Whether you’re a new homeowner, an experienced house-flipper, or a home-owning veteran, you never expect an appliance to break down until it does, least of all the centerpiece of every kitchen, your oven.
But the moment it does, it can throw a wrench in all of your plans, from your Sunday family dinners to your weekday morning breakfasts. And then everyone will be looking at you to fix the problem.
One of the most common issues with ovens is a broken oven element.
When this happens, you might notice the oven isn’t heating up as well as it normally would. Luckily, it’s pretty simple to fix; all you need to do is replace the broken element.
Still, you should go in prepared with the proper safety measures, the right tools and parts, and of course the right information.
That’s why we’ve created this easy how-to guide to help run through each step of replacing the baking coil in an electric oven.
Before You Start
Understanding Your Oven
In most ovens, you’ll often find two elements. The one on the ceiling of the oven is for broiling, the one attached to the bottom is for baking.
They generally attach with female spade connectors, that are easy to slide together with the wiring at the back of the oven, but you’ll first have to expose that wiring from behind the metal plate of the element.
It’s always smart at the beginning of any new replacement work you do to take a picture of how things are supposed to look. That way, you can compare your completed work to the picture at the beginning.
You can also take pictures of other key steps along the way, like the wiring in the oven, for helpful reference.
Regardless, once you have a full understanding of the job you’re doing and how your oven looks, you’ll still need to assemble the right tools to get the work done.
Prepare the Right Tools
Replacing any part in an appliance should only be done with the right tools.
For safety, a non-contact voltage tester is helpful in determining that there’s no power running to your oven before beginning the replacement.
Besides your voltage tester, you should also have:
- Screwdriver/Nut driver
- Needle-nose pliers
- Gloves
- Light
- Tape
- Replacement oven element
While work gloves are not necessary, they can provide an extra level of protection in case of any issues. And a small flashlight, or the light from your camera, can help make fiddling around the dark interior of your oven a lot easier.
The screwdriver and nut driver are both used to remove the screws attaching the metal plate to the back of the oven. Which one you use is up to preference.
Last of all, make sure you have the correct replacement oven element. We’ll go over oven elements in more detail later, but for now, it’s important that you have the part handy. If you don’t, head over to our online catalogue to find your part now.
With all your tools assembled, you’re almost ready to replace the broken element. But remember, safety should come first, which brings us to the most important part of our replacement guide.
Cut Power to the Oven
This is a simple but crucial step.
You can either unplug your oven from the wall or cut power to your oven from the circuit breaker, or both.
For many ovens, it’s easy to unplug the power cord, but for ovens that are installed into a wall or are hard to move, make sure to switch the circuit breaker off for your appliance.
This is where the non-contact voltage tester comes in handy. Use it to make sure there’s no power going to your oven and that you’re completely safe to start the next step.
Again, gloves can come in handy if you want extra protection, but the most important thing is to make sure that the oven has no power.
Once that’s done, you can start actually replacing your broken oven element.
Replacing the Broken Oven Element
Now that you’ve gotten a full understanding of your oven, you’ve assembled all the right tools, and you’ve cut the power to your oven, you’re ready to get started.
Just follow these 5 easy steps to replace your broken oven element.
1. Unscrew the Metal Plate
The small rectangular metal plate connects the element to the back of the oven, often with two screws. It also hides the wiring and connectors between the element and the oven.
Use your screwdriver or nut driver to remove the screws. The plate may still be firmly attached to the wall. If you can’t remove it with your fingers, you can use a small, thin tool like some needle-nose pliers to pry the plate off.
Once this is done, you’ll expose the wires behind the plate and move on to step 2.
2. Detach the Wires
As we said before, taking pictures is often useful during different steps of a replacement job. While it’s not necessary, taking a photo of the wiring can act as a useful reference for when you attach the new element later.
Now that the wiring is exposed, you can detach the spade connectors from your broken element.
These should be easy to remove with your fingers, but if you need extra help, you can use your needle-nose pliers again. Just make sure to pull on the connector and not the wiring, to prevent damage.
Be careful not to let the wires slip back behind the oven. If this happens, you’ll have to move the entire unit to get to the wires again.
To prevent this, you can attach the wires to the inside of the oven with some tape.
Then, you can simply remove the broken element and prepare to install its replacement.
