(All disclaimers in place, plus I’ve no intention of trying to fix it myself, but I do like to have an idea what the problem is when I call the repairman.)
My kitchen is gas and my oven is possessed. When the oven is turned off it will sometimes turn itself on; it gets hot, you can see the flame down below, all that.
I’ve taken off and examined all of the knobs and handles. It’s not them- none of them are stripped and neither the temperature dial nor the Bake/Broil/etc. dial are in the on position. Also it’s never happened with the range, only the oven. In addition, when in use at, let’s say, 350 degrees, it will sometimes get much hotter than that for a few minutes as if it’s experiencing the problem while in use.
I’m afraid to use the thing, and so as not to come home to an inferno I flick it off at the breaker box when its not in use. OTOH it’s an older oven (I know it was there when the house was bought about 9 years ago and it wasn’t new then, but not sure how much older it is) and I hate the thought of paying very much to repair it (and most repairmen have at least a $50-$100 minimum) when I can get a new one for <$500.
Anyone ever had this happen? Any ideas what’s causing it?
Given that you checked it out pretty thoroughly, I’d imagine that the chances are slim that it all it would take is some simple fix. You list a lot of reasons for being reluctant to have it serviced but none for why you might try to salvage it. Especially given that you feel even the minimum repair cost would be throwing good money after bad. If you’re flipping the circuit breaker every time you use the stove, it’s probably time to retire it.
That would scare the pee out of me. Is this still your mom’s house that you’re looking to sell? If so, buy a cheap-ass stove and have done with it - “new appliances” as a selling point and such.
It sounds like the broiler valve is leaking in varying degrees and the pilot light keeps it lit (versus allowing the gas to build up and explode). There isn’t much to a gas stove. It consists of burners that are fed by adjustable valves plus thermocouple(s) that keeps the pilot light(s) lit.
I’m glad you turn it off at the breaker when you’re not home. I decided my temperamental gas oven needed to go when I turned it on to 400 to pre-heat, went to the other end of the house for several minutes, and came back to a cold oven that was filling the kitchen with gas.
What did you ever decide about the carpeting? Sorry, I’m nosy. And did your sister ever take any of that crap off your hands?
They sometimes have big appliance sales for Independence Day, you know. And Consumer Reports just released a new kitchen special issue with appliance ratings - unsure as to whether those are actually new or just repackaged, of course. We pick that stuff up at the newsstand because the patrons like it.