Princess Stove/oven

[Les Crawford]

Good day: I have a Princess 3 burner and oven (shore powered 110v). The three burners heat up but I get nothing from the oven. Is there a fuse for the oven or would the switch/dial be bad? The idiot lite on the side does not light up when turned on to let you know it is working.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Les

[poshman]

Les,


I developed the same problem with my SeaWard Princess Stove/Oven Model 3342-1112. Used the oven for cooking last night for the first time (previously only tested the oven briefly to ensure it was operating). The oven worked fine for about an hour at 325 degrees. Then, it just shutdown (and the idiot light went off). I realized that I had the stove-top cover down while using the oven, and the cover may have obstructed the oven vent. Like you, I am wondering if there is some type of safety shut-off switch or fuse that can be reset. Please let me know if you determined the source of your oven problem.


Thanks

[GordMay]

➥ http://www.marlow-hunter.com/export/...ss%20Stove.pdf

➥ http://www.suremarineservice.com/man...ove-Repair.pdf

[poshman]

Thank you Gordon for your informative and thoughtful post. Unfortunately, my particular Princess Stove/Oven (SeaWard) is electric (Model # 3342-1112). The info. you posted this morning relates to the gas version. If you have the manual or other info. on the electric unit, please advise.

Thanks much.

[Les Crawford]

Poshman: What I found was you have to have the top up and back to release the safety switch on the stove/oven. Hope this helps
Les

[CaptTom]

Yes, mine has a "cover interlock switch" that's supposed to prevent you from operating the oven with the cover down.

And I apologize for this if you already know, but there's a switch on mine that powers either the "Top" or "Oven". You can't use both at the same time.

I do have the manual, I could send you the .pdf if you PM me. But here's the schematic from it:

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Yes, mine has a "cover interlock switch" that's supposed to prevent you from operating the oven with the cover down.

And I apologize for this if you already know, but there's a switch on mine that powers either the "Top" or "Oven". You can't use both at the same time.

I do have the manual, I could send you the .pdf if you PM me. But here's the schematic from it:

===

On ours I believe the oven/top switch limits you to only two burners if in the oven position. Supposedly this is to prevent drawing too much current from the AC power source when the oven is on.

[poshman]

Thanks Les for your thoughtful reply.


For months I was ignorant about the stove-cover safety switch that you referred to. Recently, I figured it out and got the stove working.


Prior to that, the oven worked, but the stove did not (Or, more accurately, the stove did work, but I didn't know how to operate it properly).


Last night, when I used the oven for the first time for actual cooking, I think that I had the stove-cover in the down position. If my recollection is correct, then the oven did power-on while the cover was down.


Today, a friend, who is much smarter than me, used a circuit testing device to test the oven circuit. He determined that there is a lack of continuity in the wire coming from the oven thermostat control unit to the stove/oven selector switch. Near the terminal of that wire (the same terminal that connects to the oven thermostat), is a small, rocket shaped piece of metal with some lettering. My friend thinks that this is a diode that is designed to break the circuit if the temperature above the oven and below the stove top (where the wire is located) gets too hot.


The wire is marked 14 guage and has 125º C in writing on the insulated exterior.


If I operated the oven with the stove-cover in the down position, as I recollect doing, then I would have covered the oven vent that extrudes from the middle stove burner. My friend theorizes that such an obstruction of the oven vent could have allowed that area between the stove and oven (where the wiring is located) to get above the 125º C (257º F)rating for that wire. This overheating could have caused the diode to break the circuit and disable the oven.


I roasted a chicken at 325º F. So, it is conceivable that the temperature in that area between the stove-top and the oven rose beyond 257.


I will look for a replacement wire, with the diode, and let you know the results.


Thank you again for you kind assistance!

[poshman]

CaptTom, Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am most confused by the operation of that selector switch. Your suggestion that both oven and stove can operate simultaneously, albeit with the stove in a limited capacity, may help to clarify things greatly. Until I get the oven repaired, I will not know for sure. Yet, my recollection is that two of the three stove burners would work simultaneously with the oven, which appears consistent with your experience. Until I read your post, I was certain that there was a wiring problem; but perhaps you have figured it out.


I responded with considerable detail about what I learned today about my particular problem. That response was in my reply to Les Crawford. Have a look if you like.


Thank you for your offer to send to me a PDF version of the manual. That would be absolutely terrific. I have experienced a rather surprising level of uncertainty about the proper operation of this device, and reading the manual would be a tremendous relief to me.


I'm a relatively inexperienced and not so mechanically inclinded single-handed liveaboard. So learning to operate equipment properly is most important to safety, peace of mind, and pleasure.


I will PM you shortly to request the manual. Thanks again for your most kind and thoughtful offer.

[poshman]

Wayne B.,


Thank you for your thoughtful reply to my query.


Yes, until the oven became disable last night, I think that I was able to operate two of the three stove burners and oven simultaneously. I will not know for certain until I get the oven repaired.


I have made additional replies with more detail on what I discovered today regarding the oven in my replies to CaptTom and Les Crawford. Have a look if you like.


Thanks again. Your assistance is most appreciated.

[CaptTom]

Here's where the schematic comes in handy. Even without tracing the wires, you can clearly read that "A - Selector Switch" controls "Left top element or oven."

In other words, I learned that I CAN use two of the stove elements even when the oven is on. I just went through the manual again, and I can't find reference to this feature at all.

[poshman]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Here's where the schematic comes in handy. Even without tracing the wires, you can clearly read that "A - Selector Switch" controls "Left top element or oven."

