Must Vent - My #@!*#% Oven's on the Fritz - Again!

[SusanT]

When we bought our house, I inherited the strangest electric range I've ever seen. It has solid surface burners (a coil covered by a cast iron covers). It's freaked out on me twice. The first time the oven wouldn't shut off and ruined an apple pie. Tonight the range top malfuncioned and I had to use the side burner on our gas grill to finish dinner.

How can I convince my DH to let me replace this monster with a nice little gas range? I don't want anything fancy, just something that doesn't have a weird mind of it's own. It was bought in 1988 - surely it can't last much longer?

P.S. All of this is complicated by the fact that we still have a home warranty so it's only $35 to get it fixed! Drat!

[KathrynY]

SusanT - no strategies to offer, but I can sympathize! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif We also inherited less than optimal kitchen appliances when we bought our house. Our stove has a short in the membrane panel on the front, and periodically beeps uncontrollably which can only be turned off by shutting off the power at the circuit breaker (which is downstairs in the garage). Nothing wrong with the cooking functions - just nonstop beeping. To replace the panel is $170, so we might as well just buy a new stove! So far we've managed to put up with it (only happens about 2x a year) but I'm sure it will only get worse.

Sometimes you just have to give in and replace that pesky appliance, though. We had a CHEAP dishwasher with only 1 spray arm in the bottom, and the dishes on the top rack always ended up with dried food particles stuck to them. Very embarrassing when you have dinner guests and reach in the cupboard to pull out a glass only to find that they all have gunk stuck to them and you have to do the quick hand-wash. After 4 1/2 years with this dishwasher, we finally decided we didn't have to live with it and purchased a modestly priced Sears Kenmore dishwasher with 2 spray arms and the difference is like night and day! Dishwashing is now so much less stressful, because the dishes are actually CLEAN. I wish we'd done it years ago.

Good luck with your stove. Has DH ever had one of those cooking disasters happen to a meal that HE prepared? Maybe that would give him some perspective on the matter....

[sneezles]

Susan,
Does your husband cook? If so I would suggest he cook on that crazy cooker for awhile and see how quickly it gets fixed! Otherwise, just get it fixed on your own. For $35 surely that won't break the bank and if it is a problem then spend less at the grocery store for a couple of weeks. I wouldn't put up with a bad cooker for any reason!

[Vanessa]

SusanT:
The best way to convince your hubby is by doing a search on stoves. Get ALL the info price, features, model Present it to him in a positive manner. Also if lets say theres a sale going on that might work even better. Tell him that as much as you love cooking and he enjoys the food and baking your stove is not reliable. He will tell you that for $35 it can be fixed. Well then have the guy come and check your stove get his opinion if its worth it to repair or replace. Then with facts convince your DH. Men need facts they don't buy on emotion home appliances. Once he gets the point across that in order to continue wonderful meals a new stove is needed he will go with you to get a stove.

[SusanT]

My husband doesn't do much cooking but he was very distraught about the apple pie that was ruined! Perhaps I should have him do more cooking....

I've tried the reasoning approach and he's been able to outsmart me at every turn! When I complained about our cookware not making good contact with the burner, he opted for new cookware (which works great- darn it). When we had to finish dinner on the gas grill last night, he pointed to the side burner and said, "Here's your gas stove!" I even pointed out that a
Sears ad had a one-year money back guarantee for one of their gas ranges. It's not like I'm asking for a $5,000 Viking!

Perhaps I've learned to cope with this awful range a little too well? I have to go through elaborate moving off of pans and cooling down burners to simply go from high to medium.

I was able to convince him to replace our dishwasher a few months ago (it was working but not well). We lucked out and found a Kenmore Elite on closeout. He was dubious about the price but now absolutely loves it!
I know he'd feel the same about this once we replace it but I just can't get him to that point!

Shall I try hysterical weeping? Should I refuse to cook anymore? My husband would not be at all surprized to see me standing over the thing with a sledgehammer poised!

Thanks for your sympathy and advice, everyone! Glad to know I'm not the only one who's struggled with this!

[Beth]

I'm about to be late to pick up my preschooler on his last day of school, so I haven't read all the replies, but it might be worth the $35 to have it looked at. Our cooktop (GE electric with grill insert)has a piece that is no longer made (control knobs, I think) and cannot be replaced. When it was on the fritz, another part was responsible, so it got fixed -- for the time being. However, our dishwasher died and would have cost more to repair than it was worth, so the warranty co gave us the cost of repair ($207) toward purchasing a new one. That's part of how I rationalized the top of the line KitchenAid I love. Maybe it will help convince your DH.

Now that my son is home, thought I would add that you might be able to check with some appliance repair companies to find out if yours has a repair history (i.e., is notorious for certain problems, and perhaps for not having available parts, etc. ).

Keep watching for sales and closeouts too. Sears is currently closing out some models and having a one-day sale tomorrow (although I have found that one sale merely replaces another deal at Sears and they all turn out about the same, except that if it's not on sale, it probably will be next week). You could also check out scratch and dent specials, floor model closeouts and such (usually at warehouses), classifieds if you live in an area where people move or update a lot (even brand new units from a house where the buyer wanted to replace the builder's model), even ebay sometimes. Good luck from someone who's been using 2 burners for too long now (also inherited, but on the replacement list).


[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 05-18-2001).]