I remember always thinking that as soon as something broke on any of my home appliances, that was it, you needed a new one. Now with google and you tube you can find so many great tips and tricks for just about anything. Even troubleshooting and hopefully fixing your home appliances without having to call in an expert.
Today I’m talking stove burners and I found some great options to try if one of your burners stops working. Depending on whether you have a gas stove, an induction cooktop or electric burners, there are different things you can try to fix the problem before having to call in a professional.
Gas burners
If you have a gas stove and a burner that won’t light, your first step is to find out if your gas burner is lit electonically or if it’s lit with a pilot light. If it’s an electronic ignition, the first step is to make sure it’s plugged in properly and getting power, and you can easily do this by opening the door and making sure the oven light turns on. Next up is to check that the gas valve is open fully. If you’ve tried these two steps and your burner still won’t light, next up is to give the burner a good clean. You need to clean out and brush off the spark ignitor and burner holes. Toothpicks and an old toothbrush would work well to do this.
If your gas burners are lit by a pilot light, the first thing you want to check is to make sure the pilot light is lit. If you’re having trouble seeing the pilot, turn off the lights, it will make it easier to see the small flame under your stove top. Next is to test the igniters, you should see a spark when you try lighting them.
If you’ve tried these tips and still no success at getting your broken burner to light, then it may be time to call in the professionals. I also like to ask at my local appliance store for their input, maybe they have an idea that you haven’t tried yet.
Electric burners
Electric stove burner problems can be fairly easy to diagnose and repair all on your own. The first step here it look at the buner rings, and if they look pitted and burnt then you can start by replacing the broken burner. You can also check the burner by plugging it into another burner plug of the same size. This will let you know if it’s the burner that’s broken, or if the problem is something else. Burners are quite easy to replace, you just need to lift them up a little bit and pull the prongs from the plug in.
If the burner looks fine, then next up you should check where the prongs plug in for a loose connection. Just like any prong plug you have at home, this can easily be fixed by widening the prongs slightly. To do this, very gently spread out the prongs and plug them back in to see if that helps tighten the connection.
The last thing you can try out is to replace the burner socket. This is the piece attached to the stove top with screws that the prongs plug into. I would recommend taking the old socket with you as well as your appliance model when you go shopping for your new socket to be sure you get the correct part.
Induction burners
Induction stove burners are a completely different ball game. Induction cooking happens through a magnetic field between the cooktop and the pots and pans. For an induction cooktop to work you need to use cast iron or magnetic stainless steel. If your burner isn’t heating up or shuts off on you, this is the cooktops way of telling you the pots and pans you’re using are not compatible with induction cooking.
To fix this problem I would first test out your pots and pans with a magnet to see that their magnetic field is still working. If they’re fine, then the next step would be to check the power source to the unit or shut off the circuit breaker to the unit for 5 seconds to try to reset the cooktop. Lastly check to see if your cooktop has put itself in lock mode. You can double check with your owners manual on how to unlock your specific appliance model.
Hopefully a few of these tips will help you out if your burner decides to cut out on you, and if all else fails you can check out bestbuy.ca for some great new appliances.
 GE 30″ 5.0 Cu.Ft. Self Clean Smooth Top Range |
 Samsung 30″ 5.8 Cu. Ft. Free-Standing Self Clean Gas Stove |
 Samsung 29.9″ 5.8 Cu. Ft. Slide-In Self-Clean Smooth Top Induction |
Title image www.hgtv.com@ www.hgtv.com
