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Good Music
 
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Default GE Hotpoint range fire hazard: it happened to us

Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE / Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking & flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob "off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757 range (7
years old). It had been on about 4 minutes preheating. Then it made a loud
POP and lit up bright as the sun inside the oven compartment as sparks and
flames shot out the place where the broiler coil connects to the electrical
contact in the back wall of the oven.

When the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters rushed in, they kept
spraying it and it just kept hissing and smoking but stayed lit up real
bright at that one point and on fire (I had turned off the control knob and
assumed maybe there was some food stuck on it that was causing it to still
burn, but they said no, it's still energized.). As soon as I switched off
the breaker, the bright light and fire and hissing immediately ceased.
There was no food on the element.

They dragged the range out the front door and onto the concrete driveway and
doused it, and said I should contact the manufacturer, which I will.

But first I want to see if this has happened to others. I looked for any
evidence on the web of this happening to anyone else; all I found is one
person said she got "E2" or soemthing error code displayed on her range and
the broiler would come on even with the knob in the "off" position, and had
to turn it off at the breaker. But she didn't have the sparks and fire.

Any evidence of this not just happening to us is appreciated. Thanks,

- Bobby & Susan




  #2   Report Post  
Hell Toupee
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Good Music wrote:

Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE / Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking & flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob "off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757 range (7
years old).


There's a recall on it:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04576.html
  #3   Report Post  
CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert
 
Posts: n/a
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Good Music wrote:
Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE / Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking & flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob "off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757 range (7
years old). It had been on about 4 minutes preheating. Then it made a loud
POP and lit up bright as the sun inside the oven compartment as sparks and
flames shot out the place where the broiler coil connects to the electrical
contact in the back wall of the oven.

When the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters rushed in, they kept
spraying it and it just kept hissing and smoking but stayed lit up real
bright at that one point and on fire (I had turned off the control knob and
assumed maybe there was some food stuck on it that was causing it to still
burn, but they said no, it's still energized.). As soon as I switched off
the breaker, the bright light and fire and hissing immediately ceased.
There was no food on the element.

They dragged the range out the front door and onto the concrete driveway and
doused it, and said I should contact the manufacturer, which I will.

But first I want to see if this has happened to others. I looked for any
evidence on the web of this happening to anyone else; all I found is one
person said she got "E2" or soemthing error code displayed on her range and
the broiler would come on even with the knob in the "off" position, and had
to turn it off at the breaker. But she didn't have the sparks and fire.

Any evidence of this not just happening to us is appreciated. Thanks,

- Bobby & Susan





Why didnt you pull the breaker before you called the fire department? I
am assuming this is an electrical model and not a gas one? Sorry I dont
own this model I don't think, and don't know of this happening to anyone
else. Ill check my model when I get home, but mine is gas and I assume
yours is not.

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door() into
the sheepfold{}, but climbeth up some other *way, the same is a thief
and a robber."

GnuPG Key Fingerprint:
82A6 8893 C2A1 F64E A9AD 19AE 55B2 4CD7 80D2 0A2D

For a free Java interface to Freechess.org see
http://www.rigidsoftware.com/Chess/chess.html
  #4   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You want us to believe

* The fire department used water hose on what was obviously an electric
stove
* That you, the home owner, was the person who turned off the breaker

Sir, we'll assume for the moment that you are telling the truth. I'd be sure
to contact your local fire department and tell them that their hose jockeys
are desperately in need of some training. Actually, you could use some
training, too.

--

Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run
but shorter in the long run.
..
..


"Good Music" wrote in message
om...
Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE / Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking & flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob "off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757 range (7
years old). It had been on about 4 minutes preheating. Then it made a loud
POP and lit up bright as the sun inside the oven compartment as sparks and
flames shot out the place where the broiler coil connects to the electrical
contact in the back wall of the oven.

When the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters rushed in, they kept
spraying it and it just kept hissing and smoking but stayed lit up real
bright at that one point and on fire (I had turned off the control knob and
assumed maybe there was some food stuck on it that was causing it to still
burn, but they said no, it's still energized.). As soon as I switched off
the breaker, the bright light and fire and hissing immediately ceased.
There was no food on the element.

