Thanks diyisfun for your encouragement. I thought folk might like to know how I got on.....
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WARNING l-o-n-g post!!!!
Well the first task was to source a replacement element. First stop try manufacturer's Customer Service number...oh but what's this?... its an 0870 number ....and yes the first 3 minutes of music were very nice but not really worth the 50p per minute it was probably costing me! So I sent them an email...i'm still waiting for a reply. So not only do Creda make me an oven that conks out after 3 years, but they then want me to pay through the nose to get a spare part. No way.
Tried Google...definitely a few possibilities... but Google pointed me to an ebay seller...darn it why didn't i think of that first!!! It seems as though there are quite a few sellers on ebay dealing in new appliance spares. Prices ranged from £34.50 (and I bet that would be the sort of price i'd have to pay Creda direct) down to less than £10. But the cheapest ones were clearly oem and not actual Creda parts, so i was a little wary. I finished up buying a pukka Creda spare from "best-deals-ron" on eBay. £13.97 inc VAT plus £2.39 postage. I ordered it 3pm and it arrived two day later (he tries to catch the post if you order before 4pm.). Looks like a proper Creda label (or a good Chinese repro!) with Creda Part number 6204370.
Oh yes and it has in big red letters "In the interest of consumer safety this part should only be fitted by a suitably qualified person with the machine disconnected from the mains supply." So be warned!!!
I found it quite straight forward taking of the backplate of the oven from the inside. (when I first considered this job I had visions of dismantling the whole oven from the back, removing insulation etc etc.) The whole job turned out to be a half hour job effectively, although it took me quite a bit longer because I cleaned stuff up while I was doing the replacement.
If I had to do this again, and not doing any cleaning up, I think it would be a 20 minute job at most. So in this part of the world (South-East commuter-land!) that would be about £35 call-out and £15 time PLUS VAT. Whoopee saved myself nearly £60... and maybe saved another £20 on the price of the part.
In fact I was so pleased with myself that I took a few photos and did a bit of a write-up (see below).
You experts probably think its no big deal, but I was really pleased with myself and hope it helps someone in a similar situation.
Needless to say do not attempt any electrical repairs unless you are reasonably competent AND SWITCH OFF/DISCONNECT before you do anything. These tips only apply of course to the Creda Concept Fan Oven, though i guess others may be similar. I cannot be responsible in any way for mis-use of these tips!!!
I've put the photos up on flickr.com as a set at
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/robwilla/sets/72057594143321693/ You can click on the "Slide show" button to view each of the eight photos in sequence. OR you can click on each photo in turn and there is a piece of explanatory text for each photo. If you sign up for flickr.com (its free
) you can leave comments for other viewers or point out any mistakes in my photo or text! I hope the link has a reasonable longevity as Flickr itself is still in Beta release and keeps on changing, but its a great free repository for photos.
Anyway here's the story....
FIRST DISCONNECT SUPPLY!!!!
Remove 4 screws at each corner of the backplate. Pozidrive No2 seems to fit best. The backplate will slip down a bit, but held up by the oven light cover.
Carefully remove oven light cover. About half a turn anticlockwise. this is likely to be covered in gunk...a great opportunity to clean it up maybe
. (in fact it might be better to unscrew the oven lamp cover first before unscrewing the 4 retaining screws). Anyway whichever way you do it the oven backplate should then be free to remove by pulling forward...you may need to jiggle it around the side panels protrusions.
Remove element by unscrewing the screw between the two points where the element goes in. The screw also has a sprung washer between its head and the element plate ... careful not to loose it! The element just lifts off the retaining brackets at the base. Bring forward carefully as the connection wires will be attached to the element. They should just slide off with a little coaxing...or maybe with the use of some pointed pliers.
Make sure the connecting wires don't disappear back down the holes!
I checked that the old element had really bust...using a meter set to measure resistance, it showed open circuit, so yes it had definitely blown!!
Resistance of the new element measured about 20 ohms.
The new element was then connected up to the spade connectors. I found I could just slide them on, but you might need some pliers if they are too tight. If they are too loose you might be able to compress them or better still replace them...but I think that's out of my area of competence!!
Rest the base of the element on the slots in the retaining clip..making sure the two loops are resting properly in the slots. Then secure the rectangular plate with the screw ... making sure to put the spring washer between the screw head and the plate. This is a bit fiddly. I found I had to pries the loops upwards before the screw found its hole. Note the error in the text on the photo...you can't actually fit the glass cover to the oven lamp until you have fitted the backplate..next step!!!
After fitting the element, but before replacing the backplate I reconnected the electricity supply and briefly checked the element was in fact working. Just a quick try as there isn't at this stage any cover over the oven bulb so you might damage it if heated up too hot!! (AND Remember after disconnecting the electricity you have to reset the oven timer from Auto to Manual...and of course close the oven door to activate the element. I left the door open and wondered why it wasn't coming on!!!).
OK so the element works...hooray! But don't forget to DISCONNECT from the electricity supply before you complete the final steps… putting the backplate back on and replacing the newly cleaned oven light cover.
Before replacing it, I took the opportunity to clean the backplate. There was a lot of encrusted gunk on the back of the plate, partially blocking the fan vents..I wonder if this contributed to the element's demise? I replaced the oven bulb which had failed (15 watt SES 300 degree - I got a Philips T22 E14 about £2 from local electrical supplier - who incidentally told me he stocked the elements too!). Replace the back plate with the 4 screws - you did keep them in a safe place didn't you? I took the opportunity to clean the glass on the oven door too. Wow...now we can actually see the stuff being cooked for the first time in a couple of years!
I then checked out the oven by starting at 100 degrees and checking the thermostat went out after a couple of minutes. then 150 degrees...another couple of minutes..then 200 and 300. Seemed ok.
Hope this helps! If any of you experts out there spots a mistake or omission in my description please feel free to post a correction.
ps.. my wife says the oven isn't really as dirty as it looks in the photos!!!
