Aaargh! One of my darling feline overlords took a hearty piss on my stovetop. It leaked down into the insulation of the oven. Turning on the oven yields a powerful hot nostril gouging cat piss stench.
The insulation is stained with piss and is now developing a bouquet of mold.
My partner called customer service for the maker of the range and the guy said that the insulation will have to be replaced. “How much?” asks my GF. “More than the stove is worth” comes the reply. WTF???
Apparently, the insulation must be custom cut and is a bitch to install so it would need to be done by a professional (of course) and it would end up costing more than a 6 year old electric stove is worth. Christ in a blender. :smack:
We can’t afford this! I do, however, have in my possession a gas stove that was left over from a previous residence of mine so all we need to do is get a pro to come out and convert the kitchen to gas.
What is the best bet here? I know nothing about ovens and the like. Is it really not worth it to replace the insulation. Would it be cheaper to run gas into the kitchen and use my old 6 year old gas stove rather than repairing the electric?
I do like using gas better than electric for cooking and it’s cheaper.
What would happen if you turned the oven on self-cleaning mode for a few hours or, if you don’t have it, up to the highest setting. It is bound to burn off.
Well, that’s worth a try. But have you ever experience cat piss? It’s more pervasive than boy piss. If that doesn’t work maybe a flame thrower would burn that shit off.
You can get a brand spanking new electric for about $300. Granted, that’s a pretty basic unit, but you’ll get a name brand and it won’t be old and beat up.
Getting gas run into the kitchen is probably going to cost a lot more than that. A plumber has to run the piping from your existing gas service, that’s not always a simple job. You will also need to get a standard 120V plug put in to run the clock and electrics. Electric ranges use a 240V service, which is of no use to the gas range.
If you already have the stub out for gas behind the range, and a plug, then you just have to get your old range installed, which will be fairly cheap.
If this were me, I’d try the self clean first, then replace with another electric if it didn’t work. If you are really keen on cookin’ with gas, by all means get gas installed, but it is not likely to be your low cost option.
If your kitchen is not already piped for gas, it will probably be less expensive to buy a new electric range/oven for $300 than it will be to install new gas pipes.
Crap. Well it’s not piped yet for gas but there is a gas line running right under the kitchen that you can see in the basement. There is already a regular 120v outlet behind the stove so that’s not an issue. Aaargh. Really, how much would it cost do buy insulation and install it ourselves? Is this even a realistic scenario?
My idiot cat did exactly the same thing. More than once. The insulation was ruined, and the wiring was also corroded and I felt it wasn’t safe. I bought a new stove with a smooth cooktop and added a second litter box.
Can you get the stove out of the house and temporarily use microwave and a $20.00 dollar store countertop unit until you can afford to replace the stove?
(This happened while I was out of town. I didn’t know she had ruined the stove until I tried to pre-heat the oven. I thought I heard her low, dirty laugh just before the eye burning stench permeated the house.)
You don’t want to be talking to the factory service people. You want to pick up the phone book and look under ‘appliances - used’. There you will find someone who can replace the insulation for cheap, and if not, you can find an inexpensive used oven.
Well as I said, I have that gas stove taking up space in my workshop, but I need to have the kitchen piped for gas. Ugh. I really, really don’t understand why I can’t replace the damn heat shield myself. How hard can it be and how in the hell could I F*$k it up? It’s just a heat shield for a stove not for the freakin’ space shuttle.
:mad:
Sorry, I’m a little grumpy about this because I have no money right now.
Last week my boyfriend put his hand down too hard on the ceramic stove top and it shattered. The cost of just that piece + installation was more than the $500.00 stove. So, off to Sears we go and get delivered the next day. The following morning his 6 year old son heats up some Arby’s fries in the Microwave/Range which caught on fire and ruined the microwave. We laughed all the way back to Sears.
We piped our own gas, then had it inspected by the gas company before using it. I think they charged a fee for the inspection, but it wasn’t much. Of course, we had plumbing experience from rerouting water pipes. I wouldn’t make a gas line your first plumbing project.
That said, if the gas line runs directly under the range, you could ask a plumber if you could cut the holes and maybe even run the pipe and such if he hooks up the gas, for cheaper. It’s worth exploring.
If your heat shield fails, you could burn down your house. Granted, it’s not the epic event of a shuttle failure, but it will probably make your week a whole hell of a lot worse.
There’s no harm in calling up a local plumber and getting a quote. If the run is simple, just a straight shot from the existing pipe, it may be more affordable than I initially expected.
It sounds to me as if you really want the gas oven.
Personally I prefer electric fan oven and gas rings.
You could dismantle the oven and soak the heat shield.
Actually I would expect the smell to burn out.
If you want to fit the gas oven, then I would hack a hole down to the gas pipe, and then go out and look at flexible gas fittings etc.
By the time you have (ahem) installed the lot, you’ll need to get it looked at.
About 20 years ago we had a gas fire installed by a retired British Gas fitter, he made such a mess of it, that I ripped out his ‘work’ and replaced it with my own, more elegant, version.
In your case my only worry would be invalidating insurance.
Thank you all for the suggestions! I got word from a friend that her brother had the same problem with his electric stove. He decided to open all of his windows, crank up the stove to the highest setting and let it burn for 8 hours. Apparently the smell of super heated piss was atrocious but afterward the smell was gone. He still has that stove and no more stench when he cooks.
I’m going to give that a shot first. What have I got to lose but my lunch? If that fails then I am going to call a plumber for a quote. I’m not confident enough to try to run the line myself. I’ve done plumbing work on water lines but it’s not worth it to me to try to save a few dollars mess with something so potentially dangerous.
Hmm, if I do end up having to use the gas stove, I wonder how much I can get for selling my old electric one or selling parts (what few there are.)
www.repairclinic.com, they offer parts and installation help. You can even e-mail them and they have professional dudes there that can answer questions.
failing that…
www.freecycle.com, this is where people announce they have something they no longer need and other people announce that they will take it. No money changes hands, it all must be free. Various friends of mine have acquired beds, washers, and dryers this way, so appliances should not be a problem unless you’re in a very rural area with not a lot of people.