Replacement oven element - earth connection?

[Lobster]

I need to replace an oven heating element, having just been contacted by a tenant of mine to say that said element has died.

The oven is a Baumatic B100SS-B, and I seem to have found a replacement online OK (18 GBP from an ebay seller). However, while searching for this item at different retailers, I came across some info in customer reviews which worried me somewhat.

All of the 6 or 7 pictures of the replacement which I've just seen show this element has two terminals. However, at least two customer reviews suggest that the original had three terminals, and that a bodge was necessary to fit it.

eg

"Unfortunately this element is not exactly the same as it is pictured. It is missing the middle connection for the ground wire however with a few adjustments I was still able to use it"

and

"Easy to fit, this has no earthing point like the original but just re-route this connection to the main cooker earthing point"

Obviously ideally I'd dismantly my own oven to check it out; however being in a rented property, if possible I'd rather jusr buy the element and then go round once to fit the thing. So I wondered if anyone could shed any light on what might be going on here? Would you expect an element to have an earthing point, and if so, why would it be omitted?

[MM]

I've never seen an oven element like this with an earthing point. I've replaced both in my Hotpoint double oven and neither had an earthing element. Both look similar to the ones in your links.

Maybe the original designer was being super careful, but it was later found to be unnecessary.

MM

[fred]

In article , Lobster writes

I've recently replaced both the circular fan oven element (covered) and the grill element (exposed) on my oven.

The oven element didn't have a separate earth, making contact through the mounting flange and screws but as it was covered, that may remove it from risk of accidental contact and so require less stringent earthing.

The grill element had no earth tag but did have a separate earth eyelet under one of the fixing screw providing a dedicated earth connection in addition to the metallic connection to the oven body (which was already earthed). As it is possible to make accidental contact with the exposed element I wonder if they wanted and extra safeguard.

In your place I take any additional earth wire to an eyelet under one of the element fixing screws.

Watch out for the fixing plate being the wrong size/shape or the holes being out of place. In the case of the oven element I had to open up the bracket holes to get a fit and in the case of the grill element the plate was a little short but good enough.

[tabbypurr]

If the element is screwed in place to a metal oven there's no need to earth it separately. However some elements have a 3rd tag that's used for mounting, and sometimes misdescribed as an earthing tag.

NT

[Lobster]

On 10 Apr 2015, fred grunted:

Well, I've just dismantled the oven concerned, and bugger me; there is indeed an earth tag on the old element.

The new element - ie with just the L/N terminals - has an earthing symbol stamped on its mounting plate in place of a tag, implying to me that an earth is indeed necessary. Bizarre or what?

I think I'll probably drill the mounting plate and bolt on my own tag; there's not much room to attach the earth wire via the element via one of the mounting screws.

(Looking at the dis-assembled oven (which has a separate earth wire) there should be electrical contact between all the components via mounting screws anyway - is it just belt-and-braces to have a separate earth tag on the element itself?

[tabbypurr]

If there is a point to that, I sure don't know what it is.

NT