Electric Range Notes

   Bake element

Most times it is easy to see a failed oven element. Their will be a hole or a welded mark somewhere on the element where a piece of cheese fell on it and caused a hotspot. You can also check elements with a meter or simply apply some wall current to them using a cheater cord to see if it gets warm. If the element gets warm that means it will work and is not bad. If the element ain't coming on but you have checked it out, of course then that would be the thermostat.

HEADS UP:  When fooling with the stove always be sure the power is off. Pull out the bottom drawer and most of the time you can unplug the power cord without moving the stove.

To make it easier to work on most stoves the oven door can be removed. I set the door at the broil position and gently ease up on the door, remove it, and set it to the side. As far as the oven thermostat goes, they are simple enough to replace but quite expensive. I suggest if you have an electronic oven control then that old extended warranty plan is a winner.

 Heads Up: One thing you want to remember about fancy electronic controls, never put the stove on self clean! The temperature will cause the delicate electronics to fail. I don't care what anyone says. That stove will get to 900 degrees and adversely affect those controls.

On top of the stove is a series of burners.

             8 inch 4 turn Delta stove eye

As you can see they shove into an elelectrical block like this:

                330031 receptacle block

These burners use a standard robertshaw generic control which has

5 terminals. L1 and L2 for power into the switch. H1 and H2 goes out to

the stove eye receptacle,and p which connects to a small wire and that wire

is connected to a hot surface indicator light.

HEADS UP: Do not get these wires crossed or when 2 burners are energized

both switches will be burnt to hell and back.

So pay attention to the markings on the switch and do not rely on the pattern.

      5500-200

HEADS UP: It is always nice and safe to keep the pans clean and shiny.

Pick up a nice set of pans when you get that new eye:

                 Typical stove pan comes in 6 or 8 inch

One more thing: oven door hinges can be a pain in the butt

if a spring breaks but they are not very hard to replace. So stop

using the dining room chair to keep the oven door closed: