Electric Oven not getting up to temp?

Boomyal

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Hopefully this is something simple like a temperature probe but I have no specific knowledge or experience with ovens. This is for a one piece oven w/ microwave unit on top. We were trying to cook a 6 lb chicken yesterday and after 4 hours, at 350? on the dial, it was just approaching 160? in the thigh/breast joint.

I went and got out the little round analogue thermometer and set it on the oven rack. The oven was only up to 225?.
 

MTboatguy

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We had the thermostat go out in ours last Oct. It was not getting up to temp, then it finally just quit working.
 

GA_Boater

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Are both the top and bottom elements turning cherry red? Maybe one of them has fried.
 

Boomyal

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Are both the top and bottom elements turning cherry red? Maybe one of them has fried.

Since I posted this question I ran some tests. On Broil, the top burner gets red hot and will get the temperature up close to 500?. On Bake, it got up to 300? when set at 450?. The preheated light never goes out and the coil never glowed red.

I guess that burner rings can go bad by degrees and I also guess that both the Broil and Bake burners are controlled by the same temperature sensing controls? I saw a youtube on how to test a burner coil. I'll look it back up and run thru the proceedure.
 

bigdee

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The older ovens with a mechanical thermostat can be re-calibrated. Most digital ovens have a setup menu that allows recalibration. If this doesn't work it is time for a replacement part.
 

Boomyal

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I've been doing some research on this problem. It seems that elements either work or don't work. It appears that the problem is with the dual action thermostat. The problem is is that they are no longer available. I did find a new, oem unit on ebay for $450.00.:eek:
 

MTboatguy

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I've been doing some research on this problem. It seems that elements either work or don't work. It appears that the problem is with the dual action thermostat. The problem is is that they are no longer available. I did find a new, oem unit on ebay for $450.00.:eek:

Yup, sounds about normal, I went through the exact same thing last October, it was just less expensive to purchase a new oven than trying to track down parts that cost more than a new one cost!
 

GA_Boater

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My goodness! We need to add appliance salvage yards to the boat salvage yard list.
 

bigdee

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Since I posted this question I ran some tests. On Broil, the top burner gets red hot and will get the temperature up close to 500?. On Bake, it got up to 300? when set at 450?. The preheated light never goes out and the coil never glowed red. .

The top element is NOTsupposed to get cherry red on bake. On bake the bottom element should get cherry red (240 volt) and the top element should operate at 1/2 full voltage (120volts).
 

Grandad

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The elements are the easiest to check and easiest and cheapest to replace. You didn't say whether the bottom element turns red. If it doesn't, I'd start with replacing that before getting into the thermostat, especially at that price. We're thinking about replacing our old stove (1970's Harvest Gold color), but I'd hate to get something new that's more complex to repair. Ditto for our old gas furnace. - Grandad
 

gm280

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I like to repair appliances as well as the next person...really. But some times the parts procurement of defective parts are just too costly to make it worth the effort. Then it is time replace the entire oven/stove... And that IS what we did about two years ago now. The new one is so much better then the old one and the temp settings are right on as well. The cost to "hopefully" repair the old oven was beyond anything reasonable. I mean how can parts cost almost as much as the entire oven? IDK, seem like they do that to make you buy a replacement.... :noidea:
 

Boomyal

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I like to repair appliances as well as the next person...really. But some times the parts procurement of defective parts are just too costly to make it worth the effort. Then it is time replace the entire oven/stove... And that IS what we did about two years ago now. The new one is so much better then the old one and the temp settings are right on as well. The cost to "hopefully" repair the old oven was beyond anything reasonable. I mean how can parts cost almost as much as the entire oven? IDK, seem like they do that to make you buy a replacement.... :noidea:

All the reputable, mainline appliance parts stores show the thermostat to be no longer available. The one for $450 was offered by someone on ebay. I do not know anyone crazy enough to pay that kind of money for an otherwize $50 part.

Now my job for today is to find out if elements can partially fail or whether it is an all or nothing kind of thing. If elements either work or don't work then it is time for a new unit. I just hope that they still make the combination microwave/electric oven in the same size. I don't want to have to tear apart the oak cabinets to fit a new one.
 

gm280

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Boomyal, I have never seen or heard of any oven element partially working. They either work or not. And that is because it is nothing but a resistive wire with ceramic coating inside with an outer metal casing. So if the wire (some type nichrome metallurgy mix) either is good or burnt open. There really isn't any other possibility. I will say that a new oven is much more energy efficient and a lot more precise too. My wife loves her new range and oven combo and has talked about the temps are right on. We actually tested it with a known good temp gauge to see. Our old one....well lets say it was within a hundred degrees give or take... :facepalm: If your baking element is just getting warm instead of hot, it isn't the element doing that, but the element supply being defective... Probably contacts burnt some and not allowing the full current to pass. They usually turn on and off to maintain temps. But never just a little current to maintain temps. That would take a huge TRIAC capability and cost a lot of additional circuitry to keep working for years and years... JMHO!
 

MTboatguy

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My wife who many moons ago, worked for GE in the appliance division, said the same thing this morning when I was talking to her about your situation as she did back in Oct. when our oven gave us problems. Elements work or they don't work, there is no middle of the road when it comes to elements. I agree with GM, as we have found out, the new unit is so much more precise and much more energy efficient, we actually noticed a difference in our electric bill.
 
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bigdee

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Post the model number. We may be able to find one for you. Is this a mechanical thermostat? If so, many models cross over. Like I said before....try to re-calibrate first. Top element is NOT supposed to get hot on bake cycle....only on broil. Read my post 9.
 

Boomyal

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.....Top element is NOT supposed to get hot on bake cycle....only on broil. Read my post 9.

I know that bigdee. There is a 'broil' position on the function dial, then there is a 'broil' position on the thermostat knob. I assume that when broil is selected, it pretty much bypasses the variable temperature function in the thermostat.

It is a GE Dual Wave II Microwave System which consists of a microwave on top and the electric oven on the bottom. The Model Number is JKP62G0K2 BC and the thermostat and probe part number is WB21X5320. You can see pictures of the thermostat kit on any number of sites but they all say NLA. It is hard to believe that with all the other similar thermostats that there is not one that would substitute. When you speak to any of the 'repair' parts business, they all know nothing.

I was told that a replacement oven of this style would be somewhere between $1500 and $2000. I do not relish the idea of replacing it, especially for the lack of a $50 to $80 part.
 

MTboatguy

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Boom, sometimes there is not much room, I have done a few of them and they are a B!tch to get right. I would pull that unit, and take some very careful measurements then start my search for something that will fit, so you have the least amount of modification to figure it out. Like I said, I have done one for my Dad and I had to do it on my place on Hazel Dell Avenue, that particular style was quite popular in that are for quite a while.
 

bigdee

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It is hard to believe that with all the other similar thermostats that there is not one that would substitute. When you speak to any of the 'repair' parts business, they all know nothing.

There is a good chance another thermostat could be improvised to work. How many wire terminals does this have? Is it just a simple thermostat dial with a range of temperatures or does it have a switch (click) at the end of its range? I looked this part up and it looks like most any inexpensive oven thermostat, however I could not see how many terminals it has. If it has only two you may be in luck. Have you pulled the knob off to see if there is a calibration screw?
 
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