Assume you leave it on while you go to work because you forget to turn it off. Is it actually dangerous to do that? does it matter if its gas or electric in regards to danger? It seems like it would just internally regulate its temperature and not pose a threat.
What if you leave food in there, then is it dangerous? I dont know if there is a risk of the food catching on fire, but even if it did ovens are steel and (probably) fireproof so i’m sure they would contain and maybe suffocate the fire.
So is leaving an oven on dangerous? I dont know which forum to put this in (its too subjective to be a general question) so i’m putting it here.
It probably depends on the age and model of the oven. My mother left our oven on overnight. It just meant the kitchen was warm.
Leaving the toaster part of an oven on, with toast in it, that’s another thing entirely. I have nearly set our old kitchen on fire, three times.
The short answer is Yes. No appliance is infinitely infallible. Should the regulating thermostat fail, you have a very serious problem.
Regarding ovens being fireproof, that’s a false conception. Ovens and related appliances are involved as the point of ignition in fires to a degree that they have their own listed factor on NFIRS: Careless Cooking.
Oh for a picture of the face someone displays at 0315 when they’ve come home from the pub, put some leftovers in the oven to reheat and then fell asleep. An hour or so later, building smoke detectors are howling, and I boot in the apartment door, awakening the errant cooker from the living room couch.
When the cold comes, and the heater goes, I have been known to leave the oven on with the door open. I suppose that makes a big difference (door being open).
Thus far I am still alive with roof over the head and such.
Never a good idea to leave the oven on when you’re not home. Especially if something is cooking. This from someone who always checks the cooktop and the oven to make sure everything is off before leaving home even when he hasn’t even turned the things on!
One day I arrived home to find my sister (who was then living with me) gone, the oven on, and an extremely crispy piece of what used to be pizza in the oven. She had put it in to heat up and forgot about it when her friends dropped by and took her with them. No harm was done to anything but the pizza, fortunately, but it’s not really something I’d recommend doing.
In theory, that should be OK…I’ve done it, but at temps of 350 degrees or less. You don’t want to surpass the almighty 451F, or all your questionable books will burn.
My mental picture of a modern oven is a pretty fireproof place. I can’t imaging anything burning inside the oven spreading flames to any combustible material outside, or of transmitting flashpoint heat to anything outside the oven.
In fact, I used to hide money in the drawer beneath the oven, in the belief that it would be one of the last places a general house fire would spread to…
I think you might consider sticking around, as I’d wager the vast, vast majority of people here know that book, as beowulff said (although I’ll account that since we have an international audience, I wouldn’t assume literally everyone knows it. But I’d bet 90%+.)
I’ve left the house to run an errand, while something is baking in the oven. A pot roast for example can be left alone while I go to the grocery or go to the bank.
Don’t most modern ovens have a clock/timer that can be set to turn it off? A handy feature in case you get delayed returning home.
I never worried. The worst that would happen in a burnt roast that needs throwing out.
