Even a brand new gas oven is not a guarantee of excellent baking. At the preparation stage, the housewife may encounter many difficulties that she had not previously suspected. So, for example, the bottom of the oven can bake heavily, but the top will remain damp or dried out. Or, on the contrary, the oven below may not bake well and dry out the top. As a rule, all these problems can be associated with improper heat distribution in the oven. And most often, such malfunctions can be corrected independently.
What to do if a gas oven doesn’t bake well?
If the bottom burns, but the baked goods are not baked
One of the features of ovens is heating - it is difficult to regulate. In addition, improper heat distribution inside may occur, resulting in uneven cooking. This type of problem can be easily fixed on your own. There are several ways:
- a special baking stone is installed. It should be made of fireclay clay, which, due to its porous structure, absorbs the heat coming from the bottom of the cabinet and distributes it evenly throughout the oven. Some housewives, unable to find fireclay bricks, use regular red bricks. It has almost the same properties;
Correct heat distribution - regular rock salt can also be a great alternative to brick. Although it has slightly different properties, instead of absorbing heat and distributing it, salt lowers the temperature, allowing food to cook evenly. You only need one pack of rock salt, which is poured onto a baking sheet that is placed at the very bottom of the oven. Salt can be used for years, it does not deteriorate and does not absorb odors. Some housewives use ordinary quartz sand;
Salt for proper heat distribution - Water is also an excellent means of promoting proper heat distribution. However, this method is effective only in cases where the cooking time is short. Pour water into a baking tray or other large container and place the dish under baking. You need to keep an eye on the fumes.
Baking water
Faulty heating element
The electric oven chamber will heat unevenly if one of the heating circuit elements is damaged. The heating element is located, as a rule, under the bottom of the oven or its upper arch. Be careful, there is always a layer of glass wool between the chamber and the stove; do not work with it without protective gloves. In ovens with fans or built-in models, dismantling will be difficult, so we recommend entrusting this to specialists.
But in those electric ovens where the heating element is located inside the chamber, you can do everything yourself. Remove the screw in the center (as a rule, this is the only fastener), disconnect the wires and remove the heating element.
In general, the operating principle is as follows:
- Completely turn off the power to the stove.
- Remove the panels covering the heating element.
- Remove the center screw.
- Remove the contacts.
- Get the heating element.
- Take the tester and press the probe to the contacts of the heating element.
If the tester does not respond, then the element must be replaced.
Malfunctions and breakdowns of gas ovens
Any equipment can fail regardless of the time of use. There are malfunctions that can be dealt with at home without calling a specialist:
- If the model has automatic ignition. Sometimes it happens that it doesn't work. At the same time, you can hear that gas is flowing, but when pressed it does not ignite. This problem can be easily eliminated: just light a match and bring it to a special hole, which is located on the outside of the oven. However, you need to wait a while for the gas to evaporate from the cabinet.
- Ignition occurs, but after the handle is released, the oven goes out. Such a malfunction may be associated with a breakdown of the temperature regulator itself or the valve stem. To check, you need to carefully remove the handle and turn the rod.
- If the oven does not bake well and does not bake from below, you need to check the rubber seal. If the oven is an old model and has been in operation for a considerable time, the rubber seals may dry out and become deformed. All this leads to the fact that the oven may not reach the desired temperature. To check, just turn on the cabinet and place your hand under the door; if you feel warm, you need to replace the rubber seal.
Replacing the seal in a gas oven
- If the oven dries out the baked goods during cooking, you need to check the cleanliness of the gas burner. Sometimes, over time, the holes through which gas enters become clogged. To check, you need to turn on the oven and lift the bottom baking sheet; if the fire distribution is uneven, then you need to clean the burner. Do not use abrasive cleaning agents during this procedure as they may clog the gas passages.
Gas oven repair
Heating element burnt out
One of the most common causes of a poorly heating oven is a burnt out or damaged heating element: upper or lower heating element. You can check them visually: a working heating element should not have any dark spots, swelling, cracks or other mechanical damage; after turning on the oven, the heating element becomes red-hot. For more accurate diagnostics, the heating element must be “ringed” with a special device. A burnt heating element will have to be replaced. By the way, in modern stoves one burnt-out heating element can block the entire electric stove from turning on.
Rules for using the oven
Regardless of the type and type of oven, there are certain rules that must be followed. And this applies not only to safety precautions, but also to cooking rules. Quite often, the cake burns on the bottom and dries out on top not because of a malfunction of the cabinet, but because of its improper use. So, if your gas oven doesn’t bake well and you don’t know what to do, check whether you are using it correctly:
- Before you start cooking, you need to check that everything has been removed from it.