3. Attach the New Element
Now that you’re ready to install the new oven element, it’s important to make sure you’ve got the right part.
XPart Supply has made it its business to provide the right replacement parts for every appliance. If we don’t have the part in store, then we can find it for you.
We have parts for all kinds of oven models:
- Frigidaire Oven Elements
- Whirlpool Oven Elements
- Kenwood Oven Elements
- Samsung Oven Elements
- Kenmore Oven Elements
- Hotpoint Oven Elements
You can come into our location at 300 Mill St. Unit 10, Kitchener, ON, or search our catalogue online. Regardless of how you shop with us, you’ll always get the same great service and knowledge.
Every interaction is a conversation at XPart Supply. Talk with our staff, and we’ll give you all the information you need. We have years of experience in appliance replacement parts, and we want to make sure you leave with the right part, not the most expensive one.
That way, you can focus on replacing the oven element instead of worrying about the oven element replacement cost.
And if, for some reason, you leave with the wrong element, our generous 30-day refund policy means you can replace it with the right part at no extra cost.
XPart Supply has been serving the Kitchener community for years, and for us, that means we’re part of a family. If the oven isn’t working, the family isn’t eating. That’s why we take this work so seriously.
So once you’ve removed the broken element from your oven, you should find a model or serial number, or a brand name. This will help identify the model of the replacement part you need.
If you haven’t already purchased the replacement part, or if your number or brand name don’t match up, head over to xpartsupply.com to get your replacement now.
Otherwise, it’s time to position the new element in your oven. Make sure that the screw holes line up with the holes in the back of the oven. This is another clear sign of whether you have the right element or not.
With that done, we’re ready to reattach the wires.
4. Reattach the Wires
If you need to, you can refer to the picture you took at the beginning of step 2, to make sure you reattach the wires correctly. If you don’t attach the wires correctly, you could cause a short when using the oven.
Also, remember to keep a careful eye on the wires. If you remove the tape holding them down, they could still fall back behind the oven.
Once again, use either your fingers or your needle-nose pliers to attach the element and the connectors together. Be careful with the wires, to prevent any damage at this late stage.
And with the wires attached, we can move onto the final step in replacing the element.
5. Screw Down the Element
The final step is as simple as screwing the new element into the back of the oven. Use your screwdriver or nut driver to tighten the screws and lock the element in place.
You can then refer back to the photo you took at the beginning, to see how the new element compares and if everything looks the same as when you started.
And with that, you’ll be done replacing your oven element. But that doesn’t mean the work is done. You still need to test the new element.
Testing the New Element
Reconnecting the Power
With everything back in place, you’re ready to test the element. But before you can do that, you’ll need to reconnect the power to your oven.
That means, you’ll need to plug the oven back into the wall or turn the circuit breaker for your oven back on.
Make sure you haven’t left anything else inside the oven before connecting the power.
Then, you can start the test.
Testing the Element
For this test, don’t put anything in the oven, even food.
You can turn the oven to “bake” or “convection,” and let it heat up slowly. You’ll quickly notice if the new element is generating any heat. If it is, you can continue to increase the heat to test the element at different temperatures.
Don’t be afraid if you see any smoke; this is normal. Smoke will often rise from the element when first used, as a protective coating is burned away. You might also smell a faint acrid odour.
Don’t be alarmed.
But if the smoking continues for an extended period, turn off the oven and contact your local fire department, as some of the oven’s components may have caught fire.
Finally, if the element still doesn’t work, there could be something else wrong with your oven or the wiring. You may need to contact a qualified electrician to help fix the problem.
Conclusion
But with that, you’ve successfully replaced your broken oven element. Problems like these can pop up out of nowhere, ruining your day and making the home-owning experience that much more stressful.
At XPart Supply, we try to take some of that stress off your shoulders. Family is one of the most important things to us, and the three meals of the day are some of the most important traditions of any family.
That’s why we’re happy to give you the knowledge and the parts you need to fix any broken appliance. And if we don’t have the parts in stock, we’ll find them for you.
So come down to XPart Supply in Kitchener, Ontario or search our online catalogue today to get all the appliance parts you need.
Whether it’s a broken oven element, an air filter, or vacuum bags, we have it all at XPart Supply.