How can I fix my broken oven or stove?
There's a number of things that can go wrong with an oven, so here's a brief guide on where you can start looking if you'd like to have a go yourself.
We fix ovens for a living and we like doing it; so if you live in or near Christchurch and would like to know that your oven will be working again as soon as possible just give us a call - 03 366 1118. Like most things, experience really helps when tracking down and fixing problems.
If you're going to have a go at fixing your broken oven yourself - TURN OFF THE 'MAINS POWER' BEFORE YOU START
Common problems that can be easily fixed:
Check Fuses
Modern stoves & ovens have only one or two fuses, these protect the 'plug power points' on your stove & the fuse will blow if there's an overload or faulty appliance (jug or toaster) plugged into the plug outlet. Checking these first can sort your problems quickly. Modern houses have resettable 'circuit breakers' on the mains switchboard that can be easily reset & it's usually obvious looking at the switchboard if one is in the the 'off' position. Older Stoves will have quite a few fuses located across the 'top at the back' that cover all the top elements & oven separately, plus plug sockets etc, like your house switchboard these can be easily checked & repaired, but remember BEST SWITCH THE POWER OFF FIRST.
Clock Automatic
The Automatic on your Oven's clock can stop the oven from working completely. In older stoves it can also affect one side of the top elements & the plug sockets. Easily reset, on an analogue or older clock the thing to remember is - there will be two buttons or knobs one above the other. One button (or knob) must be pushed IN, while the other must be OUT, turn clockwise till the button POPS OUT.
On a modern electronic stove or oven clock there will be a HAND shape that must be visible, or a button with a HAND shape that must be pushed.
Uneven cooking
If you do a bit of baking & your finding it's not cooking evenly the obvious things to look at are - door seal perished or broken, door not closing properly or tight (door hinges faulty) - heat escaping from the oven will affect your baking results. Sometimes the oven thermostat does cause issues, if the thermostat is faulty then it usually either turns on FULL, or doesn't turn on at all. If the thermostat probe in the oven is not secure it can sometimes touch an element & cause the thermostat to not turn on enough to reach temperature.
Another source of problems with heating your oven can be a worn out element - the life span of an oven element depends a lot on the design of your oven. The only thing you can do to fix a tired element is replace it - we have a good range of the common models in stock and can source a complete range at the best prices.
There's quite a list of things that may be causing your oven to appear broken - broken door seals, malfunctioning fan, broken thermostat or simmerstat control, tripped circuit breaker, broken switches, burnt wiring & terminations, damaged fuse... There's a good beginners guide here if you'd like to do it yourself.
Give us a call ( 03 366 1118 ) and we'll get you baking again!