Jump to content

OT: Satuday night's unexpected light show


MrMcGoo

Recommended Posts

We baked a pizza last night and then set the oven to self-clean and sat down to dinner. My wife looked up and observed an electrical fire inside the oven. It gave off a bright blue-green and yellow glow that brightly lit up the entire oven-door's window. A quick trip to the breaker panel killed the light show, but toxic smoke came out of the oven's vents for another ten minutes. We opend the windows wide, but there was very little breeze.

The range is covered by an extended warranty, but this oven, when fixed etc. will go to charity. It was two years and four months old. The moral to the story is to avoid scratch and dent sales on self-cleaning ovens.

Has anyone seen such a light show when you have attempted to clean your oven?

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I has the exact same thing happen with a Stainless GE Profile double oven that was a scratch and dent. The heating element shorted when it touched the back of the vent (which is made of metal). A new $40 element from GE, and some oven insulation and it is all fixed. I also bought some rubber fuel line and cut out little pieces to insualte the electrical connections. It has worked flawlessly ever since. I will always check the electrical connections on heating elements if I ever do this again.

It was still a good deal, I bought a $3000 oven and a $1000 dishwasher for $900.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

tigerwoodsKhorns,

It is funny that my machine is also a stainles double oven GE Profile as well. My deal was not nearly as good as your however.

The yellow crud on the inside of the window makes me wonder what it is. Chromium oxide has the same color, but the racks are porcelain. When this puppy gets fixed, it will get donated to Habitat or Goodwill.

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds familiar. I came home one day only to find the oven laying in the yard. I found out that the oven door had locked and the inside of it caught fire. We lived with 100 yards of a volunteer fire department so they came over and carried the burning over out. The insurance company paid us for the smoke damage caused by the over. Strange thing is though it took us about 3 months to replace that oven and when my last gas grill quit working i replaced it the next day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a Kenmore oven. I notice one day that the oven light is burned out. No problem, I buy a replacement and go to change it out. Of course the old bulb shatters when I try to remove it. Problem. Every time the oven door opens the light is automatically turned on. Can't change the bulb without the circuit being live. Of course in the moment this did not dawn on me as the bulb was dead. I was using a towel to extract the broken bulb base and it lit up pretty good before I figured out what was up. Killed the power to the unit and got the job done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oscar: Bet that was a moment of truth!!! LOLOL (Hope you are ok!!! except possibly for the frizzy hair thing....).

SWMBO Oven Cleaning Rules:

  1. Please!!!! Let me do it.... But.... If you insist, go to Rule 2, etc.
  2. Start in the morning.... or start after supper..... Not an hour before supper....
  3. Take the racks out and put them in the sink.
  4. Spray "Easy-Off" on the inside, including the door area
  5. Wipe off any overspray on the door seal and the light bulb with a damp rag...
  6. Wipe off any overspray on anything that is not the inside of the oven.....
  7. Close the oven door.....
  8. Take racks outside to driveway area in front of workshop....
  9. Stand racks on end leaning against each other and spray with Easy Off. Leave them alone; if the dog or the cats go in for a lickem' snack, well then that's life...
  10. Go away and watch Soap Channel, etc. over your Khorns and LaScalas.....
  11. Wait for about 6-8 hours.....
  12. Get the black "let's clean stuff" bucket and fill it half way with warm water - NO soap stuff....
  13. Open oven door
  14. Wipe down inside with damp rag; rinse out rag between each "wipe".
  15. Dump out bucket; replace water and do it again......
  16. Go outside and use hose and rags to wipe racks.
  17. Install racks and turn oven on to 250 for about an hour
  18. Go away and watch Soap Channel, etc. over your Khorns and LaScalas.....
  19. Come back, turn oven off, do "smell check" for any residual oven cleaner... If smell present, repeat step #14....

Ever had Easy Off flavored chocolate chip cookies?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

tigerwoodsKhorns,

It is funny that my machine is also a stainles double oven GE Profile as well. My deal was not nearly as good as your however.

The yellow crud on the inside of the window makes me wonder what it is. Chromium oxide has the same color, but the racks are porcelain. When this puppy gets fixed, it will get donated to Habitat or Goodwill.

Bill

Mine also happened when we ran the cleaning cycle. It must be the higher voltage and the proximity of the metal case. Check the electrical connections on the heating elements. Mine melted away. We did not have junk in the oven, I got to the breaker right away.

The insulation is probably what it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We never had a fire but we had one oven fail so many times that Kitchenaid replaced it, out of warranty for free. They gave us a new one and it has been repaired once already. It seems that the button labled "self clean" should be "self destruct" as every time you push that button, it blows the over heat sensor on the back of the oven and a service call is needed to replace the $5 part. Our replacement oven has only been "self cleaned" three times. Once, the first time it worked just fine, then the second time it blew the sensor and it has been cleaned once since then and all worked well. We have purchased the extended warranty and though it has been over a year and a half since the oven was "cleaned" (I have a commercial convection oven on the back patio which I use nearly every time I need an oven) I am afraid to push that button!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Modern goods fail way too frequently due to planned obsolescence.....except Klipsch speakers. My last range lasted 15 years; this one was good for 2 years and 4 months.

Every time I upgrade my Klipsch speakers, it's because I want a better model for my circumstances. It's not because on any failure or major design flaw. The service guy that booked my repair appointment said that it is normal to need a new heating element in 4 to 6 years. If my speaker drivers routinely needed replacement in 4 years, it would be time to change brands. When they last indefinitely and sound great, you stay with that brand.

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...