Geoff S Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Halfway through making our lunch of cheese on toast,the grill on our 15 year old packed up. I eventually plucked up the enthusiasm to pull the built-in oven out to see what could be done. I find the biggest problem repairing kitchen appliances is access, especially if they built in, and now physically getting on my knees to do the work. I eventually decided to get my trestles and old building board to make a bench and managed to get the oven at a comfortable working height . Anyway, it proved not to be too difficult and I managed to get the old element out. Luckily, when I installed the oven, I'd left plenty of slack in the cable. The kitchen installer wouldn't touch any electrical work and there was no way I'd pay an electrician to something I was perfectly capable of doing myself. Of course, I turned off the main switch but, in addition, I removed the dedicated cooker fuse in the consumer unit I'd installed 40 odd years ago. Better safe than sorry. I located a replacement element on-line. In fact, I located two. One was £37 the other £47. Which to choose? How do you judge the quality of something like that? By price. I've ordered the most expensive one on the grounds that I've probably saved us £200 by sorting it out myself. The new element arrives sometime next week - Wednesday, I think. Meanwhile, we don't have a grill but the caravan's just outside if necessary! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 If you have a toaster you can put the cheese in place on the toast & melt it in a microwave. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Bullit Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Why do you need to pull the oven out. Our grill and main elements can both be done in situ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 11 minutes ago, Jake Bullit said: Why do you need to pull the oven out. Our grill and main elements can both be done in situ. Yep, did the element in our fan oven just before Xmas, found a youtube video and just followed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Cheddar ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) The bottom element of our Baumatic has just gone - unforch its not visible, not sure how to get to it... I did the main fan oven element a while ago, but that one is visible, the top oven has two elements but the bottom one (the faulty one) is hidden. Head-scratchy time. 🙂 Edited January 22 by Phil Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 15 hours ago, Jake Bullit said: Why do you need to pull the oven out. Our grill and main elements can both be done in situ. The connections are accessed from the back. There're only 2 screws to remove to pull it out, and it save grovelling on the floor (something I'm not good at these days). There are also two further screws at the back to remove the element. @Phil Green The internet is your friend, as it was when I repaired our built-in microwave oven. I really had no idea how they worked and found that the magnetron (which was faulty) works in a very similar way to a good old triode valve (which learned about at my granny's knee) but at MUCH higher voltages 🙂 YouTube is a wonderful resource once you get past the dross. Unfortunately, being a former electrical/electronic professional, I feel the need to be the repairer of any household electrical gadgets - I suppose it saves money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Hi Geoff, the fan oven element I was able to change in situ and I was hoping for the same again - but no, looks like this one has to be accessed from the rear so this time its an oven-out jobbie. Hope they've left some slack! I did find guides for similar but not the same oven, they cant be so different eh 🙂 I'm a big fan of the "right to repair" which is now UK law although not a very robust law, manufacturers can still charge unreasonable prices for spares, but that opens up opportunities for cheaper compatible spares from 3rd parties so we all win for once! 🙂 (although all my stuff is pre-RTR and it doesnt include cookers anyway!) The sticky label denoting "No user serviceable parts inside" always amuses me, very seldom is it true! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 It’s always better to repair rather than replace, whether it is ovens, cars or even models or radio equipment. Spending a few tens of pounds on a new oven element has to be preferable to spending hundreds on a new oven, neither of which is made in the UK nowadays. It’s ‘greener’ as well, so you’ll be doing your bit for the planet too… Brian. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John T Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 That's weird, perhaps it's something to do with the time of year, but I've just had to replace the bottom element on our oven that went just before Christmas. I also had to get the oven out to access the element and I was most unimpressed at the build standard... Still, at around £25 it was a lot cheaper than a new oven and it seems to be working fine again now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Maybe the experience of changing one of these could be improved, with better access if you had some sort of elevated working platform, where the cooker could be lifted up off the ground and placed at a comfortable working height, with good access to the rear. It wouldn't need to be a permanent structure, as you would only need to use if now and again, when the heating element came to the end of it's useful life. Sounds like what you could do with is a Periodic Table of the Elements........ I'll get me coat. 