HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Thanks
Adrian

On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 14:45:26 +0100, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

About 10 years could be a reasonable life for an oven - although many may
last much longer.

If you have two separate items failing then your adviser may be correct.

You could wait until B&Q have one of their clear outs and perhaps pick up
an oven at a budget price.

Cheers

Dave R


--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

In article ,
David writes:
About 10 years could be a reasonable life for an oven - although many may
last much longer.

We've had a couple of Smeg ovens in the family, and I think they
both lasted about 7 years before the connectors on the internal
wiring loom burned out (quite a spectacular bang from one of them,
with dinner only half cooked). I repaired them by crimping the
wires - one blew a different connector a year or two later.
The case of the built-in one also overheats if the oven is up high,
again possibly aided by connection to thermal trip going bad. Oh,
and another thing - the oven lampholder is connected with the thread
on live, which I discovered by getting a belt off the lamp when
changing it.

There's also a Wickes own "Manor House" oven in the family which has
been fault-free for 15 years of moderate use, although the previous
owners left the paperwork showing the fan had to be replaced under
warranty.

If you have two separate items failing then your adviser may be correct.

I know a couple of people who change the oven when it gets dirty.

You could wait until B&Q have one of their clear outs and perhaps pick up
an oven at a budget price.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 08/08/2015 20:10, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,

I know a couple of people who change the oven when it gets dirty.

I had an uncle who took his car into the garage to get a wiper blade
replaced - and came home with a new car! My Aunt wasn't impressed.

If only once knew what might fail _after_ the fan / element had been
replaced... and when....?

Tricky!

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
On 08/08/2015 20:10, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,

I know a couple of people who change the oven when it gets dirty.

I had an uncle who took his car into the garage to get a wiper blade
replaced - and came home with a new car! My Aunt wasn't impressed.

If only once knew what might fail _after_ the fan / element had been
replaced... and when....?

Tricky!

Nope, obviously the thermostat.

On 08/08/2015 21:52, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
On 08/08/2015 20:10, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,

I know a couple of people who change the oven when it gets dirty.

I had an uncle who took his car into the garage to get a wiper blade
replaced - and came home with a new car! My Aunt wasn't impressed.

If only once knew what might fail _after_ the fan / element had been
replaced... and when....?

Tricky!

The oven thermostat often is the next to go.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On 08/08/2015 14:59, David wrote:
On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 14:45:26 +0100, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

About 10 years could be a reasonable life for an oven - although many may
last much longer.

If you have two separate items failing then your adviser may be correct.

You could wait until B&Q have one of their clear outs and perhaps pick up
an oven at a budget price.

Cheers

Dave R


Thanks Dave.
I'm afraid I tend to think that 'domestic' appliances should las
'forever'... however unrealistic that might be..
I'm guessing that the fan may simply be gunged up - and the careful
application of something lubricating might get it working again...?
Question is - what to use to avoid roasting our potatoes in 'essence of
WD40' ?

OK on B&Q - we're out here in the wilds of South-west Ireland - not
particularly inclined to travel to the big cities of Cork or Dublin...
g in search of cookers.

A

On 08/08/2015 21:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
On 08/08/2015 14:59, David wrote:
On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 14:45:26 +0100, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

About 10 years could be a reasonable life for an oven - although many may
last much longer.

If you have two separate items failing then your adviser may be correct.

You could wait until B&Q have one of their clear outs and perhaps pick up
an oven at a budget price.

Cheers

Dave R


Thanks Dave.
I'm afraid I tend to think that 'domestic' appliances should las
'forever'... however unrealistic that might be..
I'm guessing that the fan may simply be gunged up - and the careful
application of something lubricating might get it working again...?
Question is - what to use to avoid roasting our potatoes in 'essence of
WD40' ?

^snip^
A

Any proprietary brand of spray oven cleaner should remove gunge e.g Mr
Muscle, it would be worth a try before repairing or replacing.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On 09/08/2015 08:48, Ash Burton wrote:
On 08/08/2015 21:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
On 08/08/2015 14:59, David wrote:
On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 14:45:26 +0100, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start
immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is
developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the
others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute
(thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a
new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

About 10 years could be a reasonable life for an oven - although many
may
last much longer.

If you have two separate items failing then your adviser may be correct.

