Oven thermostats and temps

[Caslon]

I got a new stove and all is well with it. However, I decided to check the oven temp when the beeper sounded. 350F. I was surprised that, according to my digital thermometer, the oven isn't 350F but 385F+ when the beeper sounded. Nothing in the oven. The dial thermometer was still barely at 300F. After 30 minutes or so, both the digital and dial thermometer were spot on at 350F.

It must be intentional that when the beeper beeps, the oven is way past 350F (which it was) so as to compensate placing in the food (frozen french fries for instance). Therefore it may not be necessary to wait minutes more when the oven beeper says the oven is at the set temp and ready for whatever is to be cooked at 350F. However, it's probably more prudent to wait the longer time before cooking/baking some items, I imagine.

 

[CharlieD]

It is not unusual for temp to be off on a new stove. I had to adjust temps on my two new stoves. After I checked both were off. I called the store, I think they send someone from the manufacturer and they adjusted the temp.


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[GotGarlic]

Charlie is right. With some stoves, you can adjust it yourself. Check the owner's manual for directions on how to do this.

 

[CraigC]

It may also depend on the type of thermostat used. If the thermostat is non-proportional it is quite possible the temps will vary through out the cooking time, with spikes of high and low drops. A proportional thermostat will maintain temp without spikes and drops.

 

[Caslon]

I'm suggesting the temp is higher on purpose when the beeper beeps for a 350F setting. Otherwise...1. Opening the door to put the food in will drop the temp by 10 degrees right off the bat. 2. In addition to that, placing a pan of frozen fries would drop the temp by a good 20 degrees more for awhile. Therefore a 350F set oven temp would start off cooking at only 320F and it would take a good while for the heating element to bring the temp back up to 350F. Therefore I believe it's normal for the temp to be beyond 350F initially after the beep sounds. In other words, maybe it's on purpose.

Also, think about it. The oven heating element can't be made to suddenly become ice cold the moment power is stopped to it. Therefore the thermostat takes that into consideration. Otherwise, if the heating element is turned off at 350F, the residual heat in that heating element would send the temps rising above 350F. So...on it's initial heat up to get it to 350F, there may be a little higher temp as the heating element cools down, which I believe is normal and why I'm getting higher readings initially, until things settle down. Like I said earlier, 20 minutes later or so, my oven stays spot on at 350F. My post wasn't exactly stating a problem, I was trying to figure out how an oven works.

When the beeper beeps for a 350F, the oven temp isn't exactly 350F. The heating element is still radiating heat. Therefore, the thermostat cuts off the power not at 350F, but before then. Then it reaches 350F from the residual heat the heating element is still giving off. And I'm saying its probably normal for the temp to initially go somewhat above 350F until things settle down. And that for precise baking or cooking needs, one should probably wait 10-15 minutes more, but not for frozen french fries and the like.

 

[Andy M.]

IF you use a thermometer to track the temperatures, you will find that the temps will go higher than the set number and the heat will shut off. Then they will drop below the set number before the oven turns back on again. That's normal.

What's important is that the over/under is centered around the set temperature (15º over, 15º under) so you get reliable results.

I think a 385º reading when the beeper goes off for a 350º oven is too much of an overshoot. I recommend you check the temps for several cycles and record the swings to be sure the oven is accurate. You can take readings through the oven window.

 

[Caslon]

IF you use a thermometer to track the temperatures, you will find that the temps will go higher than the set number and the heat will shut off. Then they will drop below the set number before the oven turns back on again. That's normal.

What's important is that the over/under is centered around the set temperature (15º over, 15º under) so you get reliable results.

I think a 385º reading when the beeper goes off for a 350º oven is too much of an overshoot. I recommend you check the temps for several cycles and record the swings to be sure the oven is accurate. You can take readings through the oven window.

