Electric-oven Heating Elements

A busted oven and cookie deprivation can make a DIYer out of you!

Are you derived of fresh home-baked cookies because your oven is on the fritz? Take a few minutes to investigate before you call the appliance repair man. You might be able to clear up the problem yourself easily and inexpensively. Ovens have two heating elements -- one below for the oven and one above for broiling. Often they are identical. If one works and the other doesn't, try switching them to see if it's a simple burnout. First turn off the power. With some stoves, the oven door lifts off for easy access. Remove screws from the element support bracket, gently pull forward to expose wires and remove them from element terminals. If you can't switch elements for a test, take the bad one to a service center with the model number for an exact match. Reverse the removal process, turn on the power, fire it up and check to see what's cooking. If it isn't, your problem might be wiring or a control. If it's heating okay, whip up some cookie dough, take the phone off the hook and lock the door. It's party time! And that's the On The House tip for today.

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