You could wait until B&Q have one of their clear outs and perhaps
pick up
an oven at a budget price.

Cheers

Dave R


Thanks Dave.
I'm afraid I tend to think that 'domestic' appliances should las
'forever'... however unrealistic that might be..
I'm guessing that the fan may simply be gunged up - and the careful
application of something lubricating might get it working again...?
Question is - what to use to avoid roasting our potatoes in 'essence of
WD40' ?

^snip^
A

Any proprietary brand of spray oven cleaner should remove gunge e.g Mr
Muscle, it would be worth a try before repairing or replacing.


Now that's a good thought - I'll pull the fan out and have a look.
Thanks
A

On 09/08/2015 08:48, Ash Burton wrote:

Any proprietary brand of spray oven cleaner should remove gunge e.g Mr
Muscle, it would be worth a try before repairing or replacing.

You need to be careful with those as you can't clean them off the
elements very well and they cause corrosion which make the element fail
prematurely. This is specially so in fan ovens where the element is
behind a plate and you don't take the plate off to remove the cleaner.

In article . com,
dennis@home writes:
On 09/08/2015 08:48, Ash Burton wrote:

Any proprietary brand of spray oven cleaner should remove gunge e.g Mr
Muscle, it would be worth a try before repairing or replacing.

You need to be careful with those as you can't clean them off the
elements very well and they cause corrosion which make the element fail
prematurely. This is specially so in fan ovens where the element is
behind a plate and you don't take the plate off to remove the cleaner.

Also, don't get them on stay-clean liners - take the liners out of the
oven whilst using any cleaning products in it.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven - how
long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


--
Adam

On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


You're lucky if the modern generation of ovens will last much more than
10 years.

I would say you are on borrowed time with this one, often once an
element or fan goes, other things will start to fail too.

I'd start looking for a replacement soon.

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On Sat, 8 Aug 2015 15:09:39 +0100, Ash Burton
wrote:

On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


You're lucky if the modern generation of ovens will last much more than
10 years.


I've had ours for nearly 30yrs, electric + fan The door seals have
gone and really needs a complete front door unit. Wife of course
wants a new one but I reckon this will still outlive the cr@p that is
churned out nowadays.

--
AnthonyL

On 08/08/2015 18:53, AnthonyL wrote:
On Sat, 8 Aug 2015 15:09:39 +0100, Ash Burton
wrote:

On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


You're lucky if the modern generation of ovens will last much more than
10 years.


I've had ours for nearly 30yrs, electric + fan The door seals have
gone and really needs a complete front door unit. Wife of course
wants a new one but I reckon this will still outlive the cr@p that is
churned out nowadays.


A man after my own heart!

On 08/08/2015 15:09, Ash Burton wrote:
On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


You're lucky if the modern generation of ovens will last much more than
10 years.

I would say you are on borrowed time with this one, often once an
element or fan goes, other things will start to fail too.

I'd start looking for a replacement soon.

Hmm - you may be right.
But - what else is likely to fail..?
'Stats, I suppose, possibly switches.

Can't help remembering what my kiln-building guru in the USA said
"It's just a box that gets hot".
My homebrew glass-fusing kiln goes to 900c - it shouldn't be _that_
difficult to fix a domestic oven - should it?

Pains me to throw away something that's 'nearly working' - but that's
why the shed's so full of semi-defunct stuff!

Adrian Brentnall wrote:
Hmm - you may be right.
But - what else is likely to fail..?
'Stats, I suppose, possibly switches.

Can't help remembering what my kiln-building guru in the USA said
"It's just a box that gets hot".
My homebrew glass-fusing kiln goes to 900c - it shouldn't be _that_
difficult to fix a domestic oven - should it?

Pains me to throw away something that's 'nearly working' - but that's
why the shed's so full of semi-defunct stuff!

You could try the 'old banger' approach. If you have somewhere to store it,
buy a second one on ebay (probably dirt cheap nowadays) and keep it handy to
rob for parts when the time comes. This probably works less well for ovens
(not much to go wrong and most likely to be the element each time) as it
does for, say, washing machines (lots of parts).

This can come especially handy for builtin appliances, where the alternative
is rebuilding the kitchen to match the cutouts of a replacement, which
always seem to be in a different place.

