I thought that I had read that it was OK to leave stoneware in the oven while cooking other things. I left our big pizza stone in the bottom rack of the oven for several days last week, I'm not sure but I know I used the oven at least once or twice with the stone pan still in the bottom. Food cooked fine, no problem, right?
Yesterday I made frozen Pizza on the stone and left it on the table. DH and I put together a potato/onion/meat/cheese dish and turned it on to bake. Not 5 minutes later I'm hearing this popping and sizzling sound coming from the oven, which I assumed was some oil maybe dripping onto the heating element (electric oven). When it continued I decided to take a peek. It looked like someone was welding in there, very bright! I shut the door with a strange-soundig "OH!" such that DH came in from the bedroom to see what was wrong. We took another peak and it looked like the actual heating element was melting in one place! So we turned off the oven and unplugged the stove. I had to rush off to work. The prepared, but still raw, cassarole went in the fridge after the oven cooled. I came home and inspected the now cooled oven to find that it looks like a nuclear meltdown might have occured in my oven. The heating element does seem to have melted somewhat and upon cooling it BROKE in two places, on one side where we saw the sparking and on the opposite side from that - with the front "W" shaped part completely separating. The front part is the only part damaged, the back seems fine.
Do you think this was caused by cooking with the stoneware in the lower rack earlier this week?
I'm not sure if it's just in the heating element or the whole range shorting out, so I'm not plugging it back in. I wanted a new one anyway, DH said we would get one. But geeez. The washing machine is still on the fritz and it broke 2 months ago. Knock on wood for the water heater, it's living beyond it's years.
Yesterday I made frozen Pizza on the stone and left it on the table. DH and I put together a potato/onion/meat/cheese dish and turned it on to bake. Not 5 minutes later I'm hearing this popping and sizzling sound coming from the oven, which I assumed was some oil maybe dripping onto the heating element (electric oven). When it continued I decided to take a peek. It looked like someone was welding in there, very bright! I shut the door with a strange-soundig "OH!" such that DH came in from the bedroom to see what was wrong. We took another peak and it looked like the actual heating element was melting in one place! So we turned off the oven and unplugged the stove. I had to rush off to work. The prepared, but still raw, cassarole went in the fridge after the oven cooled. I came home and inspected the now cooled oven to find that it looks like a nuclear meltdown might have occured in my oven. The heating element does seem to have melted somewhat and upon cooling it BROKE in two places, on one side where we saw the sparking and on the opposite side from that - with the front "W" shaped part completely separating. The front part is the only part damaged, the back seems fine.
Do you think this was caused by cooking with the stoneware in the lower rack earlier this week?
I'm not sure if it's just in the heating element or the whole range shorting out, so I'm not plugging it back in. I wanted a new one anyway, DH said we would get one. But geeez. The washing machine is still on the fritz and it broke 2 months ago. Knock on wood for the water heater, it's living beyond it's years.
