Electric Oven not getting up to temp?

Boomyal

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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?

I have tried to find an online manual for this thing. The oven thermostat knob is up on on the microwave unit. It's like the face of the control panel on the microwave unit should come off. I did pull the thermostat knob off and I cannot see anything that looks like a calibration screw inside the face. There is however a calibration function on the backside of the knob itself. It is currently set at the midrange of the scale. It says 10? per notch.

I stopped by a well regarded appliance repair/sales store today and they said that my unit is a 27" unit and the only replacements for it cost $2700.:facepalm:

Here is a link that gives a pretty accurate (as far as I can tell) picture of the thermostat. You can also enlarge the picture.

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDeta...632306b32&mr=1

In my service business when a manufacturer makes a part obsolete, if the equipment is still good I bend over backward to find a work around. This does not appear to be the case in the appliance business.
 
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hrdwrkingacguy

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I would remove the element and put a meter across the wires and check for 240v, cycle the oven up to 450 or whatever and make sure the voltage stays there. I would also ohm the element out to see what's going on...it's basic resistance heat...:eek:
 

Boomyal

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I would remove the element and put a meter across the wires and check for 240v, cycle the oven up to 450 or whatever and make sure the voltage stays there. I would also ohm the element out to see what's going on...it's basic resistance heat...:eek:

I like the idea of testing the voltage. That would give a clear indication if the thermostat is working or not. With the burner out of the loop there is nothing to produce heat to shut off the current. I guess I can use your basic multi-meter?
 
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Boomyal

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hrdwrkingacguy, thanks for the diagnostic tip. I talked to about 4 different appliance parts/repair shops and no one gave me the tip on how to check the thermostat. It was really elementary and once pointed out, it was obvious that if the thermostat was able to deliver constant current to the element leads, the problem must be the element itself. Another answer that I never got was whether an element could develop partial heat. The universal implication was that an element either heated to the direction of the thermostat OR didn't heat at all. It is obvious that that is not the case.

Indeed when I pulled the element out to do the voltage test, I found a molten blowout on the back side of the element.

I set the temp control knob to 450 and so far, after about 30 minutes, I have had 236 volts of uninterrupted power to the meter.
 
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GA_Boater

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hrdwrkingacguy, thanks for the diagnostic tip. I talked to about 4 different appliance parts/repair shops and no one gave me the tip on how to check the thermostat. It was really elementary and once pointed out, it was obvious that if the thermostat was able to deliver constant current to the element leads, the problem must be the element itself. Another answer that I never got was whether an element could develop partial heat. The universal implication was that an element either heated to the direction of the thermostat OR didn't heat at all. It is obvious that that is not the case.

Indeed when I pulled the element out to do the voltage test, I found a molten blowout on the back side of the element.

I set the temp control knob to 450 and so far, after about 30 minutes, I have had 236 volts of uninterrupted power to the meter.

Hopefully oven elements aren't as hard to find as the thermostat/control, Boom.

The Admiral was baking a cake when the lower element blew in ours. It literally exploded when it melted through. You found your problem.
 

Boomyal

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Hopefully oven elements aren't as hard to find as the thermostat/control, Boom.

The Admiral was baking a cake when the lower element blew in ours. It literally exploded when it melted through. You found your problem.

No GA, elements are readily available. I ran down and got one, put it in, set it to 200?, on bake. It got right up to temp and shut the preheat light off. A bullet dodged, at least for this go around. No $2700 oven replacement this year. We need to be able to digest a new $16,000 roof, first!

Thanks all!
 

bigdee

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Glad you found the problem. Elements either work or they don't. You were heating with the top element only!
 

Boomyal

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Glad you found the problem. Elements either work or they don't. You were heating with the top element only!

Found out that when I tested the bake element voltage with the bake element removed. After a half hour I came back and the oven was hot. It was the broil element that was doing the heating during the preheat cycle. You'd think that one of the parts/repair shops would have told me that is how it works.

Anyway, GA, nothing got cooked tonight. Went to the local Republican Lincoln Day Dinner,
 

Tyme2fish

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I just replaced the bake element in our stove the other day. Pretty cheap part.
 

Boomyal

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I just replaced the bake element in our stove the other day. Pretty cheap part.

You can get them online for about half of what the local shops charge. However, our oven had been down for a week while I searched for understanding about how the oven worked and which part was the likely suspect, so I didn't want to wait for an online order.

Our bake element probably met its demise, in it's old age, from doing several 500? bakes of rib roasts.
 
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MTboatguy

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I have never found a reasonable explanation on why they go out, they just decide one day to go poof, the one on the stove we replaced in Oct. was fine for over 25 years, then one day the wife reached for the temp setting and it went poof!
 
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