wrote:
On Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 9:47:47 PM UTC-7, Donna Ohl wrote:
The top element of my 6-year-old General Electric GE JBP24B0B4WH
oven went on electrical fire and the top bake element broke open
when the fire department put it out.

Pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnaohl

I need advice since this is the first time my oven went on fire all
by itself.

The fire department said replace the oven.

Coworkers told me I can just replace the burned out top bake oven
element. Whose advice should I follow?

Can I just replace the bake element (or is the oven really kaput)?
Can anyone tell me what actually caused the fire (it wasn't food)?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnaohl/2923845906/

Wow! You get all kinds of advice on the internet! Oven fires are
frightening no doubt. When the heating element goes, it's a
magnesium fire that burns at about 5,500F. It looks like the old 4th
of July sparklers because the same thing is burning. The fire starts
because an area of the element gets bumped, cracked or is improperly
manufactured and that causes more resistance at that point which
causes more heat at that point. When you get over 5,500F it starts a
chain reaction that works all the way down the heating element until
it cracks apart (usually a couple of feet of element get burnt before
this happens).

Here's a video of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieslf3aB-KQ

Here's how to fix it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgkPWkVUcF8

Probably no need to get a new oven but if you don't do the repair
yourself, the service repair man will charge you an arm and a leg to
run the oven through its paces and verify that all the electrical
connections are putting out the proper voltage. So, decide if the $
is worth your peace of mind. Otherwise a new heating element is
probably less than $20.

http://www.amazon.com/General-Electr...oiler+elements

My recommendation is this: MAKE SURE THE OVEN IS 100% off and the
circuit breaker to it is off as well. Take out the old element.
Inspect the oven for any damaged porcelain (chipped paint) on the
interior. If there is none you should be good to put the new element
in and use your oven. Of course use your judgement and if you don't
feel you can do the job, hire a professional.

An appliance parts place told me never use an extinguisher on an oven fire. Just
close the oven door.