Our kitchen cook-stove and oven is about 22 years old. It has been a reliable device over the years. When we chose it at the appliance shop the model we selected wasn't the model that was delivered, but we accepted it anyway. What we ended up getting was what we wanted, but with the addition of an electric self-cleaning feature. When this feature is used, it takes up a great amount of power as the oven heats to a great degree in its self-cleaning function.

This makes it versatile and permits me to avoid the difficult job of oven-cleaning but it has its faults; the first of which is energy-consumption, the second is that twice, so far, one of its glass inserts in the door-window section has shattered.

I had a cookie-sheet full of oven-baked potato chips in the oven, and along with it a large fillet of wild Pacific salmon baking. When I opened the oven to turn over the chips so they could brown on both sides, I heard a loud tinkle as though a jug of ice-cubes had dropped on a hard surface, and looked incredulously at the oven door as it suddenly was no longer clear and smooth but glittered as it caught the light in a multitude of small crystal cubes. This broken portion was kept within the oven door, as there are three layers of glass and it was the innermost layer that had shattered.

Removing the oven door was simple enough. Purchasing a replacement piece of glass is expensive; a replacement is roughly eight inches by fourteen inches and it is almost $100. My husband was determined to fix the stove as soon as possible although we do have a few counter-top oven alternatives which we use almost exclusively in the really hot summer weather.

Disassembling the door with all its varied pieces, however, isn't simple. But finally it was done, the day following its malfunction and I was able to proceed as planned, using it again the following night. None of our appliances are as reliable as my husband's determination and ability to remedy their malfunctions.