An electric vaulted oven on a dual-fuel Château or CornuFé range is controlled by more than just a thermostat. A selector switch determines which heating position is active — a “bottom” setting for ordinary baking, and a raised position intended only for use with the optional baking stone — and getting that switch out of position is one of the simplest, most overlooked reasons an oven seems to be underperforming.
What the Switch Actually Does
In the standard bottom setting, the switch directs heat through the oven’s normal bottom element for everyday baking and roasting. In the raised position, it is set up for use with a baking stone accessory instead. La Cornue’s own instructions are specific about this: if your electric oven does not have the baking stone option installed, the selector switch should never be left in the raised position, because the oven is not heating the way it is meant to for ordinary cooking when it is set that way.
Why This Looks Like a Heating Failure
An oven running with the switch in the wrong position for its configuration does not necessarily fail outright — it can still warm up and still cook food, just not the way it normally would, which is exactly the kind of vague underperformance that gets described as “the oven doesn’t heat like it used to.” Because nothing is actually broken in that case, no part replacement fixes it; only returning the switch to the correct position does.
Checking It Yourself
Confirming which position the switch is currently in, and whether your oven actually has the baking stone option installed, takes a moment and rules out one of the least expensive possible explanations before anything else is tested. If the switch has been in the correct position all along and the oven still underperforms, the more likely causes are a weakening heating element or a thermostat sensor reading the cavity incorrectly.
When a Visit Is Still Worth Booking
If confirming the switch position does not resolve the difference, or if you are not certain which position is correct for your exact oven configuration, that confirmation is worth having a technician make directly, since ordering a part before ruling out a simple setting would be jumping ahead of the actual cause.
Why This Detail Gets Missed
The switch is easy to bump when reaching past it to adjust the thermostat or simmerstat nearby, and because it does not sit in the position most people watch during normal cooking, a change to it can go unnoticed for weeks before someone finally connects it to a change in how the oven performs. Getting in the habit of glancing at the switch whenever you check the thermostat setting is a small habit that catches this early.
If your electric vaulted oven is not heating the way it used to, a La Cornue oven repair visit confirms the selector switch and oven configuration before testing the heating element or thermostat.