Speedy Jim wrote in message ...
Cheri wrote:

I was using my oven a little while ago, and heard this loud pop, and
saw
that the element was flashing white and burning in a spot. Turned the
oven off, and it continued to burn. I went outside and turned it off
with the circuit breaker and it immediately stopped burning. My
question
is, why did it continue to burn after the oven was off, but didn't
stop
until the circuit was turned off. Shouldn't the circuit breaker have
tripped? I removed the element and there is no burn behind it or
anything, but it puzzles me as to why it kept burning. TIA

Cheri



First, a sincere salute to you for having the presence
of mind to think of tripping the breaker off. Most folks
would still be running around like a chicken with no head :-)

Appliances live by different rules. The built-in controls
(like the thermostat) are allowed to open only one side of
the 240V Line. When an element develops an internal short
to the (grounded) sheath, current will continue to flow
even though the control says plainly "OFF".

Jim

Thanks so much for the answer Jim. That makes sense to me.

Cheri