Please Help Identify Wall Oven Year/Model

[toggleswitch]

Ah thanks.

I grew up in an area that is almost 100% exclusively gas cooking.

My current electric ovens are WP.

Will investigate GEs out of coriosity.

TYVM.

 

[parunner58]

My two prior GE ranges although selfcleaning had the lift up bake element. The first range must have been early 70's, it still had the flourescent work light for the cooktop and the button to press when you slid the oven lock to the locked postition. Even with SC you still have some residue powder to wipe up. My new range has the hidden bake element so wiping the bottom after cleaning is easy and the three racks are selfcleanable. The drawback of the hidden element is it takes forever, almost 20 minutes to preheat the oven.

I too would love a double true-convection selfcleaning wall oven.

 

[toggleswitch]

Can anyone kindly describe or add a link as to how the hidden bake element is constructed and or works?

TYVM.

 

[parunner58]

here you go:

Hidden Bake Oven Interior
Added panel on the bottom of the oven interior hides the previously exposed lower heating element helping protect and deliver a clean appearance.

 

[toggleswitch]

I know what a bottom looks like. But thanks.

I meant seeing the element itself. And how does the heat not go up the sides of the oven cavity and scorch the insulation?

 

[toggleswitch]

Which means a service call not only for the smooth-top coils when they go, but now a service call for the oven bake element-- OY VEY.

Personally I see no reason to have it this way in a self-cleaner. I sincerely doubt you can use the oven bottom as another cooking level/surface. Won't things burn?

 

[parunner58]

GE did have the diagram on the site at one time, but I cannot find it. I will see if my instruction manual has more info. I found this picture and if you look how the cutaway of the bottom looks it looks like the element is confined in a box.

 

[DADoES]

The Martha Washington wall oven in my parents 1964 house had a lift-up lower element.

I can echo that hidden elements make for an increase preheat time. Not a *lot* but there is an increase compared to non-hidden. However, hidden probably makes for more even heating due to the extra mass of the oven walls acting as a heatsink. I got a toaster-oven for biscuits, cinnamon rolls, etc. Seems more efficient than heating up the "big" oven for a 10 or 15 minute item.

I found this pic.

 

[toggleswitch]

ah thank you!
The old false-bottom trick.

Makes sense.

But does it brown as well if you hide half the infra-red rays of the (lower) element?

Mike:
The upper photoappears to be a TRUE clean-bootm, probably with a ribbon-type hidden element. (Think as in a toaster).

The lower pic has a false REMOVABLE bottom with std. calrod element.

 

[toggleswitch]

Actually the true (fan) convection and ethird element will help (pre-)heat the oven up quicker. Then it can be switched *OFF*

So far it seems like you can only GET the smooth-bottom with convection. Am I mistaken?

 

[appnut]

If the ovens were originally coppertone Sarah, then they could be late 1960s.

 

[parunner58]

Toggle,

Those pictures are both from the range I have. It is not a false smooth bottom. There is the eight pass calrod like the second picture shows sealed under it. I just looked where the drawer is and you cannot access the element there either. I think you have to take the whole oven apart or there may be some access from the back. I do not want to scratch my new floor or I would slide it out and look. There is nothing in the manual.

There is a warning message in the manual stating not to cook anything by sitting it directly on the bottom.

Yes it does do a nice job at browning food. on conventional, convection(uses the fan and the hidden element only), true-convection( uses the fan and the fan element only), and convection roast ( uses the fan and the broiler element only). With true convection I can bake three cookie sheets at a time and don't have to rotate them.

I have preheated with the convection only, then switched to the conventional. My convection has the element in it.

A smoothtop unit is very easy to replace. The whole cooktop tilts up and the units are held in place with brackets and plugged into a wire harness that feeds down from the backsplash. I had a small 1 inch scratch on my cooktop after a few months and GE replaced the whole thing as a defect and I helped the guy replace it. It would be a very easy DIY job. I have the old cooktop in the garage if anyone needs one.