Is your oven slow to heat up? This sudden commotion may be occurring due to one of the following reasons:
The easiest way to fix the issue is to thoroughly diagnose the mentioned parts or elements and take necessary actions as explained in this article. So, keep reading to learn the full details!
Why Is My Electric Oven Heating Up Very Slow?
Is your electric oven taking forever to heat up? It could be due to the wrong temperature setting on your oven, or excess dust and grime inside your oven. In that case, either set the oven temp correctly or clean your oven properly.
But if you’ve already verified that these are not the real cause, it must be due to either one of the following reasons:
1. Insufficient Power or Sudden Power Outage:
A lack of power supply is one of the most common reasons why your oven may take too long to warm up. This may happen if your oven is connected to a power socket, which is also linked to others such as a refrigerator or Television.
Make sure to connect your oven’s power cord to an individual power outlet. Also, ensure that the main home circuit breaker has not tripped and verify that the power outlet is secure enough for the connection.
If you are living in an older building, there can be internal electric wiring issues that can prevent a consistent power supply to your electric oven. But in that case, you will notice that other electrical home appliances are also not working right.
Consult a professional electrician to diagnose and fix the main electrical issue.
Even a sudden power outage can damage your oven’s control board and cause a similar heating failure.
Inspect the main control board of your oven. If it looks damaged, either contact an electrician or replace the control board by following this easy tutorial:
2. Faulty Heating Element:
The heating elements of your oven are responsible for generating heat, so when one of them (such as baking, broiling, and convectional elements) is damaged, your oven will not heat up efficiently.
Even if the oven door is not closing properly, you will also encounter a slow heating issue.
If it is happening during preheating, check if the oven door is pulling closed completely. If not, replace the door hinges on your oven.
Follow the instructions shown in this tutorial step by step to replace your oven door hinges if needed:
If that doesn’t help, take your oven apart to access all the elements to perform a continuity test with a multimeter so that you can replace the faulty one.
3. Malfunctioning Thermostat:
A thermostat on an electric oven helps regulate the oven’s temperature. So, when it turns bad or malfunctions, it can also lead to a similar heating failure.
Remove your oven’s control and top panel to get access and use an oven thermometer or multimeter to test the thermostat.
If the temperature in your oven differs substantially from the temperature indicated on the thermostat, replace the thermostat.
4. Bad Selector Switch:
This switch is the key to changing the setting oven to broiler or baking. So, if the selector switch is broken or damaged, it may also cause your oven to heat up slowly.
You can replace the switch by following these steps:
- Turn off the main power supply to your oven.
- Remove the screws that hold the front panel or control panel of your oven in place.
- Carefully lift the back panel to detach it from the oven.
- Locate and remove the mounting screws that hold the selector switch in place. (check the location of your oven’s user manual)
- Pull off the selector switch knob and disconnect the wires attached to the switch terminals.
- Install the new selector switch and connect the wires to the corresponding terminals.
- Reattach and reinstall everything else accordingly. Secure all the connections.
5. Faulty Temperature Sensor or Bulb:
The temperature sensor on the oven constantly monitors and helps to regulate its temperature. Over time these sensors may become dirty or defective and may send incorrect signals to the control board. This will cause your oven to heat up too slowly.
You can’t verify the issue without taking your oven apart and testing the temperature sensor. So, either contact a professional mechanic or do it yourself by following this quick tutorial:
Why Is My Gas Oven Heating Up Very Slow?
Is your gas oven slow to heat up? It must be due to either one of the following reasons:
1. Clogged Burner or leaked Gas Line:
A clogged burner on a gas oven means the gas flow has somehow turned restricted and as a result, your oven can’t reach the desired temperature it needed. Sometimes the burner will not even light up if it is clogged.
Even low gas pressure due to blocked or leaked gas lines can also cause similar problems.
Turn off the gas supply and take off the burner cap to check if it is clogged as suspected. If it is, use a toothbrush or a soft-bristled brush and kitchen cleaner to clean the burner’s surface, including the small holes where the gas is released.
Contact a professional mechanic to check and fix the gas line issue.
2. Dirty or Bad Igniter:
It could be the bake ignitor, which is broken or weak and can’t ignite or generate enough spark for the oven to heat up quickly.
Check if that is the case by following these instructions:
- Turn off the gas supply and if needed, move the oven away from the wall.
- The ignitor is located at the back of your oven, so remove the bottom of the oven to get access over there.
- Unbolt the ignitor from the oven floor and use a multimeter to perform the continuity test.
- Check if the multimeter displays a result between (0-1100) ohms. If not, replace the ignitor with a new one.
3. Malfunctioning Thermostat or Sensor:
The temperature sensor or the thermostat on your gas oven can also turn bad over time, it may also lead your oven to encounter such issues.
Check the temperature sensor. If it is bad, replace it by following these simple steps:
If the temperature sensor is in good shape and condition, follow this detailed tutorial to access, diagnose, and replace the thermostat on your oven:
4. Faulty Gas Safety Valve:
The gas valve regulates the gas flow into the oven. But if this valve gets stuck in between or does not open up properly, it will also cause the oven
- to take too long to heat up,
- to heat up too fast,
- not maintain the set temperature, or
- may not heat up at all.
The best solution is to call a professional to fix this problem.
Frequently Asked Questions- FAQs
Why is my oven taking so long to heat up?
This may happen because the heating elements in your oven are getting older and need to be replaced. Besides that, it can also occur due to a bad temperature sensor, faulty igniter, door not closing completely, incorrect temp setting, or malfunctioning thermostat.
Why isn’t my oven reaching the set temperature?
There must be an issue with the oven’s temperature setting, internal temp sensor, control panel, or calibration.
Why is it that my oven takes so long to cook?
Your oven’s thermostat must require calibration or adjustment.