In other words, I learned that I CAN use two of the stove elements even when the oven is on. I just went through the manual again, and I can't find reference to this feature at all.

Great observation Capt. Tom. However, I find it peculiar that the code key on the wiring schematic, to which you refer in the your post, above, sets forth that "A - Selector Switch" controls "Left top element or oven". I would think that if two (2) elements can operate simultaneously with the oven (which is what I recollect from before my oven became disabled), then the code key would set forth that "A" (i.e., the Selector Switch), controls Left top element, right top element, or oven.

As it reads right now, to me, the schematic is indicating the simultaneous operation of the oven and one (1) stove element (the left element) - NOT two (2).

Also, in your PM to me, you wisely warned me to ensure that when removing the stove heating elements for cleaning, they be properly re-installed with the lower capacity rear element being re-installed in the rear burner.

After receiving this warning from you, I immediately removed the stove burner heating elements. I observed that the underside of the elements are marked as 1100W or 550W, with the latter likely being the element required for the back burner. Thank you so very much for your important warning about proper re-installation of the stove heating elements!!!

As it turned out, after recently cleaning the stove before learning of the varied element capacities, I had improperly placed the 550W element (designed for the rear burner) in the left burner (designed for 1100W element) and an 1100W element in the rear burner (designed for 550W). It does not appear that any damage was done to either element as of yet. This is likely due to the fact that I only recently cleaned the stove (when the removal and improper re-installation occurred). Since then, I have not used the left burner for any high heat applications.

Perhaps I missed it, but as of yet, I have found nothing in the manual that would alert a user to what you warned about; except for the wiring schematic that shows the rear burner with a 550W element. This is so despite the fact that page 4 of the manual that you sent to me contains a section on "SURFACE PLUG-IN ELEMENTS" . Yet, therein is no reference to ensuring that the 550W element is placed in the rear burner. For something so important, it would seem that some instructions would be provided in the manual.

I do not know what untold damage may have ensued if I had continued to operate the stove with incorrect elements in two of the three burners!! So,
thank you again for your sage and thoughtful warning.

[CaptTom]

Looking at the schematic (and assuming it's the same on your stove and mine), I see switch "A" labelled as "SELECTOR SWITCH - LEFT TOP ELEMENT OR OVEN".

Assuming normal Boolean logic, I assume they mean you can use one OR the other, but not both.

But let's trace the wires. The red wire comes from the "hot" (black) side of the 120VAC in, to the common terminal of the SPST toggle switch "A".

From there, a black wire goes to L1 on the Left Front burner element. That's the only "hot" connection on that element.

Opposite that, a red wire goes to L1 on the oven thermostat. Likewise, the only way it connects to "hot".

From this I conclude that the wording is correct. You can always use the back and right burner. You have to choose between the left burner and the oven.

Interesting that you have another choice with switch B; you can either use the oven light, OR the rotisserie, not both. The engineers must have wanted to use every available Watt!

It's an odd little manual. Written in a folksy tone in places, with some (largely unsuccessful) attempts at humor thrown in. The few actual operating instructions are buried amongst a lot of "fluff".

I guess it was a pretty successful design. They made them for decades with very little change.

There should be no harm in swapping the burners. Worst case, the back one may use smaller wires that could overheat if you ran it on high for a while.

And thanks for the tip on checking the back to identify which is which. I hadn't thought of that!

[poshman]

Impressive logic, Capt. Tom. I followed the wiring you identified, and finally got your meaning through my thick skull. Sorry that it took so much effort on your part to penetrate on my end, but thank you just the same.


I checked out my Princess, and it works just as you described. The left burner does not operate if the selector switch is either in the Oven position or in the middle position. Rather, the left burner operates only if the selector switch is in the Stove position. The other two burners operate independently from the selector switch.


It is baffling to me that this operational aspect is not detailed in the manual.


As for Switch B (the oven light or rotisserie) to which you refer, I have no rotisserie in my oven. I wish I did. That would be fun. My Princess is from 1987, so perhaps the rotisserie was added in later years.


I hope you get to use your rotisserie over the Holidays. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thanks again for your kind assistance.

[poshman]

I just want the forum to know that I was able to fix the oven. Here's a summary for the next boater who has a similar problem. My Princess Stove/Oven is a 1987 electric.

You may recall that a friend of mine isolated the problem to a lack of continuity in the power wire going from the stove/oven selector switch on the far left of the control panel to the oven thermostat on the far right of the control panel. Several inches from where the wire attaches to the oven thermostat was a small rocket-shaped metal object. Under a magnifying glass, I could make out the word Microtemp® 141C. Turns out, this device was a thermal fuse designed to break the circuit and shut off the oven once the wire reached 141°C (I think that is 286° F).

The first time I ever used the oven to roast a chicken, I stupidly had the stove-top cover down. This meant that the oven vent, which extrudes from the center of the rear burner, was blocked. The blockage of the oven vent likely caused the wiring to exceed 141C, thus blowing the thermal fuse and rendering the oven inoperative.

The fix was simple. I found a similar thermal fuse on Amazon, and purchased a pack of 10 for less than $6.00. The fuses arrived on 23 December, and I was able to use a metal butt connector to fit a new thermal fuse into the wire. I reattached the wire to the thermostat and the selector switch, and the oven was operational once again.

On Christmas Day 2015, I roasted a 10lb Butterball Turkey to perfection, and cooked many great fixings along with a gravy on the stove-top. So, the fuses came just in the nick of time.

Thank You All for Your Great Assistance.