Cooking equipment, no matter how good it is, no matter how much you invested in your equipment, will eventually reach a point where it would need some tender love and care. One of the most commonly used cooking equipment is your oven.
It is important to maintain your oven in the best possible state it could be. However, since it is one of the most used kitchen equipment, it will eventually need to be repaired.
One of the most common concerns that oven users face is that their heating element had seen better days. Let’s take a look at some of the most common concerns in heating equipment and answer the question of how to repair the oven heating element.
What is a heating element?
The heating element of an electric oven is also called a baking coil. The baking coil can be found attached behind the back wall of the oven, which is located at the bottom and a broiling element found on top.
Tell-tale signs that your heating element is in need of a repair
If you notice that the quality of food you’re getting is not the same as it used to be, the first thing you could look at is the heating element not turning into the bright orange it should be.
Once a heating element is fully heated at 350 degrees, it shines bright orange. If you don’t see this, you must call a repairman.
A well-used oven can also have some blisters and cracks, which are sure signs that your oven is due for some repair. This means that you need to remove the heating element to make a thorough check-up of your oven.
Other than the physical state of your oven, you will definitely see the level of functionality your oven is capable of if your food is not cooking. When you see your food not cooking, you will need to replace your heating element.
How to repair your heating element?
Other than the wirings and the other parts of your oven, the main functionality of your oven is to produce heat. However, when your oven cannot reach your ideal temperature, or it is not heating up at all, it is time to check into your heating element.
Several electric ovens utilize the bake element and the broil element in the baking process. The baking element of an oven mostly does the work doing 90 percent of the heating capacity of the oven.
Once this heating element stops working, it would definitely show in any type of food you cooked in the oven, which would typically be undercooked or even uncooked.
The easiest way to assess the heating element is a physical assessment. As mentioned earlier, if there is any burnt area, it is time to replace it. Though sometimes your heating element may visually seem to be working perfectly, and the best and surest way to check on its functionality is to use a multimeter.
Typically, an oven can reach up to 200 volts of power. In order to ensure your safety, you need to unplug your appliance from its power source before beginning the assessment. Check on any corroded or loose wires or even the slightest signs of wear or damage around your oven. Look into the terminals and the wirings of your oven’s bake element.
To effectively check on every section of your oven, you need to detach the back panel to check on the wiring and its elements. If you see that there are no signs that there may be issues with your heating element, you now need to check on the continuity of your element.
The element from your oven needs to be removed. Once you’ve successfully removed the element, you will reset your multimeter into the RX1 setting then attach it to both of the heating element’s terminals.
The multimeter reading may vary from one model to another but the average range to look for is between the values 19-115 ohms. You may consult your manual to know the exact value you can expect from your oven model.
If in the event that your heating element does not reach the value it is supposed to have, it is time to get a new element so you can go back to your baking.
Overall, changing your heating element is essential to be able to get the best possible results most of the time.
However, to maintain the safety of your home and your family, it would still be best to call for a professional to provide you with answers on how to repair the oven heating element.
