Another problem!

[Mups]

When is my luck going to change for the better ey?
 I am sure someone out there must be sticking pins in an effigy of me.   

Tonight, I put the oven on to warm up, and was half listening to my little TV in the kitchen while feeding  the dogs,  when all of a sudden it went very quiet,  and I realised the telly had gone off.

I changed the batteries in the remote,  but it was still 'dead.'   I began to wonder if it had the same problem as the front room telly when it died a few weeks ago.
I tried the radio for some company instead,  but that was dead as a dodo too.
Tried the front room telly - nothing.
Then I saw my landline, fridge and also the freezer had all gone off too.    Oh dear . . .   now what?

So there I was,  with dripping wet hair I had just washed and unable to use my dryer,  and no dinner to eat, and with the boiler gone off, no phone, and none of my household sockets working.

I decided to phone my Electrician,  but was worried what he would charge for an out-of-hours Sunday tea-time call-out,  but I couldn't leave myself with no power till Monday, especially with the fridge, freezer, and  boiler off.

The electrician came, bless him, put the trip switch in the circuit box back on, and checked nothing was tripping it off again.  Checked all the appliacances,  and everything seemed to work.   Most odd.

It wasn't till after he'd gone and I checked the oven again,  that I saw it was not heating up properly.  
It was only 'warm-ish'  instead of hot,  and it wouldn't get up to temperature.   So I reckon something is wrong with my cooker, and that is probably what tripped the electrics off.    
I will ring him tomorrow and tell him,  and see what he thinks.

Now my dilemma is,  do I get an estimate  for mending the oven of a 12 yr old cooker,   or do I get another cooker?  
   
What would you do?

[Dextrous63]

I would see how much it will cost to repair.  

[klondike]

Seems unlikely to me that it tripped the electrics as ovens are on their own individual circuit. You need to check to see if it really is faulty before you pay somebody to check it. If it did there could be a bigger problem than just the cooker.

I'd say your first thing to worry about though is why you didn't think to check the consumer unit trip when all the sockets went dead. If you live alone you need to know about things like that.

[Scrumpy]

I feel for you Mups..
I do agree with Klondike about knowing these things when we live alone..
The trouble is.. Some of us can't get it all to sink in properly.. I am the same..
Somethings take a bit of time to remember.. We instantly go in to panic mode..
 It is always good to have friendly neighbours.. or someone that you can call ..
Someone who will explain (simply) what you need to do..

Meanwhile I would find out what the real problem is before throwing good money at a new cooker..
Keep calm .. best of luck..

We all need a Klondike next door.. He will do anything for a bacon butty.. !!

[klondike]

I remember one puzzler from my caravan days. 

Came back from van. Downstairs sockets tripped and freezer content spoiled. Just dumped contents and left it off.

I must have noticed that I'd left the boiler setting that keeps the hot water ready to go so you don't have to run the tap for ages and no point having that using gas while away so turned it off. No more tripping. Turned out to be the pump. Maybe it had seized. I really don't know but swapping it out fixed it. That was on a boiler plan which I later ditched as they kept increasing the price which started out reasonable.

[Alex]

When is my luck going to change for the better ey?
 I am sure someone out there must be sticking pins in an effigy of me.   



Now my dilemma is,  do I get an estimate  for mending the oven of a 12 yr old cooker,   or do I get another cooker? 
   
What would you do?

Have you thought of buying a microwave/combination oven Mups ? just slightly bigger than a microwave.  I've had mine, a Panasonic for a few years and haven't used my 'big oven' since I got it. 

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8436793?_$ja=tsid:72555|acid:F1128DFT|cid:391052202|agid:1198468228282472|tid:pla-4575205346780972|crid:74904355821771|nw:search|dvc:c|st:panasonic%20combination%20microwaves%20uk|mt:be|loc:&cmpid=BPLA01&utm_source=Microsoft_Ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=391052202&utm_term=default&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=1198468228282472&utm_custom2=F1128DFT&gclid=949a36015e8a1b890be15ee2d1a3620e&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=949a36015e8a1b890be15ee2d1a3620e

[Michael Rolls]

We bought one, and Veronica could do all  sorts of things with it, but I am afraid it's beyond me - just use it as pur MW

[Mups]

Have you thought of buying a microwave/combination oven Mups ? just slightly bigger than a microwave.  I've had mine, a Panasonic for a few years and haven't used my 'big oven' since I got it. 

