When your oven heats unevenly, runs too hot, or won’t reach the right temperature, the problem is often the oven thermostat, a sensor that tells your oven when to turn the heat on and off. Also known as an temperature control, it’s one of the most overlooked parts in kitchen appliances — but it’s the brain behind consistent baking and roasting. If it’s off by even 20 degrees, your cookies burn, your roast dries out, and your patience wears thin.
Most people assume a broken oven means a dead heating element, but the oven thermostat is just as likely to blame. It’s a simple device — usually a small metal tube connected to a dial or digital panel — but it fails often due to age, grease buildup, or electrical surges. When it does, your oven either doesn’t heat at all, keeps running past the set temp, or cycles on and off too fast. You might think it’s a power issue or a faulty control board, but 40% of oven temperature problems trace back to the thermostat alone. And unlike a heating element, you can’t always see the damage — you have to test it.
Testing a thermostat doesn’t need a pro. Most homeowners can check it with a multimeter in under 15 minutes. Just unplug the oven, pull off the control panel, disconnect the thermostat wires, and measure resistance. If the reading doesn’t match the manufacturer’s specs (usually printed on the part), it’s dead. Replacements are cheap — often under £30 — and easy to install if you’re comfortable with basic tools. But if your oven is over 15 years old, or if the thermostat keeps failing after replacement, it’s usually a sign the whole unit is worn out. That’s when a new oven makes more sense than another fix.
Don’t ignore odd baking results. A bad thermostat doesn’t just ruin meals — it wastes energy, increases your bills, and can even be a fire risk if it overheats. If you’ve tried resetting the oven, cleaning the vents, and checking the element, and it still won’t hold temperature, the thermostat is the next thing to look at. The posts below show you exactly how to test, replace, and decide whether to repair or replace your oven based on real-world fixes from local technicians in Hinckley. No guesswork. No fluff. Just what works.
18 November 2025 · 0 Comments
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