Jann in TX Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) I was baking my second batch of sugar cookies-- oven set at 400F. First batch came out perfect. I remember checking on the 2nd batch about half-way through (3 minutes). Suddenly the oven's digital setting blinked ERROR then the door LOCKED and the self-clean broiler kicked on. DH ran to the garage breaker box-- but I knew the oven's breaker was in the outside box so I ran outside-- I hit the breaker just as DD started screaming-- the cookies were now ON FIRE! Turning the breaker off did not disengage the automatic lock so DH ended up just tearing the door off-- I grabbed the flour canister and doused the fire out. In hindsight the locked door would have contained the fire-- there were only a few cookies-- so not much fuel.. Needless to say we are now shopping for a new wall oven (microwave combo). Hopefully we can find one tomorrow that can be installed before Christmas!!! Old oven was 16 years old... no way will we attempt to have it 'repaired'-- I'm not trusting it anymore! I used the oven a LOT this past week--I cooked a zillion batches of gingerbread Wednesday and Thursday as DD is having a gingerbread house decorating party tomorrow (10 houses drying after assembly on my pool table at the moment). I was so looking forward to decorating my sugar cookies as the teens decorated their houses (at least I have 5 trees to work on)... I've got too many errands to do Saturday (besides shopping for a new oven!)-- so no time to drive an hour to one of my older dd's houses before the party tomorrow night. --Now do I want a regular oven or convection oven? UPDATE-- DH installed our new oven/mic last night!! Christmas Eve brunch with friends is on! Edited December 21, 2018 by Jann in TX update 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Sorry about the oven. A positive thought- At least it decided to bite the dust during the sales. I love to bake and love my convection oven. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Oh my gosh! I've started a very small broiler fire a couple of times, but nothing like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) One reason not to get a digital oven? 😉 I'm glad it turned out okay. (I have an oven from 1981, so no idea about all this new fangled stuff, but everyone's stories lately are making me happy to have dials.) Edited December 15, 2018 by melmichigan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceseeker Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 You have officially made enough Christmas cookies now, lol... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Oh no! That must have been so scary! Thank goodness you and your dh were quick thinkers!!! I vote for a new convection oven. But I wish you were shopping just because you wanted a new oven, not because of a fire! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 That's just crazy! Those self-cleaning functions have always scared me, though I do hate cleaning an oven without it. We have convection right now, and I like it. It browns chicken much more effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 That is really crazy. Last time I used my self cleaning feature it broke the element in the oven in 4 pieces. I usually hand clean to but didn't want to that time. Ooops But that just seems a little psycho for it to turn on like that itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Oh boy, Jann. How scary. Get yourself a nice convection oven just in time for some more Christmas cooking and baking. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said: Convection! Also PSA- friend of ours who is a volunteer fireman told me to never, ever open the door to an oven on fire. Apparently the influx of air can make it a million times worse and allow it to spread. YES! DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN if there is a fire inside. DH was not thinking at that moment--When I saw he had opened it I grabbed the flour canister (for some reason I had filled it just moments before-- I NEVER keep flour in a canister, I keep it in a bag in the freezer!). We also found out the smoke alarms in the kitchen were NOT working-- so shopping for a new oven AND smoke alarms today! So much to be thankful for! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Ours did that a few years ago. I was baking a day or two before Thanksgiving, iirc, and my heating element started a slow sparkler-style burn from one end to the other, and then finished with a mini-explosion, burning a hole in the oven wall. (We, too, flipped the breaker, to no avail.) Whatever I was baking smelled horrible due to the charring, so my family cheered at the prospect of no oven for Thankgiving, because none of us like turkey anyway. We had ribs or something for Thanksgiving. The following week I flew out of town to take care of my mom (VA), and when I came back, dh and ds had installed a new LG convection oven for me. Gosh, I love that thing!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) Convection! For sure! So funny side note, my imagination went crazy on me. I read the title of your post and I had this flash across my mind of little cookies, cut into gingerbread men shapes singing "we didn't start the fire" and I have no idea where that came from 🤣 Edited December 15, 2018 by Attolia 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 BTW, many cooks keep a container of salt next to the stove or oven. That or baking soda do a good job putting out small fires. Two years ago, I was at a Christmas party stirring fajita veggies on the stove top at the hostess' home. Suddenly someone yelled that the enchiladas in the oven just below me were on fire. I'm not sure how that happened, but the hostess had the oven full of enchiladas in several pans. She was yelling for her husband who was outside grilling. (There were probably 20 people standing around gabbing in the 20-30 feet distance between where I was at the oven, to where he was, outside the kitchen door on the back porch. So if he had heard her calling, it would have taken awhile for him to make it to the oven.) I asked her where the baking soda was, and within seconds, we had the fire out. Ruined one pan of enchiladas, but the rest were fine. After that experience, I keep baking soda handy. