Oven temperature can't keep up

[September]

Hello, I've tested my oven and know that it runs 10 degrees too hot. My problem is that once I put something in there, the temperature can drop dramatically, depending on how much I put in; however, it doesn't come back to the set temperature in a few minutes. It drops and very slowly climbs back up, but then I have to open the door to rotate my pans and it drops again. By the time I am supposed to take my baked goods out, the oven has still not come back up to temperature. It seems to be struggling to keep up. So when I bake at 350°, I am actually never baking at that temperature, but a much lower one. Is this normal? If not, can I fix it? Really appreciate everyone's input! Thanks.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Most recipes are very forgiving.

You don’t mention how the baked goods turn out.

I wouldn’t worry about fixing the oven if an additional few minutes in the oven or an additional 25-50 degrees on the dial solved the problem.

I would chalk it up to the individual oven’s ‘personality’.

 

[dragnlaw]

I agree with Aunt Bea.
But I'm curious, you say it runs 10 too hot but drops and struggles to get back up. Why don't you let it go to the extra 10 degrees hotter and it will drop when you add your food and maybe not take so long to rise again.
Just a suggestion.

Welcome to DC, September. Hope we can help you and hope you stick around, maybe you can help someone with your experiences too!

 

[Roll_Bones]

Once the oven is COMPLETELY cool run your fingers along, behind, under the element and feel for a rough spot or indentation. I am assuming this is an electric range.
I had an issue just like yours once and it was the element. This is not one of those situations where it either works or it doesn't work.
You see unless the element burns all the way through there is enough left to allow some current to flow. This results in slow heating and no ability to maintain temperature.
It's worth a quick check.

 

[Jusa]

Makes me wonder if I need to check the temp of my oven. Foods are turning out good, though.

 

[CharlieD]

Another thing to consider is preheating oven for a longer time. Some professional chefs recomend to preheat oven for an hour. Then temps do not drop so dramatically and rise back up faster.

 

[Kathleen]

Welcome to DC!

 

[blissful]

@September @Roll_Bones has a way to check it if you have an electric oven.
If you have a gas oven, the thermostat could be bad or the igniter is going bad.
My gas stove was taking a long time to preheat, like 30 minutes while it should have taken 6 minutes. I replaced the igniter with the help of my husband and youtube videos. The part was inexpensive online.

 

[dragnlaw]

All my gas stoves have taken a minimum of 20 minutes to pre-heat.
Wow- 6 minutes! That's amazing, lucky you.

How did you figure out it was the igniter? I thought when the oven was preheating, once ignited it stayed on til the temperature was reached.

 

[Jusa]

All my gas stoves have taken a minimum of 20 minutes to pre-heat.
Wow- 6 minutes! That's amazing, lucky you.

How did you figure out it was the igniter? I thought when the oven was preheating, once ignited it stayed on til the temperature was reached.

I have a dual stove/oven where I have gas burners and an electric oven, but starting out after I turn on the oven it uses gas to heat up.

These posts inspired me to time it to see how long it takes to preheat to 350F and 450F in my oven. It took 8 minutes and 59 seconds to get to 350 and an additional 3 minutes and 57 seconds to reach 450.

 

[blissful]

All my gas stoves have taken a minimum of 20 minutes to pre-heat.
Wow- 6 minutes! That's amazing, lucky you.

How did you figure out it was the igniter? I thought when the oven was preheating, once ignited it stayed on til the temperature was reached.

I bake bread every week and it wasn't heating up like it used to. It was taking forever. So I read a lot of stuff on gas stoves, then youtubes on igniters and it seemed right. The way it works is it goes on full until it reaches temperature, then shuts off, the oven cools and when it goes low it tries again to ignite and that was taking too long. Since all this igniting was happening under the inside bottom of the oven, it is easier to see if you remove the bottom of the oven (inside the oven).

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks bliss, good to know, I appreciate. Even though I don't have a stove or oven anymore... yuh never know!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

\Some professional chefs recomend to preheat oven for an hour.

Sure they do, but they don't have to pay the electric bill!

 

[September]

Most recipes are very forgiving.

You don’t mention how the baked goods turn out.

I wouldn’t worry about fixing the oven if an additional few minutes in the oven or an additional 25-50 degrees on the dial solved the problem.

I would chalk it up to the individual oven’s ‘personality’.

My baked goods were getting mixed results. Putting the same thing in for the same time would come out burnt or very under baked. Btw, your name and location is cute! Watched that show today.

 

[September]

I agree with Aunt Bea.
But I'm curious, you say it runs 10 too hot but drops and struggles to get back up. Why don't you let it go to the extra 10 degrees hotter and it will drop when you add your food and maybe not take so long to rise again.
Just a suggestion.

Welcome to DC, September. Hope we can help you and hope you stick around, maybe you can help someone with your experiences too!

I have let it get 10 degrees hotter, but it drops far more than 10 degrees so it doesn't quite even out. Maybe I'll try preheating at a much higher temperature. Thanks for the warm welcome! This is a very kind and friendly group on here, not like other forums, thankfully!

 

[September]

Once the oven is COMPLETELY cool run your fingers along, behind, under the element and feel for a rough spot or indentation. I am assuming this is an electric range.
I had an issue just like yours once and it was the element. This is not one of those situations where it either works or it doesn't work.
You see unless the element burns all the way through there is enough left to allow some current to flow. This results in slow heating and no ability to maintain temperature.
It's worth a quick check.

Good to know! I have a gas oven, but maybe it has a similar problem with the igniter. Thanks!

 

[September]

Another thing to consider is preheating oven for a longer time. Some professional chefs recomend to preheat oven for an hour. Then temps do not drop so dramatically and rise back up faster.

I do try to let it run for another 15 min after it has reached the preheated temperature, but maybe doing it longer would help.

 

[September]

Welcome to DC!

Thank you! Does a little bit Ginger and Mary Ann refer to Gilligan's island?

 

[September]

@September @Roll_Bones has a way to check it if you have an electric oven.
If you have a gas oven, the thermostat could be bad or the igniter is going bad.
My gas stove was taking a long time to preheat, like 30 minutes while it should have taken 6 minutes. I replaced the igniter with the help of my husband and youtube videos. The part was inexpensive online.

Thanks I have ordered a thermostat and igniter so I'll try it out!

 

[September]

Thanks everyone for your help. I really appreciate it! What do you guys think if I put a pizza stone on the bottom of my oven floor to help regulate the heat? I was going to get some unglazed tiles from Lowes as I heard it was a cheap way of a DIY pizza stone, but then came across several accounts of people having issues with it cracking and breaking within 6 months to 1 year. So now I am looking at buying an actual pizza stone and keeping it in my oven all the time. I've never tried it, but some people say it helps keep the temperature steady so I was going to give it a try. Has anyone had any experience with this or any tips? Would you not recommend putting it on the oven floor instead of an oven rack? I have a gas oven with vents on the floor so as long as I don't cover the vents I think I should be fine, right? Thanks again!