⚠️ SAFETY FIRST: IMPORTANT
Isolate the appliance from the mains power before touching heating elements. Faulty elements can develop "earth leakage," which may electrify the oven chassis or cause the RCD (Residual Current Device) to trip. Always use a multimeter to verify the element is dead before hand.
The heating element is the "engine" of your oven. It works on a simple principle: resistance. By forcing electricity through a high-resistance metal (usually nichrome), the material glows and radiates heat. However, years of expansion and contraction eventually take their toll.
The Anatomy of an Element
An element consists of a core resistance wire surrounded by electrical insulation, all encased in a protective metal outer coating.
Placement: Elements can be found at the top (grill), bottom (base heat), or rear (fan-assisted/circular).
Control: Without a functional thermostat, the element would simply heat until it burned itself out.
Testing for Failure
If your oven isn't heating or is tripping the circuit breaker, use a multimeter to check the following:
Continuity: Set your meter to Ohms. A healthy element typically reads between 20 and 30 ohms. A reading of "OL" (Open Loop) means the internal wire has snapped.
Insulation Resistance: Test between the terminals and the metal outer casing. Any reading here indicates the internal insulation has failed, which will trip your house's RCD safety switch.
Common Faults
Warping and Splitting: Constant thermal cycling can cause the metal to deform or burst.
Fan Issues: On fan-assisted ovens, if the fan motor is slow or dirty, the element will overheat because the heat isn't being pulled away fast enough.
Cheap Replacements: Low-quality elements often use thinner materials that warp almost immediately. Always buy high-quality, like-for-like replacements based on your model number.
On ovens the heating element is basically a resistance this i what is found in an heating element even light bulb elements, the resistance to the flow of electricity creates heat.
Without a thermostat to control the element it would just continue to heat until the element eventually burned itself out.
The element its self is high-ish resistance metal ( nichrome ) this is surrounded by an electrical insulating material and finally a metal outer coating to protect the element.
Buy cooker oven spares on Ebay UK here
Buy a good Multimeter on Ebay UK here
Element can be fitted in the bottom or top of ovens or at the rear surrounding the fan, some can be dual elements and be grill and oven elements combines and other my have the capillary tube of the thermostat fitted to them too.
Elements are usually screwed to the inside of the oven cavity with 2 screws and the wire terminal are outside of the cooker at the rear, it is usually possible to change the element over without having to enter the rear cover by pulling the wires through into cavity.
When replacing the elements ensure the power rating and size of the element are taken note of as they do look similar but need to replaced like for like.
When testing the element its best to check for continuity with the ohms setting of a multimeter and if one is available you can insulation resistance test the element to ensure internal insulation is still insulating the element efficiently. Elements usually read around 20-30ohms
Common faults
Over many years of the thermostatically controlled heating and cooling cycles, and the associate expansion and contraction the elements can become warped , damaged internally or even split open , if the oven is fan assisted this can lead to even greater wear/tear due to inner edge of element being cooler than the outer edge, this can all lead to can open circuits in the the element or it can trip the RCD or MCB. Some times you can just look at the element and see the warping or splits easily but it my be necessary to test the element for continuity and or insulation resistance test the element to test for insulation breakdown.
On fan assisted ovens check the fan as well as sometimes fan failure or poor running dirty fans can cause the element to overheat and fail so its always worth checking the fan assembly when fitting new element.
Has the thermostat failed and not turning the element off when temperature has been reached, do a central oven heat test over 4 cycles of the thermostat to test this cycling on and off and accurate cavity temperature.
Cheaper ovens tend to be less well insulated as result the elements will cycle on and off lot more and this will lead to premature failure of elements.
Below testing the element and replacement video
Ensure you buy the correct element search make and model and check the mounting bracket for element details and buy good quality one there is big difference between cheaper no brand ones and good Quality ones. Problems with cheaper ones can include warping and misshapen elements , weak bracket and mounting points and low quality materials.
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