evanpalmer•7d agoMost Upvoted

A simple oven igniter swap turned into a 3 hour nightmare

I got called out to replace an oven igniter last Thursday, should have been a 30 minute job tops. The old one was rusted solid into the bracket and I spent 45 minutes just getting it loose. Then I dropped the new one down the back of the range and had to pull the whole unit out to fish it out. Took me 3 hours for something I usually do in 30 minutes. Anyone else have a simple job spiral out of control like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason2097d ago

Call it bad planning more than a bad job honestly. You knew it was an old oven with rusted parts and you didn't bring any penetrating oil or a backup plan for stuck hardware. Dropping the part is just carelessness, you could have taped it to something or used a magnet tray. Three hours is on you for not thinking ahead and rushing into it like it was going to be a quick cash grab. This stuff happens when people skip the prep and just assume every job goes smooth...

wyatt_chen866d ago

That's the thing about this trade that separates the guys who make good money from the ones who scrape by. Preparation is everything. I always tell younger guys to spend the first ten minutes just looking at the job, figuring out what could go wrong, and grabbing the right tools before you even touch a screw. A little can of Kroil or PB Blaster in the truck costs five bucks and saves you an hour of wrestling. And dropping a part in a tight spot, that's a lesson you learn once if you pay attention. A piece of duct tape or a magnetic bowl costs almost nothing and keeps you from turning a 45 minute job into an all afternoon mess.