Range is dying -- need suggestions

[mysteryclock]

So my wife called and said "are you sitting down?", which is never a good sign.

Turns out it wasn't as dire as it sounded -- everyone is fine but our standard 30" smooth top range is on its last legs, just in time for Christmas! She noticed that it had taken almost an hour just to get to 340F and didn't want to go much further than that, no matter what she set the temp to. We had both been noticing over the last year that it was developing a serious case of the hot/cold spots in the oven and had adjusted our methods to accommodate it (flipping the baking pans halfway through, etc.) but it may be headed to its eternal reward this time.

Before anyone says "why don't you just repair it?" it is a GE Profile model with the burner element hidden somewhere inside (not visible) so I can envision a near-total teardown just to get to it, assuming that's the problem. Add to that the fact that it is almost 9 years old and I'm just not sure it would be worth the investment of time and $$$ in something that old.

The "magic" price point seems to be around $900 for a stainless single-oven self cleaning + convection smooth top, and both GE and Bosch have units at that point. Does anyone have recent experience with any of their ranges... or any other suggestions that won't bust the bank?

 

[turquoisedude]

This may be a dumb suggestion but...

If you are in an older home and your range is protected by cartridge fuses instead of a breaker, change both cartridges and try it again. If there is a breaker, I would suggest testing the range outlet to make sure you're getting all 240 volts. I had trouble with a modern dryer in a rental property a while ago ("It won't dry anything anymore") and it turned out to be a defective circuit breaker! This may save you the bother of replacing a range before the holidays hit hard!!

 

[mysteryclock]

The house is the same age as the stove approximately - coming up on 9 years, so it is all breakers. Can those deliver partial power when they are failing or is it more of an all-or-nothing proposition?

 

[hunter]

It could be the electric service, too.

I had an issue where the electric burners on my range would work, but not the oven.

It turned out that the problem was that one of the 220 volt legs was bad COMING IN TO THE HOUSE.

A call to the electric company solved it. So checking the power coming in to the range is not a bad idea.

 

[toggleswitch2]

I gave my sister a smooth-top stove/cooker that worked fine in my house. A few months later, and she too jsut as you could not get the oven to warm up. The element was a standard visible one at the oven's bottom.

I'd say it was the thermistor (elecronic oven thermostat/sensor) or the computer board itself.

It was a Whirlpool "Accu-bake" that would cycle the elements on and off in rapid succession [as a home thermostat's heat anticipator would] to cut temperature swings. It just got funkier and funkier as time marched on.

My other sister has a GE electric wall-oven that also cycles the heating elements on and off like crazy as a heat-anticpator. Problem is, all one hears is the control board relays clacking away. I guess the engineers didn't figure out that such a feature is NOT needed for, say, the pyrolytic self-cleaning process where one WANTS tons of heat.
Maybe yur GE hs a simalr issue.

 

[mysteryclock]

It does not appear to be the breaker as it has heated up just fine on 100% convection (which uses a separate element around the fan.) Just to be thorough, I'm going to look up the lower element replacement part tonight and see if it is as expensive as I think will be.

The oven I'm considering as a replacement is a Whirlpool with AccuBake. Hopefully that technology isn't as wiggy these days. It is made in the USA, which is always good.

Linky below.

http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/product.jsp?parentCategoryId=74&categoryId=76&subCategoryId=77&productId=1292

 

[toggleswitch2]

Hate to be a pest, but I really dont think it's the element.
Does "broil" not heat up enough as well?

 

[mysteryclock]

You are not being a pest -- I appreciate the troubleshooting help since this isn't my area of subject-matter expertise! I can test the broil after we're done with the bake-o-rama tonight (Apple Brown Betty and some kind of coconut bar thing.) If the broiler comes on full-force as expected then... it is the hidden element? If that's the case, what could it be if the broiler ~doesn't~ work that well? I don't hear any unusual clicking, if that matters.

Repairclinic has the hidden element at $76, special-order only (14+ days at best), and the "Circuit Board / Timer" @ $166, same status (ouch!).

 

[mixfinder]

Convection

I have a similar range and bake 98% of everything with convection heat or roast. Why not put the money back in your pocket and just use the convection mode?

 

[danemodsandy]

Go Vintage:

With a little Craigslist time, you could find yourself a range with analogue controls and no Fiat-reject electronics. A good scrub, a new set of burner bowls, and voila! a steady, sweet-tempered partner for a range instead of a high-maintenance drama queen.

 

[toggleswitch2]

~what could it be if the broiler -doesn't- work that well? I don't hear any unusual clicking, if that matters.

The temperature sensor(s)in the oven cavity or
The circuit board "computer"

But my thought, then, would not explain why the true-convetion element gets the oven hot.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

It really sounds like a bake element. Just get a continuity checker and ohm out the bake element at the terminals (with the range unplugged of course... LOL). You should have continuity across the element terminals and NO continuity from either terminal to ground.

RCD

 

[mysteryclock]

Slight correction...

Toggles,

In "Bake" (non-convection) mode I *do* hear clicking, more than I recall in the past. Seems to occur when the slooowww temperature gain stalls. No glow from the overhead element. The breadsticks we made tonight were very brown on the bottom, white on the top, and the Apple Brown Betty came out fine once we finished it on convection -- it was not getting done on regular bake.

In Broil mode there doesn't seem to be any clicking after the startup and overhead element glows.

In Convection Roast again, no clicking except in the beginning and the overhead element glows.

My lovely & observant wife also pointed out that the temperature side of the display is flickering now, although the rest of the display appears to be as steady as ever. Is the display the "brain" of the whole show? If so it sounds like it is starting to develop a bit of a personality fault.