Theo

On 08/08/2015 23:31, Theo Markettos wrote:
Adrian Brentnall wrote:
Hmm - you may be right.
But - what else is likely to fail..?
'Stats, I suppose, possibly switches.

Can't help remembering what my kiln-building guru in the USA said
"It's just a box that gets hot".
My homebrew glass-fusing kiln goes to 900c - it shouldn't be _that_
difficult to fix a domestic oven - should it?

Pains me to throw away something that's 'nearly working' - but that's
why the shed's so full of semi-defunct stuff!

You could try the 'old banger' approach. If you have somewhere to store it,
buy a second one on ebay (probably dirt cheap nowadays) and keep it handy to
rob for parts when the time comes. This probably works less well for ovens
(not much to go wrong and most likely to be the element each time) as it
does for, say, washing machines (lots of parts).

This can come especially handy for builtin appliances, where the alternative
is rebuilding the kitchen to match the cutouts of a replacement, which
always seem to be in a different place.

Theo


Understand the principle - but I'm trying to _empty_ the shed!
Also don't think it'd go down very well with SWMBO....
- in fact I KNOW it wouldn't go down very well - and I'd probably end us
sleeping in said shed.

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
On 08/08/2015 15:09, Ash Burton wrote:
On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


You're lucky if the modern generation of ovens will last much more than
10 years.

I would say you are on borrowed time with this one, often once an
element or fan goes, other things will start to fail too.

I'd start looking for a replacement soon.

Hmm - you may be right.
But - what else is likely to fail..?
'Stats, I suppose, possibly switches.

Can't help remembering what my kiln-building guru in the USA said
"It's just a box that gets hot".
My homebrew glass-fusing kiln goes to 900c - it shouldn't be _that_
difficult to fix a domestic oven - should it?

Really depends on the design. Mine certainly wasnt, very
simple plug in oven element, just one screw holding it in.

Pains me to throw away something that's 'nearly working'

Me too.

- but that's why the shed's so full of semi-defunct stuff!

My whole house is.

On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


Who are you calling 'sweetheart' ?! g

Actually - she's leaning towards a new oven - but both of us are
undecided. I think the answer may be to whip the oven out of the carcass
tomorrow and measure / photo the element. If a new element can't be
obtained then the decision's made for us...

Can't help thinking that the fan's a simple fix as well - bit of
heat-sensitive 'gunge' on / in the bearings....??
Could look at that at the same time.

Assuming that the droopy element will fail sooner or later, there's not
much to lose by taking a look....

...,is there?

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


Who are you calling 'sweetheart' ?! g

Actually - she's leaning towards a new oven - but both of us are
undecided. I think the answer may be to whip the oven out of the carcass
tomorrow and measure / photo the element. If a new element can't be
obtained then the decision's made for us...

Can't help thinking that the fan's a simple fix as well - bit of
heat-sensitive 'gunge' on / in the bearings....??
Could look at that at the same time.

Assuming that the droopy element will fail sooner or later, there's not
much to lose by taking a look....

..,is there?


Fixed the gfs oven twice but never managed to put a bun in it.

--
Adam

On Sat, 8 Aug 2015 22:19:08 +0100, "ARW"
wrote:


Assuming that the droopy element will fail sooner or later, there's not
much to lose by taking a look....

..,is there?


Fixed the gfs oven twice but never managed to put a bun in it.

Was that because of your own droopy element?

G.Harman

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 8 Aug 2015 22:19:08 +0100, "ARW"
wrote:


Assuming that the droopy element will fail sooner or later, there's not
much to lose by taking a look....

..,is there?


Fixed the gfs oven twice but never managed to put a bun in it.

Was that because of your own droopy element?

I think her implant might have more to do with it:-)



--
Adam

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
On 08/08/2015 15:01, ARW wrote:
"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks


But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last -



wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new one?'

Is than another way of saying "I would like a new oven sweatheart?":-)


Who are you calling 'sweetheart' ?! g

Actually - she's leaning towards a new oven - but both of us are
undecided. I think the answer may be to whip the oven out of the carcass
tomorrow and measure / photo the element. If a new element can't be
obtained then the decision's made for us...

Can't help thinking that the fan's a simple fix as well - bit of
heat-sensitive 'gunge' on / in the bearings....??

That's unlikely.

Could look at that at the same time.

