The bottom oven is heating up very slow. - Maytag MER6772 Gemini Electric Kitchen Range

If you are having problems with your electric oven heating up too slowly, not being able to maintain temperature set point, or wild variations in temperature, then you probably have a bad baking element in your oven.

The bake element is the bottom element in your oven. The life span of these elements can vary depending on the usage of your oven and the quality of the element. Anything electric has an unpredictable lifespan. Elements made on the same assembly line can vary greatly in how long they last. But when the element burns out it will need to be replaced to have your oven work properly.

The thing the fools many people is that many ovens will use the broil element to preheat the oven and then switch to using the baking element only. When this happens the oven will no longer heat and will cool down. The unit may sense this and activate the broil element again which will cause wild swings in temperature and also can cause food to burn on the top self or not bake properly.

If you can see the elements, watch them and see if they both get red hot when initially warming the oven. If only the top, broil element gets hot then you have a burned out element or a bad contacts where the element plugs into. Usually lifting the element and pulling out on it will release the element. If the contacts are discolored or pitted then they could be causing your problems. By using an ohm meter you can check the resistance of the element. If you get no continuity through the element it is no good.Bad elements will often have blisters, bubbles, or even burn in two.

If the element contacts are bad, make sure the you replace both the element and the receptacle that the element plugs into. Replacing only the element will only temporarily solve your problem.