Belling 540 Oven Overheat

[polygonum]

We have a simple Belling 540 cooker. For now we do not want to replace it but it has developed an annoying problem. And I'd like an idea as to what might have failed and whether it is fixable.

The upper oven (which also houses the grill) seems to work fine including temperature control - mostly. But sometimes it goes off on one and overheats. Tonight the oven had been at around 170 for a while and I decided to nudge it up to 180. Within a few minutes the food was scorching. Turning the control knob made no difference - the light which indicates the element being on remained glowing from top to bottom of the range. Even at something like 50 degrees. Turned it right off - it goes off OK. Back on and the element is immediately heating though it is quite obvious the actual temperature is way higher than the control is set to.

I believe that this issue has been occurring, on and off (ha!), for several months. I never usually burn anything but more than once things have over-cooked and singed. But tonight was absolutely the clearest occurrence. And if like previous occurrences, it will be good as gold for a few days or weeks.

[Bob Minchin]

Fitting a new thermostat should fix it

try espares for the part

Bob

[polygonum]

Thanks Bob. I rather suspected the thermostat - but wondered because it is so erratic.

[Bob Minchin]

Sticking/dirty contact or cooking fumes/grease in the mechanism perhaps They are made to a price!

[John Williamson]

As it looks like a straightforward mechanical switch, which seems to be triggered by gas (Metal, liquid?) expansion in the sensor bulb, one of the first signs of failure is the contacts occasionally failing to separate until forced apart by the control knob being turned off.

[fred]

I've used espares to good effect in the past but they were pricey on a recent hob control (simmerstat) search so I got a generic part from ukwhitegoods instead. Bottom line is that for these parts, some suppliers quote joke prices so it's best to shop around. If you have some nouse at sorting out connections then a generic part may do the job at a fraction of the price.