But a new element, new fan and new thermostat are
likely to cost significant less than a new oven if you
get them from the cheapest online suppliers and
fit them yourself. Mine has had a couple of elements
and a new thermostat in 40+ years, but isn't a Berko
and neither element was as badly designed as that.

Assuming that the droopy element will fail sooner or later, there's not
much to lose by taking a look....

..,is there?

Depends on how much of a butcher you are.

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit - but
I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in order
to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

I once viewed a house [1] where the owner was "boasting" that they had just
had the built in microwave replaced at a cost of some 700 pounds!

I'd have turned the space into a shelf and bought a 39.99 table top
replacement ;-)

tim

[1] FTAOD this was a property at the bottom run of the ladder for the
location.

On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 18:55:32 +0100, tim..... wrote:

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start
immediately, but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing
a 'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the
others. This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead
to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute
(thanks guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that
will fit - but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing
element in order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

I once viewed a house [1] where the owner was "boasting" that they had
just had the built in microwave replaced at a cost of some 700 pounds!

I'd have turned the space into a shelf and bought a 39.99 table top
replacement ;-)

tim

[1] FTAOD this was a property at the bottom run of the ladder for the
location.


We paid an eye watering amount for a Bosch combination fan oven/microwave
oven built in to the units to keep the work surfaces clear. Looks much
like a double oven (has a single electric oven underneath in the unit).

An interesting compromise, which works well as a fan oven (decent size,
not like most "combis") but has some hidden 'features'.

For instance it has a grill but you can't operate it with the door open
because of the microwave safety cut out to prevent you microwaving with
the door open.

There is no turntable to rotate the food whilst microwaving.

I am fascinated that it looks like a conventional oven, complete with oven
shelves and metal walls, but is also a microwave. Once upon a time I
thought that microwaves and metal didn't mix.

Cheers


Dave R


--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

"David" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 18:55:32 +0100, tim..... wrote:

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
HI Folks When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi
built-in fan oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start
immediately, but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing
a 'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the
others. This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead
to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute
(thanks guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that
will fit - but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing
element in order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

I once viewed a house [1] where the owner was "boasting" that they had
just had the built in microwave replaced at a cost of some 700 pounds!

I'd have turned the space into a shelf and bought a 39.99 table top
replacement ;-)

tim

[1] FTAOD this was a property at the bottom run of the ladder for the
location.


We paid an eye watering amount for a Bosch combination fan oven/microwave
oven built in to the units to keep the work surfaces clear. Looks much
like a double oven (has a single electric oven underneath in the unit).

This was in addition to a "normal" oven.

I would never have considered the property otherwise, as despite the fact
that I rarely use a full oven and could live without it, I use a grill
almost daily.

and several attempts at using a table top grill has found them to be very
inadequate replacements for "oven" grills.

YMMV

tim

In article ,
Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Nearly 2 years back I bought the cheapest oven the local shop sold
(£195, Beko) - this was for my little (hobbyish) baking business... For
a year it was heated up to 250C 6 days a week to bake bread and after
the first year the element wen't pop then after I replaced that the
thermostat... They were cheap and easy enough to replace with spares
directly from Beko... It's still going strong now, but I use it much less
(bought bigger ovens!)

I think the element and thermostat were each about £15.

One thing I found was a site selling spares online - oh look, cheaper
than Beko until I entered my model number into their site - when all
parts I tried immediately jumped in proce by about a fiver, so watch
out for that scam.

My thoughts about your Zanussi are that if you like the oven and think
fitting new bits will be relatively easy, then go for it - this is a
DIY group afterall ;-)

Gordon

On 08/08/2015 19:50, Gordon Henderson wrote:
In article ,
Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Nearly 2 years back I bought the cheapest oven the local shop sold
(£195, Beko) - this was for my little (hobbyish) baking business... For
a year it was heated up to 250C 6 days a week to bake bread and after
the first year the element wen't pop then after I replaced that the
thermostat... They were cheap and easy enough to replace with spares
directly from Beko... It's still going strong now, but I use it much less
(bought bigger ovens!)

I think the element and thermostat were each about £15.

One thing I found was a site selling spares online - oh look, cheaper
than Beko until I entered my model number into their site - when all
parts I tried immediately jumped in proce by about a fiver, so watch
out for that scam.

