Electric Stove

The parts of an electric stove are powered by conventional electricity and may use different types of burners, which conduct heat to your pot or pan.

Conductive Metal Coils - Raised above the surface of the stove, they slide into a bracket beneath the surface and plug into the heating unit. A metal pan underneath collects drippings and splatters. The ceramic surface of this type of stove can be cleaned with regular kitchen cleaners, though drip pans may be difficult to clean once food and spattered oil has dried or burned.

Built-In Ceramic or Glass - The surface of the stove is solid, eliminating the possibility of a fire caused by dripping fat or oil. It is easy to clean, but may require special cleaning products for dried spills. This type of stove has a safety light that glows red to indicate that one or more burners are hot.

Both types of electric stove have knobs that control the heat of the burner.

Gas Stove

The gas stove runs off either propane or natural gas, with a flame to provide heat. A heavy, circular metal bracket sits on top of the flames to support pots and pans. The flame is produced when an internal igniter sparks a surface burner spark electrode. The process is activated when the control knob is pushed in and turned all the way to the 'Light' position. Once the flame ignites, the knob is turned back to the right and temperature is controlled by the strength of the flame. Gas stoves are usually hotter than electric stoves and the heat level can be more difficult to gauge correctly.

Both types of stove usually have a vent hood that contains a grease and odor filter installed above the surface that operates with a fan to contain and dispel smoke, steam and odors. Most vent hoods have a light for a better view of cooking activities

Appliances are built to perform. They work hard, year after year, usually without too many problems. They're easy to take for granted. The result is that when an appliance breaks down, you may be completely at a loss -- you don't know how it works, you have no idea why it stopped working, and you certainly don't know how to fix it.

What can you do? You can pay a professional to fix it, or you can fix it yourself and save money. This article will provide you with all the information you need to know to pull your major appliances apart and then put them back together in working order. But before you attack the refrigerator with a screwdriver, let's get some background information on major appliances.

Most appliances operate on your home's electrical system: They use AC current from the circuit wiring in your home. Small appliances work on 110-120-volt circuits, and the plugs on their cords have two blades. Large or major appliances, such as air conditioners, dryers, and ranges, usually require 220-240-volt wiring and cannot be operated on 110-120-volt circuits. Large appliances are wired with a grounding wire; their plugs have two blades and a prong. This type of appliance must be plugged into a grounded outlet -- one with openings to accept both blades and grounding prong -- or grounded with a special adapter plug. All appliances are labeled -- either on a metal plate or on the appliance casing -- with their power requirements in watts and volts, and sometimes in amps.

Small appliances are usually fairly simple machines. They may consist of a simple heating element, a fan, a set of blades, or rotating beaters attached to a drive shaft; or they may have two or three simple mechanical linkages. Repairs to these appliances are usually correspondingly simple. Large appliances are more complex -- one major appliance, such as a washing machine, may have a motor, a timer, and a pump, as well as various valves, switches, and solenoids. With this type of appliance, problems can occur in either the control devices or the mechanical/power components. Failure of a control device may affect one operation or the entire appliance; failure of a mechanical/power device usually affects only the functions that depend on that device. When a major appliance breaks down, knowing how to diagnose the problem is as important as knowing how to fix it.

Because major appliances are so complex, it usually isn't obvious where a malfunction is. (Many newer appliances include electronic diagnostics that can be interpreted from the owner's manual.) The first step is to decide whether the problem is in a control device or a mechanical device. In a dryer, for example, the control devices govern the heat, and the mechanical components turn the drum. Which system is affected? If the drum turns, but the dryer doesn't heat, the problem is in the control system. If the dryer heats, but the drum doesn't turn, the problem is mechanical. This kind of analysis can be used to pinpoint the type of failure -- control system or mechanical system -- in all large appliances.

To find out exactly what the problem is, you must check each part of the affected system to find the malfunctioning part. This isn't as difficult as it sounds, because appliance components work together in a logical sequence. Starting with the simplest possibilities, you can test the components one by one to isolate the cause of the failure.