skimomma Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I am curious as to how many people are comfortable running your gas oven when you are not home. I used to do this all of the time. I would put a frozen casserole in the oven in the morning and set the auto timer so that the food would be done right as we got home. It was an electric stove. A couple of months ago, an element went in my electric oven and the other element overcompensated. The oven got super hot and had we not been home, I think there is a chance a fire could have happened. To make matters worse, the element would not turn off! We had to pull the circuit breaker to get it off! That scared me into vowing I would never run an oven when not home again. The stove was a lemon and that was the last straw, so we replaced it with a gas stove. And I have not run it while gone. Today I have 6-hour baked beans in it. I have places to go. I am feeling tempted to leave it. Either talk me into out out of doing it. If I were to leave it, I would have it on a timer so it turns off should I be unexpectedly delayed. The food is in no danger of boiling over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I wouldn't. We have a gas range (purchased new a few years ago). It works fine, but I am not comfortable leaving it on when we're gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I wouldn't do it. I have never left an oven on, but I would leave my coffee pot on for hours while I was in and out of the house, running short errands, etc. The coffee was brewed and the heating element was just keeping it hot. One day while I was (fortunately) sitting in the kitchen helping DD with her math,and I heard a funny noise. It was the sound of coffee boiling inside the glass pot. The heating element had overheated and was getting hotter and hotter. Thank goodness we were home or there would have been a fire. Now I don't leave even the smallest heating-type appliance running while I am gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeenagerMom Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I can barely bring myself to leave with the Crockpot cooking while I'm gone. There is NO way I could leave the oven on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Nope. Would never leave an oven running, gas or electric, if no one was home. The only exception was leaving the gas pilot light on to make jerky. I'm not sure how newer gas ovens work, but we always had to light ours. It was ancient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnIslandGirl Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 No way! Our ds26 is a firefighter, and after hearing way too many horror stories, I would not ever feel comfortable leaving a stove untended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I have done it occasionally and nothing has ever happened. My mother would have a heart attack if i told her. I have found some recipes to cook on low heat for 3 hours which is nice because I can run arrends in the afternoon and come home to dinner. Occasionally I'll leave something in the oven that is going to cook for an hour and maybe run to the store for a couple of quick items. Not like a big trip or anything. That's really scary though so I might rethink that. I have a slow cooker so slow cooking time in the oven is probably the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kidlets4me Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I leave all manner of appliances on when I'm not home. I've never considered not leaving them on, worrying about them is not even on my radar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I would never leave my gas oven on and go somewhere. That's what my crockpot is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Personally, if I were concerned enough about the safety of an appliance that I wouldn't leave it on whilst I was out, there's no way on earth I'd use it when my kids and I were at home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I don't even leave our electric oven on when we're out. My sister was home alone as a child when the toaster oven caught on fire. She was able to put it out. We grew up with a gas oven. I remember leaving the house due to gas leaks if the pilot light went out. That's part of why I wanted a house without gas at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Personally, if I were concerned enough about the safety of an appliance that I wouldn't leave it on whilst I was out, there's no way on earth I'd use it when my kids and I were at home! The point is that often we don't know ahead of time that we should be concerned. Appliance parts can break suddenly, with no warning. And that moment could happen when nobody is at home to intervene. The OP did not know her electric oven element would break that day, and up until that moment she would have had no concern about the oven's safety. As a teenager, I came home from school once to a living room filled with three inches of water. The dishwasher had malfunctioned and had poured out water into the house for hours. There was no indication ahead of time that the dishwasher might break. If someone had been home, however, it could have been stopped before it flooded half the house. We all have to make the risk-benefit analysis for ourselves. Personally, despite that experience as a teenager, I run my dishwasher every night right before I go to bed. I don't run my oven when I'm gone, but I do use a crockpot. I like for my washer and dryer to be finished before I leave the house. Naturally, our experiences help to shape these decisions as well as the particulars of our situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I can barely bring myself to leave with the Crockpot cooking while I'm gone. There is NO way I could leave the oven on. