My stove & oven stopped working in the middle of cooking dinner.

[yewberry]

Looks a lot like this one but is electric:



This is a pretty old General Electric, and we are renters. None of the elements on the stovetop or inside the oven will come on now. However, the lights work, so clearly there is power. Any appliance gurus know why this might be?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

1. Not necessarily:

Check your circuit breaker box or fuse box first. Than check power at the receptacle-where the stove is plugged in. You do know the panel box has fuses right? If you have power at the receptacle ,than the problem is internal at the stove.I don't know how old, old is, but some of the older ranges have the old glass twist in fuses ,you might lift up the top where the burners are and look around for burnt wiring or connections from switch to burner. You might want to unplug the stove or shut off the circuit breaker before you look around- also look at the connection at the top and bottom heating elements in the oven. Than there is the bus bar where the power terminals are connected at the back -bottom of the stove.It is of course unlikely that all of the switch's burned out at the same time.

What you really need to do is call your landlord. They usually call me and ask me to go over there and find out if they need a new stove or is it something else. I never know until I get over there to take a look at it.Your landlord really needs to know about that . It does not matter how cheap or stupid they are ,electrical problems present greater liabilities and that is enough to get them off their ass's to do something about it !

The landlord's I do work for care about their building and their people. However I have come across a number of cheap stupid ones years ago.

Seriously though, call your landlord , That is not your problem and your landlord will be glad you called.It is only 3 to 4 hundred to buy a new stove -it is always $250.00 plus at least to fix them.-time, money -parts.Could take three days to get the parts given the age of the stove- your landlord only has 3 days to resolve the issue by law.

Call the landlord.

[yewberry]

6. Thank you.

I will call the landlord. I just hate to ask for help!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

9. You are very welcome

and let me tell you, over the years I have come to know very many people in apartment buildings ,rental houses and rental condos. People as tenants seem to think that calling the landlord will make them out to seem like complainers which could lead to a rise in rent.

Now if a landlord expects the tenant to do repairs, that has to be in the contract. And if the tennant is not qualified to do those repairs ,that cannot be in the contract.

Leaky facets and toilets of-course will raise the water sewer bill.Water and sewer is in many cases paid by the building ownner. But leaks can also do much damage to the building. Thats a insurance thing and insurance does not always cover the repair costs.


So ,your landlord really wants to know about problems having to do with appliances-electrical problems and plumbing leaks-roof leaks and such. If you say you are ok until the landlord can get to it, that means you are willing to allow time for the owner to figure out the best way to resolve the issue. That's a big plus to the landlord. And thats what I tell tenants-you are not being a problem ,you are helping the landlord to avoid greater problems.

And your landlord doesn't want you to be at risk either. Be it a bad stove or something more serious in the house wiring. It must be dealt with.

Trust me your landlord will be glad you called.

[Warpy]

12. A cheapass landlord can also find reconditioned stoves

and trade that one in on one that works for a song.

I was house poor when I bought this place and that's how I got my appliances. I still have them and they're still working 15 years later.

[amerikat]

2. Sounds like you lost one side of the 220 volt supply.

The elements are 220 volts the light is 110 volts.
Check the breaker box. If you can find to breaker for the range
turn it off then turn it on. It should be a double pole breaker.
However I have seen stoves hooked up to 2 single pole breakers.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

3. Thats true

but power is divided 110 to oven and 110 to stove top burners. So the light o lights are pulling power from the same source simply put.

[amerikat]

4. No. Elements are 220. The 110 is tapped

off to power the light.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. I see, tapped off means divided.

The unit is receiving power -the poster understands that. The power the unit receives is from the same source isn't it.

What it really comes down to is the problem is not the Tennant's-the problem is the landlords problem.
You can buy a repair manual for any kind of stove range what have you. Dishwasher ,water tank ,refer,dryer what ever. A good volt ohm meter and wiggy and away you go.

But that is not the Tennant's problem.
But here is a problematic thing- if the stove is very old-how old is the house wiring and the panel box ?

[yewberry]

7. You nailed it there.

The stove is old, the house is old. I think it might be one of the oldest places on the island. Many of the outlets are wired outside of the walls and there are no outlets in the bathroom!

[yewberry]

8. I'll check the breaker box.

That involves a ladder & coat!

[yewberry]

10. Derp, I don't know how to tell which one is for the range.

I'll have to wait until someone can help by being inside to seewhat goes on and off when I turn off a breaker.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

11. Your stove is big draw dedicated circuit

you should see 15 amp 20 amp 40 and so on. so on is stove.
You should have somebody there when you are standing on that ladder at the box anyway for safety reasons.

You can cycle the 220 breakers by turning those breakers on and off ,sometimes you can get what is called a partial trip of a double breaker. Cycling the breaker on and off can reset it. It can also be a bad breaker.

My guess would be your landlord most likely has a pretty good idea what the problem is ! If yer a doer the landlord might just tell you what to do !Or at the very least what has to be done-at least than you will know rather or not you want to go into it and further.

[yewberry]

13. I tried the breakers. No good.

I don't know how to look for a fuse in the appliance itself. It seems to have been caulked in to the surrounding countertop and I don't see a way to even lift the top up.

So I called the landlord!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

14. At this point

your landlord can check the power being sent from the breaker to the the unit,if the breaker is sending from there check at the connection to the stove for power ,where the plug is connected to the unit,-if it's receiving, than from there it is internal at the unit-stove. Unless of course it is an older box and you have those cigar shaped fuses that go out from time to time. There are always factors that pop to mind !

If the stove is 20 -25 years in service- it's time to replace it anyway !
Can't be anything wrong with having a new stove-oven to work with can there be !

You gave it a good go,your landlord will applicate that !

I have only run into the twistee type fuses in a oven- stove in repair once in a 60's stove oven with the pull out drawer type burners and the oven on top. The person who uses it is in a wheel chair and that unit is perfect given the circumstances-it allows her to cook setting in her chair.

Since only two burners worked and the oven had problems, I reconditioned the unit. It was fun and even the parts supplier people got in the fix because it is a cool item -not many of those still in service.

Good luck ! Perhaps you will be cooking on a new stove fer Thanksgiving !