Cooker And Oven Door Hinges

Oven door hinges range in their method of operation quite dramatically, some are easy enough to replace if you are reasonably handy and others can be a bit of a challenge, even for the professional service engineer. We'd therefore say that if you're not sure or have any doubt about how to replace the hinge, don't do it and get in a professional to do it for you.

Common Sense Applied To Cooker And Oven Door Hinges

The first thing we often find is that people will order only one hinge. This amazes us as engineers as we'd almost never, ever replace only a single hinge. In fact, it's rare that we'd replace the hinges and not the hinge runners where they are fitted as well and this is where a bit of common sense has to be applied.

If you see one hinge gone and, this applies to fridge hinges as well as others, then the other one is taking a good bit more strain and stress and it was almost certainly the same age and just as worn as the failed door hinge. What this means in the real world is that the door hinge that appears to be okay will, almost certainly, be nearing the end of its useful life and has been under strain. It is hardly difficult to work out when you know this about oven door hinges to se why we replace them in sets of two and why we strongly advise that you replace both at the same time. It really is simple common sense.

The other part that, where they are fitted, is well worth replacing is the hinge runners as we call them. These are small inserts in the body of the oven that usually will have small rollers to guide the door hinge and ensure it runs true. If these wear they allow the hinge to run off true and the hinge then bends very slightly placing strain on the small rivets that hold the door hinge together. These small rivet then flex, wear and the oven door won't close correctly as that minute play amplifies up the door meaning that a fraction of a millimetre out at the bottom can be a few millimetres at the top.

Where the hinge runners totally fail the oven door just won't close correctly at all just as when the oven door hinges totally fail.

Due to all this we will always recommend, when you ask, that you replace both hinges in virtually every case and when there are runners (especially the ones we know go) fitted we will advise that you change these as well.

As engineers fixing the appliances we don't want called back for doing half a job, that costs us money. Likewise, if you are going to DIY it then we'd steer you the way we'd do the job, the right way.

Check The Other Parts Around The Oven Door

We like to tell people up front through articles such as this, to check other bits and bobs while you're doing one repair as, all too often, there are other issues to be looked at and apart from the inconvenience it causes there's the cost in time or shipping charges.

The one important thing to check when you replace the oven door hinges is the oven door seal. The reason is that if the oven door hasn't been closing correctly the seal can become warped or a bit scrappy for want of a better word so it's well worth checking that there are no tears or ragged bits on the gasket.

If there are bits that look a bit iffy it's worth replacing that as well.

Again, there is good reason for doing so. As the oven door closes it should seal against the oven door gasket and form a seal that holds in the heat to the oven. If it doesn't seal correctly then heat escapes into the room. This is bad in so many ways but, suffice to say for this article and not one on oven door seals themselves, that it can cost you bucketloads in electricity as well as cause uneven cooking so please take the few minutes to check it.

The Cooker Or Oven Spares You Need

Once you've determined what parts you need its time to order them up.

The first thing that you will need, as when you order any appliance spare parts, is the model number.

Finding The Oven Rating Plate

On a normal built in fan oven you will usually find the rating plate in the inner lip of the oven cavity itself, if you open the door you will usually see the rating plate on the left hand side of the door recess lip.

Sometimes they are at the bottom, but that's rare and there are some, notably some Hygena and Diplomat ovens, which have the rating plate on the top panel. Those that have them on the top panel have to be removed to obtain the model number, there's no choice.

The good news here is that, if you have to do that then all you should have to do is release the four screws that secure the oven in place and draw it out a few inches to get the numbers you need.

On a cooker you will often find the rating plate in the same location or in the storage drawer if there is one.

For a range cooker check the main oven as above or the warming or storage drawers and the rating plate will often be found there.

It is not common for the rating plate to be anywhere that you can't reasonably easily access without moving a range cooker.

A top tip is, once you get the serial and model number information from the rating plate make a note of it on the instruction book then you will always have it to hand.

Left, Right, Up, Down - Which Oven Hinges

When you ask for hinges please tell us which oven it is on a range cooker especially. Such as, is it the left hand upper oven or right hand lower? Remember that we're looking at the manufacturer's blowout diagram and we don't see photographs of the machine itself so you have to be as clear as possible on which parts it is that you require and, it's easy to get it wrong.

We always look at the cooker or oven as you do, from the front. So, simply describe what part it is you need as you look at the cooker from the front.

Do remember however that quite a number of oven hinges are left and right handed. Usually the difference is in the mounting points but this does mean that if you order the wrong one that it won't fit, another reason for replacing both as you then can't go wrong.

Good To Go

Once you've got al that sorted out you're ready to order up the hinges and any other parts you need. Hopefully you'll have a working oven that, if you've followed the simple tips here, should work better and more economically than before.

For more information on fitting oven door hinges please see the guidance notes on how to do this in the Self Help section from this link.

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