Gas Oven - High Temp (?)

[Girino]

In our apartment we have a cheap-o Eskabe Multi Cuccina - I think it is 7 years old (like the apartment).
It is a gas oven/stove and I am not familiar with gas ovens (I always had electric ovens).

Next to the oven we put a dishwasher, but when the oven is ON, its surroundings become VERY hot, so we put a circa 1 inch-thick polystyrene panel between them about two months ago.

Today we found out that the panel was cooked, meaning that it has giant holes the size of a hand.

There is a temp indicator in the lower part of the oven but there is no scale, I guess it reaches 200°C as its max. Also, without a scale it is hard to quantify the actual modulation allowed, I think it is just OFF - HALF - HOT.

Is everything okay? What should we put between the oven and the dishwasher so that the dishwasher doesn't get cooked as well?

 

[Bricky]

Hey Serafina,

Polystyrene? You mean the white foamy stuff that's used for packing etc?

If that's the case, you're probably lucky you didn't have a fire. While being a good insulator, it melts (iirc) at around 100 degrees celsius, and it's also highly flammable. And I would certainly expect the side of an oven to reach that kind of temperature fairly regularly.

In our case (also a cheap gas oven) we just leave space between it and the nearest object. About 1 inch either side.
Actually, we had to adjust the oven shortly after it was put in to reduce the gas flow a little - it was overcooking everything. It might be worth looking into that.



Edit: for the sake of clarity - is this the kind of thing you mean?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Polistirolo.JPG

 

[Girino]

Edit: for the sake of clarity - is this the kind of thing you mean?

http://upload.wikime...Polistirolo.JPG

Yes, that's it!

We went to a shop, explained our problem and they said either that or an anti-flammable professional panel which costed much more.
It smelled awfully the first times I used the oven afterward.

 

[PhilipDT]

The majority of cheapo ovens here don't have thermostats which means that the only thing you regulate with the knob is the amount of gas getting burned.

Buy an oven thermometer, turn your oven to 160c and check it in an hour, I bet it's over 200.

 

[Girino]

The majority of cheapo ovens here don't have thermostats which means that the only thing you regulate with the knob is the amount of gas getting burned.

Buy an oven thermometer, turn your oven to 160c and check it in an hour, I bet it's over 200.

There is no number written on my oven, just a min/max scale and a pointer.
It is very good to cook breads and pizzas due to the high temp, but it is terrible for more subtle thing, like certain cakes that required a lower but steady heat.

I'll remove the polystyrene as suggested by Bricky, since it is clearly not the solution.

 

[Bricky]

Yes, that's it!

We went to a shop, explained our problem and they said either that or an anti-flammable professional panel which costed much more.
It smelled awfully the first times I used the oven afterward.

I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I'm pretty sure what they told you to do is very dangerous.

It's used a lot as an insulator (which is probably why they recommended it) but only when behind a non-flammable surface (e.g. concrete or plasterboard), and *only* at low temperatures (because of its low melting point).

 

[PhilipDT]

You need fiber glass insulation. The same stuff you use on ductwork. It's not very expensive. I'd also make sure your oven is able to vent properly and that your gas preasure is within acceptable range.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

That's incredible that they told you to use polystyrene! As said above, that's flammable stuff. Do as PhilipDT says and use a fiber glass insulator, or better go to a real kitchen place and buy some board insulation designed for your use.

 

[French jurist]

The guy who recommended styrofoam/polystyrene is insane. That's indeed highly dangerous (can melt & produce toxic fumes).

What you need is lana de roca (you can likely fix the problem for 100 pesos). That's even what they use in some ovens to insulate.


http://articulo.merc...50mm-40kgm3-_JM

 

[jez]

When I purchased my apartment there was some old broken durlock (Placa De Yeso) screwed to the side of the cabinets as insulation. I just purchased a new durlock board and made a proper job if it. A sheet of durlock will only set you back about AR$ 75