Learn easy steps to Fix Your Oven Stovetop Range, such as heating unevenly or not turning on. Troubleshoot and repair with confidence.
It would be difficult to rank your utilities in order of importance, but your stove is certainly up there. When you consider how much cooking is done on a stove, you begin to realize how much of a limitation it puts on your options without one. So if your stove goes out, your two best options are to either rely on your oven and microwave, or else to spend precious dollars eating out.
Step-by-Step guide to Fix Your Oven Stovetop Range
First, Give Your Stove A Deep Clean
Sometimes, what is causing a stove to work improperly is just a need for a good deep clean. It can take anywhere from 1-2 hours, so set aside some time in your day to really focus on it.
To give your stovetop range a good scrub, do the following:
- Make sure that you’ve disconnected power from your stove. We definitely recommend you do so in order to stay safe.
- Remove all of the knobs and stove elements and give them a scrub with some warm water and soap.
- Use a rag or a sponge with soap and some warm water to clean the top of your stove, especially around the burners. Clear away spills and crumbs and built-up grease that might be accumulating. Lift up the stove-top and do the same beneath.
- Use a vacuum cleaner to clean any dirt or debris from inside of the stove top range.
- If there is any food or grease buildup, use a toothbrush and some hot water to scrub it away. Don’t neglect degreaser especially to clear away any of the gunk that could be inhibiting electrical flow to your stove.
When you have finished cleaning, have given the stove a chance to dry a little bit (water and electricity do not go well together), and have restored power to your stove, try turning it on. If it does heat up, then perfect! If not, then there is certainly something else going on.
Check The Stove Element And Receptacle
If your stove top range is not heating up, and the cause is not readily apparent, then the best place to start is by checking the element.
For those who do not know, the element is the coiled part of the stove that is exposed to the surface. It is also referred to, in America, as the “burner.”
- Each element is connected on the stovetop to a different circuit
- When the temperature dials are turned, it allows for a certain amount of voltage (depending on the setting you selected) to travel through and receptacle and to that respective burner, thus heating it up.
- The electricity will cycle, shutting on and off, in order to maintain the selected temperature.
The Heating Receptacle
When the stove element doesn’t appear to be heating up, the problem might not be with the element at all, but actually with the receptacle. A loose connection between the element terminals and the receptacle interrupts the flow of electricity, weakening it to the point of being unable to heat up. In fact, if a receptacle is weakly connected, the electrical current can actually form a buildup of carbon that will weaken the connection even more.
Inspecting Your Element
In order to examine your stove element and see if the problem rests there, first disconnect electricity at the breaker. Whenever you’re working with electricity, you should take every precaution to make sure that you are safe.
From there:
- Remove the element from the stove and example the terminals (which should look like two extensions at the end of the coil. If they look like they’re coated in a layer of soot, then clean them up. If they look damaged in any way, then it’s best to replace the element altogether.
- If the element looks all right, then the problem might be with the receptacle. Either way, though, it is recommended that you examine the receptacle.
- To do this, first lift your stovetop. The entire top should open similar to the hood of a car.
- You’ll find the receptacles connected with wires at the edge of where the elements are located. Examine them and, if the plastic casing looks cracked, melted, or blackened, then that is a sure sign that it’s time to bring in replacements.
- Next examine the wires. Run your hand along them to see if they feel or look damaged, darkened, or stiff. If so, then it’s time to replace them. The majority of the time, the damage will be found closer to the receptacle itself.
You can totally buy a kit in order to replace the wiring and casing of your receptacle, but if you do not want to take the risk of having it be improperly installed, then there is another option: call in a professional.
iFiX Are Your Stovetop Repair Experts
It’s a sad day for anyone who has ever had to make do without their stove. The loss of that familiar heat and aroma from cooking is just a symbol of the headache that comes with a stove on the fritz, especially when you realize it’s not just one meal but probably a few that will need to be improvised, either by cooking in the oven or eating out.
If you’re struggling with a stove that won’t heat up, don’t worry. We’ve dealt with all sorts of stove problems on all sorts of different brands. Our repairmen are specially trained to be able to deal with all the major name suppliers so that no matter the brand, we can work with it.
Don’t waste time and effort working on your stove when you could be focusing instead on your daily routine. Call in the professionals over at iFiX to examine and repair whatever is plaguing your stove and any other utilities that need attention. Contact us today to schedule for one of our repairmen to get to work, so that you can get back to life.
Go with iFiX today and get all of your appliances up and running.
