Four Signs You Need to Replace the Elements in Your Ilve Stove

In many cases, issues with your Ilve oven can be solved by replacing one of its heating elements. Wondering if the element is the cause of your woes? Here are four signs that it may be the culprit:

1. Dishes are not cooking evenly.

Most Ilve electric ovens have three elements, a rear, top and bottom one. The variety of elements allows you to customise the direction the heat is coming from for different dishes. However, if you are cooking a pizza, baking a cake or doing something else that engages all the elements equally, uneven cooking is definitely a sign that one of the elements isn't working. The rawest part of your dish shows you which element needs to be replaced.

2. Your oven isn't making any heat.

If the oven doesn't seem to be working, make sure it is getting power. Check that the fuse is on, and make sure the burners work on the stovetop. If you have an Ilve oven with fan-based settings, try one of them and see if you can hear the fan. If the appliance is getting power but still not creating any heat, all of the elements may not be working.

3. The elements are not glowing evenly.

In many cases, if you open your oven while it is on, you will see your elements glowing. This is especially true as they are heating up. Turn on your oven, open the door and visually examine the elements. If they are not glowing evenly, they may be starting to malfunction.

4. The oven is taking too long to heat up.

Many Ilve ovens come with the ability to preheat quickly. If your oven suddenly takes a long time to preheat, the elements may not be producing enough heat quickly enough. You may want to replace them or talk with an Ilve appliance repair person.

In some cases, a cool oven or one that is preheating too slowly may be due to a malfunctioning thermostat. The thermostat reads the internal temperature of the oven, and then, it directs the elements to produce more or less heat. If your oven is taking too long to heat up or not cooking dishes thoroughly, test its internal temperature with a thermometer. If the reading doesn't match the temperature you have chosen, you should contact an Ilve stove repair person -- the issue may be the thermostat rather than the elements.