Oven not heating but hob works fine
Hotplates work normally, oven light and fan may run, but the oven cavity stays cold.
Cooker Repair
Freestanding cooker repair in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — oven elements, hotplates, ignition, thermostats and control faults on electric, gas and dual-fuel models.
£90Call-out
labour included
labour included
8–13 yearsTypical lifespan
with maintenance
with maintenance
12Common faults
diagnosed below
diagnosed below
6 moGuarantee
parts & labour
parts & labour
A freestanding cooker packs an oven, a grill and a hob into a single 50cm or 60cm cabinet, all sharing one control panel, one terminal block and often one thermal management system. That integration is convenient for the kitchen and awkward for diagnosis: a fault that presents as 'the oven isn't working' can just as easily be a failed selector switch, a burnt terminal block or a tripped thermal cut-out that has nothing to do with the oven itself. We repair electric cookers, gas cookers and dual-fuel models, from the ubiquitous 50cm Beko and Indesit machines found in rental flats across Cambridge to 60cm Bosch, Zanussi and Belling cookers in family kitchens. On electric models the common failures are the fan oven element, the grill element, solid plate or radiant hotplate elements, the energy regulator or simmerstat that controls hob power, the capillary thermostat and the main terminal block. On gas models it is ignition, flame supervision devices and burner blockages. A critical safety point: any work on the gas side of a cooker — burners, injectors, flame supervision devices, the gas hose or the bayonet connection — is carried out only by a Gas Safe registered engineer. We will never touch a gas connection outside that. The electrical side of a dual-fuel cooker, including the oven, grill and controls, is standard work for us. One fault we see disproportionately on freestanding cookers is the terminal block behind the lower back panel. Cookers draw serious current — a 60cm electric cooker can pull 30A or more with everything on — and a loose connection there arcs, overheats and eventually chars the block and the cable tails. It presents as intermittent hob or oven failure and is genuinely dangerous. Our charge is a £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, with parts on top and quoted for your approval before we fit them, and 6 months parts and labour. Domestic cookers only.
What the call-out costs
| Cookers, any type | £90 |
| Parts, if any are needed | Quoted before fitting |
| If we cannot repair it | Call-out only |
£90, covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. There is no integrated version of this appliance, so no surcharge applies.
The 12 faults we see most
If one of these sounds like your machine, we have almost certainly fixed it before. Tell us which and we will bring the right parts.
Book a repair
Pick your own slot in the diary — appliance, address and a time that suits you, in about a minute.
Book online (opens in a new tab)or
07849 033758Same-day slots when we have one. Call-out from £90, labour included.
Straight answer on price
£90 call-out — that covers the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. Parts are the only extra, quoted for your approval before we fit anything. No hourly rates. 6 months guarantee on parts and labour.
One or more hotplates not working
A ring stays cold while the others heat normally, or a plate only works on full power with no intermediate settings.
Cooker trips the electrics
The RCD or cooker MCB trips as soon as the oven or a hotplate is switched on, or a few minutes into heating.
Gas burners won't light or won't stay lit
The spark clicks but no flame catches, or the burner lights while the knob is held in then dies as soon as it is released.
Grill not working or heating unevenly
The grill stays cold, or only part of the element glows so food browns on one side of the tray only.
Oven temperature wildly inaccurate
Food burns at settings that used to be fine, or takes far longer than any recipe suggests. An oven thermometer disagrees with the dial by 20°C or more.
Control knobs broken, stiff or spinning freely
A knob turns without changing anything, feels gritty and stiff, or has cracked and no longer grips the shaft.
Oven door dropped, sagging or won't seal
The door hangs unevenly, springs back, or leaves a visible gap with heat escaping over the fascia and control knobs.
Cooker intermittently loses power to part of the appliance
The hob or oven cuts out and comes back at random, sometimes with a smell of hot plastic or a browned area on the rear panel.
Ceramic hob glass cracked or chipped
A visible crack, star chip or a pit in the ceramic surface, sometimes after dropping a pan or from a boil-over onto a hot zone.
Fan oven fan noisy or not turning
A grinding, rattling or squealing from the back of the oven cavity, or no airflow at all with very uneven cooking.
Clock or timer faulty, oven won't run manually
The clock flashes, shows a random time, or displays an auto symbol, and the oven refuses to heat regardless of the dial setting.
Is it worth repairing?
Freestanding cookers sit at both ends of the repair spectrum depending on what you paid. A 50cm budget electric cooker costs £280–£400 new, which puts the 50% threshold at £140–£200 — comfortably above our £90 call-out plus an element, thermostat or energy regulator, but below the same call-out plus a replacement ceramic hob top, which is why cracked glass is usually the point at which a budget cooker is retired. A 60cm mid-range or Belling range-style cooker at £500–£900 makes almost every repair worthwhile. Typical lifespan is 8 to 13 years, and it is generally the hob, not the oven, that decides the end. Ovens on freestanding cookers are simple and long-lived; hobs take spills, impacts and thermal abuse. One factor unique to this appliance: a charred terminal block or damaged cable tails should be repaired properly whatever the cooker's value, because that is a safety issue rather than a convenience one. Environmentally, a cooker is a heavy steel and glass appliance whose manufacture far outweighs its annual running impact, so repair wins wherever the economics allow. If replacement is genuinely the right call, we can supply, deliver, connect and take the old cooker away.
If it's time to replace, see what we sell
Brands we repair
We work on every major manufacturer, and our vans carry spares for the ones we see most in this area.