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8436793?_$ja=tsid:72555|acid:F1128DFT|cid:391052202|agid:1198468228282472|tid:pla-4575205346780972|crid:74904355821771|nw:search|dvc:c|st:panasonic%20combination%20microwaves%20uk|mt:be|loc:&cmpid=BPLA01&utm_source=Microsoft_Ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=391052202&utm_term=default&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=1198468228282472&utm_custom2=F1128DFT&gclid=949a36015e8a1b890be15ee2d1a3620e&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=949a36015e8a1b890be15ee2d1a3620e

Thanks Alex.   I  have never seen one of those before.
I will have a look at that properly tomorrow when I am not so worn out.



October 06, 2025, 11:31:05 PM

Seems unlikely to me that it tripped the electrics as ovens are on their own individual circuit. You need to check to see if it really is faulty before you pay somebody to check it. If it did there could be a bigger problem than just the cooker.

I'd say your first thing to worry about though is why you didn't think to check the consumer unit trip when all the sockets went dead. If you live alone you need to know about things like that.

I did have a look at the fuse box Klondie,  but its a bit of a job to get too without moving furniture.
I looked with a torch though and thought I could see a switch down at the furthest end.   I tried to flick it back up but couldn't,  I probably didn't push hard enough because of the accessability.

Thing is though,  it went off for a reason,  and just shoving it back on wouldn't tell me why it went off in the first place, would it.   I wouldn't know it was safe.   I would have worried something might have caught fire or something, while I was in bed!

[Dextrous63]

Sometimes fuses trip for no apparent reason at all.  If you reset one then if there is a fault, it'll trip again.

As for your oven, if I were a gambling man I'd go for your element becoming faulty.  These aren't usually very expensive and are usually simple to replace (maybe not for you personally, but for someone who does it for a living), so shouldn't cost too much in terms of labour.

[GrannyMac]

Our oven, built in, electric, nearly 20 years old packed in a couple of weeks ago.  The grill still worked, but the seal wasn't great.  We know a great handyman.  Ordered the replacement he suggested from Argos, less than £200. It's basic, but looks good and works fine.  He fitted it and took the old one away the day it was delivered.  Problem solved.  

I do know where our fusebox is, and to check if it's tripped. But I tend to rely on OH to know what might be the problem.  I've never lived on my own, I can only imagine how stressful it must be when things go wrong. Hope you get things resolved soon Mups.

[Mups]

Thanks very much Dex, and Granny.  x  

[Dextrous63]

What's the make and model of your cooker Mups.  Just curious as to the price of the element.

Wish I lived closer, or I'd do it.  Have replaced a these in the past.

[Mups]

What's the make and model of your cooker Mups.  Just curious as to the price of the element.

Wish I lived closer, or I'd do it.  Have replaced a these in the past.

Its a few years old now,  but still good  (or was!).
It's a Hotpoint  HUE 63 Ultima  with a black ceramic hob.


P.S.  Is ceramic and halogen the same?

[Dextrous63]

No idea about ceramic/halogen.

As for the oven, the elements are cheap (although I'm struggling to find your cooker online), and replacing is pretty simple..

Other oven elements aren't that much harder to replace.

Not that you're going to do it yourself, but it'll give you an idea of what to expect, and also a clue as to whether you're being ripped off.  Total wild guess would be for £60 labour, £20 for the part.

[Mups]

Thanks again for your input Dex.  

After leaving 5 messages for the repair man to ring me back,  he finally called me back just now.
He seemed to know what the problem was straightaway, and said Yes,  it would have tripped the power switch.

He is coming here on Thursday p.m.  to check the part needed,  and I asked if he could put a new oven light bulb in while he's at it, and he said yes.
He will probably have to order the heating part but reckons he can get that, and then finish the job next week.   

You were almost spot on with your guess at prices.  £60 call-out  (of which I had to pay £30 now),  and if its the element, round about £20-ish.   The light bulb about a couple of quid.

If it mends it again,  I shall be well pleased, and glad I didn't choose an expensive new cooker.

Once again, thankyou for everyone's suggestions.