I started noticing over the next couple of weeks that things I was making were also taking longer. So I bought an oven thermometer, and sure enough...our oven was not cranking out the heat it should!
We started by diagnosing the problem. When we set the temperature to 350, the oven would get to about 250, then cut off as if it had reached the desired temperature. Chris noted the temperature sensor in the oven, found a replacement part online, and when it came right after the new year, he installed it.
The oven still didn't work. That was a waste of time and money.
And the oven has been getting worse. I've been having to crank it to its max of 550 to even get the oven to reach 350...and that takes a while. So we concluded it must be the heating element. (Even though the oven still *thinks* it's 550, but I figured maybe we misunderstood the way the oven actually works.)
That's easy enough, so we ordered the part. I was just sure that would fix it. Chris installed the new element...and NO CHANGE. Now he's take the entire oven apart, removed the control board, and has been trying to reverse engineer the board so he can figure out how it works, to figure out what's NOT working. Confusing?
Imagine my anxiety when I look in my kitchen and see this:
I just have to brag, and say Chris really IS a genius. I'm convinced. He can look at that green board with all the little gadgets on it, and he knows what he's looking at!! He is no average husband, that's for sure. His electrical engineering skills certainly come in handy around here!
Last night he told me it's not looking good. It could take quite a while to reverse engineer the board, only to find out the part of the board that's not working can't be fixed, and he has already found out you can't just buy a replacement board. He hasn't given up yet, so I have faith he will figure out what needs to be done.
We had big plans to do some remodeling of our living room/kitchen in the next few weeks, but we might be getting a new oven instead. That's exciting in some respects, but I would really rather not have this expense right now!
2 comments:
Do you have craigslist in your area? People are always selling stuff like that on there. Go to www.craigslist.org and find the city closest to you. It might be a cheaper way to get a new stove than buiying a brand new one. BUT this time of year they usually run some good sales. I think we got our stove for less than $400 at Home Depot.
Hey, Nicole! Isn't it great having an engineer around? We haven't had oven troubles (knock on wood), but the wide-open appliance with wire guts hanging out, and the smoking soldering gun are a familiar sight in our house as well! Saves tons of money!
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