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Hi all,
Moved into a new place couple months ago - came with a fitted Hoover electric fan oven, think it's about 5 years old but looks in good condition.
No issues for the first week or so, but potentially only used it for ~10 mins at a time (can't really remember).
Used it for a longer period and noticed a chemical/burnt plastic smell. No left over packaging etc (emptied all trays etc, cleaned inside, still smelling). Smell seems to be coming from outside of oven, stick head inside and it smells fine.
Got appliance repair company out, found the wall plug was partially burnt/melted - replaced it - wasn't able to test it at the time, later realised smell still comes back.
Rang the repair co - they said we need to get an electrician to check the socket.
Got electrician to check socket, no problem with that.
So we now still have a smelly oven. I just did the hydro clean program (water at bottom of oven, on low heat for half an hour) - but it still smells when put on at 200deg for more than 15 mins.
Any ideas? Not really sure what to do - the oven still functions, loathe to replace it but can't really use it with the smell, and reluctant to spend more more on people looking at it....
In Edinburgh if that makes any difference.
Thanks,
Duane.
Have the repair co actually taken the oven out to look at the exterior? Sounds like the external cooling fan might be the source. If they haven't, they're easy to remove, usually four screws at the front, the oven should slide out, check for bits of plastic that shouldn't be there, or signs of overheating.
You've got an oven plugged into the wall with a regular 13A plug?
Have you upset Russia recently? #DontDrinkTheTea
You’ve got an oven plugged into the wall with a regular 13A plug?
That's normal, most single cavity ovens come with a moulded on plug. Most ceramic or halogen hobs need wiring in, but you can find quite a few to just plug in too.
Back to the smell. The oven will be held into the unit by gravity and two or four screws on the front bezel, seen when you open the doors. Take it out (awkward job, better with two able bodied folk as the balance is odd) and look at the places the air can get in and out at the back, should be all plain or galvanised metal, any other coating could get smelly when hot. Look at the cavity where the oven just was, lots of kitchen units and worktops come with protective film which never gets pulled off, but it doesn't like heat. Basically make sure there's nothing other than kitchen unit back there. You could also sit the oven on your worktop and run it there, see if the smell is limited to when it's in the carcass.
Thanks all.
dafydd - no, they fixed the plug and left. With the time passed since they would charge another £90 plus parts to visit again.
Cougar - yes, single cavity, 13A plug
midlifecrashes - thanks - I've pulled the oven out onto the floor (no space on counter tops, not deep enough) - and have taken the front panel off to get to the PCB and the connections behind each dial. Nothing obviously melted/burnt/dirty. If I prop the oven up in something like a ceramic baking tray and turn it on with the PCB etc exposed (and be very careful) that should be ok to try identify where smell is coming from?
Thanks, Duane
To be a bit safer, I'd have run it intact, but sitting in the open then if smell appeared, unplug and hunt the smell.
(This is a lie, covering my ass in case you die running it in bits.)
That’s normal, most single cavity ovens come with a moulded on plug.
Right, I didn't know that.
I'd still be concerned as to why the plug got so hot that it melted. That isn't normal, it's a symptom rather than a cause. Did neither tradesmen offer an explanation?
I’d still be concerned as to why the plug got so hot that it melted.
Poor quality contact inside the plug eg crimping insulation, or too many strands cut when stripping back insulation. So, instead of having the L or N contact screw resistance of fractions of an ohm it was probably a few ohms - which means several watts of heat dissipated in the plug rather than the oven.
Oven out on kitchen floor, let it get up to heat, smell still there, but can't work out exactly where it's coming from, other than generally the area where the PCB and connections are - think it's unlikely I'm going to figure this one out.
I'm loathe to spend another £50-£100 on getting someone to look at this oven, which at best will result in a functioning few year old oven with no warranty - at worst an oven that still smells.
I see you can get used ovens on FB market place for around £50, typically from people who have just re-done the kitchen, couple years old, similar to what I currently have, would cost around £250-300 new.
Would it be silly to spend £50ish on a used oven that would be £250 new and come with a warranty?
Thanks.
I'd crank it up to max for a few hours and see if it burns off, supervise obviously. Is the fan working, ours has a separate grill above it and the fan blows air between the two units. The grill pan still sometimes gets hot enough for the plastic handle to whiff a bit...