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

The top element of my 6-year-old General Electric GE JBP24B0B4WH oven went on electrical fire and the top bake element broke open when the fire department put it out.

Pictures at

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I need advice since this is the first time my oven went on fire all by itself.

The fire department said replace the oven.

Coworkers told me I can just replace the burned out top bake oven element. Whose advice should I follow?

Can I just replace the bake element (or is the oven really kaput)? Can anyone tell me what actually caused the fire (it wasn't food)?

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Reply to
Donna Ohl
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I have a whole bunch of questions I hope you can help me answer.

Q1: What caused the whoosh sound when the GE oven fire first started?

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Q2: How does a broken oven heating element cause a fire anyway?
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Q3: Why is the GE oven heating element all blistered in the fire spot?
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Q4: Why didn't the fire go out when I turned off the oven switch?
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Q5: Should I replace the heating element or replace the oven?
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Q6: Where can I find a replacement upper bake heating element?
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Reply to
Donna Ohl

I'll let others get into your questions, but the upper element is the "broil" element. On some ovens with a "preheat" feature the broil element will also come on to help bring the oven to the "bake" temperature you have set more quickly, at which time the broil element will shut off.

Reply to
PanHandler

Just replace the element. I wonder if those firemen replace their car when a headlamp burns out? Hmmmmmmmmm

s

Reply to
Steve Barker DLT

On Tue 07 Oct 2008 10:10:56p, PanHandler told us...

Some ovens, including GE IIRC, cycle the broil element while on the "bake" setting, not just to preheat.

Reply to
Wayne Boatwright

Wasn't aware of that. My 6 month old Frigidaire doesn't.

Reply to
PanHandler

I was hoping I could replace the element!

I'm not sure if it's a bake element or a broil element but it's the top element as shown in this picture (

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Do you have any idea what caused the fire?

I'm confused because, if an element is just a resistor, opening it would just cause it to stop heating. But even with the oven switch turned off, the fire was still going until the fire department closed the oven door and shut off the electricity to the house.

What caused the fire?

Reply to
Donna Ohl

I thought it was bake but I can easily be wrong. It's certainly the upper heating element though, as can be seen by this picture.

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Do you know WHERE to buy the upper element for the GE JBP24B0B4WH?

The General Electric

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web page doesn't even list my six-year-old oven model

Here is where I looked for GE oven element parts:

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Do you know where I can find the part number for the GE JBP24B0B4WH oven heater upper element?

Reply to
Donna Ohl

What caught fire its all metal. Google to see if those have a record of catching fire. Replacing the element wont make it safe that is not the cause, or what burned, you have to take it apart to find the cause. For most it would not be worth the trouble. With a fire there is likely hidden wiring that is fried.

Reply to
ransley

If the oven caused a fire severe enough to justify calling the fire department then replace the oven, it's not safe. And have someone who knows what he's doing do the replacement to make sure that the replacement is installed properly and doesn't start another fire.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I would contact GE regarding this. There may be a history of problems with this oven or a recall. Look in your yellow pages or online for appliance parts. The oven is not that old so I would think that parts are still available. Have you contacted your homeowners insurance company? The oven may be covered.

Without taking the oven apart it is difficult to assess what other parts may have been damaged from the fire. It is possible that the wiring for the stove top burners got damaged. I vote for a new stove and a different model as well.

Reply to
John Grabowski

The element is replaceable and available online. Google appliance parts. However, whether that's the only problem and the only thing that needs to be repaired depends on what else may have been damaged as a result of what happened.

It's the upper element, which is commonly referred to as the broil element. However, some ovens may use it to pre-heat or cycle it during bake, etc. too.

What exactly was burning in the fire? If the element failed, I could see it getting very hot, arcing, maybe some small flames around the element itself. But beyond that, for there to be any substantial fire, you need a fuel source.

It shouldn't have taken the fire dept to figure out to close the oven door and cut off the electricity. Were you planning on toasting marshmallows? And again, the question here is exactly what do you mean by fire and what was burning?

My guess would be a failed heating element.

Reply to
trader4

On Tue 07 Oct 2008 10:38:04p, PanHandler told us...

It depends on brand and model. I had a Whirlpool a few years ago that did this. I thought it was a problem with the range, until I read further into the owner's manual. :-)

Reply to
Wayne Boatwright

That is a darn good question. Turning the switch to off should have killed the power just as effectively as shutting off power to the house. It did for me when my broiler element started arcing a few months ago.

You probably only thought you had the switch off... But if you are certain you did, then you have a bigger problem than a failed element, and it might be prudent to replace it.

Just in general, it would be a good idea to have a fire extinquisher in the house. We have 4. Never used them.

Reply to
jack

I couldn't find the oven upper element part number at the GE site (

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).

Maybe they don't make them anymore because I couldn't even find the model of the oven (JBP24B0B4WH) at that GE applicance parts web site.

Do you think they don't make parts for this GE jbp24bob4wh oven anymore?

Reply to
Donna Ohl

It was all just metal.

As you can see from the pictures, the element is blistered just in one six inch spot (

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and you can see the GE oven heating element is broken in another spot not far away (
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)

How could the oven element be "arcing" if it was an open circuit?

Reply to
Donna Ohl

Hi Jack, That's the wierd thing. Not only did turning the switch off not stop the burning but you can see from these pictures that the oven element actually has a half-inch gap in it.

I don't understand how this element works. If it's just a "resistor", then why don't we get electrocuted when we touch it and how can it arc with a half inch gap opening the 220v circuit?

And, why didn't a fuse blow? I know it's a three pronged grandfather plug because that is what the firemen said when they yanked it out of the wall.

Does anyone know the answer to these questions? Donna

Reply to
Donna Ohl

Not open yet but cracked. It could arc. Element is easily replaceable and even HD or Lowe will have universal type one. Just make sure get one with same kind of connector.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi Jack,

I used up TWO of the household ABC fire extinguishers to no avail before calling the fire department. This is a picture of the exact fire extinguisher used (this picture is from a previous repair)

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I've concluded ABC fire extinguishers are useless on oven fires!

This is what the oven looked like afterward

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Reply to
Donna Ohl

Hi, What is definition of arcing? Current jumping across a gap. When element is cracked(in the process of breaking up) it can arc. Just take the bad element out and go to HD or Lowe or appliance parts store and get a matching replacement. No brainer replacing burned out element. Just make sure connection is good and tight.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

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