Is there any way to set or to zero the temperature on a 5 year old GE profile (double oven) SS23341OP range please?
The oven temperature bears no relationship to what is on the display.
Mine seems completely haywire. When the display reaches (say) 350 degrees, an oven temp gauge seems to be at around 300. Leaving the oven at the 350 setting for a time, the gauge sometimes stabilises at 425, sometimes it goes up to 500 degrees!!
I have already changed the thermostat and it didnt affect the problem at all. What else can I try please?
Or are there only two components to the system, the thermostat and the control panel behind the display? Does that contain all the sensors, chips etc?
Sorry, I don't have any specifics on your oven. But, about 14 years ago we bought a Dacor built in oven. We always suspected control problems. When I checked, there was indeed control problems. Set at 350, it would over shoot and then undershoot 350. Calling Dacor was absolutely no help. They just kept repeating the words on the script that industry standard allows a 25 degree variation. Well this one was a little worse, say maybe 30 or so. BTW, 25 degrees is ok for baking large mass things, however for small things like cookies, etc. it means the difference between undercooked and overcooked. We lived with it for 5 years. I called Dacor again and they said they have a new controller unit (the whole front panel) which holds the temperature much tighter. They offered it for free, but the catch is, that I had to have it done by a so called professional and pay them. So, it cost me $100 to get what should have been there in the 1st place. With the new control panel, it was significantly better, but not as good as I would have liked it. Now there was a top to bottom swing of about 14 degrees. I now have a Whirlpool in a different house and have never measured the temperature because the baking results have been very good.
From my reading, I would agree that it sounds like something is faulty in his oven. If it's wandering all over, it's not a calibration issue. If he wants to DIY, I'd find a schematic, may be one online. Also any of the online parts stores have exploded diagrams where he could get some idea of the parts and how they come together.
There is a whole *science* to designing good control loops. Unfortunately, it *is* a science and many people implementing them aren't formally schooled in that science. How you measure, where you measure, how/where you "control/actuate", etc.
At which location in the oven do you want to have control of the temperature? E.g., most ovens have adjustable racks that aren't there *just* to allow you to accommodate different sized foodstuffs! The location of each wrt the upper and lower heating elements (and, which elements are actually in use) determines the actual conditions *at* each rack location. Placing an *extra* something above or below can alter the heat available at a particular location.
(e.g., I bake two sheets of cookies at a time -- *knowing* that the upper and lower sheets experience different heat profiles that must be reflected in my baking routine)
Legacy "on/off" control systems react differently than proportional controls (imagine trying to maintain a desired speed on the road when your only method of speed control is to engage or disengage the clutch with the engine running at a fixed RPMs behind a fixed gearbox).
Is there a "transport delay" (i.e., inherent "lag") in the measurement or control sides? I.e., if you're measuring the temperature of water coming out of a hose *at* the hose end -- but controlling it at the
*source* end -- you can see how easily the temperature will fluctuate (because the control doesn't know the temperature of the water until it has traveled down the length of the hose).
Our furnace, for example, "coasts" after the demand for heat has been removed. The furnace designers realized there is still a lot of heat trapped *in* the furnace and lets the blower run for another minute or so to extract that heat (and cool the furnace down). *But*, the thermostat has already decided that the house was "warm enough" when it stopped calling for heat!
What you cook in/on also plays a role. E.g., glass "saves" you ~25F.
The tighter the control (i.e., less hysteresis) the more control action and the more "work" the controller has to do.
I'd wager most temperature control loops in appliances, HVAC thermostats, etc. are simple bang-bang controls: temperature too low? turn on heat. temperature too high? turn off heat. Very little "anticipatory" (derivative) control so the system is almost always underdamped (oscillates)
Note the same sorts of problems are present in freezers.
There are techniques that can be used to improve the control. But, usually, customers aren't concerned enough nor willing to *pay* for them! They'd rather be enamored with the appearance of the stainless or the brand name on the front than the actual *performance*!
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