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Now you're in trouble. You promised to bake cupcakes for your daughter's class or a pie for the charity bake sale. You've got your recipes and your ingredients together, but your oven won't heat and the last thing you want to think about is buying a new oven. Maybe you just need to replace the heating element. No matter how long you wait for the oven to heat up, if the element is faulty, dinner won't get done. The heating element in an electric oven is a curved tube housing a wire. When turned on electricity heats the wire. In turn, heat spreads through the oven. In most electric ovens you will have a baking element on the bottom as well as a broiling element on the top. Both can be easily replaced. Replacing the heating element in your oven is actually an easy task. In most cases replacing the element in the oven is easier than replacing elements on the range top. You can do it with just a few simple tools like a Philips head screwdriver and a nut driver plus the right replacement part. Other than the time to get the right part from the store, this should only take you about twenty minutes. The first think you need to do is get the name of the manufacturer and the model or part number for the heating element. This should be printed on the tag inside the bottom drawer. If it's not, then go ahead and remove the old element and take it with you. At the store, just match up the numbers on the packaging on the element or have a sales person help you find the right part. It's also possible that you can order your replacement online. But that's just going to mean a longer wait to get your oven back in working order. Once you're back at home and ready to work, turn off the power at the breaker box. Then unplug the oven. While this may seem like a silly suggestion since your oven isn't working, but wait for it to cool completely before proceeding. Remove the baking racks to that you have plenty of room to work. Remove the screws securing the element to the oven. These are generally hex screws and you can use the nut driver to remove them or the element may be secured with Philips head screws. Slide the element out about four or five inches away from the back of the oven. Remove the screws holding the wires to the prongs on the element. A helpful hint before you do this is to attach a clothespin to the end of each wire. This will help you locate and reach the wire when yo're ready to reconnect. And you also want to make sure you pay attention to how the wires are attached so that you can reattach them in the same manner. Install your new oven element. Slide the terminals back through the holes in the mounting bracket and refasten the wires. Attach the wires in the same manner they were before. Rethread the wires back into their holes. Line up the element with the bracket and secure the element to the back wall of the oven. It's time to restore the power. Plug the oven back in. Turn the breaker back on. Now you are ready to test the oven. As the new element heats up, there may be a little smoke. But that's just from the factory coating and nothing to worry about. So pat yourself on the back and get ready to celebrate by baking a casserole or a cake for your family. Reality is that they've probably missed your oven as much as you have. Lawrence Reaves writes for Hamilton Beach, a kitchen appliance company that offers a selection of appliances ranging from toaster ovens to slow cookers and blenders. For more information about any of these products click here.
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