They dragged the range out the front door and onto the concrete driveway and
doused it, and said I should contact the manufacturer, which I will.

But first I want to see if this has happened to others. I looked for any
evidence on the web of this happening to anyone else; all I found is one
person said she got "E2" or soemthing error code displayed on her range and
the broiler would come on even with the knob in the "off" position, and had
to turn it off at the breaker. But she didn't have the sparks and fire.

Any evidence of this not just happening to us is appreciated. Thanks,

- Bobby & Susan





  #5   Report Post  
xhepera
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You want us to believe


* The fire department used water hose on what was obviously an electric
stove


Where did it say that the FD used a water hose?



  #6   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"When the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters rushed in, they kept
spraying it and it just kept hissing and smoking but stayed lit up real
bright at that one point and on fire (I had turned off the control knob and
assumed maybe there was some food stuck on it that was causing it to still
burn, but they said no, it's still energized.). As soon as I switched off
the breaker, the bright light and fire and hissing immediately ceased.
There was no food on the element."

The OP didn't say water hose, or some other device. But, it's a pretty good
guess.
--

Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run
but shorter in the long run.
..
..


"xhepera" wrote in message
ups.com...
You want us to believe



* The fire department used water hose on what was obviously an electric
stove


Where did it say that the FD used a water hose?


  #7   Report Post  
Good Music
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
You want us to believe

* The fire department used water hose on what was obviously an electric
stove
* That you, the home owner, was the person who turned off the breaker

Sir, we'll assume for the moment that you are telling the truth. I'd be

sure
to contact your local fire department and tell them that their hose

jockeys
are desperately in need of some training. Actually, you could use some
training, too.



Wow, didn't know we have trolls on home repair newsgroup too, guess you
can't escape them anywhere...

Anyway, I'll take the bait this time:

(1) I turned of ALL the breakers inside the house. This did not shut off
the power to the stove. It turns out the stove power in our hose is wired
directly to the electic meter box on the outside wall of our house. The
firemen took heavy pliars and cut off the lock that was on that meter box,
which had been put there by the electric company when the house was built 7
years ago. Inside the (previously locked) meter box, we found switches to
turn off the kitchen 240v range outlet, the outdoor air conditioner
condenser unit, and the electric motor to the furnace/AC in the attic. The
fire captain said he'd never seen anything like that. I checked with
neighbors and all our houses are the same. This is the type workmanship
we've come to expect from new subdivision developments unfortunately. This
is the result of very poor planning in the wiring of our house, and we're
hiring an electrician to come in & install an indoor switch to turn off at
least the kitchen range outlet.

(2) Yes, The fire department sprayed the inside of the oven with some kind
of liquid solution from a tank once the unit was unplugged and the fire was
out, to cool it down, since it had gotten abnormally hot and the insulation
was fuming.

(3) Called G.E. and they said yes, this model was recalled, but only the
units made around 2004; mine was made in 1998 or so, so they said that
although it's the same model, it's outside the time period of units G.e. has
deemed defective. I told them to send a rep out and He can plug it back in
and watch it throw flames and sparks. They said if they send out a rep,. it
will be on a "service call" basis, and they'll charge me $50 just for him to
come out to the house and decide if he wants to make a record of it as a
defect, but they're not going to replace it since it's over a year old, even
if it burned the house down, they seemed to indicate they feel they have no
responsibility or legal liability because the G.e. 1-year warranty has
expired. We're going to decide if it's worth the hassle of small claims
court just to recoup the cost of an equvalent replacement (since it didn't
actually cause any damage thank goodness).

Anyway, the original purpose of this post was to find out if anyone had
similar problems - if so let me know, thanks.



  #8   Report Post  
Good Music
 
Posts: n/a
Default

OKay. They sprayed it in the kitchen while it was on. They realized it was
still energized. We couldn't find a breaker. They pulled the plug and
lugged it into the front yard. They sprayed it in the yard. This is
ridiculous. Whatever. If anyone wants to serisouly discuss this, contact
me privately. I forgot, this is why I quit reading any newsgroups for
enjoyment.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
"When the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters rushed in, they kept
spraying it and it just kept hissing and smoking but stayed lit up real
bright at that one point and on fire (I had turned off the control knob

and
assumed maybe there was some food stuck on it that was causing it to still
burn, but they said no, it's still energized.). As soon as I switched off
the breaker, the bright light and fire and hissing immediately ceased.
There was no food on the element."

