What does it mean when the stove breaker trips?

I live in a 1985 house with relatively new wiring, and the stove is on its own dedicated circuit. In the past, I've run the oven and all the burners on high (as a pre-Thanksgiving test) without incident. Yesterday I had the oven and two burners on, and the breaker tripped twice. I was able to keep the oven and one burner on. Anyone know what causes this?

Walt

It probably means that one of the heating elements is failing (shorting out). If the stove had mechanical knobs to control the heat level, possibly one of the rheostats is failing.

-Paul W.

Paul,

I'm happy to say that I was able to simply replace a failing circuit breaker for $10 instead of getting a new element.

For details, see:

http://ask.metafilter.com/200965

Walt

Glad to hear this one worked out in your favor, Walt.


Mike

Glad to hear this one worked out in your favor, Walt.

Dear Mike,

You're telling me! Going into Thanksgiving with an unreliable stove is like that nightmare people get when they're on stage naked. Frankly, I would be more comfortable doing that! It's obviously my fault for waiting so long, but apparently breakers trip at ever lower currents as they fail (clearly the correct design), which explains why it's gotten worse lately.

And, I hasten to add, if you're ever unsure about what you're doing when dealing with electricity (even a single circuit, let alone the breaker box or main), you should leave it to a professional. One circuit is enough to kill you in unusual circumstances, and the main power (200 amps in our case) is pretty much a guaranteed ticket.

Walt

I don't know how that darn stove knows that Thanksgiving is approaching, but it just broke again! I had six chicken carcasses roasted and simmering on the stove for stock, and my wife had the oven pre-heated and the batter for a from-scratch cake poured in rounds. My mother-in-law is due to celebrate her birthday with us in about 7 hours. Suddenly, the breaker goes again, and this time replacing it does not help. I took apart the front panel and found a wire whose insulation was burned, and the copper inside melted. I pulled it out (fishing twine in its place) and I'm taking it to the appliance store today. Hopefully they can find a replacement.

Having no stove or oven sucks. I was able to finish the stock on our propane beer-brewing burner, though temperature control in the wind is a *%^#!. We went out for dinner with my wife's family instead of trying to cobble something together. Thank God for microwave lasagna, and we still have the grill.

I would replace it but we have a 27" space, and there is literally only one model on the market in that size. It's basically the same as we have now, but $1350 for a bottom-of-the-line GE!!! Getting a standard 30" in there would involve replacing at least one cabinet, realistically two, plus a new hood unless I wanted it to be a different size from the range. GE knows it has me over a barrel, which is why a $400 range costs more than three times what it should.

[Jenise]

I would replace it but we have a 27" space, and there is literally only one model on the market in that size. It's basically the same as we have now, but $1350 for a bottom-of-the-line GE!!! Getting a standard 30" in there would involve replacing at least one cabinet, realistically two, plus a new hood unless I wanted it to be a different size from the range. GE knows it has me over a barrel, which is why a $400 range costs more than three times what it should.

And they don't sell that many of them. The cost to benefit ratio of manufacturing those for so small a sector of the market is probably huge. I'd suck it up, buy a better stove, and replace cabinetry. Maybe put in open racks for baking sheets to one side. Not that you need advice--sure feel for you, though! Once went through all of this with my grandmother's house when her stove died and had to make the same choice. (We bought her the stove.)

Electric stoves are evil.

My favorite is the pilot light (gas) version, which used to be the only thing available.

Works in hurricanes, power outages, and nuclear war!

For Thanksgiving we are going up to visit friends in Stone Ridge NY, and they have a luxury French range with all gas. Great!