Anti-tip brackets help prevent range-oven appliances from tipping over, causing potentially serious injury. A falling range can scald, burn or crush anyone caught beneath. 

Good news, though: Anti-tip brackets are easily installed. Furthermore, installation is required, and such injuries are entirely unnecessary. A small bracket is simply screwed into the floor or wall, securing the rear leg of the range-oven appliance and keeping it from tipping over if leverage is applied to the opened oven door. 

You can confirm the presence of an anti-tip bracket by gripping and pulling forward on the upper-rear section of the range-oven, seeing if it tips forward more than a couple of inches. If it does, the appliance needs an anti-tip bracket installed. Contact the contractor who installed the appliance and request the anti-tip bracket be installed; they should do it for liability reasons, and you should insist the appliance is installed correctly.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) created standards in 1991 requiring all ranges manufactured after that year to be stable while supporting 250 pounds of weight on their open doors. Manufacturers’ instructions require that anti-tip brackets be installed as well. To do it yourself, anti-tip brackets are readily available at hardware stores, with easy-to-follow instructions included. Some manufacturers will send you an anti-tip bracket for no charge. So, check your range and install an anti-tip bracket if one isn’t present! 

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