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 OK, the "don't do it" camp is winning. I will not leave it on while gone:) I needed some good scary stories. Thanks! Now I have to craft a new thread about interrupted bean baking...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 We have an electric oven, not gas, but I leave it on while I run errands. It wouldn't cross my mind to sit home in order to monitor the oven. But I guess I like to live on the edge. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 We have an electric oven, not gas, but I leave it on while I run errands. It wouldn't cross my mind to sit home in order to monitor the oven. But I guess I like to live on the edge. :p After our element experience, I am now much more concerned about electric stoves than gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I would not do what you propose. The only way I leave the oven on (never the stove) is when I have dinner in there and I have to make a short trip to the store or pick up a child - never for more than a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 The only thing I leave on is the crockpot. If the dishwasher breaks....the oven catches fire...the dryer combusts....I want to be there to mitigate the damage and prevent catastrophe. My oven caught fire once and I was in the kitchen...I cant imagine what would have happened if it had done that and no one was there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I leave my gas oven on when I go out for an hour. I also leave my wood stove lit - turned down - when I go out. And my washing machine, dishwasher and dryer running. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I only leave it running if for example I have a turkey in there and I am running to pick ds up from work and I know I will be back in less than 30minutes. Otherwise no way, too paranoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I've used my "sabbath setting" to have the oven heat and start baking something a short while before I will be home but I wouldn't leave it on for an extended period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I do not leave my gas oven on when I am not there. I also do not run washer or dish washer when nobody is home. I am fairly sure that the insurance would not pay if something happened and I am not home, because they would consider it gross negligence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I can barely bring myself to leave with the Crockpot cooking while I'm gone. There is NO way I could leave the oven on. same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 I am fairly sure that the insurance would not pay if something happened and I am not home, because they would consider it gross negligence. Anyone know if this is true? My dishwasher takes two hours to run and I usually have to run it twice a day. If I had to stay home for this, I would never leave the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Anyone know if this is true? My dishwasher takes two hours to run and I usually have to run it twice a day. If I had to stay home for this, I would never leave the house! I tried to Google for this and found no evidence. I also looked at the recommendations from our local fire service: they recommend not running appliances at night, but nothing is said about running them when you are out. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 I tried to Google for this and found no evidence. I also looked at the recommendations from our local fire service: they recommend not running appliances at night, but nothing is said about running them when you are out. Laura Thanks. I thought that would be something I would have heard about at some point in my life..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Check your homeowners insurance policy. Leaving the oven on might fall under negligence and a lot of policies don't cover those types of things anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renmew Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 All this has me thinking... I once used my oven to warm my very small apartment, because we did not have any other way to do so and it was cold, but I accidentally left it on when I left for work. About an hour later I realized what I had done, and asked a friend to drive by, break in, and turn it off. Never again. However, I run my washer and dryer several times a week when I am not home and/or at night while sleeping. I am only home and awake from about 6 pm to 10 pm, and also have to do dishes and bathe children during this time. Sitting watch over the appliances is not going to happen. So, I vote with the pp who said if the safety of the appliances was that questionable, they wouldn't be in the house with my family. I mean, I think there is a greater risk of getting into a car accident whenever you drive than any of these previously mentioned unfortunate appliance disasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshirtyogapantmama Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Growing up we did it all the time especially for roasts...but I have never done it. Something about it makes me nervous plus I don't wear a watch so if I do leave I am not sure I would remember to come back at a certain time and get the food out. Instead, I've opted for crockpots and even then I only do it when my husband is out with me since he always has his cellphone/watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I hope your dinner turns out. :cheers2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa R. Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 How are people home for long enough stretches of time that they can so all their washing, drying, cooking, dish washing and so on? I leave appliances on all the time without thought. I've never heard if this being negligent. If I had roast planned for dinner, I'm not going to make sure to be home for the afternoon. Life is too short. I worry about lots of things. But not about appliances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I worry about lots of things. But not about appliances. I understand this. However, if you've had a neighbor have a water removal company over for a burst washing machine hose, you're going to think twice about letting the washer run while you're out of the house. How likely is it to happen to you? Not very. But I can guarantee if it happens here, the damage won't be nearly as bad since I'm home to shut off the water. I also have had a bit of lint in the drier against the Heating element. I was glad I was home and DS and I were able to figure out quickly what that burning smell was before it progressed any further. Could have been much worse if I weren't home.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I was at home, had turned on the electric oven to heat it for something, opened the door to check the temp to see if it was hot yet, and found a big fourth of July sparkler going, as the element slowly burnt itself out going around from one end of the element to the other. It didn't stop when I turned the oven off, only when we powered it down at the circuit breaker. We replaced the element, but I really DO NOT want to know what would have happened when it reached the end of the element, had there still been power to the oven. I fear that it would have caught something on fire. Over Christmas break, dd and dh were at home when the water heater in the attic had a meltdown, multiple failures in the system actually, drains and alarms that all failed. DH cut off the water to the entire property immediately, but it still poured water through the ceiling for about 15 minutes. It cost us $1500 to have the WH replaced and the drain pan and emergency cut-off valves updated and replaced with deeper protection, and God know what it will take to fix the ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I never leave my oven (gas) running if I am not at home, for two main reasons. First, I've tried a couple of times to use the oven for an extended period - one was slow cooking a roast at a low temp for quite a few hours, and the other was trying to dehydrate some stuff at a very low temperature. Both times, after many hours of the oven running, our carbon monoxide alarms started going off and we had to air out the house. Second, we have a dog in the house and I worry about carbon monoxide poisoning and/or fire if we were out of the house. I also don't leave my washer or dryer running when I'm out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Never. My mom works for a fire and water damage restoration company. Thanks to her stories I never leave appliances on when I'm not home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Never. My mom works for a fire and water damage restoration company. Thanks to her stories I never leave appliances on when I'm not home. This is an interesting one. I had heard a lot on this board about not leaving dryers running when you are out, so I asked a local fire officer about it - he came round to do a free fire safety check of the house. He said that, in twenty years of experience, he had never attended a dryer-linked house fire. This made me wonder how large a risk we are all worried about. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 It would never occur to me to not leave the house if I had a pot roast in the oven. It would be just to run a few errands though, not to be gone for several hours. I would never leave the oven or the dryer on at night while sleeping though. However, I do run the dishwasher at night, and occasionally the bread machine, washing machine, and crock pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Second, we have a dog in the house and I worry about carbon monoxide poisoning and/or fire if we were out of the house. :iagree: I really didn't worry about it until we had dogs. I'm not much attached to stuff, but have had multiple friends lose pets in house fires. We have smoke detectors, so if we're home, we can all get out easily, but the dogs can't on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I am curious as to how many people are comfortable running your gas oven when you are not home. I used to do this all of the time. I would put a frozen casserole in the oven in the morning and set the auto timer so that the food would be done right as we got home. It was an electric stove. A couple of months ago, an element went in my electric oven and the other element overcompensated. The oven got super hot and had we not been home, I think there is a chance a fire could have happened. To make matters worse, the element would not turn off! We had to pull the circuit breaker to get it off! That scared me into vowing I would never run an oven when not home again. The stove was a lemon and that was the last straw, so we replaced it with a gas stove. And I have not run it while gone. Today I have 6-hour baked beans in it. I have places to go. I am feeling tempted to leave it. Either talk me into out out of doing it. If I were to leave it, I would have it on a timer so it turns off should I be unexpectedly delayed. The food is in no danger of boiling over. I am sorry to hear this happened. How did you know that this happened? Was there smoke or something to tip you off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I used to but I don't anymore due to safety concerns. What I do instead is turn off the oven after cooking something like a roast or baked beans is well underway. If you don't open the oven door, it retains heat fairly well and will continue cooking. When I return I check it and adjust cooking time and temperature as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 I used to but I don't anymore due to