Oven broken – fix it myself?

Fan oven isn’t heating up. Everything else (hobs, top oven, fan itself) working fine.

What’s that likely to be then? I can only think of the element.

And are ovens fair game for home fettling or best left alone?

It’s at least 5 years old, could be a lot more.

I’ve replaced an element, it was surprisingly easy. You normally just unscrew a cover on the back of the oven.

The tricky bit is finding the right replacement, some searching on the internet shoud see you right though.

Could be the thermostat, if you are adept at taking things apart it does not cost anything to take a look, sometimes you can identify the dodgy part and then buy a new part and put it back together.

Is there a grill or other elements in the oven? Do they heat up if you select them specifically?

If it’s only the fan element that doesn’t heat up then that’s your problem and they are easy to change.

Check the connections at the control switch – my oven ‘died’ and turned out that the thermostat control wire was not making contact withthe switch.

I’ve replaced an element, it was surprisingly easy. You normally just unscrew a cover on the back of the oven.

I’ve done this too, dead easy.

Brilliant.

Lootenant – hobs, grill, fan all ok, just no heat in bottom oven.

TAKE THE MAINS FUSE OUT AND PUT IT IN YOUR POCKET BEFORE ANY FETTLING!

Sounds like the element to me. Dead easy to do – fan casing off with 4 screws, then I think a couple of screws holding the element on, plug connector in and job done in under 10 minutes.

I bought my lasy one from here https://www.ukapplianceparts.com, try to get a genuine part as non genuine don’t tend to last as long.

TAKE THE MAINS FUSE OUT AND PUT IT IN YOUR POCKET BEFORE ANY FETTLING!

Or just switch the oven off at the wall/unplug it.

Had this same thing last summer, fan was going but no heat. Turned out the element was dead. A quick look on the internet for a spare part here

http://www.espares.co.uk/

and a day later, spare part turns up, and after undoing a couple of screws, replacing the element and putting back together, oven works again.

Dead easy, and saved a packet not calling someone out. But yeah, make sure you’ve turned it off at the board first. 😉

I know all about fuses.

Ever since I used a pair of secateurs to cut an extension cable in half without unplugging it first. Whoops.

Yep, another vote for dead easy…happened to our Belling fan oven (Once I had removed the element I could see it had a long split along most of it’s length). Bought a new element for about a tenner on eBay and it’s worked fine since.

search on youtube for your make of over and ‘replace element’. Almost certainly find a video showing exactly how its done.

Right then, element removed, new one ordered. Had to take the back off the oven because the screws holding it in are that way round. Still, it looks a lot simpler inside than my washer dryer did when I took that apart.

Thanks for the help. Mrs TGA would have been straight on the JL website and bought a new one otherwise.

As a quick test (if you have a DVM to hand), check the resistance of the old element – see if it gives a reading that ties up with its rated power. If that looks OK, it might be worth a dig elsewhere in the wiring while you wait for the spare element to arrive.

The word has got out around our family that I fix mine when it goes and now I have to fix everybodies!! Although, it is very satisfying not having to pay for service engineers or a new Oven!!

Hoping I have more success with the oven than the washer dryer (which I couldn’t put back together and got replaced).

bristolbiker – I’ll try and do that if I can find someone with the machine. Is it possible for the element to be knackered with no obvious visual clue, because it does look fine.

i bypassed the programmer so it just operates off the 2 dials now, dead easy, though i wouldnt stand in a bucket of water whilst you do it…

Is it possible for the element to be knackered with no obvious visual clue, because it does look fine.

Yep – my money is on the element, but as I say mine had all the hallmarks of a blown element and it turned out to be the thermostat wiring to the switch, and a quick wave of the DVM across the element confirmed this, thus saving on the cost and time of waiting for a new one to arrive…..