Problem with new builtin oven

lindos90

Recently replaced our old built in oven. Never had any problems with it apart from one of the elements going.

Bought a new one from AO.com. Within a week we noticed problems. Our gut feeling is that there could be a thermostat problem and/or problems with the door seal, insulation or ventilation.

These are the things we have noticed:

-even on fan assist setting, the oven cooks on the left side of the oven significantly faster than the right.

-the two oven knobs (and the top facia where they are positioned) get so hot during cooking that it is impossible to touch them to turn them off without hand protection

-even at 200 it is burning food in half the time than cooking instructions suggest (even when taking into account that the temperature setting is only a guide)

-there is excessive steam escaping out of the back of the oven, to the point where it is coming out of the cupboards/drawers to either side of the oven

-there is so much steam coming through the vent/gap between the oven and the worktop that water is collecting on the underside edge of the worktop and dripping down in front of the cooker onto the floor. (there is no guidance on the instructions to say how wide this gap should be, but it is just as wide as the gap was on the previous oven)

-the corners of the cupboard drawers on the left of the oven have become heat damaged and the covering is peeling away from the doors (these cupboard doors have been perfectly fine all the time we had the previous oven)

(Its worth pointing out the previous oven we had was a bog standard one from Ikea, no whistles or bells, so its not that we are used to the functions of a fancy expensive one.)

Should AO.com be our first port of call? Could it all be down to a fitting issue? Looking online, it would appear that AO.com are not very forthcoming with refunds and try to refer customers to the manufacturers, and are even less likely to even consider addressing the damage to the kitchen cupboards. (My worry is that we can not prove the cupboards were fine until this oven was fitted) I'm really worried about what we are going to do, I would welcome any suggestions or advice you may have, Thank you x

Aylesbury_Duck

My money would be on an installation problem. Perhaps there isn't enough clearance around the new oven, or is it possible that some packaging hasn't been completely removed and is partially blocking the cooling?

Who fitted it? Can you ask them to take a look and make sure it's fitted as it should be, paying particular attention to the minimum specified clearances all around the unit.

lindos90

It was a local electrician. There was no specific instructions about fitting with the oven, or minimum distances etc. Its just a standard oven. The housing is a standard size for built in ovens.

The old oven was removed, then the new one slid in its place, secured to the housing and plugged in, no 'fitting' as such.

I'll see if the other half can slide it out and have a look behind it, see if there's any packaging.

Would that account for it over heating though? We used a separate thermometer, and when the oven indicated it had reached a temperature of 200, the other thermometer measured it to be 250, much higher than the oven said.

I can't figure out where all the water/steam is coming from, my other oven never produced so much, (only the usual big waft when you open the door that steams up your glasses :rotfl:)

born_again

lindos90 wrote: »

It was a local electrician. There was no specific instructions about fitting with the oven, or minimum distances etc. Its just a standard oven. The housing is a standard size for built in ovens.

They ALL come with fitting instructions. As well as size required. Will be in the books you got with the oven.

Not a AEG with Steam function is it.

My first port of call would be the fitter to check it is fitted OK. Then AO.

Aylesbury_Duck

What model is it? You’ll almost certainly be able to download the installation manual from the manufacturer site. It concerns me that your fitter fitted it without any reference to instructions. That lends more weight to my suspicion that it’s not been fitted correctly.

lindos90

Definalety no 'fitting' instructions with it, only an instruction booklet. It is a Hisense built in oven. Maybe it was missed out when being packed (unless its behind the oven and the cause of poor ventilation! :rotfl:)

Good point about seeing if there's online fitting instructions, will do that now. Thanks for your advice, hopefully we will check if it's been fitted incorrectly. I'm not sure how 'different' it could have been fitted, gaven the size of the cupboard, and size of the oven, but a good first step. Once thats establish we will be better armed to approach AO.com if needed.



Excellent advice as always from here, thank you x

lindos90

Nope, there's no fitting instructions online via the manufacturer website, only 3 items for this model. The user manual (which I have, but that doesn't have fitting instructions) an energy label and a fiche.

I have emailed the company and asked them to send me a link to the fitting instructions.

born_again

>> Its worth pointing out the previous oven we had was a bog standard one from Ikea, <<

Is the kitchen from Ikea as well. As they have been known in the past to use non standard sizing.

lindos90

born_again wrote: »

>> Its worth pointing out the previous oven we had was a bog standard one from Ikea, <<

Is the kitchen from Ikea as well. As they have been known in the past to use non standard sizing.

Good point, and I know exactly what you mean as their carcass units are different at the back, I remember considering getting one of their kitchens at the time and was put of by that being an issue, was it something to do with a none standard service space at the back of the cupboards? But no, the units were all from a local Kitchen company and fairly standard. I am delving into my old paperwork to find the cupboard manufacturer, as I'm going to see if they still do the fronts, I'll be needing at least 2 (once we solve the mystery of why it happened).

Used the oven today very carefully to observe things, didn't use the fan option and it didn't get as hot outside, and no steam escaping via the drawers. So avoiding the fan option.

The manufacturer was quick to reply with the fitting instructions, and we will look at the clearances/measurements then contact the electrician.

lindos90

Just an update on this. We got a PDF from the company, and checked all the measurements for fitting and it is fine thankfully. An engineer came and looked at it (from AO). He thought it might be a fitting issue until we showed him the fitting instructions, and he agreed it was fitted inline with the instructions. He took the back off the oven and said the insulation had been put in badly as it was stopping the cooling fan working. He suggested to be on the safe side, to cook with the drawers open, and not to use the hob at the same time as the oven, both ridiculous solutions in the long term! He took photos of the damage to the drawers, and said he would write a report. At least he had done something that made the cooling fan work, something that had not been working before he came.

It seemed to have done the trick initially as the cooling fan did seem come on (which it didnt at all before), but after a couple of uses the problems are still there as the cooling fan goes of during cooking and then the issues of overheating occurs.

Called AO again, we said that the 'repair' has not worked and we are requesting a refund. They said they can't deal with that and we would have to talk to the manufacturer to authorise the refund. But instead they put us through to a repair centre, nothing to do with the manufacturer.

Called AO again, who said we would have to have another engineer (a senior one this time) who would test all the connections to find out the problem, and do another report.

Phone calls seem pointless, as we have no record of what has been said or agreed. Emails we send are not replied to at all. Can anyone suggest the best way forward? My instinct is that they can't direct us to the manufacturer, as our contract is with them. Also that we have allowed a repair, which has not worked, and that we can at this stage reject the oven and request a refund? How should we deal with the 'senior' engineer visit?

neilmcl

You need to speak/write to AO.com and explain clearly that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 they are only allowed a single attempt at a repair after which, if a fault persists, you are entitled a final right of rejection for a full refund within the 1st 6 months. Tell them under no circumstances are you going to deal with the manufacture going forward as the contract is with AO and therefore the buck stops with them. If they still insist you deal with the manufacturer then issue a Letter Before Action (LBA).

Also, assuming the fault was first flagged up to them within 30 days, tell them you have a right to reject it without any further delay.