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 11 hours ago, melmichigan said: One reason not to get a digital oven? Is it even possible to get an oven that isn't digital??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Dh and I are still floored that your dh could tear off the oven door! Is he the Incredible Hulk or something? lol That is crazy. My friend's oven locked and wouldn't unlock during a self-clean cycle. I wonder if you had the same brand or something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Wow! I'm glad the worst thing that happened is you need a new oven. YMMV but when I got a new oven I insisted on convection. Three years later I can say I've only used that feature a handful of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 We have a dual feature oven and a dual feature (convection option) microwave. I am still getting the hang of cooking with convection but it really does shorten the time with longer bake items like cakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 On December 15, 2018 at 12:43 AM, Jann in TX said: --Now do I want a regular oven or convection oven? Well convection of course, but what you also want... drum roll... is one with a little button to add *one minute* to the timer. I SO love this feature. Glad your house is safe! We've had a few fires here, oops, and like you say you leave the door closed and wait... It's pretty nerve-wracking. My stove isn't as old as yours yet (11 vs. 16), but maybe that means I need a new one in a few years too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 We keep two fire extinguishers in the kitchen. A big one and a tiny one that's the size of and as easy to use as a can of hairspray. I haven't had any kitchen fires since I was in my early 20's and stopped buying cheap toasters, but I had a couple back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 On 12/14/2018 at 11:43 PM, Jann in TX said: --Now do I want a regular oven or convection oven? What a thing to happen! I vote convection - it's so much easier to cook/bake multiple things at once, and I have not burned a single thing since getting the convection oven ten years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/16/2018 at 9:57 PM, Paradox5 said: so what did you end up getting? Well-- hopefully Thursday will be the day-- we have a GE Convection set due to be delivered. DH will 'attempt' to install it as it would take a month or so for any other service in our area to come do it. I have close friends coming for Christmas Eve Eve brunch on Sunday--I really NEED that oven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/16/2018 at 10:25 PM, Danae said: You were so lucky. Flour dust is explosive. Your flour must have come out in a solid lump and not had a chance to mix with air before it smothered your cookie flame. At the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis they do a demo of how the original mill was destroyed. Just one tablespoon of flour creates an impressive fireball. It actually came out as a lump-- so I guess we were lucky there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Thankful that you are okay, and congrats on the new oven! You know, you will be able to write some great math word problems using this scenario. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 On 12/14/2018 at 10:43 PM, Jann in TX said: I was baking my second batch of sugar cookies-- oven set at 400F. First batch came out perfect. I remember checking on the 2nd batch about half-way through (3 minutes). Suddenly the oven's digital setting blinked ERROR then the door LOCKED and the self-clean broiler kicked on. DH ran to the garage breaker box-- but I knew the oven's breaker was in the outside box so I ran outside-- I hit the breaker just as DD started screaming-- the cookies were now ON FIRE! Turning the breaker off did not disengage the automatic lock so DH ended up just tearing the door off-- I grabbed the flour canister and doused the fire out. In hindsight the locked door would have contained the fire-- there were only a few cookies-- so not much fuel.. Needless to say we are now shopping for a new wall oven (microwave combo). Hopefully we can find one tomorrow that can be installed before Christmas!!! Old oven was 16 years old... no way will we attempt to have it 'repaired'-- I'm not trusting it anymore! I used the oven a LOT this past week--I cooked a zillion batches of gingerbread Wednesday and Thursday as DD is having a gingerbread house decorating party tomorrow (10 houses drying after assembly on my pool table at the moment). I was so looking forward to decorating my sugar cookies as the teens decorated their houses (at least I have 5 trees to work on)... I've got too many errands to do Saturday (besides shopping for a new oven!)-- so no time to drive an hour to one of my older dd's houses before the party tomorrow night. --Now do I want a regular oven or convection oven? I had the oven lock on me and go to self cleaning when I had a batch of bread in it. I was able to have it fixed, but it had been wired wrong in the factory and the main controller was almost fried so it didn't last too much longer than that. My mom also had the same problem when she was cooking a chicken. The thing was charcoal by the time she found out the oven was behaving badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 Update!!! As of 11:59 pm last night we now have a working oven/mic combo!!! Now I get to learn all about how to use the beast! Never used a convection oven before... the microwave is so much faster than our old one-- so need to get used to new times for things... - Weird/cool thing I found out... the microwave goes into 'cooling' mode when it times out... this forces the fan... If you put a cup of water with some pumpkin pie spice and a splash of vanilla in it for 2 minutes and then let the 'cooling' feature continue another minute or so the kitchen smells wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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