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!SHATTERED!

Can an oven door explode?

No! Not me! Let me tell you my story. I was just getting the hang of my new oven. I’d read the manual, given the oven a test drive – true, I’d mangled a roast chicken in the process by turning off the oven during cooking, and I’d burnt myself, twice – but finally, the fifth time I used the oven, I managed to fully understand the process and produce a decent result. I roasted, I grilled, I baked. Happy days.

But the other day just as I was walking out of the house there was an almighty explosion. It wasn’t a low flat sound like a gas explosion, it was more high-pitched. I wondered if it was the water tank and expected to see half the house obliterated as I walked back to it. As I entered the kitchen I heard a tinkling sound, then looked down and saw a pile of glass on the kitchen floor with more pieces of glass trickling out the bottom of the oven door. THE OVEN DOOR HAD EXPLODED! At least, the glass in it had. Holy smoke! Well this was exciting, but not in the kind of way that makes you do a jig or open a bottle of bubbly. Oh no, this was quite something. First up, there’d be no crunchy-topped pasta bake for me that night. Hmmm. (Mind skips to pulling frigid salmon from fridge for salmon salad for dinner, again.) There was mess to clean up, true, but glass was still falling out the bottom of the oven. So I pulled up a chair and just watched it tinkling onto the floor for a bit, quite in awe how a middle piece of glass in this brand new oven door had decided all on its ownsome to just bust out of there. What’s wrong with Waiheke? Didn’t ya like the view?

Now I know, it’s not unheard of, and it’s not only oven doors that explode. Glass windows in ranch sliders can also have an undetected fault that can cause them to shatter when tension builds. Thank goodness for safety glass, and lucky for me it was the middle piece of glass in the door that exploded (there are three glass sheets in the door of my Ilve oven) as it was therefore contained on either side. 

Can an oven door explode?
Lucky for me it was the middle piece of glass that exploded.

I wasn’t even thinking ‘why me?’ ‘why now?’, but nonetheless a big black cloud was settling in overhead as I reaIised I wouldn’t be able to cook in my new kitchen for my birthday lunch, and that a new oven door could take months to get here by pigeon carrier, most likely coming from Europe – I’d chosen an Italian oven after all – and that it could be simply ages before I’d be cooking again. I poured myself a glass of wine. I sat down. I made enquiries. Now listen to this. I don’t often single out people, but if they do a standout job, they deserve a little light shone on them. Reuben Walker from Harvey Norman take a bow. I needed to talk to him. He was the guy who took the time to explain all I needed to know about gas hobs, dishwashers, fridges, washing machines and ovens way back in June when the purchases were made. He knew each appliance intimately and was very engaged in my needs and desires. But the appliances were ordered so long ago I feared with Covid he may have moved on. I rang Reuben’s number and held my breath. He answered! And he was immediately on to it. 

Ilve located an oven door in Sydney. YES! But, with freight all over the place, a usual 24-hour delivery could take weeks. But Reuben pushed for it, Ilve pushed for it … it was loaded onto a plane with DHL and I’ve just heard that it arrived yesterday. It probably won’t be fitted until Tuesday next week as Easter just happens to be in the way, but I’m just thankful it is getting resolved, and quickly, and I’ll be cooking again in my gorgeous new oven very soon.

If you are looking for new appliances in Auckland I can highly recommend young Reuben. Here are the deets:

Reuben Walker | Appliance SpecialistDesign & Build Studio
HARVEY NORMAN
M: +64 210443220
E: [email protected]
W: www.harveynorman.co.nz/designandbuild
Address: 189-197 Great North Road, Grey Lynn, 1021, New Zealand

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