My thoughts about your Zanussi are that if you like the oven and think
fitting new bits will be relatively easy, then go for it - this is a
DIY group afterall ;-)

Gordon


I'm thinking that it can't do any harm to take a look....
Wife's pointing out the hassle we had with the washing machine (of
similar vintage) - when the 'expert' in the van simply listed about 5
items that could be the cause of the problem, and proposed selling us
all of these on the ground that it might fix the fault. Bill would have
come to more than the cost of a new machine....

...but I'd say that a washing-machine has more 'complexity' than a
bog-standard oven, doesn't it..

The oven's been used fairly lightly. Breakfast toast 3 - 4 times per
week, probably a cooked meal a couple of times a week, a couple of cakes
per week, we don't do meat so no Sunday roasts...

It's in good condition, apart from the droopy grill element!
Pains me to chuck it - I was brought up in the 'make do & mend' era...

"Adrian Brentnall" wrote in message
...
On 08/08/2015 19:50, Gordon Henderson wrote:
In article ,
Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Nearly 2 years back I bought the cheapest oven the local shop sold
(£195, Beko) - this was for my little (hobbyish) baking business... For
a year it was heated up to 250C 6 days a week to bake bread and after
the first year the element wen't pop then after I replaced that the
thermostat... They were cheap and easy enough to replace with spares
directly from Beko... It's still going strong now, but I use it much less
(bought bigger ovens!)

I think the element and thermostat were each about £15.

One thing I found was a site selling spares online - oh look, cheaper
than Beko until I entered my model number into their site - when all
parts I tried immediately jumped in proce by about a fiver, so watch
out for that scam.

My thoughts about your Zanussi are that if you like the oven and think
fitting new bits will be relatively easy, then go for it - this is a
DIY group afterall ;-)

Gordon


I'm thinking that it can't do any harm to take a look....
Wife's pointing out the hassle we had with the washing machine (of similar
vintage) - when the 'expert' in the van simply listed about 5 items that
could be the cause of the problem, and proposed selling us all of these on
the ground that it might fix the fault. Bill would have come to more than
the cost of a new machine....

..but I'd say that a washing-machine has more 'complexity' than a
bog-standard oven, doesn't it..

Yes. I didn’t bother to fix my washing machine, but that was
because I had another I inherited and used that instead. Still
have it, in case the replacement dies worse.

The oven's been used fairly lightly. Breakfast toast 3 - 4 times per week,

Bloody hell, toaster is better value for that.

probably a cooked meal a couple of times a week,

I used to use mine virtually every day until I started using those
glass convection ovens which I now use most days instead.
http://www.bigdiscount.com.au/convec...q1saAs4L8P8HAQ

They don’t last all that long but I get them from garage
sales generally for about $10 so I haven't bothered to
try fixing any of them when they have failed. They
don’t all fail the same way so I should be able to
use the failed ones as a source of spares if I stop
being able to get a new on at a garage sale.

a couple of cakes per week,

Don’t do cakes anymore.

we don't do meat so no Sunday roasts...

I do meat almost every day.

It's in good condition, apart from the droopy grill element!

Going to be interesting to see if the replacement has been redesigned.
Likely it has given that you can't get a replacement from the manufacturer.

Pains me to chuck it - I was brought up in the 'make do & mend' era...

It isn't brought up for me, its just what I prefer to do.

On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

Once the element and the fan are replaced, there's not much left...
thermostat and lamp perhaps.

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?

at least 10 years.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

I am dreading replacing my built under oven as it hs the controls to one
side which give is mire height for the oven cavity and the knobs don't get
burnt by the grill. The split between the 2 doors matches the two deep
drawer units each side - it is a 15 year old Electrolux.

On 08/08/2015 20:45, John Rumm wrote:
On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

Once the element and the fan are replaced, there's not much left...
thermostat and lamp perhaps.

That was my thinking....


So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?

at least 10 years.

Again - that's what I'd anticipate - but I could be living in the past!

On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.

Ours was bought by my parents in about 1985. It's had at least one
element, the fan sometimes sticks, the clocky bit died many years ago, I
had to machine a new door switch pushy bit, the catch has been unhappy
for a long time, there's a thermostat problem when it's off, the door
seals may be suffering, but it's a really simple to use twin oven/grill
- one knob for each oven, one for the grill, no selecting which mode to
use etc, so it's staying till something properly breaks.

