Few things are as frustrating as appliances that aren't working the way that they should. After all, you depend on those appliances heavily throughout your daily life. Your electric oven is certainly no exception to this. However, electric ovens can require repairs and maintenance, including heating element replacement. Here is a look at some of the things that you should understand about replacing your electric oven's heating element.
Is Your Heating Element Malfunctioning?
The first thing that you need to understand is the signs that your oven's heating element isn't working the way that it should. You may notice that your oven starts taking a lot longer to preheat than it did in the past, or perhaps it is preheating much faster and seems to be running hot.
Sometimes, temperature control problems like this can be caused by a faulty thermostat, but often the problem lies in the heating element itself.
You might also notice sections of the heating element glowing very brightly, particularly when compared to the rest of the element. When the element is failing, it can actually overheat some areas and cause those sections to become brittle.
How Do You Repair Your Heating Element?
If you are seeing indications that your oven's heating element isn't working correctly, you may need to repair it. The good news is that most electric oven heating elements are pretty easy to fix.
Make sure that you order the right heating element based on your oven model. When you are ready to install it, open the oven door and remove the racks. Use a small screwdriver to remove the screws on each retention plate where the heating element goes into the back of the oven.
With the retention plates loose, pull the element forward toward the open oven door. The ends of the heating element will vote through the holes in the back of the oven. Keep pulling until you see wires and connectors.
Disconnect the wires by pulling the connectors straight off the heating element. Put a clothespin or something on the wire before you let it go so it doesn't fall back into the hole. Then, remove the element from the oven.
Connect the wires to the new element by pushing the connectors straight onto the ends of the element. Then, work the wires back into the back of the oven, sliding the element into place at the bottom of the oven.
If you aren't comfortable doing this job on your own, or if replacing the element doesn't resolve the problem, reach out to a local appliance repair technician instead.
It's never easy to admit that you could use a little help with your home appliances, especially if you know that you caused part of the problem. I was left dealing with a problem with my garbage disposal a few years ago, and I realized that it had to do with the fact that I put just about everything I could think of down the drain instead of using the trashcan. I began working hard to talk with different professionals about how to fix things, and it was super fun to learn about the ways we could change the appliances I had. Now all of my appliances work great, and I made a blog about how to make things better.