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How to Repair your Oven

Published date: 26 October 2011 |
Published by: Reporter


If you're searching looking to repair your oven, chances are good that something is wrong with yours. Often, gas ovens fail because fuel isn't being delivered to the burner. Tracking down the reason for the lack of ignition is the first step to figuring out what to do to fix the problem.

The most obvious step is to check for blockage of the burner's outlets. Often, food can spill onto the burner and clog it up. Fixing this is as simple as giving it a good scrubbing with a stiff wire brush. You'll dislodge the debris and the gas will be able to flow again. 

If that doesn't take care of an ignition problem, you'll need to do some advanced diagnostics. Before that happens, though, you'll have to get the oven's panels open so you can get to the hidden workings. Usually there are some screws that hold the oven's bottom panel in place. Unscrew these and you should be able to lift it up.

Once you gain access to the oven's internal parts, you'll need to have some diagnostic equipment handy. To test if the igniter is getting power, you'll need electrical testing meters. You could just put in a new igniter and hope that it'll fix the problem, but if there's an electrical issue you'll find that your oven still doesn't work. You will also need to see if some sort of safety mechanism has been triggered. This can happen if something is wrong with the flow of gas or if the ignitor isn't heating up.

If the oven's burner is able to ignite the gas but the oven still doesn't heat up, the gasket on the door is often at fault. Replacing these is a seemingly simple job. Simply remove the old one, clean the channel it goes into, and put in a new one. It is likely, however, that the task won't be as simple as it seems. New gaskets often don't want to stay in place unless the right technique is used.

Sometimes, the oven won't heat up because it doesn't realize it should. This happens when the oven's setting control or timer has developed faults. This can be hard to diagnose because the problem may be intermittent. Replacing the parts on a guess will let you know if they were responsible for the difficulty, but it can be costly to use the process of elimination when it involves buying new items.

If you're not experienced with oven repairs, it's likely best to simply call a repairman. Professionals can often tell what's wrong with your oven simply by the way it's misbehaving. They also have all the diagnostic tools they need to pin down problems that seem vague. Once the diagnosis is made, it's more cost effective to have the repairman go ahead and complete the work in the same service visit.

Many companies that repair ovens also do other appliance work. When you get your oven fixed, be sure to ask about any other faulty appliances you may have. Often, you'll be able to get everything repaired by the same service company.

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