Questions we get asked

The spark is low energy and the burner is already lit, so it is not dangerous in itself, but the clicking means the module is not sensing the flame and it will keep firing the electrode. Get it looked at rather than living with it.

From Why the igniter keeps clicking after the burner lights

One spark module drives every electrode in parallel, so they all fire together by design. That is normal. It only indicates a fault when the clicking continues after a flame is established.

From Why the igniter keeps clicking after the burner lights

Yes. With the burner off and cool, lift the cap, dry the electrode and the well underneath with a paper towel, and set the cap back down flat on its base. Do not scrape the ceramic or bend the electrode.

From Why the igniter keeps clicking after the burner lights

Press a refrigerator magnet against the base of the pan. It should grab firmly and it should grab across the whole bottom, not only in the centre. If it barely holds, the pan will not couple properly and the cooktop is right to ignore it.

From Why an induction cooktop stops recognising your pan

That is thermal protection. The electronics under the glass are air-cooled, and when the intake or exhaust is obstructed the cooktop reduces power to protect itself. Nine times out of ten it is a drawer or a stack of trays blocking the airflow path.

From Why an induction cooktop stops recognising your pan

Usually not. Multi-layer clad bases can resonate audibly at high power, and lighter pans buzz more than heavy ones. If the same buzz follows the pan from one element to another, it is the cookware.

From Why an induction cooktop stops recognising your pan

It runs until the electronics under the glass have cooled down, which can take several minutes after a long high-power session. That is normal and it is doing exactly what it should.

From Why an induction cooktop stops recognising your pan

Usually not. The gas cooktop and the electric oven are separate systems with separate supplies and separate failure modes. The main thing they share is the control board, so a board fault is the one failure that can affect both.

From Dual-fuel means two systems in one cabinet

The oven half is electric and draws far more current than a spark module and a light. Dual-fuel ranges are wired to a dedicated 240-volt circuit, which is one of the things that catches people out when a professional range goes into an older kitchen.

From Dual-fuel means two systems in one cabinet

Not harder, just different. All-gas ovens have an ignition circuit and a gas safety valve that dual-fuel ovens do not. Dual-fuel ovens have elements, relays and a heavier electrical supply instead.

From Dual-fuel means two systems in one cabinet

It will tell you roughly whether you have a problem, which is useful. It will not tell you the shape of the problem, because a dial thermometer responds slowly and only reads one spot. We log actual cavity temperature through a full heat-and-hold cycle instead.

From When an oven runs cool, and why baking notices first

Sometimes. Many ovens have an offset adjustment that will absorb a small, consistent error. It is the wrong answer when the error grows with temperature or swings during a hold, because that points at a failing sensor or a leaking door rather than calibration.

From When an oven runs cool, and why baking notices first

A roast is forgiving. It cooks by internal temperature over a long period, so a 25-degree error mostly changes the timing. Baking depends on a chemical sequence happening at specific temperatures in a specific order, and it fails visibly when that sequence shifts.

From When an oven runs cool, and why baking notices first

With the oven cold, close a strip of paper in the door at several points around the frame and pull on it. It should drag noticeably everywhere. If it slides out easily at the top corners but grips at the bottom, the door is hanging open at the top.

From Hinge sag: the two millimetres that ruin your baking

Sometimes. Some hinge designs have adjustment, and a door that is out of alignment because of a loose mounting can be reset. A hinge with worn pivots has to be replaced, and hinges are always replaced in pairs so the door hangs evenly.

From Hinge sag: the two millimetres that ruin your baking

Yes, and so does resting a heavy roasting pan on it. Oven doors are designed to carry their own weight on two small pivots, not a load applied at the far end of a long lever. That is the fastest way to bend a hinge or the door frame.

From Hinge sag: the two millimetres that ruin your baking

Because output falls gradually rather than stopping. Deposits build on the heating element as an insulating layer, so less of the element's heat crosses into the water, and the cook experiences that as longer cycles and drier food rather than as a fault. This stage can run for a year before anyone calls.

