Mini ovens are one of the most indispensable kitchen appliances that have truly revolutionized cooking preferences. They aren’t only a miniature of a traditional oven but also stand out to be more convenient for their portabledesign. No matter which season it is, an oven is something you can’t afford to miss out on.
Amidst all this, they are still vulnerable to glitches and malfunctioning, of which not heating is the most common of all. If your mini oven has recently stopped heating, or you’ve started seeing similar indications, you are at the right place. We have sorted out for you the main reasons behind it and some DIY solutions as well which you can easily rely on.
With no further ado, let’s dive right in.
What are the Potential Reasons?
Broken Heating Element
Let’s start with the core of your mini oven’s main configuration. A heating element is present at the base of the oven, and most of the time, the whole heating process revolves around this part. If your mini oven is not heating up or overcooks your food, you might want to go for this first suspicion and see if the element is broken or damaged. In either case, you can replace it all by yourself or even if you call for professional help, it’s a small problem and won’t cost much. There are cases when the heating element itself becomes the victim of overheating and burns out, hence this is the primary factor you might want to look out for.
Faulty Electronic Board
Next on the list is the electronic board, which, as the name mentions, deals with the voltage output. What happens is that any jolt can mess with your mini oven’s electronic board, which might result in its malfunctioning. If you have checked the heating element and its working fine, then most probably, it’s because of the problematic electronic board. The inner parts can’t receive the power they are used to work on, and this leads to a decreased heating. Let us tell you that in such cases, it’s better to call for an expert hand because this does include the hazardous risk of electric shock.
Fuse Glitches
It’s downright normal for the mini oven’s fuses to give in and all it takes is a new fuse. This may happen because of the poor wiring or long-term excessive power input. These fuses usually have a label on them so you won’t have any difficulty in finding and replacing the faulty one. However, one thing that is important here is to make sure that the new fuse is compatible with your oven’s configuration. It should bear the same rating and should be similar to the original one.For beginners, you can do it at home without going for any helping hand.
Defective Thermostat
The reason that we placed this factor among the bottom two is that the thermostat rarely causes any problems. Although there is a greater chance it’s the board or the heating element. Yet, if the poor heating persists, it’s not a bad idea to give a check to the thermostat. If you find it the culprit, you can easily re-calibrate it all by yourself. All you have to do is to use the rotatory knob present at the base and take a regular thermometer to adjust your thermostat’s temperature values. It’s all a walk in the park since so many mini ovens let you change the calibration to as much as 50 degrees F. This is why you need not invest in any professional aid especially for this one.
Damaged Temperature Sensor
Firstly we’d urge you to not confuse the temperature sensor with the thermostat as both are co-linked yet drastically different. It’s present at the back wall of the mini oven specifically the one which has been recently purchased. This is because you might still have its instructional manual that carries all the readings for every sort of functioning part. You may find in it, normal resistance for the temperature sensor and this can figure it all out for you. Unplugging the oven and using a multi-meter can unravel the current resistance of the mini oven and the comparison would ultimately turn out to be the decisive factor here.
Easy DIY Solutions
Now since you have got the basic know-how of the major causes, let us share with you some simple tips and solutions that might come in handy. Firstly, whenever your mini oven doesn’t heat up, you can go ahead with increasing its temperature to the fullest and keeping the door open. Doing so would let you check out the progress of the heating element, if it’s warm to touch, this means the element is all right and you’re good to go. This can be one substantial step to decide whether it’s the time or not to do away with the oven’s heating element.
Secondly, you must have used the knob to change the temperature of the oven and this is the time to make use of that but with a different approach. You can rotate the knob of your mini oven to either side to see if there’s any drastic change in the temperature. The positive change indicates that the thermostat and temperature sensor are completely faultless, and you can go on with examining the other parts. However, if you feel that the temperature of the inner chamber has become stagnant, it’s a rather negative sign and depicts malfunctioning of the temperature-related parts.
Coming to the electrical glitches, as mentioned above, if it’s the electric board that has taken away all your oven’s efficiency, then there isn’t much that you can do without an expert’s help. The professional technician would make a voltage check to see if the board is responding or not. The same goes for the fuses, you might change them on your own, but to know what caused the fuse to blow, you’d better seek expert advice.
Conclusion
Let us wrap up all our discussion with a conclusive note that if your mini oven isn’t heating, it’s most probably because of the heating element. It’s a minor problem that you can cope with all by yourself. Instead, if the problem persists, it’s a strong sign that you should go for the other parts before your oven comes across long-term damage. Mini ovens are easy to deal with, nevertheless, it’s always good to be cautious while touching the innermost electrical parts.