I'm thinking there probably aren't any expensive parts on the machine. It's a dirt simple electric range. You could try breaking the oven door, but then you'll either be able to replace the hinges or use a broomstick to hold it up. The oven heating element might also be a pricey part, and if something "accidentally" slammed into it and broke it it might be too much to replace.

I think the only way to really kill it is to damage the chassis permanently, which would be hard to make look like an accident, unless you do blacksmithing as a hobby and somehow stage an anvil mishap.

sledge hammer.

Make him cook a few meals on it...

STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE!

What are HIS work conditions? Does HE have to create excellence with poor tools?

How about if everything you cook on it now always seem to burn? You can blame the oven for heating too hot and the individuals eyes for having such uneven heat that everything burns.

Or, post the stove on Craig's List under "FREE IF YOU COME AND REMOVE IT" then when hubby comes homes tell him someone '"STOLE" the stove!

Put your husband on Craigslist?

Seriously though we had a Caloric range and when multiple bits died, we got rid of it. Thankfully it all happened at once....Got a convection SS GE which is great.

Think things like interest free credit (someone's bound to be offering it about now). Cheapest replacements likely to be under $700. Two years of interest free credit under $1 a day.

I'm sure you are worth $1 a day.

Why not just sell it. Then, when there's no stove (he'll probably notice the empty spot in the kitchen), there are no meals. Then you'll get a new one!

You could file a small notch or groove on the underside of the oven heating element. That would cause the oven heating element to fail and wouldn't be readily visible. Trouble is, it might not fail in time for Thanksgiving and unfortunately, it's only about a $30 part.

I suppose it's also possible that a major "spill-over" of something like a gallon of boiling caramel might gum up the works. You were planning a special treat like caramel corn for the kiddies at the holiday.....weren't you?

I suppose it's also not beyond the realm of possibility that a big boil-over or spill of something like pasta water could get inside the oven control (hint: a spray bottle or squirt gun might help).

How often does Hubby go before trading in the pick-up? What's the status of his shop machinery? How many year's has he been struggling with that lawnmower? It might not hurt to bring up those topics.

Otherwise, maybe the thing to do is start setting aside some of the grocery money each week. When you've saved up enough, buy a new range. Have the old one hauled away, and the new one installed in its place. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

I'm assuming your posting was tongue-in-cheek.....or is the guy really a tyrant?

Sabotage is generally not a good idea.

You could snip the oven thermostat's probe. Hubby could replace the thermostat, but they typically tend toward a touch expensive.

"It worksÂsort ofÂwhich is the problem" -- describe this problem more. It kinda doesn't heat up as fast as it used to when it was younger? It kinds doesn't get as hot as before? It works find but needs replacement parts from time to time? It wors - sort of - but what isn't working like before ???

this post is hysterical! i vote for sneaking it out of the house.. would he even notice it is missing? I say swap it out. if he's like my husband, he'll take a few months to notice. by then, you will have thought of a good excuse.

Even better... like when you buy something new on the sly... and asked," is that new?".... "no honey, I wore this when we went...."

SO.... sneak old out.... new one in.... it'll be a few days/weeks before he notices.... where did that come from? Honey.... don't you remember when we stopped at Home Depot and they had the sale.....

this is so funny, i thought i was the only one! seriously, i REALLY did break my stove, no really for real. somehow, water fell onto the inside glass of the oven door it cracked the layer of glass on the inside of the oven. Now, the oven just does not cook the way it should. I can't seem to cook anything right anymore. I have a new stove and dishwasher ordered to go into my newly renovated kitchen after its completed.

Thanks to all who answered... unfortunately, I went ahead and cooked Thanksgiving dinner in the old piece of @%$*&, but I would still welcome suggestions. In particular--any ideas how to make the oven control stop working?

I missed out on Thanksgiving, but there's still Christmas dinner to ruin.

_______ Original post below _______

I have a VERY OLD Magic Chef stove. It worksÂsort ofÂwhich is the problem.

Cooking on this thing is a total ordeal. I keep trying to get my husband to replace it, but he wonÂt because it still works. He has replaced the terminal blocks that the burners plug into and done other repairs to keep the poor thing going.

Is there something I can do that will disable this stove once and for all? IÂd like to do something that canÂt be fixed without a great deal of expense. Just pulling off wires wonÂt do it.

Is there a way to ruin the oven control or some other very expensive part? I am handy with tools and can take the back off. ( I helped replace a burner control, which didnÂt seem difficult at all.)

IÂd REALLY like to have the stove fail just in time to ruin Thanksgiving dinner.

Maybe Santa will bring you a new range for Christmas....particuarly if "Maybe Santa will bring me a new range for Christmas" becomes your new, oft repeated mantra.

You say it works "sort of" -- I'd start with the truth and go from there! When you burn every dinner, suspicion falls on the cook. But what if your best efforts simply fail to produce an edible dinner? I used to have a 1940ish electric Hotpoint which made a noise  all the time. The oven sometimes failed to preheat, 2 of the 4 burners would not respond to their buttons and the 2 that did had no low, high was the lowest, medium red-hot. The best part had to be the flames that occasionally spurted from the buttons when pushed. Once with 20-some Thanksgiving guests in wait, the oven rack collapsed dislodging the electric element. Still, my DH was unpersuaded that it was "time." My mistake for years was continuing to make that sorry piece of metal look good.

What would best motivate your DH? Seeing real-life ruined dinners, trashed pans, wasted ingredients? Reviewing a written log of trashed pans, wasted ingredients, and lost time? If water doesn't boil, dinners are routinely delayed, cookies blacken while still raw in the middle, even non-cooks start to get the message. When he asks about dinner, why not tearfully show him the remains of your efforts in the trash? Or does colorful language better grab his attention? You could cheerfully announce a new winter menu of raw salads and takeout so as not to waste any more hard-earned money on good roasts and hearty casseroles. These luxurious are for those with a working range ..... Like me! We've had our new Blue Star for two years now and my husband still comments at least once a week that he can't believe how consistently great dinners are at our house. (Nothing like a working range & running water, I say, having done without both too long...) If I had stopped covering for that sorry-ash range years earlier, I could have save myself years of culinary grief. (And BTW, my first wish-list stove was far more modest than the one I finally ordered, no discussion, after coming to the end of my rope and letting go!)

Truth is, if the furnace or water heater or car broke down, he would "get it" and you would get a reasonable new machine to help the household function again. We can all live without heat, hot water, and wheels just as easily. By which I mean it would be incredibly difficult! People do it, but usually not by choice. If a new stove is what you really need, there's probably a way to bump lesser priorities down the household list so the cook can cook. The person who eats without cooking needs to "get it." If he still sits down to a home-cooked dinner every night, he won't.

As you start tonight's salad, start practicing new lines to the Eartha Kitt classic, "Santa Baby," linked.

I'll get you started:
"Santa Baby, slip a stove under the tree, for me..."

Wear whatever works for you & keep singing!

Here is a link that might be useful: Eartha Kitt,

Just unplug the stove and put it on the trash pile 🤣🤣🤣and cut the back of the cord short 🤣🤣🤣