How easy to change cooker element

Skint_yet_Again

Has anyone ever changed a cooker element for Hotpoint BU82SS ?

Was cooking tea with wedges in bottom main fan oven and kebabs under grill when there was a flash and everything went off. Changed oven fuse and switched main fuse back on (with help over phone from dad) and the top oven and grill are both working but the bottom oven is not getting hot, only the red "on" light and fan are working.

Have trawled the net and it appears it may be the element. I have watched a "how to" which looked fairly easy but the part I am worried about is the wiring. The "how-to" said you can do this from inside the oven, but did not show you how - in the demostration they disconnected from back of oven.

I have seen a few other sites which say it is possible to disconnect and reconnect inside the oven but just wondered how difficult this is with my (very) limited knowledge.

Thanks

Ms_Chocaholic

Our oven element went the other week, it's Siemens not Hotpoint though. My husband has never changed one before but with the help of Google (for the diagram) and YouTube (although he couldn't find a video for the specific model) he found it relatively easy to change (and he's not that into DIY).

Our oven is fan assisted so he had to remove that to get at the element. He did start taking it apart from inside the oven but then took the oven out and finished it off from the back as he found that easier in the end.

What he did do before he started and at a couple of intervals whilst he was taking bits off was take a few photos so if he got stuck when he was putting it back together he had something to look at and this is something you definitely might find useful.

Ms_Chocaholic

Re the wiring, just asked my husband, depending on the element, it may have 2 or 3 connectors on it (ours had 2) On the element is a flat type fitting which slides into the oven fitment, not the same as a USB fitting into a USB port but just as easy (he says), hth x

Skint_yet_Again

Ms Chocaholic thank you so much to you and your husband. I was hoping not to have to pull oven out - its a fitted under seperate to hob so not sure how easy to pull out and get behind. Not sure how easy to disconnect from inside though. Thanks for the tip about taking photos, great idea.

mikey72

If you can do it from the front, the wires are attached to the old element as you pull if forwards, you can then pull them off the element, but make sure they don't spring back through the hole, otherwise you'll have to take the oven out and get the back off. Occasionally the fixing screws aren't attached, again, make sure these don't vanish backwards.

Gloomendoom

mikey72 wrote: »

If you can do it from the front, the wires are attached to the old element as you pull if forwards, you can then pull them off the element, but make sure they don't spring back through the hole, otherwise you'll have to take the oven out and get the back off. Occasionally the fixing screws aren't attached, again, make sure these don't vanish backwards.

If you clip a clothes peg on the wire when you disconnect it, it will help to stop this happening.

Ms_Chocaholic

Thanks for the reminder about the wires, we did that too but used a bulldog clip (never thought about a clothes peg).

Our oven was also a double oven fitted under a gas hob but my husband just had to undo a couple of screws and it slid out easily.

Skint_yet_Again

Great tips...many thanks for your replies