Ping Dee

Dee,

Recently there was a discussion here where you said that you had difficulty bringing the pasta pot back to boil after adding the pasta. Suggestions were made to use larger pot with more water and then someone (maybe Sheldon) said you needed to increase BTU's as well. Tonight as I was boiling pasta, it occurred to me to ask you if you had ever replaced the burner coils on your cook stove? I'm buttuming that you have electric?

The electric coils do 'wear out.' You pull the coil in question from the cook stove (or both sizes if you suspect that both large and small coils may not be heating the way they should) and take the coils in to an appliance repair store. They should be able to sell or order replacement coils for you. Either call ahead or check the yellow pages listing to see if the store sells to the public. The coils should cost about $30-$35. You will also need to supply the store with the brand name of your stove. Ask (phone call here) them if they need any other information before you go. If you need the model number, you may be able to find it on a metal plate that is located under the cooking surface--you should be able to see it if you pull out all the coils.

Over time the burner coils can gradually produce less and less heat and we just don't notice it. I've replaced one or more coils several times in the last 20 years. If you do canning or use the large burner a lot for big pots, consider getting what may be called a canning coil. The coil is the same size as the large coil you already have on your stove, it's just raised a little higher to allow for better air circulation underneath to promote longer life in the coil.

Janet