Wife was making dinner, when she comes and fetches me. Apparantly she turned on the oven to whatever temperature, opened the oven door 20 minutes later- no heat. The range top worked fine.
Now, my house was built in 1952, and I’m pretty sure that our oven is the original oven. (Maybe not, but I wouldn’t be surprised- it’s REALLY old.) So, while it may be possible to get it fixed. I am thinking that it is probably new oven time.
The thing is, exactly how often does one shop for this kind of thing? I haven’t the foggiest clue what I’m looking for or what anything means. My opinion of a good oven is - turn knob- be sure to not get burned. However I see they range from $300 to 1000+.
I am certainly not rich. $1000+ is simply right out. $700+ probably is also. (Heck, with gas prices as they are $500+ may even be stretching it, ha!)
What I’m really wanting to know here… what exactly should I be looking for? Is there any particular brand known for being a good bargain. Any popular brand known for being poor, or particularly high quality? Any particular place I should go or avoid (Lowes, Best Buy, Sears, Home Depot are probably our easiest options)? Anything that, in your experience, I need to know that you would not have thought of the first time you went major appliance shopping?
I would normally spend a month researching this kind of thing before spending money on this type of item- but you can only go so long without an oven- so I’m hoping to pick the brain of the experienced. We’ll probably have to get it in the next day or two.
Hey we just had the same thing happen a few weeks ago.
Top burners all worked fine and the broiler function was o.k. but nothing going on when trying to bake. Incidentally we have a GE gas stove -nothing fancy, your straight-forward run of the mill, functionable kitchen stove.
Did the perfunctory research online and looked like it was the ignitor bulb that had gone. Seems the lifespan for one of these is three to six years and it is the gizmo that heats up and allows the bake unit to fire up.
Tried some putzing around with it myself and realized the task was well above my meager means -really you can only do so much with a Swiss army knife and a pair of pliers- so we made the call to the local traveling repair shop.
Cost of repair? 185 smackers American. Cheaper than buying a new unit which seemed to start at about $400 in this area once you worked in taxes, delivery and removal fees, etc.
I live in fear of this sort of thing. My house is 25 years old with original appliances.
Gas or electric? If I had to replace mine, I’d consider retrofitting for gas because I think they’re a lot better for cooking. Back in the day I thought gas was cheaper to operate so you paid more for the appliance but made it back over time. Not sure that holds true any more.
Too bad it didn’t die a couple weeks earlier…you might have caught a Memorial Day sale. The next big holiday would be July 4. Maybe you can fire up the BBQ grill, dust off the crock pot for a few weeks?
On second thought, there’s always scratch and dent discounts. Or, you might find retailers have some discontinued items. Maybe you could let your fingers do the walking, call around to local retailers?
Following up on “scratch and dent discounts.” Earlier this year I purchased at the local Sears appliance outlet a very nice Kenmore electric oven that meets my cooking needs. The cosmetic problem was VERY minor (I can’t even remember the details), but apparently they won’t let appliances with any cosmetic flaws go through their regular stores. This outlet also had brands other than Kenmore.
Good lord, that outlet store is ridiculously close to my house. (Less than 2 miles… seriously). I didn’t even know it was there. There is a giant k-mart there, I wonder if it’s inside. I’m definitely checking that out.
I’ve been looking online while at work tonight. Any brand suggestions? How do the Sears Kenmore’s holdup to the standard brands?
Sears appliances are made by major manufacturers. My hubby worked for Sears as an appliance salesman before he went back to selling cars two years ago. He says to look at the back of the stove and compare it to a name brand, and you will be able to tell who made the Kenmore. It would depend on the model of stove, but manufacturers include Whirlpool, GE, and White-Westinghouse (Frigidaire).
My understanding is the various Kenmore appliances are made by major manufacturers, and just branded as Kenmore, so the reliability is comparable.
Just remembered something else about my outlet purchase. The oven did not come with a manual. The salesperson said that will commonly be the case for outlet sales (don’t recall why), but she did point me to a web site that had the manual available in PDF format. I downloaded and printed the PDF and keep that in a 3-ring binder near the stove.
I did not save the address of that web site, so can’t provide it myself.
I know this will sound strange, but you shouldn’t discard your old range till you check out whether it has any value. People like old kitchen ranges and get them refurbished; I met a couple who were quite proud of their 1950-something range - they told me the year and model, but I forgot. Who knows, but yours might be a sought-after model. I’m not saying you’d necessarily want to fix it, but you might get some cash or get it hauled away for free.
I don’t know about Kenmore ranges, but I have a 7-year-old Kenmore washer and dryer and they still work fine. My range is a Hotpoint gas range, the plainest one my dealer had. I’ved used it daily for 7 years and it still works fine (knock on wood).
A member from San Diego finds an outlet 2 miles from your house…is the internet great or what?!
You might find a discount on floor models, “open box” (stuff for which they’ve lost the owner’s manual(s) etc.) as well. I’d suspect it’s regular warranty but I’d ask and keep any/all receipts per usual. Maybe you can get them to throw in the delivery and installation if they’re especially anxious to sell.
ETA: the old range…some people might like to cannibalize them for parts as well.
What kind of stove is it? I have a 50’s Chambers stove that I’m refurbishing. Depending on the make and model of yours, you might be able to sell yours on e-bay to get enough to make a good dent in a new one. Chambers (depending on the condition, colour, etc) and go for well over $1000. Or a couple hundred.
It says Tappan Gallery. From some googling that puts it at late 60’s, and not 1952. Here is an ad with the oven in question.
It’s the only picture I could find. That warming plate on the top has never worked. We use it to as a shelf for spices, oven mitts and various cookware.
I forgot to mention… the oven is Electric. We have gas in place for our furnace and hot water heater, but not the oven.
If you want to replace your range, disregard this post. If not, read on. From the OP, we see your stovetop elements all work. That takes us to the oven, which typically has two elements, bake and broil. Failure of bake or broil can be owing to a faulty element or control switch. A little bit of diagnostics and $30 might get you back in business.
I kept my old Frigidaire electric oven working for an extra decade. I had to put in a new lower heating element once. The other repair was to put in a connector to the element, at which time I replaced the whole length of wire from the control to the element.
