There is nothing more disappointing than a stove burner that fails to heat up evenly. Serving your breakfast omelette half scorched and half raw is quite annoying, isn’t it? An unevenly heated burner can ruin your cooking experience as the heat doesn’t distribute equally around the coil.
Dysfunctional electric stove top can turn into a major inconvenience, especially if you cook a lot. If this issue occurs it’s generally recommended to contact a stove repair service. However, we suggest you first take a closer look at the electric oven – maybe it’s a minor issue? Here’re some tips.
Filthy Burner Not Distributing Heat
When you cook, food spills are common. Sometimes, these particles land on the stove burner and stick to its hot surface, which leads to food residue buildup and, as a result, a stove burner fails to heat up evenly.
If you want to make sure this isn’t the case, remove the affected burner. Soak it in hot water with dishwashing detergent for ten minutes, then thoroughly scrub it with a steel wool pad to eliminate food residue from your stove burner. Next, let it dry out, put it back into the stove and give it a test to see if this method resolved the issue.
Removed Connection Not Distributing Power
Another reason might be the alignment or grime layer on the burner connection. That’s where the burner prongs plug into the stove outlet. When the burner is removed, then the prongs won’t completely connect with the electrical points and the burner will fail to heat up equally. This can be fixed either by pushing a burner strongly into its socket or by installing the burner and then putting it back into the outlet in one strong move.
Second of all, the connection itself is damaged. Once you spill hot liquid on the stove burner, chances are it may break through the burner and reach the connection. If that’s the case, the next step is to uninstall a burner and clean the prongs. You may also want to clean the connection in the unit but make sure to unplug the stove first so you don’t get an electrical shock. Wipe the socket with a wet cloth and dry it completely before plugging the stove back in.
Uneven Burner Cause Tippings
It could only be that your burner’s surface is uneven. There is only the socket and the burner taking the drip pan. Stove burners can be pushed so that they form a connection, but are skewing to one side or the other.
What you can do is adjust the burner with slight pushes until it is even again. Let the burner cool and put a bubble-level on top of the surface. Use a bubble level to identify whether the top of each burner is also even. When it is not, move the way the burner sits in the drip pan carefully until it is level. You can install small silicone feet for the burner support to help the burner stay straight in its proper location.
Broken Burner Element
Another potential issue is that your burner heating element is broken. Burner elements last for approximately 10 years but can serve you even less, especially if not maintained properly. However, there’s an easy way to check if the heating element is dysfunctional. Just switch the two burner elements. If the element lights up well in a different outlet, then it’s not the root cause.
If the same issue occurs in another outlet, that’s a major sign the heating element needs to be replaced.
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Defective Burner Socket
Last but not least, it could be the burner socket that is defective. The socket may not be connected to the burner properly or consuming the right amount of electricity. Even though your burner is clean and installed into the socket, you will have issues with uneven heating.
Unfortunately, a defective burner socket is much more difficult to repair. If this is what you ended up with, it’s time to call an appliance repair service.
There are several things that can go wrong with your electric stove, but none that can’t be fixed by the professional technicians at 5 Star Appliance Repair. Don’t let this issue keep you from preparing a special meal for the family! Contact one of our dedicated technicians and have them bring your stove back to business in no time.
