I have a built-in oven on my Brastemp stove that's gotta be around 12 years old. It takes forever to heat up and doesn't get as hot as it should. I called a technician once and it was expensive. Do you guys think it's worth trying to fix it or should I just invest in a new oven?
It's not quite like that - a 12-year-old oven can still be worth fixing, depending on what the problem is. If it's just the burner or the heating element, it'll be way cheaper than a new oven, but if it's something structural or with the air circulation system, then it gets complicated. My suggestion is to call another technician for a second opinion, because an expensive diagnosis doesn't mean the repair will be expensive too - sometimes it's something simple that the first guy just got wrong.
At 12 years old it's still worth saving in most cases. The problem of heating slowly is often a clogged burner or weak heating element, and that's way cheaper than a whole new oven. Before calling a technician again, try cleaning the burner really well with a fine needle in the little holes - residue builds up there and it really affects performance. If it still doesn't improve after that, then it's worth getting a repair quote.
The thing is knowing what the previous technician tried to do. If he just cleaned it and charged you a lot, maybe it wasn't anything serious. But if the problem is actually in the heating element or thermostat, you have to decide: repair costs about half the price of a new oven, so it's worth it. Only if it was something structural with the oven itself would it not be worth it.
My practical tip: when you turn on the oven, put a piece of paper or a cup of water inside for a minute and see if it heats up fast. If the paper gets yellowed or the water steams up quickly, the oven is working - it might just be a matter of cleaning or calibration. If nothing happens, that's a sign the heating element is actually weak and you need to get a quote.
Before calling another technician, try doing a simple test that nobody mentions: clean the burner and the holes where the gas comes out really well. A lot of dirt and residue builds up over the years, and that kills the flame or makes it way too weak. Grab a needle or thin wire and unscrew the burner piece (turn off the gas first, obviously). A lot of times that fixes the slow heating problem without costing you anything.
If it's still weak after cleaning, then it's actually worth getting it fixed. A new burner or professional cleaning with common replacement parts costs a fraction of what a new oven does. Brastemp has accessible parts and it's not hard to find a technician. Now, if the technician tells you it's a cracked combustion chamber or something structural, that changes things. In that case a new oven makes sense because the repair ends up costing almost as much as the whole appliance.
The real tip is don't give up right away. Try that cleaning first, talk to two or three different technicians about what exactly is wrong, and get quotes before you authorize anything. Some of them try to sell you a new oven just because it's easier than messing with the old part.
A 12-year-old oven that doesn't heat well is usually just a clogged burner or a loose thermostat, and that's pretty easy to fix without calling a technician. Try unscrewing that temperature control knob (it's behind the panel) and see if the metal rod is properly seated in the mechanism - sometimes it slips out of place and the thermostat doesn't work right, so the oven doesn't know when to stop heating.
It really depends on how often you use that oven. If you bake cakes, pizza, or chicken regularly, it's worth trying a cheaper repair before giving up. Now, if it's one of those ovens that sits unused for months and you only use it once in a while, it might not be worth calling a technician again - in that case you're better off saving up for a new one.
What nobody's mentioning is that an old Brastemp oven like that still has parts you can find and they're not expensive. If it really is the burner or thermostat like people said, you're looking at maybe 150 to 300 reais for the repair. But before you spend any money, try one thing: unplug the oven (if it has a plug), wait a few minutes and plug it back in. Sometimes the thermostat gets a bit glitchy and a simple reset helps. If it's still heating weakly after that, then call another technician, but this time ask for a clear quote before they touch anything. There are technicians who charge a lot, so don't hesitate to call someone else to compare prices.
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