From What actually fails in a convection steam oven

It usually means the drain path or the condensate channel is restricted rather than that anything has failed. It is worth dealing with early, because standing water keeps the door seal and the cavity floor wet between uses and turns a cleaning job into a parts job.

From What actually fails in a convection steam oven

It can, and that is the reason not to live with one. A door seal that has stopped sealing along part of its length lets steam out at the top of the door, and the cabinetry immediately above it takes that steam every time the oven runs. Fixing a gasket is inexpensive; refinishing joinery is not.

From What actually fails in a convection steam oven

Neither is better built. A reservoir model is filled by hand, which means you can put filtered water into it, and doing that consistently is the cheapest maintenance decision available to a steam oven owner. A plumbed model takes whatever the kitchen branch supplies unless the house treats it upstream.

From What actually fails in a convection steam oven

The diagnosis is normally one visit. Whether the repair happens on the same visit depends on the part: seals, sensors and common electrical components are stocked, while generator assemblies and board-level parts are ordered against the model and serial number and take longer to arrive.

From What actually fails in a convection steam oven

Run it on high and hold a sheet of paper flat against the baffles. It should pin itself there and stay. If it drops, the system is not moving meaningful air and the problem is somewhere between the baffle and the outdoors.

From Loud hood, smoky kitchen: airflow, ducts and makeup air

The hood is exhausting more air than the house can replace, so the interior goes slightly negative. That is the classic sign of a kitchen that needs makeup air, and the residential code requires it for exhaust systems rated over 400 CFM.

From Loud hood, smoky kitchen: airflow, ducts and makeup air

Baffle filters are designed to be removed and washed, and a dishwasher is the usual way. Doing it regularly is the single most effective maintenance a hood owner can perform, because grease bridging the baffle gaps collapses the open area.

From Loud hood, smoky kitchen: airflow, ducts and makeup air

It helps considerably, particularly for the large transients that come in on the service entrance, and it is worth having in this part of Florida. It is not absolute, because some damage arrives on other paths and some is cumulative rather than from a single event.

From Storm season, surges, and boards that fail like mechanical faults

It can be. A transient can degrade a component without destroying it, and the failure follows later under normal load. That delay is one of the reasons surge damage gets misdiagnosed as an unrelated fault.

From Storm season, surges, and boards that fail like mechanical faults

Sometimes yes and sometimes no, and we will tell you which. On a built-in appliance that is otherwise sound and expensive to replace, a board is usually worth it. On one with several other tired components, we will say so before you spend the money.

From Storm season, surges, and boards that fail like mechanical faults

Yes. The spark module, the oven control, the light and any convection fan all run on power. It is a much smaller supply than a dual-fuel range needs, but a shared or marginal circuit still produces intermittent faults that look like a failing board.

From Putting a professional range in a 1920s kitchen

Follow the installation instructions for the specific appliance rather than a rule of thumb, because clearances vary by model and by what is next to it. What matters diagnostically is that squeezing an appliance into an opening that is a little too tight leaves it running hot behind the fascia for its whole life.

From Putting a professional range in a 1920s kitchen

Sometimes, but it is worth checking rather than assuming. A duct that was routed for a small recirculating hood decades ago will limit a modern professional hood no matter what blower is fitted, and that limit is invisible until the kitchen fills with smoke.

From Putting a professional range in a 1920s kitchen

Yes. The diagnostic fee is credited toward the cost of the repair when you approve the work. If you decide not to proceed, the fee covers the visit and the diagnosis and there is nothing further to pay.

From What the $129 diagnostic actually buys you

No. The diagnostic is a flat $129 anywhere inside our service area, which is 40 miles by road from Fruit Cove. Neptune Beach costs the same as Mandarin.

From What the $129 diagnostic actually buys you

You still pay the diagnostic and nothing more. Some visits end with us drying an electrode or telling you a drawer is blocking a cooling intake. We would rather give you that answer honestly than invent a part to justify the trip.

From What the $129 diagnostic actually buys you

Always, and before anything is ordered or replaced. It covers parts, labor and what the diagnosis found, so you can decide with the full picture rather than approving work over the phone.

From What the $129 diagnostic actually buys you