Heating element in cook top
 

I have a Kitchen Aid gas cook top with an electric grill in the center. I decided to use it tonight to try and grill some chicken. I put in on high and they thing does not get very hot. The chicken did not even sizzle. I just put a pot of cold water on it to see if it will get it to boil.

Do heating elements go bad over time? Any ideas of that to check? Is there a way to test the thermostat? I have a home warranty but it has a $60 deductible. If it's a cheap fix then I'll go for it if not I guess they can earn their keep.

I just tried to boil a pot of water on it and was unsuccessful. The water got up to a bit over 200. There were bubbles on the pot surface but it would not boil. I would think that a grill should get hot enough to boil water right?

The elements can go bad; usually they make some sort display when they do, so if that hasn't happened the next suspect is the switch/control for the element. You can check that out using a voltmeter. The ouside of the element should not have voltage present.

Elements are usually pretty easy to replace although I've never replaced one on a grill. It almost sounds as if a 220volt element is only getting 110 volts. Is that possible?

The thermostat works in terms of low to high but the high is not very high. Is a thermostat a work or no work kind of thing?

When I had it on high the element had a very soft red glow to it. I seem to remember when my mom had an electric cook top the suckers got bright red.

The element just plugs in. Very easy to remove. I found the part number but every where I look it shows discontinued.

If the heating element glows, then it is good.
As Kerry suggested, the element is likely not getting 240V, which means whatever controls the element is probably bad.

We have one of those glass top stoves, it's ok I guess. :)

I just looked. The out let is 110.

That's probably the source of your problem. Does the stove have an option of 110 or 220?

I would think that almost ALL electric stoves would be 220V. I may be wrong though. :)

Pretty easy to troubleshoot for yourself, and lots cheaper too.

Here's a pretty good write up -

How To Fix Your Electric Oven - Self Help and More

good luck!

Soft red glow... sounds like a bad element.

Check it's resistance and compare to spec to be sure.

Gotta be another one of those elements out there. Post the part number and make/model of the stove and the peachparts google masters will find you dozens of them...:D

It's not an electric stove. It's a gas stove with an electric broiler. Hence my question.

Oops. sorry Dude. :)

Ill have to check but for a single.element that does not seem like it would make any sense. Why have it run on 110.if it will not run properly on 110.

Im going to see if I can find a model number and some specs to test it.

I'm guessing it is designed to run on 110 but you're not going to get the same ooomph as 220.