One of the worst feelings is when something you depend on every day breaks down, whether that's a car, a shower or in this case your oven! What’s even more frustrating is when you can’t work out what is wrong. You have come home from a long day, ready to cook your evening meal when you have turned the oven on to find that it is now not heating up. An absolute nightmare! I imagine if you are reading this blog, you are experiencing that feeling now and looking desperately to see what is wrong with your oven. Well, it seems as if your luck is on the up because in this blog we will be detailing all the common faults that electric ovens suffer from and even put a handful of tips on how to resolve the issues!

 

Common electric oven issues:

It can be really frustrating to come home to a broken oven that won’t heat up, especially when you are on an empty stomach and looking to cook your next meal! A cold metal box in your kitchen is no good and you won’t have much luck getting it to cook anything, however, if you can identify the issue and potentially even resolve it, that metal box will turn back into that beautiful oven we all rely on to cook our favourite meals. The most common reason for an oven not heating up is due to a defective part within the machine, so if you can identify what is causing the issue, you can replace the part and get your oven back up and running as normal.

 

Health & Safety

Before we even introduce any sort of common issues that electric ovens often face it is always first priority that you take out this inspection in a safe manner. Firstly, even before you contemplate examining your oven for any technical faults you must make sure that the oven is unplugged from the mains electrics and that you have turned off the socket. If you are unsure and do not have experience in this field, it is recommended that you contact a professional oven repairs specialist so they can help diagnose and fix your oven issue or contact your oven manufacturer's support team for any guidance and help. 

The oven temperature sensor is broken or faulty

One of the most common issues that causes an electric oven to be unable to heat up at all is a broken or faulty oven temperature sensor. In most electric ovens you will find a temperature sensor that monitors the inside of the oven when you are cooking something. Often this sensor can break or become faulty and this means that the oven will then not heat up.
Check the user manual to see if your oven contains a temperature-sensing bulb, if it does, use the manual to locate the whereabouts of the bulb and if it is burnt out, replace it with a new bulb. Use the display on your oven digital display to check the oven elements before replacing the temperature sensor. 

 

The heating elements are broken 

Another common electric oven fault is due to the heating elements of the electric oven breaking or becoming faulty. This is also a common issue seen across most electric ovens that fail to heat up when turned on. Electric ovens contain two heating elements that sit at the top and bottom of the cooking appliance. In order to check that both heating elements are functioning efficiently, turn on the oven and use the preheat setting. If both the heating elements are working properly, they will glow red. However, if one or both do not begin to glow red then there is an issue with the heating elements and you will need to get them fixed and replaced. 

When replacing a heating element it is always recommended to get in touch with an electric oven repair specialist or the dedicated support team supplied by your oven manufacturer and they will help inform you of the next steps on replacing the heating element as it can be quite complex to people who do not have experience when it comes to repairing ovens. 

Improper oven calibration

Another fault that is often found to be the cause of why ovens fail to heat up properly when they are requested to is that the oven has been improperly calibrated. In order to find the calibration dial of the oven, refer to the user manual of your oven. As a common rule, most calibration dials are found on the back of the temperature knob or at the bottom of the shaft. 

After you have located the oven calibration dial, adjust it either clockwise to improve the heat of the oven or anti-clockwise to reduce the heat of the oven. In order to confirm that your oven is calibrated efficiently, ensure that you adjust the oven temperature clockwise and anti-clockwise a handful of times to be certain.

The thermostat or selector switch has become burnt out 

An often fault that causes electric ovens to produce no heat entirely is when the thermostat or selector switch has become burnt out. If the thermostat or selector switch burns out and stops working then so will your oven. 

To identify where the selector switch is on your oven, consult your oven's user manual for guidance. If you cannot find it within the user manual, simply contact your ovens manufacturer’s dedicated support team or search for the make and model of your oven online and find the user manual. After you have located your oven's selector switch, you can change it by removing the knob and then loosening the selector switch underneath it. You can then replace the selector switch with a replacement switch that you can purchase online. 

 

Conclusion

Overall, there are many complex and intricate issues that can cause your oven to not heat up efficiently or at all! Hopefully, this guide has helped you identify the cause for why your oven is not heating up and provide you with a solution on how to fix it. However, it is always important to note that if you are not experienced in repairing ovens then it is always best to get in touch with a qualified professional as you don’t want to cause any further damage to your oven or to yourself.

If you think it is time to say goodbye to your old and broken oven and you live within the Peterborough, Whittlesey or March areas, Kellyvision Appliances provide a range of top-quality ovens from all the leading oven manufacturers. Shop double ovens, single ovens, built-under double ovens, steam ovens and microwave ovens online today!

Alternatively, Kellyvision Appliances provide a selection of different cooking appliances from cookers, hobs, range cookers, hoods, splashbacks, microwaves and warming drawers.