safety concerns. What I do instead is turn off the oven after cooking something like a roast or baked beans is well underway. If you don't open the oven door, it retains heat fairly well and will continue cooking. When I return I check it and adjust cooking time and temperature as needed. This is what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 I am sorry to hear this happened. How did you know that this happened? Was there smoke or something to tip you off? The oven made a funny beep and an error code showed up on the screen. Dh was looking up the code online when we started to smell a strong burning odor. I opened the door and the one working element was bright bright red and the burning smell was very strong. I turned off the oven figuring we were good while we continued to research the code. 10 minutes later, we figured out the code and went back to the oven to check it out. It was still going full heat! That is when we flipped the breaker. This was in the middle of out annual Christmas cookie baking marathon and I REALLY wanted to limp it along enough to finish the job. So an hour later, we reset the breaker. And that element came right back on! That was it. We were in the car on our way to the appliance store within 10 minutes. I had a new gas stove in my kitchen within hours (thanks to friends who know how to install stoves and other friends who loaned us a pick-up truck. We really are not sure what would have happened if we were not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipling Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Last year, the heating element in our electric oven went bad and sent out a continuous stream of flames. The kids and I were in the other room and my son heard a crackling noise. I followed the noise into the kitchen and saw fire in the oven. There had been nothing to indicate that the heating element was going bad, and the fire didn't come from any overuse of the oven. Fortunately, as soon as I turned off the oven, the fire went out, and we were able to replace just the element piece. Before that experience, I was hesitant to leave the oven on when I was not at home; I definitely won't do it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Bumping because we just had friends who almost had a drier fire tonight. Smoke alarm went off and there was a burning smell. They stopped the drier and found the line from the drier to the outside vent was pretty clogged. If the drier had been running while they weren't home it could have been a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 How are people home for long enough stretches of time that they can so all their washing, drying, cooking, dish washing and so on? I leave appliances on all the time without thought. I've never heard if this being negligent. If I had roast planned for dinner, I'm not going to make sure to be home for the afternoon. Life is too short. I worry about lots of things. But not about appliances. Well see part of that is in the title home school mom. I make an effort to actually be home during the day. I do not have a dishwasher so all dishes are washed and dried by hand. If I want a roast for dinner and know it is a busy day I use the crockpot. Chicken and turkey I menu plan to be done on days I know I will be home, generally a Sunday, and then I do up the left overs all week. Washer and dryer I run when I am headed to bed, but not when I am out. I often try to squeeze one more load in at bedtime. I generally read in bed so I am up for most of the cycles anyway. People I know who work out of the home and such, generally only need to run the dishwasher right after dinner(not home at lunch to have those dishes to worry about), do the laundry on the weekend or evenings, and use the crockpot A LOT. Almost all the working moms I know use their crockpot a minimum of 3 times a week to compensate for not being home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelbe5 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I will leave the washer, dryer, dishwasher and crock-pot on and leave the house. But not the gas oven/stove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I can barely leave my crock pot on to run a quick errand to the store. There is no way I could leave the oven on while gone. I also don't do dishes or laundry unless I'm home and awake. I remember coming home once as a teenager and there being a fire in the kitchen. We got it put out before it did too much damage but it left an impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I've used my "sabbath setting" to have the oven heat and start baking something a short while before I will be home but I wouldn't leave it on for an extended period. Yes, this. If the oven will be on for less than 2-3 hours before I'll be home, I'll use the timer and do that. I also will run the washer while I'm gone. Not usually the dryer, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in SJ Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 My parents have had a dryer fire so they do not run it while they are not home or at night. I run all my appliances as night. We are encouraged to use our appliances in off peak hours so dishwasher, washer & dryer all get run at night. I have left my oven on very low to cook during our 3 hour block of church. I have never left the stove on. I have cats who are just dumb enough to jump up there and catch on fire. Amber in SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 No, no, never! I don't even like leaving the crockpot on. That even makes me nervous despite the fact they are SUPPOSE to be left on. My parents' house burned down in the blizzard of '77 so I grew up in an extremely "fire paranoid" home. It was caused by an electrical issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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