# Help with a broken oven element
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 11, 2021, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167 "2021-11-11T04:24:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/1 "2021-11-11T04:24:02Z")
We have a GE double oven, and we recently discovered that the heating element in the lower oven is broken (as in, the element has a physical break in the coil). We had assumed this would be a simple fix, but everything Dr. Google tells me is that oven heating elements can’t really be repaired, and as luck would have it, GE no longer makes the part in question (Part Number WB44T10046, if you’re curious). No one seems to have this part, anywhere. And I haven’t been able to locate any other element online that has both similar dimensions AND the same wattage as the broken element, which I understand to be essential to operating the oven safely.
Is there a solution to this, short of having to replace the entire oven (or live without the bottom oven)?
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### Author:  [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/2 "2021-11-11T05:11:09Z")
Search for a local appliance repair service. They will have access to wholesale oem parts, and might still have some in stock.
I did look at some appliances parts repair sites and it does look like it’s no longer manufactured. Repair for elements is problematic because of the electrical fire risk once the circuit is open.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/3 "2021-11-11T05:16:05Z")
Yeah, look for a local place. I had to replace one of my oven elements recently, and the exact part was no longer made, but there was a replacement one. If that’s the case for you, you probably would have run across it, but an appliance repair place can probably tell you definitively.
Is it a very old oven?
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### Author:  [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/4 "2021-11-11T05:17:10Z")
> **[General Electric Bake Element #GEH-WB44T10046 - Appliance Parts and...](https://www.partswarehouse.com/General-Electric-Bake-Element-GEH-WB44T10046-p/geh-wb44t10046.htm)**
>
> General Electric Bake Element #GEH-WB44T10046 - Appliance Parts and Accessories. Largest Selection, Best Prices, Free Shipping Available at PartsWarehouse.com
See if this is compatible.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/5 "2021-11-11T05:19:12Z")
I got an obsolete oven part once on eBay, from a repairperson who was selling all their old stock.
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### Author:  [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/6 "2021-11-11T14:17:48Z")
Thanks for these responses.
> [@RetroVertigo](#):
>
> Search for a local appliance repair service. They will have access to wholesale oem parts, and might still have some in stock.
Makes sense. I will see if there’s anybody local that can help.
> [@eschrodinger](#):
>
> Is it a very old oven?
It is, at most, 15 years old. I’m puzzled as to why this specific part (and not the other parts for the oven) was discontinued, with no replacement offered. I wonder if it was defective.
> [@RetroVertigo](#):
>
> See if this is compatible
Yeah, I ran across those guys and wondered why they, and no one else, seemed to be claiming they had it. It says “Usually available within 10 days.” So I did some snooping around the BBB site for them and noticed complaints about them taking orders and charging people, but never providing the part. In response to one of the complaints on that point, they said:
> [@PartsWarehouse via Better Business Bureau](#):
>
> On our site it states that this part usually ships in 10 business days **as that is the usual time frame for out of stock items**.
So I'm not inclined to send them money for something they don't actually have. The hunt continues.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/7 "2021-11-11T18:04:42Z")
> [@Asimovian](#):
>
> I’m puzzled as to why this specific part (and not the other parts for the oven) was discontinued, with no replacement offered. I wonder if it was defective.
The element I replaced – which was discontinued but there was a replacement part – was discontinued because of a design flaw. The replacement was a safer design.
That’s part of why I suggest talking to a repair person. They may know if there’s a replacement or a work-around, or can tell you, oh, that oven design was defective, you have to replace the whole thing, or whatever.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/8 "2021-11-11T18:05:59Z")
You are SOL.
I’ve been through this sort of thing before (many times). Unless you are very, very lucky, and you find place with NOS (New Old Stock), you will never find a replacement. There’s no cross-reference, and the item is no longer manufactured.
Time for a new oven.
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-broken-oven-element/954167/9 "2021-11-11T20:15:43Z")
I’ve replaced heating elements in my GE oven, and it was fairly simple. You just had to worry that the attaching part didn’t fall down in the back.
However, 15 years ago GE made quality stuff. Today GE sold the appliance company to some company in China, and I’ve had plenty of experience with old parts being discontinued or getting “it’ll be available in a month” messages. This was mostly for controller boards. I’d think heating elements are standard enough that you should be able to find one, but if you need a new oven my advice is don’t even look at GE ones.