Basic advice for an oven bake element house fire (GE JBP24B0B4WH)

Hi Steve,

I can't find the part number for the GE jbp24b0b4wh oven upper heating element replacement.

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Do you know of a good web site (GE doesn't have them even at their parts web site
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Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl
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Hi, Maybe inside oven was drity(greasy)? When is the last time you cleaned it putting it to self clean mode? Something burning and you left the oven door open and did not cut the power off? And fireman had to do it? No fire extinguisher in the kitchen? I have one in the kitchen and another one in the garage.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi Ransley,

What irks me is I don't understand how this COULD have happened!

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I mean, it should be pretty simple, right? It's just a big resistor with

220v on one end pushing electrons through it.

Given it's such a simple circuit, I just can't comprehend how this fire can happen. For example, there is a half-inch gap in the element as shown here:

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My question, in general, is ...

Q: How can an open resistor arc to the oven metal and how can it arc even when the switch is turned off and why didn't it blow a fuse if it really was shorting and what possibly could have been burning when there is nothing flammable?

How can all this possibly happen to a simple 220v resistor circuit? It doesn't make any sense. That's why I'm asking here for answers!

Does anyone know the theoretical answer to this question? Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl

Hi, If you understand how welding rod works. Heating element by nautre some times has weakest spot where usually failure occurs like you just experienced. Weak spot having uneven resistance it can over heat and start melting the element. It thins the spot and over time it will start breaking up causing arcing on and off. Finally it will go open. Again if it was grease fire ignited by the hot element... Grease does not need electric power to burn. It'll just burn off.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Just google for appliance parts. There are plenty of them online and they should have the element, as it's a common part. However, as others have cautioned, based on everything you've said I would NOT just replace the element, without checking all the wiring, switches, etc in the oven to make sure it's safe.

Reply to
trader4

Mine was arcing to the oven; the oven is grounded, so you have a circuit. Mine failed at the support that holds it up, so it just went to the support. You are right; it can't arc over a half inch gap.

You don't get electrocuted (mainly because you don't touch it when it is on) because the oven wiring is a much better ground than you, so essentially all the current goes down the wiring and none down you.

Why would it? The fuse will only blow if it the current exceeds the rating, and there is no reason it should have. An arc fault breaker would have popped, but you don't put those on your stove.

These questions are easy; the one I can't answer is why it didn't stop when you turned it off.

The fire extinquisher was ineffective because nothing was going to stop it until you cut the power.

Reply to
jack

It may not be THAT easy. My wires only pulled out about and inch and bolting the new element on was very difficult.

Reply to
jack

Hi Tony, There was nothing that could burn that was inside the oven. It was clean (it looks dirty in this picture because of all the useless ABC fire extinguisher powder).

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Looking closely at the oven element itself, it's blistered in the spot that was "burning" (perhaps it was arcing as people said but I don't understand how an open circuit can arc and even if it did why didn't it blow the 220v fuse?).
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I had two fire extinguishers in the kitchen (notice the burned teapot on the top of the stove ... I'm rather forgetful and burn a lot of things down). The ABC fire extinguisher was useless on this electrical fire.
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I would NOT recommend an ABC fire extinguisher for an electrical fire for anyone ever. It didn't do a thing. Neither did turning off the oven switch. The only thing that stopped it was when the firemen turned off the power t the house.

What I'm trying to find is someone who UNDERSTANDS HOW this could have possibly happened? It just doesn't make sense that an open circuit (see the break here

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could possibly arc even after the switch is turned off?

And, why didn't the fuse blow (it's a three pronged grandfather plug according to the firemen.)

Reply to
Donna Ohl

Which could have occured at the end and then the current did stop flowing.

Presumably, you don't touch it when it's on and hot to begin with. But the actual resistive part is inside the element, so you can't touch it.

Probably because the current flow never exceed 40, 50 amps or whatever the breaker is rated at. 10 or 12KW in a small area is a lot of energy, but it doesn't exceed the breaker.

Reply to
trader4

The "wh" at the end probably refers to color (white?). I did a search on just "jbp24" and got lots of hits for "Quick Clean" model........did you try a google search on the part number?

Reply to
Norminn

You;ve figured it out. It wasn't a fire, it was the "Quick Clean" cycle. Cleaned it out real nice with no scrubbing!

