Repairing the oven

[trekker12]

Our old oven gave up the other night. It's an under worktop fitted unit (a Neff or similar, I can't remember) I brought with me from my old flat when I moved in with Mrs trekker and her oven then stopped working. We don't want to spend on a new oven because we intend to have a new kitchen fitted next spring and although we are handy with a Trangia I'm not sure we can get through a whole winter without the thing.

I think the element has shorted out, we have a habit of adding water to the grill pan when baking bread and one of us got a bit eager and spilt some through the vents in the back of the oven. There was a few sparks and an orange glow before we switched it off.

Now the element doesn't heat up at all and there was a little smoke when I switched it on last night so didn't leave it running. I'm just wondering if elements can be found or replaced or is it a little like playing with fire for the cost of a 2nd hand one off E-bay?

Alternatively does anyone have one in the Essex/Suffolk area they need to sell?

[Ham]

Elements are normally very easy to replace and quite cheap. Take the old one out to confirm you're happy doing it first, then eBay or any online spares sales. Don't forget to isolate it first.

[jsabine]

Elements are dead easy. When I did ours (also Neff), it cost about twelve quid for a reasonable-looking compatible part (the genuine Neff one was quite spendy), and changing it involved something like eight screws.

(ETA £8.95, not twelve quid ... Search using the oven's model code - for mine, 9 characters, on a label inside the oven door. On a sample of one, I'd recommend ebay seller kd102000 - cheap, good service, and the part has worked fine for two and a half years so far.)

[Feanor]

You need to dismantle and inspect to see what damage the water has caused.

That will probably involve pulling the oven out, removing the back cover and visual inspection.
( Isolate the power first! )
Look for evidence of anything blackened or showing signs of damage.

The element will have 2 crimped-on spade terminals which can be removed using long-nosed pliers and foul language.
The disconnected element should have a resistance of a few ohms if it's OK.
A higher resistance indicates it's dead.

It's normally held in by a couple of well-rusted self-tapping screws or similar.
Replacements are cheap, as has been mentioned.

[trekker12]

OK cool, thanks all for the advice.

I fitted the oven originally (It's a Belling xou69mf I've been told from the home front) so I know how it's connected to the power in the house and can easily isolate from the supply switch on the wall before disconnecting.

We have a household appliance spares shop just round the corner and Mrs Trekker has been for a walk and been told it's easily sourced, they will have one in tomorrow. It's more expensive than e-bay but I'm not a fan so prepared to pay a bit for the original part.

I'll pull it out tonight and have an inspection and get the test meter out.

[Tim Hall]

I replaced the element on a Neff fan over before.  This required removal of the fan, which in turn required knowing the nut securing the fan to the shaft was left hand thread.  I pass this information on just in case and to prevent the use of Bad Swears.

[Aunt Maud]

Sounds like a browse in the local classifieds for a second hand affair.

[trekker12]

It turns out my mother in law is looking for an excuse to buy a new oven so she has just ordered one and bequeathed her old one to us.

This is a shame because it increases the chances of at least one oven now going to landfill. I think I'll continue to take the advice above and see if I can repair the old one and sell it on or donate it somewhere.