OK thanks.
Maybe it's the quality of the stove causing that. If I adjust the thermostat settings from the default (like lower it) then that will cause the oven to settle down to a less than the targeted temp. A more expensive stove would probably not go over the initial heat-up temps. I'm Ok with letting the temps settle down, and when it does, it's steady accurate. It's just a slight waste of heat while I wait for initial heat-up to settle down after the beep beep beep.

It's an OK GE stove, and cost only $420 or so. It's at the lower end of stoves for sale.

 

[Andy M.]

OK thanks.
Maybe it's the quality of the stove causing that. If I adjust the thermostat settings from the default (like lower it) then that will cause the oven to settle down to a less than the targeted temp. A more expensive stove would probably not go over the initial heat-up temps. I'm Ok with letting the temps settle down, and when it does, it's steady accurate. It's just a slight waste of heat while I wait for initial heat-up to settle down after the beep beep beep.

It's an OK GE stove, and cost only $420 or so. It's at the lower end of stoves for sale.

I'd bet that expensive GE stoves have the same internal parts, including the thermostat.

If you are going to adjust the temps, you really should do the plotting of temps I suggested. Record temps for at least 10 minutes after the oven reaches the set temp to see how the oven levels off. Then average the temps to see if you need the adjustment.

 

[dcSaute]

so, lemme see if I got a grip on this idea....

the oven starting up from cold gets all the elements, etc., all hot&bothered and overshoots it's set point - to 385'F vs 350'F. it then settles down and holds 350'F as indicated.

so to resolve this problem, you're going to adjust the thermostat so whern the oven starting up from cold gets all the elements, etc., all hot&bothered, it goes ding when the temp reaches 350'F.

after going ding-ding at 350'F, the temperature falls and steadies out at 315'F to bake your cake for the next forty minutes at a dial setting of 350'F

do you think that could be an issue?

it's really quite normal to see a temperature overshoot on heat up....
I personally would be seriously more happy with the accurate steady state temp.

 

[Caslon]

It would be better if I had asked all here whether they let their oven settle down to the temp set, or put their food in the oven the moment the oven beeps. I was sort of getting at that issue, and also pondering how oven makers figure that all out.

 

[GotGarlic]

I check the temperature of my oven when something doesn't seem to cook the way I expect. Otherwise, I don't think about it. I put food in the oven when it beeps. I don't think there's much point in trying to guess how much heat is lost from opening the door, putting food in, etc. The oven doesn't know whether you're baking frozen fries or a cake; it just senses the temperature inside and operates accordingly.

 

[dcSaute]

there are recipes that call for a preheated oven, others "start from cold."

so aside from "what people actually do" - there's the recipe/dish/instructions to consider.

frankly I doubt if the overshoot makes a hoot for 99.99999999999999% of stuff. actually nothing comes to mind that can't take 10 minutes of 'too hot at the start' - and consider also, as soon as you open the door to put something in, the too hot air spills out and odds be the air temp then is below the set point and has to turn on and recover after the door is closed....

there are things where a thorough pre-heat/heat soak is beneficial - like pizza.....

 

[Andy M.]

It would be better if I had asked all here whether they let their oven settle down to the temp set, or put their food in the oven the moment the oven beeps. I was sort of getting at that issue, and also pondering how oven makers figure that all out.

I usually preheat my oven for a few minutes beyond the beep. Especially for baking and pizza. For pizza, I preheat a long time to ensure the pizza stone if fully preheated. ATK did tests showing it can take up to an hour to fully preheat a pizza stone.

 

[RPCookin]

It would be better if I had asked all here whether they let their oven settle down to the temp set, or put their food in the oven the moment the oven beeps. I was sort of getting at that issue, and also pondering how oven makers figure that all out.

Depends on what I'm cooking. If it's baked potatoes or a roast or something that has a longer cooking time, I don't even wait for it to preheat. That just wastes gas (or electricity if it's that type). For something with a shorter cooking time, or that needs to be crisped, then I preheat to the beep but not usually beyond.

If I'm using my stone for bread or pizza, I preheat for at least 30 minutes after the beep.