Conference turris::cooks

    I had a similar problem a while ago.  One of the elements was not
    heating up.  I don't know how to fix such a thing but don't imagine
    that it would be hard.
    
    (I just called the landlord and it was taken care of the next day).
    
    ed

>>    limping through the holidays 
    
    No way, Terry.  Old ovens are inefficient, but they are easy to fix.
    
>>    ... it doesn't get as hot as it should.  
    
    Did it ever?  Your note is unclear.  I'll assume this is a rather
    sudden failure, not a manufacturing flaw.
    
Testing the lower (= main baking) heating element:
    
    Put your dry hand on the cold element and turn the oven on to bake.
    
    	The element should immediately start to get hot.  If it remains
    	quite cold, then the 275 heat you do have probably came from the
        upper (broiler) element during preheat.  However, there is more
    	than one potential reason why the lower element remained cold.
    	More on this later.
    
    	If the element starts to get warm, then the next test is to
    	check on just how warm it will get.
    
    Leave it turned on, close the door, and turn out the room lights.
    Wait two minutes or so and look at the element in the dark.  
    
    	It should be glowing bright red, not merely hot.
    
    		If it is bright red, the element is OK.
    
    		If the element became warm but not red hot, we have
    		a tougher problem.  I'll continue this diagnosis 
    		tomorrow, after you have had a chance to do the 
    		tests above and report on the results.

    --------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Heating elements are easy to replace with no more than a screwdriver.
    Parts can be bought at a dealer or at a "small appliance service"
    company listed in the yellow pages.  More detail later.

GE's are easy to get parts for at most appliance dealers.  We had a similar 
problem a few years back.  Because the element hinges up to allow you to clean 
under it, the connecting wires started to crack.  I pulled out the stove and 
UNPLUGGED IT.  Then removed the back.  The wires connecting the bottom 
element were in pretty bad shape.  It was almost impossible to loosen the 
connecting screw on the element without lots of penetrating oil (be careful 
where you get it, or it'll catch fire later!...use aluminum foil to isolate 
the area).  Then the wires turned out to be real brittle, so they wouldn't 
bend around the screw.  I managed to grab enough of the wire without bending 
it, which restored the oven use.  Then someone decided to clean it again, 
flexed the element up, and the whole thing started again.  Fortunately, the 
landlady sold the house, we moved, and got a new stove.  

If it's your stove, it's probably a good idea to look for a replacement.  15 
years is a long time.  If your next stove lasts that long, it'll be worth the 
six or seven hundred bucks it will cost.

						     
							- JP

    GE has an Answer Service, 800-626-2000.  This is toll free and
    they'll try to diagnose your problem over the phone and recommend part,
    part number and where to purchase the part.  They'll need S/N and P/N
    of your oven.
    
    Hope this helps.
    

    Test results -
    
    No juice to the heating element; the heat there is must be from
    the broiler during preheat.
    
    This oven always seemed a little slow, but in the three years I've
    had it, it has handled cakes, breads and turkeys.  I don't think the
    people who owned the house before ever cleaned it - it looked like
    whenever spills built up, they just put down another layer of foil.
    I know I took out six!  So there is probably quite an accumulation
    of gunk and a corresponding accumulation of Easy-off by the
    connections!
    
    Next step - pull it out, take the back off and inspect the connection?
    
    TW

    There is more than one potential reason why the lower element remains
    cold, but a failure in the element or its connections is so common
    that it is worth proceding without the effort of a full diagnosis.
    
    Turn off the power at the circuit breaker and, if there is ANY
    possibility of someone else turning it back on, tape the switch
    with a note about your activity.
    
    You may not need to pull out the oven; some designs permit element
    replacement from the front.  If the oven is plugged in and not
    wired in, by all means unplug it.  
    
    There will be some sort of retaining mechanism to hold the element in
    place and provide a ground path for safety, and there will be a pair
    of simple screw connections for the wires.  There will be at least
    two wires, probably a red and a black; there may be a third (green)
    wire for a safety ground.  And the colors may have long since been
    obliterated, but it doesn't matter if the red and black are
    exchanged.  After removing the element, put the red and black in
    contact with each other so if some joker restores the circuit breaker
    power, an unpleasant (and perhaps slightly damaging) short will occur
    and not an insidious threat to your welfare during replacement.
    
    If the wires are in poor shape (1478.3), consider pulling the
    whole oven out and taking it to a repair shop.  If the wires are
    OK, element replacement is easier than running around town with
    a sick oven in your trunk.
    
