Times of Extreme Frugality: The Easy Repair

Replacing the thermostat to our oven was billed as an "easy repair". And, compared to a lot of other projects we've undertaken, it was.

Have you ever noticed that often the hardest part is the preparation for the job? 

We had to pull out the stove to access the back panel and it proved to be a pain in the neck (shoulders, back, elbows, etc.). 

We pulled and wiggled and then Tom had a brainstorm. Our massive yellow handtruck!

Putting it under the front and tipping the stove upwards worked like a charm. It's true--the right tool for the job makes all the difference.


One thing you should understand here: the folks who lived here before us were Grade A slobs, we will be cleaning up their trash for years and years. So it was no surprise to find all of this behind the stove.

After a bit of clean-up, I was able to squeeze behind the stove, take off the back panel and replace the thermostat. Some of the connections gave a bit of trouble but it was sliding the sensing rod through to the oven which was tricky. Thanks to Youtube, I knew to attach a bit of string to the old one to guide the new one in and, hey presto with a minimum of cursing, it was done.

The vinyl flooring under the stove didn't go all the way to the wall (of course) so Tom cut some thin plywood to even things out. We managed to finally get the stove back in and, wonders of wonders, the oven works!!

Neither of us is particularly handy with appliances, motors, electricity, etc. But as I often say, between the two of us, we have one pretty good brain. And this time, that teamwork saved us the price of a new stove.