First-time fix
Our vans carry a wide range of cooker spares so most jobs are finished on the same visit. If we need to order a part, it's usually fitted within a couple of working days at no second call-out charge.
What the call-out is
£90, covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour. There is no integrated version of this appliance, so no surcharge applies. Parts are on top and quoted for your approval before anything is fitted.
Domestic only
We do not work on commercial or coin-operated machines.
Maintenance
Make your cooker last longer
Water across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire runs around 280–320 mg/l. That limescale is the single biggest reason appliances die early here.
Reset the clock after every power cut
A freestanding cooker with a flashing clock will very often refuse to heat the oven because it has defaulted to automatic mode, even though the hob works normally. Set the time and press the manual button until the auto symbol clears. Knowing this saves a callout fee several times over the appliance's life.
Keep the control fascia and knob shafts clean
Wipe around the knobs weekly with a degreaser on a cloth — never sprayed directly into the fascia, where it runs down onto the switch bodies. Baked grease behind the knobs is the reason controls become stiff and eventually damage the energy regulators underneath.
Clean sugar spills off a ceramic hob immediately
Sugar and anything containing it — jam, syrup, fizzy drinks — chemically etches hot ceramic glass and permanently weakens it. Scrape it off with a proper ceramic scraper while the zone is still warm, not after it cools. Etched patches are where cracks eventually start.
Check the door seal twice a year
Run your hand around the seal for hardened, cracked or missing sections and check it sits in every clip. On a freestanding cooker a leaking oven door pushes heat straight up over the control fascia, which is what kills timers, knobs and switches early. A seal is around £30.
Use flat-bottomed pans matched to the zone size
A warped or undersized pan on a solid plate or radiant zone wastes energy and cycles the element harder, and a rough cast-iron base scratches ceramic. Match pan diameter to the zone within about 10mm. On solid plates, a good flat base makes an obvious difference to heating speed.
Have the rear terminal block checked periodically
Cookers draw high current and terminal connections loosen with thermal cycling over years. If you notice intermittent loss of the hob or oven, or any smell of hot plastic, isolate the cooker and book a check immediately. This is the fault most likely to become genuinely dangerous.
Never line the oven base with foil
Foil on the oven floor reflects heat back at the base element, can trip the thermal cut-out and blisters the enamel. Use a tray on the lowest shelf to catch drips instead. On freestanding cookers with a base element this causes more avoidable failures than almost anything else.
Clean gas burner crowns and caps regularly
Lift off the caps and crowns once cool and brush the flame ports clear — never poke them with a needle, which enlarges the ports and distorts the flame. Make sure everything is bone dry and seated square before relighting. Report any yellow or lifting flame to a Gas Safe engineer.
Questions
Cooker repair FAQs
How much does a cooker repair cost?
A £90 call-out covering the visit, the diagnosis and the labour, with the part on top. Elements, energy regulators, thermostats, hinges and seals are all inexpensive parts. A replacement ceramic hob top is the expensive exception, and like everything else it is quoted for your approval before we fit it.
Is it worth repairing a freestanding cooker?
It depends heavily on the cooker's price. A 50cm budget electric cooker costs £280–£400 new, so the 50% threshold is around £150–£200 and a cracked ceramic top usually fails that test once the panel is priced. A 60cm mid-range or a Belling range-style cooker costs £500–£900, which makes a £90 call-out plus almost any part comfortably worthwhile.
Do you work on gas cookers?
Any work on the gas side — burners, injectors, flame supervision devices, gas hoses and connections — is carried out only by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The electrical side of a dual-fuel cooker, including the oven, grill, controls and wiring, is routine work for us. Tell us which type you have when booking.
How long does a cooker repair take?
Most repairs are completed in a single visit of 45 to 90 minutes. Elements, regulators, thermostats and hinges are all straightforward. Ceramic hob tops and terminal block work take longer, and model-specific parts such as timers or glass may need a return visit within two to four working days.
What guarantee do you give on cooker repairs?
Twelve months on parts and labour, directly with us. If the same fault returns within six months we come back at no charge. That covers oven, grill, hob and control faults alike.
My cooker's clock is flashing and the oven won't work — is that a fault?
Usually not. After a power cut most cookers default to automatic timer mode, which blocks the oven from heating while the hob continues to work. Set the clock and press the manual or saucepan button until the auto symbol clears. If the oven still won't heat after that, then it's a genuine fault.
Can you replace a cracked ceramic hob top?
Yes, where the OEM glass is still available for your model. We fit it with new seals and clips and check the element supports and wiring underneath. On budget cookers the glass sometimes costs more than a replacement appliance, and we'll tell you that before you commit.
Which cooker brands do you repair?
Beko, Indesit, Hotpoint, Zanussi, Electrolux, Belling, Stoves, New World, Bosch, Candy, Hoover, Flavel, Leisure and Montpellier among others. We work on domestic cookers only and do not service commercial or catering equipment.
How long should a freestanding cooker last?
Typically 8 to 13 years, with the ceramic or solid-plate hob usually determining the end of life rather than the oven. Cookers used lightly, in second homes or by one or two people, routinely run 15 years or more with an element or regulator replaced along the way.
Do you carry cooker parts on the van?
We stock the common items — fan and grill elements, energy regulators, thermostats, thermal cut-outs, hotplate elements, hinges, seals and terminal blocks — for the main brands. Most repairs are completed on the first visit. Ceramic tops, timers and model-specific knobs are ordered in.
Cooker playing up? We'll take a look.
Call-out from £90, labour included. 6 months guarantee.