Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

[Yoss]

Hi, I have a problem with a Belling E641 freestanding cooker. The grill element in the top oven has been bent out of shape and is now hanging down in the middle while on the left it’s touching the top of the oven.

See for yourself: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/grhmrsn/WonkyGrill#

And here’s the details (from a label behind the main oven door)…

Model Num: 444445548
Serial Num: 51037930

Now the grill’s actually still working fine – except for burning anything in the middle of the grill pan obviously! I’d still rather sort it out though.
I don’t have any experience of working on white goods but I have built a few PCs in my time so I’m not a complete stranger to working on electronics. So, a few questions…

Would it be safe/possible to just bend the element back into shape?

If not, would it be tricky to replace it?

And if it’s not too difficult a fix, where would you recommend I get a replacement part, what tools would I require for the job and how best to go about it?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Yoss

[gandh1]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

if you try to bend it you do risk breaking hte insulation inside which could cause the element to short. but you have nothing really to lose if you know your limits. disconnect or isolate first obviously. part is cheap if you get the pattern version tho, expensive if you go to belling direct…

here for cheaper option…
http://shop.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/Cooker+{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} … ement.html

[Yoss]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

I already tried giving it a bit of a bash to bend it up slightly. Still seems to be working alright so I’ll maybe make a more concerted effort later.

Thanks for the pointer and the link – if I bend it too far and it busts I guess I’ll give replacing it a try.

[Yoss]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

Update:

Well the element finally burned out today. Threw the cooker circuit breaker and no longer heats up.

The top oven still works as an oven but the grill is no more. I’ve ordered the element recommended previously in this thread so thanks again to the chap who suggested that.

Once it arrives I’ll have a stab at replacing it. I’ve never worked on an electric cooker (or any appliance) before so just to check, can you ‘unplug’ it from the mains or is it wired in without any sort of plug? If so, would you recommend just removing the circuit breaker from the consumer unit while I work on it?

Just want to avoid frying myself, y’know?

Cheers,
Yoss

[Yoss]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

I got the element linked to in a previous post in this thread and managed to fit it. Anyone else attempting this should note that while the linked element –

http://shop.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/Cooker+{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} … ement.html

– is compatible it’s not exactly the same size as the Belling original. It protrudes about half a CM more at the front which makes it a rather tight and unsteady fit.

Just a little FYI…

[john_o]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

Yoss wrote:… not exactly the same size as the Belling original. It protrudes about half a CM more at the front which makes it a rather tight and unsteady fit.

Just a little FYI…
Thanks for the warning. I’m planning on getting an Indesit compatible element from the same site and am feeling my way wrt what to expect when I try to fit it. Can I ask you to please elaborate on what you mean by rather a tight and unsteady fit? Might it be better for me to get the proper, more expensive element from Hotpoint (Indesit)?

[Yoss]

Re: Belling E641 – Damaged Grill Element

Hello, this is probably years too late to be of any use to you. I’m sorry – I only registered at this forum to get advice about one specific problem then stopped paying attention to it (repairing white goods isn’t a big hobby of mine!).

As I said, the element is anchored at the back of the top-oven by a couple of screws and protrudes further forward than the original one. There are a couple of non-conductive metal struts welded to the element that stick out at the front and hook under a metal plate at the front of the top-oven to hold the front of the element up. As these stick forward a bit too far they push against the metal plate and cause it to bulge forward very slightly. It seems to be holding up so far though.

When I say “unsteady” I’m overstating it a little. It’s just not as good a fit as an original Belling element.

[Author]

Posts