Sometimes a burnt bottom and an unbaked top may not indicate a poor temperature in the chamber, but simply the presence of foreign objects in the cabinet that interfere with the proper distribution of heat. How to cook in a gas oven - Before starting the cooking process, the oven must be warmed up well at high temperatures. It is enough to set the oven to maximum for only 10 minutes. After this, the desired temperature is set.
- The baking tray with baked goods should be placed in the middle of the cabinet so that there is enough space for air circulation inside.
- The cause of a burnt bottom may be due to the door being open during cooking. You need to monitor the process through a special viewing window.
- If the peculiarity of your oven is that the lower part is heated excessively, then the baking sheet should be placed slightly higher than the middle to bake the upper part.
No matter how good of a cook you are, it's best to read the instructions that come with each model before using your new oven. Since each oven may have its own characteristics, which you may not know about.
How to use the oven
Faulty switch
If a gas or electric oven does not respond to turning the switch, it should be changed. Or rather, the whole panel. For this:
- Disconnect the equipment from the network.
- Remove the plastic handles.
- Unscrew the screws and completely remove the panel.
- Unscrew the fasteners from the mounting plate where the switches are located.
- The screws may turn if the switch is faulty.
- Remove the lugs from the wires.
- Install the correct part.
Other Causes of Failed Baking
Sometimes it happens that after using various methods to normalize the temperature, the bottom of the baked goods burns, but the top remains damp. Then we can say that there are other problems:
- If the bottom of the dough burns, but the dough itself remains raw, there are two reasons that can lead to such consequences: the wrong temperature was chosen or the dough was made incorrectly. A special feature of biscuit dough is that the whites must be beaten separately. Then it will be lush. It is strictly forbidden to place the dough in a cold cabinet. Before starting cooking, you need to set the temperature to high and put the dough, after 10 minutes it can be reduced to 170 degrees;
Rules for using the oven - You need to choose the right temperature during cooking. Every dish needs the correct temperature, and if it is not observed, the dough will burn on the bottom and remain raw on top. For example, meat or fish should be cooked at a temperature of 180 degrees. Dishes in foil need higher temperatures. Buns, donuts and many other baked goods are best cooked at a high temperature of 220 degrees.
Operating principle of electric ovens
The purpose and operation of electric ovens are similar to classic gas ovens. Electrical appliances are also intended for cooking (baking, roasting, grilling). The standard equipment includes baking trays, a tray, racks and guides that ensure safety when removing dishes from the cabinet.
As a rule, electric ovens are equipped with two tubular heating elements (heating elements) - upper and lower (for example, in electric stoves of the Lysva series). This is necessary to achieve the optimal temperature, which helps ensure even cooking. You can use both heating elements or one of them, depending on the baking conditions required by the recipe. However, there are also universal ovens equipped with three or four heaters.
Heating elements are made from high-strength alloy steel, which is associated with harsh operating conditions (high temperature). Also, heavy-duty material is required for the heaters of such ovens, where the “Grill” function is implemented, since they are often subject to regular cleaning with strong chemically active substances used to remove fat and carbon deposits.
The heating element for an electric stove oven is not a unified element that fits all models. Each manufacturer (Indesit, Whirlpool, Electrolux, etc.) develops original heater designs, trying to achieve optimal cooking conditions for various products (heating, circulation and distribution of hot air inside the working volume of the oven). In addition, many well-known manufacturers equip electric ovens with infrared heaters, which are turned on in the “Grill” mode (model Hansa fccw5).
There are a large number of heating elements that differ from each other:
- configuration and overall dimensions;
- power;
- version (single- or double-circuit);
- purpose (grill, top, side, bottom, etc.).
The upper heating elements are especially diverse. The design of the bottom heaters is much simpler. As a rule, they are single-circuit and have a simple configuration.
Prevention
Long-term, trouble-free operation of an electric oven is only possible if you comply with the requirements set out in the product operating instructions and carefully care for it after each cooking. In this case, it is recommended to wash the oven chamber with warm water with the addition of a small amount of dishwashing liquid. After finishing the oven treatment, the internal surfaces must be wiped dry.
Important! When cleaning the glass surfaces of an electric oven, the use of cleaning agents containing abrasive additives is not allowed.
What does our company offer
Eliminating the above-described malfunctions is a simple process for specialists with extensive experience. The required tool can be found in any set. On average, our technicians spend about 30 minutes repairing an oven, so contact us for gas control system repairs.
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