How Do I Calibrate My Viking Oven?

It would be great if we lived in a world where ovens always stayed perfectly calibrated, but sadly that’s not how things work, at least not yet. Over time, the temperature inside your Viking oven might change so that when you think you’re baking something at one temperature, it’s actually cooking at something quite different, leading to burnt or undercooked meals.

The good news is that it’s possible for you learn how to properly calibrate your Viking oven all by yourself.

Testing the Temperature

The first thing you need to do is check to see just how far off things have gotten. Take a properly calibrated oven thermometer and put it inside your oven. You should then turn your Viking oven to cook at 350 degrees. Leave things alone for 10-15 minutes. Take the thermostat out and see what the difference is. If it’s more than a couple of degrees off, you will need to make some adjustments to your Viking oven. If you have noticed that your food doesn’t seem to be baking evenly, you’ll need to move the thermometer from one spot to another so you can determine exactly where the hot and cool spots are.

Changing the Calibration

What makes Viking ovens a challenge to calibrate is the way they have been designed. Unlike some models that have a built in adjustment dial. When you cook with a Viking oven, you have two choices. You can either learn to adjust the temperature you bake, or you need to replace the entire internal thermostat. The good news is that replacing the thermostat isn’t difficult and is something you can learn to do yourself.

Changing the Oven Thermostat

Before you even start working on your Viking oven, you will need to purchase a replacement thermostat. Make sure you are using a Viking replacement thermostat. It might cost a little more than a generic brand, but you know it will fit and even more importantly, it will outlast the generic option. Viking has always been well respected for making high quality replacement parts. The good news is that the new thermostat and screwdriver are the only parts you need.

Make sure all the power to your Viking oven has been turned off prior to getting to work. Once you’ve confirmed this, you’ll have to remove the front panel, you should see two screws on either side of it, remove them and the panel should slide off.

Next remove the knobs. At this point you should be able to see the original, poorly calibrated thermostat. Remove the screws holding it into place, slide the thermostat out and do the entire process in revers with the new thermostat in place. The entire project shouldn’t take you more than twenty minutes. The hardest part is usually making sure you don’t accidently drop any of the screws.

Once the thermostat is in place and you’ve replaced the front panel, you can restore power to your Viking oven and enjoy cooking with a properly calibrated unit!