Frigidaire Compact 30 repair saga, continued...

[philr]

The models with the clock on the right front corner are the newest ones from the late seventies. For the model number, it should be under one of the burners on the left side. You need to lift the burner and remove the support and drip bowl to see the tag with the model and serial number. 

 

Here's one that should look similar to yours. 

 

[sudsmaster]

It looks like the business end - the burner controls - are the same as on mine.

I would suggest a couple of steps to determine where the fault lies:

1) First, disconnect power at the breaker panel to the range. Try a new burner coil in the left front spot. If you don't have a spare, you can use the known good right rear one, just swap them out.

2) If swapping the burners doesn't fix the problem, the fault is either bad wiring or bad control. I suspect the left front control tends to go out before the others because it tends to get the brunt of spills and boil overs.

3) Getting at the control is no fun. You have to pull all the knobs, remove a bunch of screws, gently separate the control panel L-shaped face from the guts underneath and without breaking any wires and such. I found some wire connectors were so shot that I had to replace them (spade type connectors). If the wiring looks ok, or you found bad wiring and fixed it, and the coil still doesn't work, then you'll probably need a new control. These are available online, just plug in the number you find on your old control into Google.

4) If you do get a new control, you'll need to shorten the already short screws holding it to the face panel. Otherwise they'll bottom out on the moving parts inside the replacement control and ruin it. And yes, a number of the screws on my range were so corroded/rusted that I had to replace them with ones I got from the hardware store. After I cut them down to proper size (which is about 1/4" long!).

5) In my opinion while the Compact 30 line looks cool and works well enough, it was not made with easy serviceability in mind. The coils are relatively easy to replace, but the controls are a bitch. Such is the cost of a compact design that tries to squeeze old school parts into a too small space. Perhaps Frigidaire was thinking this was an entry level range and when anything more than the elements broke, the customer would be ready to junk it and move up to a big range that would be easier to service. Sort of ignores the fact that these are drop-in units, made for built-in cabinetry, and it's no so easy to convert a built-in setup to a free standing setup. OK, end of rant.

 

[rock4jesus777]

Back to the Compact 30’s

Hi! So I’m going to try to revive this thread a little because I’m having a hard time finding ANY info on these Frigidaire/GM Compact 30’s. Mine is a RBE3-539N-CH. That’s on the data plate under the burner. Anyway, our oven stopped heating up properly and I saw in the first reply on this thread, a “hydraulic thermostat” on the Heat Minder burner. I also noticed that this wire/tube/whatever it is, goes from the control, over to the burner, then down into the oven.

Is this for the oven? The burner heats just fine but the oven, when set to even 500°, doesn’t get even close to that hot so I assume it does. The element seems to be intact so...

I was also wondering if this is even worth getting fixed if it’s the problem. I really like this old stove. It cooks very well and looks great, but if it’s going to cost me an arm and a leg to repair, I may as well spend that arm and leg upgrading to this decade.

 

[philr]

Your problem could be caused by a bad relay or a bad element. Does the bake element glow red a few minutes after the oven is turned on? If it doesn't, there must be something wrong with the wiring, with the bake element itself or with the relay or with the thermostat itself. Many parts are getting hard to get if you want to keep the self-cleaning oven feature but I'd say it's worth searching for if you like it (and I like how it's matched to your cabinets!).

 

[sudsmaster]

I was able to locate a replacement control for one of the 8" burners, just by googling, so I figure you could do the same by googling the range model number and "oven".

It could be the oven element, or, more likely, the oven control/thermostat. If the oven has seen a lot of use I'd try replacing the element first. If that doesn't do it then replace the oven control and thermostat. All *should* be available.

If you're handy with a volt-ohm meter you might be able to detect if the element is good or bad, and if the control is sending the right voltage to it.

BE CAREFUL with that.

I doubt that the hydraulic control Heat Minder has anything to do with oven operation. But I've been wrong before.