Reply to
trader4

Listen ditszy,

Save yourself some money and replace the entire stove. You're worrying your pretty little head over a very common occurrance. Most broil oven elements only last three to five years so you're lucky you got as much as you did out of the one you have. When you turned off the heat, in your blonde moment (probably all the time) you turned it back on or hit the wrong dial because the arcing would have stopped then and there.

And, the fire extinguisher didn't put out the arcing because it was still arcing and if was the top element (broil you ditz, not bake). Here you are spraying powder on an upside down fire. Think about it. The powder smothers the fire only if it lands on the fire. You would have to turn the entire oven upside down for the fire extinguisher to work, you idiot.

As for the part numbers, your oven is a GE Spectra white. Take the WH off the part number BTW, it stands for white. That oven has to be at least five to ten years old so fat chance you'll ever find the part at GE for that. If you do find it, expect to pay upwards of $70 for it (PN WB44T10009 for the top broil and PN WB44T100010 for the bottom bake element).

What happened is you were dumb enough to have a splat of grease on the element, which over time weakened the steel casing which over time melted which over time exposed the inner resistive wire which over time moved enough to get close to the ungrounded case of the oven which arced frightfully (for you) which then cracked when you splashed water or fire extinguisher on it which opened the circuit which killed the arcing.

I have no idea what the "whoosh" sound was ..... probably the air leaving your head as you concentrated on ruining your oven.

You can replace the element for a few hundred bucks with a service call, or, if you do it yourself, you will almost certainly drop the wires in the back as you unscrew them off the element so that you'll have to pay a technician a few hundred bucks to take the oven apart to get to the wires you dropped.

Anyway, if you like, call GE and they'll confirm everything I said (I used to work for GE by the way). GE tech support 800-626-2005 GE customer service 800-432-2737 GE oven appliances 800-386-1215 GE appliance parts 800-626-2002 GE troubleshooting 800-626-2000 GE Spectra JBP24B0B4 upper broil element P/N: WB44T10009 GE Spectra JBP24B0B4 lower bake element P/N: WB44T10010

Respectfully yours

Reply to
crumbbuma

food)?

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)

Upper element from:

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$53.70

Lower element:

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$49.50

Both in stock for immediate delivery.

Call the Repair Clinic guy at 800-269-2609 instead. He's a lot more friendly.

Reply to
NoSpamForMe

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b38g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Once you posted this:

the worth of anything that followed was zip.

Reply to
Red Green

If your in the US, your house is most likely fed 240 volts from a transformer that is center tapped (neutral) and there is 120 volts from the neutral to each hot and 240 volts from hot to hot. The neutral is tied to ground in the breaker box. When the element fails, sometimes it burns through the insulation to the outer casing which is grounded. Apparantly the oven contol just removes one hot leg from the circuit while the other is still connected. normally this opens the circuit and the oven is off, but if there is a short to ground, like with the bad element, it can continue to arc since one leg is still connected to hot and there is a short to ground. I've seen this before when the oven control is set to off and it keeps arcing when the element burned out.

Reply to
JohnR66

Depends on what is burning. In many cases, closing the door is enough to let it burn out safely. Or the ABC can put our your roasted chicken.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

What would make it unsafe and un-repairable? Electric ranges are really rather simple devices with few parts in the circuit.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Ahem, By Mr. Murphy's law. Respect him. Arcing can occur thru carbon trace. How old is the thing anyway? I have all GE appliance in the house. Only trouble I had was a thermostat going bad in ~10 years time. Wonder you had a power surge??? You have to know what the element is made of. There maybe some mineral component which can spark like fire works.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi Edwin, They might be simple but I just realized there are THREE (not two) ends to the GE Spectra JBP24B0B4 upper broil heating element WB44T10009.

See this picture please

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QUESTION: What is the purpose of that THIRD end of the heating element?

Do the two 120 volt hot wires go to the two ends while the neutral goes to that third end of the broiling element loop???

Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl

The short didn't draw enough current to throw the breaker; the breaker has to be able to handle the oven with all the burners on. Your switch didn't turn off because there was so much current being drawn that the contacts stuck (or maybe welded) together. I'd get the oven checked before I turned the power to it back on.

Reply to
Chris Hill

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