    Take the oven model number, the serial number, the element Wattage if
    you know it, and the element with you to buy a replacement.  Within
    reason, the new element doesn't have to look *exactly* like the old
    if you feel the dealer knew what he was doing. 
    
    During replacement, be sure the connections are very tight.

    AH HA!  There will be turkey for Thanksgiving after all!  The problem
    was that the bake element was cracked, instead of the problem being
    with the wiring in the back.  If anyone else runs into this, check
    the element itself first - spare yourself having to pull the oven
    out!
    
    I don't know if I dropped something on it (which wouldn't seem likely
    with the racks in place) or maybe spilled something on it that baked
    on and caused it to crack.
    
    Anyway, the new bake element was $30, and goes in tonight.
    
    Thanks to all for your responses!
    
    Terry

    MODERATOR: can you cange the title of this note to just OVENS
               I have a question on mini-ovens but figured this was
               a good place to enter it.
    
    
    I've been thinking about getting a mini-oven (aka: toaster Oven)
    and was wondering if anyone knows anything about them.
    
    It just seems silly to heat up a great big oven for a meal for 2.
    I would like one large enough to cook a cake (bundt size pan).
    All the ones I see are little toaster ovens for $39.  Can't
    imagine the ones for $39 are any good. 
    
    Anyone have any recommendations, experiences, and/or comments?
    
    I want a good one that will last.
    
    Thanks, Kristen
                                          

    I find them to be too hot.  I have a proctor silex now and when I want
    to cook at 350 degrees I have to put the dial just past 200.  
    
    But I suspect it's because I won't invest a lot of money in one of
    these and I get what I pay for.  I don't do any major cooking short of
    French Fries and batter baked chicken however.  Mostly what I use them
    for is a toaster and the old small GE Toaster Oven is the best way to
    make toast.
    
    

    Yeah, I have a Proctor Silex too, and I my husband and I jokingly refer
    to it as the psycho toaster.  That thing is unpredictable, no matter
    what.  One day toast doesn't even brown on light, and the next day it
    burns at the same setting!  And when we turn the oven dial on, we get a
    little spark!
    
    Needless to say, we leave the thing unplugged except when we venture to
    make toast...
    
    Cara
    

    Kristen, we have one of those larger size toaster ovens by DeLonghi. 
    Never tried making a cake in one but I use it for things like reheating
    leftovers, baked potatoes, baking brownies, cooking fish or chicken
    dinners for two, baking a quiche, etc, etc.  Oven works fine but as far
    as it's feature for being a toaster oven, well, we call this "the
    toaster from hell"!

    Gosh, I've had my trusty toaster oven for YEARS - can it really be 13
    years?  YES.  Wow where does the time go?
    
    I THINK it is a GE.  See, y'all ought to buy American. ;-)
    
    Toasts just fine.  Not sure how accurate it is - I never put a
    thermometer in there and don't cook anything needing much accuracy.
    
    I use the microwave for a lot of stuff now.  But the toaster oven does
    a nice job on grilled cheese sandwiches, small plates of nachos, and
    when I have a mad craving for muffins and just want a little bit, 
    I cook the batter in those little oblong aluminum pans you get from 
    the Chinese takeout.  You can also heat up pita bread by placing it on
    top of the oven.
    
    Not bad for a device old enough for Bar Mitzvah!
    
    L
    

    We've had plain ol' GE toaster ovens, and been quite happy with them. 
    Actually, we're on our third -- well, that's not true either 'cause the
    first one was my wife's and died before we were married.  The one we
    have now is the bigggg model.  Pat very rarely uses the regular oven
    because the toaster oven is more economical and keeps the kitchen
    cooler -- and does just as good a job.
    
    The only complaint we have is that when you cook something in a pan as
    big as the oven (e.g. a 12-cup muffin tin), the outside edges tend not
    to brown because the temperature is cooler at the outside.  Except for
    that, the thing is great.  Pat cooks breads, meatloaf, casseroles,
    chicken breasts, broiled meats and fish, coffee cakes and sweet breads,
    ... just about everything we eat.
    
    We set the temperature on whatever the recipe calls for and have no
    problems -- it seems to be relatively accurate.
    
    Steve

    Does anyone have have a Jet Stream Oven (or else know of someone who
    does)?  I've seen their commercial and wonder if they work as well and
    are as useful/versatile in real life as they are in the the commercial. 
    :-)
    
    Dave

    Well, that's what I thought. ;-)