Preparing home-cooked meals for your family is very important. It builds and strengthens family ties, and over time, recipes from home-cooked meals are passed on from generations to come. However, before you get excited about creating that family tradition, you need your cooking equipment to be in tip-top shape. Yet, just like any cooking equipment, your oven may run into some problems.
While the most frequent oven problem is a broken door or broken handle, it’s also possible that an oven takes forever to preheat.
And, if this happens, you will spend more time waiting for your appliance to get ready before it can even serve its functions.
There are a couple of reasons why an oven takes forever to preheat.
In this article, you will be guided on what to consider so you can fix your oven issues as soon as possible.
Here are the possible answers to your question–why oven takes forever to preheat?
Electric Oven
Defective heating elements
If you see that your oven is not starting to heat, it would typically mean that your oven has a defective heating element, most especially when it comes to electric ovens.
The heating element of an electric oven consists of two parts, the upper part is for baking, and the lower part is meant for broiling.
One of the most telling signs that a heating element is functioning is that it glows a bright red. Sometimes, your oven may heat up, but no matter how long you seem to wait, it is still not reaching your desired temperature.
One possible concern is that when you set your oven to prebake, both of your upper and lower heating elements are supposed to be working simultaneously.
However, if one heating element is not working, it would be impossible to reach your desired temperature.
The temperature sensor is not working
Most electric ovens have heating sensors that would tell you the current temperature of your oven. Non-working temperature sensors may hinder you from achieving your desired temperature.
When replacing your temperature sensors, you must first look into the wirings of your oven. It may also affect how your temperature sensors.
There are some instances where an oven does not have temperature sensors in the form of a bulb. Your bulb that senses temperature in your oven may either simply be loose or burnt.
You can opt to simply change these temperature sensors or, better yet, call for repairmen who are professionals in handling these kinds of concerns.
Gas Oven
Check your ignitor
When it comes to gas ovens, the first thing you could look into in case you see your oven not getting to your desired temperature is the ignitor.
However, before doing so, you have to always be mindful of your safety. In order to secure your safety, you need to turn off your gas and move your oven away from the wall. You will typically see your ignitor behind the oven compartment.
You can remove the ignitor from your oven by removing it from the oven floor. You could also utilize a multimeter to detect the power continuity. Using one of the probes, place it onto one of the terminals while the second probe to the other terminal.
The multimeter must display values ranging from 0-1100 ohms. If your multimeter shows any other value, your continuity needs a replacement.
Terrible relays
There are ovens that have a dual heating element which means two relays. These relays can burn after a certain period of usage. Look into the manual and read the instructions.
There is a possibility that you may need to call for maintenance to solve the issue of your oven.
A working oven is essential in providing meals for your family. However, you also need to ensure that it is in a safe working capacity.
If you are spending a lot of time waiting for your appliance to preheat, one of the issues above may have arisen.
Though there may be available do-it-yourself videos and instructions, it would still be best to call in a professional to deal with your oven concerns safely.
Consider the factors mentioned above and observe your oven when you are using it.