On 09/08/2015 00:10, Clive George wrote:
On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.

Ours was bought by my parents in about 1985. It's had at least one
element, the fan sometimes sticks, the clocky bit died many years ago, I
had to machine a new door switch pushy bit, the catch has been unhappy
for a long time, there's a thermostat problem when it's off, the door
seals may be suffering, but it's a really simple to use twin oven/grill
- one knob for each oven, one for the grill, no selecting which mode to
use etc, so it's staying till something properly breaks.


I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't agree with the 'throwaway
society' grin. "Three wheels on my wagon" & all that!

I think we'll have a bit of a dismantle after breakfast - just got to
find my torx drivers!

On Saturday, 8 August 2015 14:45:29 UTC+1, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Unless you've got a fair reason for a new one I see no sense getting one. And nothing above comes anywhere near being such a reason.

If you want long lived reliable appliances, keep old ones rather than buy new. Old ones have proven their ability to last. I know someone that replaced her 1930s oven a couple of years ago. There was nothing wrong with it, a new one was just safer.


NT

On 09/08/2015 05:23, wrote:
On Saturday, 8 August 2015 14:45:29 UTC+1, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

Unless you've got a fair reason for a new one I see no sense getting one. And nothing above comes anywhere near being such a reason.

If you want long lived reliable appliances, keep old ones rather than buy new. Old ones have proven their ability to last. I know someone that replaced her 1930s oven a couple of years ago. There was nothing wrong with it, a new one was just safer.


NT


Agreed - it's out with the screwdrivers after breakfast!

Follow-up!

So far so good.
Cooker out of housing, element removed, measured & photographed, photo
sent to supplier to confirm that the item they suggested as an
equivalent will fit OK.

While at it, gave the oven fan two tiny drops of 3-in-1, and (so far)
it's spinning up every time, rather than waiting a few minutes (as before).

Replaced element for the time-being - cursing the designers who saw fit
to secure it with a pair of M5 nuts on 1"-long studs (where's an M5
nutrunner when you want one?!)

So - with a bit of luck, we may be back in business for under 50 quid!
And no ping****its, weird torx screws, or screws left over afterwards..

Adrian

On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

For far less than than the cost of an element and fan motor, you could
pick up a used oven from eBay that's in good condition, and only a
couple of years old.

In built ovens and hobs don't go for much s/h.

On 10/08/2015 11:37, Fredxxx wrote:
On 08/08/2015 14:45, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
HI Folks
When we moved into this house (2006), it had a new Zanussi built-in fan
oven.

A while ago the fan started playing up - and wouldn't start immediately,
but only once the oven had heated up a little.

Now the dual / oven grill element in the top of the oven is developing a
'droop' - two sections of it are 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch below the others.
This doesn't look good - and I'm guessing it'll eventually lead to
failure.

Now here's the rub. Zanussi are showing the specific replacement grill
element as 'obsolete' - and don't offer a replacement/substitute (thanks
guys!) A UK supplier reckons that they have something that will fit -
but I've got to slide the oven out and extract the existing element in
order to photo / measure it - to make sure.

New equivalent oven is about £300

Spare element plus fan motor = £33.99 + £38.99 + £9.99 - plus half an
hour or so of skinned knuckles, general swearing and pingfu**its to fit
the parts.

But - SWMBO says 'Ah - but what's likely to fail _next_ on the oven -
how long are they designed to last - wouldn't it be smarter to buy a new
one?'

So, folks, what's the design life of a fairly simple fan oven - in your
opinion / experience?
Everything else on the oven currently works well, it's clean & tidy
inside, and has been lightly used.
Discuss!

For far less than than the cost of an element and fan motor, you could
pick up a used oven from eBay that's in good condition, and only a
couple of years old.

In built ovens and hobs don't go for much s/h.


Hmm - probably true - but wouldn't be a popular choice - not sure I want
somebody else's 2nd-hand oven, and I'm sure that SWMBO doesn't.

Did have a quick look on eBay (Ireland, 'cos that's where we are) and
couldn't see any ...

Waiting on a UK supplier who thinks that they might have an element to
fit - fan motor 'repaired' with two drops of oil - we'll see if it stays
repaired!

Thanks, A