The OP didn't say water hose, or some other device. But, it's a pretty

good
guess.
--

Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run
but shorter in the long run.
.
.


"xhepera" wrote in message
ups.com...
You want us to believe



* The fire department used water hose on what was obviously an electric
stove


Where did it say that the FD used a water hose?




  #9   Report Post  
Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default GE Hotpoint range fire hazard: it happened to us

SixGun had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/main...-us-24974-.htm
:


-------------------------------------
Hell Toupee wrote:

Good Music wrote:

Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE /
Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it
to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking &
flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the
back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob
"off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays
energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had
the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757
range (7
years old).


There's a recall on it:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04576.html




Wow just read this and yes this happened to us on New Year's Day 2009.
The oven was turned on to keep warm some french toast and the element
sparked and popped and starting burning like a magnesium flare. Turned
off the oven with no effect element continued to burn like the sun.
Poured baking soda on it with little effect. Used a fire extingusiher
made for kitchen use and that finally extinguished it. Called fire dept
to be sure it was really out they used a thermal imager to be sure there
were no hot spots. The fireman had never seen this before. Bad way to
start the New Year, but grateful it wasn't any worse. The public needs to
be made aware of this potentially fatal flaw in this appliance. As for
the New Year we just bought a Frigidaire Electric Range and pray this
won't happen again to us or any one else. Tom & Laurie


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Posted to alt.home.repair
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,448
Default GE Hotpoint range fire hazard: it happened to us

SixGun wrote:
SixGun had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/main...-us-24974-.htm
:


-------------------------------------
Hell Toupee wrote:

Good Music wrote:
Has anyone else had or heard of anyone having problems with GE /
Hotpoint
ranges that get some kind of short in the broiler which causes it
to
suddenly light up as bright as the sun and start sparking &
flaming, like a
road flare, right at the electrical connection on one end at the
back wall
of the oven? And when you turn the oven control knob
"off", and the
electric "power" light goes off, but the broiler stays
energized and you
can't turn it off?

We had this happen today. It happened all of a sudden. We had
the oven
(not the broiler) turned on on our GE / Hotpoint MODEL#: RB757
range (7
years old).


There's a recall on it:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04576.html




Wow just read this and yes this happened to us on New Year's Day 2009.
The oven was turned on to keep warm some french toast and the element
sparked and popped and starting burning like a magnesium flare. Turned
off the oven with no effect element continued to burn like the sun.
Poured baking soda on it with little effect. Used a fire extingusiher
made for kitchen use and that finally extinguished it. Called fire dept
to be sure it was really out they used a thermal imager to be sure there
were no hot spots. The fireman had never seen this before. Bad way to
start the New Year, but grateful it wasn't any worse. The public needs to
be made aware of this potentially fatal flaw in this appliance. As for
the New Year we just bought a Frigidaire Electric Range and pray this
won't happen again to us or any one else. Tom & Laurie


Happened to me. I came home to see fire company leaving. Wife had
turned on stove (not a GE but I can't remember brand) and burner flared
as described and would not turn off. Wife has since learned how to
operate circuit breaker. Also old stove was directly wired in but new
one has a plug you can pull although you have to pull out stove.


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Posts: 1
Default GE Hotpoint range fire hazard: it happened to us

replying to Good Music, Karen wrote:
This happemed to me last night....did you ever get any answers or recourse
from GE? I have the Hotpoint RB540 and it is 7 years old, almost to the
day.

--


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Posted to alt.home.repair
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Posts: 14,845
Default GE Hotpoint range fire hazard: it happened to us

Karen wrote:
replying to Good Music, Karen wrote:
This happemed to me last night....did you ever get any answers or recourse
from GE? I have the Hotpoint RB540 and it is 7 years old, almost to the
day.

--


Look at the time line for the posts in the thread. It started in 2005, then
there's a gap of 4 years, then a gap of another year, and now it's up and
running again almost 4 years later.

Will it never die?
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