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 The new element arrived in the post today, delivered by our regular, friendly postman. He took a picture and looked a sorry sight in his anorak with hood up as the rain fell. It looks to be the right one, which is a plus. I'll fit it this afternoon when the memsahib is available for a little help (she's doing the weekly shop right now). Pretty good service from what turned out to be Screwfix. I hadn't realised when I ordered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 23 hours ago, RottenRow said: It’s always better to repair rather than replace, whether it is ovens, cars or even models or radio equipment. Spending a few tens of pounds on a new oven element has to be preferable to spending hundreds on a new oven, neither of which is made in the UK nowadays. It’s ‘greener’ as well, so you’ll be doing your bit for the planet too… Brian. A rather sweeping statement, I'd say - especially in the case of cars. The right to repair is great, but of course, the devil is in the economics. The overwhelming number of people won't have a clue about even the very simplest repair from the standpoint of a DIY effort, and from what I saw and heard when sitting and waiting for my car to be MoT'd in a garage a while back, the most basic problems that a few people came in with was quite staggering to me. "My car's tyre warning light has come on.....what should I do"? was one. "I think I might need new wipers, can you fit them for me"?.......the chap who asked had a Fiesta like ours and they only take a minute at most to swap. Labour charges are the killer - £80 to £100 per hour as a rock bottom minimum and much more for certain highly specialist services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 1 hour ago, leccyflyer said: Sounds like what you could do with is a Periodic Table of the Elements........ Brilliant Brian 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 All done and dusted! We now have a grill that works. The hardest bit was replacing the single screw inside the front of the oven at the top. It holds both the element and what I assume is a heat shield above it. The old problem - as soon as you get near the point where the screw should enter the hole and start the thread, you're working blind because the heat shield hides the hole. I overcame it by putting a thin screwdriver through all the holes first to get the location, then instructing my helper to hold everything in place while I withdrew the screwdriver and fitted the fastening screw (one of those funny heads they use to stop users repairing their products). Worked first time! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Whenever I see the Repair Shop on TV it annoys me that they just mend peoples teddy bears etc ( seemingly at OUR -the Licence Payers expense!) and don't mend fridges, ovens, washing machines etc which would be good for the environment. Expert repairers wasted! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 30 minutes ago, kc said: Whenever I see the Repair Shop on TV it annoys me that they just mend peoples teddy bears etc ( seemingly at OUR -the Licence Payers expense!) and don't mend fridges, ovens, washing machines etc which would be good for the environment. Expert repairers wasted! I think youve missed the point of the show. Theres a story and emotional connection to the objects that you can no longer buy and amazingly skilled people repairing them. Why would anyone want to watch someone repairing a washing machine that you can buy new anywhere. If needed you can see that on you tube. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC57 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) 10 hours ago, Cuban8 said: …the most basic problems that a few people came in with was quite staggering to me. "My car's tyre warning light has come on.....what should I do"? was one. "I think I might need new wipers, can you fit them for me"?.......the chap who asked had a Fiesta like ours and they only take a minute at most to swap… A lot of people have absolutely no idea about anything mechanical or remotely technical of any kind. There is a channel on YouTube called Just Rolled In where mechanics submit videos of things they found wrong with cars bought in by customers. Most of them are in America, but I’m sure the same kind of things happen here in the UK as well. Watching them I’m never quite sure whether to find them amusing, or be horrified by some people’s total ineptitude. Edited January 23 by EvilC57 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 17 hours ago, Learner said: Why would anyone want to watch someone repairing a washing machine that you can buy new anywhere. Well because it's a huge problem disposing of all sorts of dumped kitchen white appliances that could be fixed probably with a simple repair. if the public saw an easy repair that they might do themselves the waste dumping problem might be aleviated! Wasting skilled people repairing teddy bears etc is crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Not sure if the skill in restoring Teddy Bears is transferable to washing machines. I've done the element in our cooker a couple of times and done the hinges on the oven and fridge. My speciality though is bringing old RC models back into service 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futura57 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 My wife is due a 38 year (married) service. Do you think the Repair Shop would take her on? I still have an emotional connection and they don't make them like her anymore 🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hearnden 1 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 We have a local guy called Squadmatic, ex-Brown job hence the name & his call out charge is around £40 & his part charges are very reasonable. I use him for washing machine, microwaves etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 23/01/2024 at 21:11, EvilC57 said: A lot of people have absolutely no idea about anything mechanical or remotely technical of any kind. There is a channel on YouTube called Just Rolled In where mechanics submit videos of things they found wrong with cars bought in by customers. Most of them are in America, but I’m sure the same kind of things happen here in the UK as well. Watching them I’m never quite sure whether to find them amusing, or be horrified by some people’s total ineptitude. Motor Cycle News has a workshop horror column.........loose electrical connection to the generator on one of those Deliveroo scooters was DIY fixed by a bloke who drove a nail through the connector tab right into the alternator rotor........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Yep, the stuff on "Just Rolled in" is just "Nuts" They are everything from laughable to How/Why the hell did they do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.