Inevitable "HELP, my oven's bust!" Xmas thread...

HELP, my oven's bust!

Spent several hours cleaning the bloody thing yesterday and, on the basis of no good deed going unpunished, when MrsC switched it on yesterday, it tripped the main house circuit breaker. Now, the fan comes on, but no heat.
Google suggests blown heater element, but can anyone suggest alternative solutions?

Naturally, I'm at Stansted waiting to collect my daughters this morning, so a little limited in how much I can do until this afternoon.

If it's the element, how easy are they to buy in person, rather than online? The oven is a Bosch...

What you need is an independent repair shop. Unfortunately they seem to be getting very rare.

Are you sure that the power outage hasn't defaulted it to 'timer' mode?

Good tip, Ali, but I put it back onto manual after I switched the power back on...

Not sure how easy to buy in person, Jim, but generally very easy to change

Jim, if you can get hold of one they're straightforward to fit.

Be worth you googling to find an little hardware shop in your locality. Places like Wickes, B&Q don't usually stock useful things like oven elements.

You'll likely find that it's a 'standard' element that would fit a number of different models/brands and not just your specific oven - least that's what I found when I changed mine a few months ago.

Just use google there are loads of part shops on line and you can usually find a generic part number and cross reference to find alternatives

As said previously it's easy, usually just a couple of nuts to undo but that's depending on model

Sure you have not shorted out the element with cleaning solution/ water, thus blowing an internal fuse? may be worth checking just in case

Yes, I changed mine a few years ago - dead easy

I used an online company called eSpares, they seemed good and efficient

I now have one of those table tops ovens, much better if you get a decent one and cheaper to replace if they fail

The very excellent Cotswold Appliances in Stroud have tracked down the element on one of their works vans and I'm picking it up this afternoon. The oven is in bits on the kitchen floor waiting for it.

The only difficult bit so far was freeing the fan blade from its spindle; 2 different metals getting hot and cooling for a decade...
Anyway, WD40, a small adjustable spanner, a couple of screwdrivers serving as wedges and a few applications of the Birmingham screwdriver to the end of the spindle and a vicious attack of cramp later...

I just hope it is in fact the element that is broken. I can't find my multimeter, so haven't been able to test it.

Eventually got the element, the old one had fused together, so it was definitely to blame.
Reassembly was trouble-free and all went swimmingly. A couple of hours later, my back was still sore from self-patting, when the lights went off as the circuit breaker blew again.

After resetting it, I nervously switched the oven on again and - to my surprise, it seems to work, though the light has blown. However, I can see the element glowing red behind the protective plate, which I'm sure it never did before.

Oh well, we'll either be eating roast duck or duck curry, depending on oven performance...

Oh, and a top tip: modern oven cleaners such as Oven Pride contain chemicals that change the conductivity of elements - apparently it's one of the most common causes of failure. So watch how you clean that oven, kids.

Wow they must work by alchemy then and not just chemistry. Hope your goose gets cooked ok, maybe you should try today so there's still time to buy the curry in if it fails?

I think I might have been a little ambiguous in my use of the word element! My only brush with chemistry was an O-level in 1981, so I may well have fallen for a fake explanation!
I can report a highly successful duck roast, though the power did trip again - this time when the other bulb blew in the top oven.

Well done, Jim; we'll make an engineer out of you yet!

Most impressive. Jim, although perhaps a similar ambiguity could have arisen in your understanding of "bulb baster"

Well yes, I know, but I retire soon, and may need someone to do those little jobs around the house...