Why does my oven temperature keep rising?

Question

I have an old gas oven that is having a temperature problem. When it's turned on, the temperature keeps rising and rising, not stopping at the set temperature. It gets up to 500+ degrees.

This trouble started after we moved the oven from one house to another, and didn't use the oven for a year. I'm not sure if either of those facts could have caused the problem.

The oven has had a bad thermocouple before, which we replaced, and it was working well for 5 years before it was moved.

Can a thermocouple die in 5 years and cause this problem? Is there something else that could cause it?

Answer 1

The thermocouple insures that the flame is on, it's used to shut the gas off if the flame goes out. Your problem sounds more like a thermostat. The thermostat measures the temperature of the oven, and is used to determine when to turn the flame on and off. Check the manufactures documentation for thermostat troubleshooting and replacement information.

Components in the range could have been damaged while being moved, if the range was not handled with care.