Anti-tip brackets are Metal devices designed to prevent ranges or ovens from tipping over when weight is applied to their open door. An appliance that is not equipped with this important device may tip over when your Thanksgiving turkey or child applies weight to the door or open rack. A falling range can crush and scald a child or adult in the right circumstance.
When inspecting the oven there are a couple different ways you can determine if an anti tip bracket is installed. Lifting up on the rear of the stove is one method. The unit should not tip more than a few inches. Another way in some models is by removing the lower drawer. Usually you can see if one is installed from beneath the appliance. But be careful, just because you see the bracket from underneath doesn’t mean it was fastened correctly. Wall mounted brackets can also be seen by looking over the back of the stove. If you don’t see a bracket on your unit, a bracket should be installed. They can be purchased at most hardware stores. Some manufacturers will even send you one for free.
According to the CPSC there were over 130 incidents between 1980 and 2006 with 33 deaths. Most of the injuries involved children. Small children have been known to stand on open oven doors in order to see what was cooking. The elderly have also used open doors for support while cleaning.
In response to these issues, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories) created standards in 1991 that require all ranges with open doors to support a minimum of 250 pounds on their open doors without tipping over. Manufacturers instructions also require anti tip brackets be installed on all ranges. In fact, in 1999 Sears was sued and were required to install brackets in approximately 4 million homes at a substantial expense.
In summary. A range anti-tip bracket is an important safety device, and can be installed or verified fairly easily. Without this important device ranges can tip causing serious injury or death.
As always, I hope you took some value from this post and if you have any home related questions, please let me know at the email address below.
-AZ
Aaron M. Zuehlke is the owner and inspector at Zuehlke Inspection Service, LLC, a full-service home inspection company serving Southern Wisconsin. Specializing in Home inspection, Radon Testing, Mold Testing/inspection, Well Inspections/Well Water Testing, Residential Thermal Imaging, and Manufactured Home Foundation Certifications. He also manages several rental