
When to call
Ring when a clean burner will not hold its lowest setting in a still kitchen, or when low is too fierce to simmer on.
Call (425) 920-9484Asked about the simmer setting
Why does my Viking burner keep clicking at low?
On ranges with automatic reignition, the igniter sparks whenever the flame goes out while gas still flows. At a very low setting a draught or a partly blocked port can put the flame out, so the burner clicks and relights. Viking Repair Issaquah checks the low-flame setting; call (425) 920-9484.
What do Simmer and HI-Simmer mean on the knob?
On Viking's 5 Series and 7 Series ranges the low end of every burner is a VariSimmer band, not one fixed position, and knobs printing Simmer and HI-Simmer mark points inside it. Both depend on the valve's low-flame setting. Viking Repair Issaquah resets it; call (425) 920-9484.
Can I adjust the low flame myself?
No. The adjustment is made with the burner lit and the knob removed, working inside the valve's shaft, and a setting left too low lets the flame die while gas keeps flowing. Viking Repair Issaquah makes that adjustment on a visit; call (425) 920-9484.
