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Your Oven is an Investment: Care for It Well


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Your Oven is an Investment: Care for It Well

If you love to bake like me, then your oven is the most important kitchen tool you have. Even though many avid home-bakers realize this, I think we tend to neglect our ovens. I have to admit that other than wiping it off, I never properly cleaned my oven like I should have. I learned the hazard of not caring for your oven properly when one of the burning coils caught fire one day and stopped working after that. I was grateful the small fire went out quickly, but I was so worried that my beloved oven was going to have to be replaced. I was ecstatic to find out that local repair shop could fix it quickly just be replacing the coil. I created this blog to remind others to care for their appliances properly. With just an occasional repair, an oven can last for many years.

Range Repair Needed For A Bad Baking Element

One of the more common types of range repair is replacing the baking element. The baking element heats up the oven to the right temperature so your food cooks evenly. If the element isn't working, your oven won't work very well or at all.

You may need an appliance repair professional to replace the baking element since it requires taking panels off to access it. Replacing the element itself isn't difficult, but getting to the element may be challenging. Here are signs the baking element is bad, how to verify it's bad, and how to replace it.

When To Suspect The Baking Element Is Bad

When the baking element is bad, it may not heat evenly. You'll notice this if your food is cooked unevenly. Since your food needs to be cooked properly, you'll want to take action to change the element when it's acting up.

It may eventually burn out and die completely, and then you won't be able to use your oven. You may even see the element burn out. If a small flame is on the element, that's a sign the element has gone bad and you need to call a range repair person for help.

How To Verify The Element Is Bad

If you look at the baking element and see that it's broken, you know it's bad since the electric current won't be able to flow through the element. However, a way to tell for sure is to test the element with a multimeter for continuous current.

The range repair person may do this if they don't see signs of visible damage on the element. Since a few things can cause your food to cook unevenly, the repair person can use the multimeter to confirm whether it's caused by a bad element or not.

How To Change A Baking Element

The baking element plugs into the back of your oven. The repair person needs to remove the back panel to see the backside of the plug so they can remove the element wires from the power source. Once that's done, they'll need to work inside the oven.

It's essential that the power is off before attempting any sort of repairs on the range. The repair person also needs to remove the racks so they can see the screws that hold the panels in place. Oven brands vary, so the exact method of pulling out the baking element depends on the type of range you have.

Some have multiple screws that need to be removed to free the element. Once the element is free, it can be pulled straight out of the oven. A new heating element made for your brand of oven is then inserted into the plug and secured to the oven with screws or panels. The final step is to connect the wires on the back of the range so the new baking element can get power. 

For more info about range stove repair, contact a local company.