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Is it ok to put a higher wattage burner element on your stove than what stove calls for? I bought the wrong burner wattage but it does fit etc.

Aaronut
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user19502
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  • There is a chance it'll work out. But It's a **bad idea** all around. You can blow the fuse in the stove among other things. If the stove isn't designed to dissipate the wattage, you'll blow the element, too and end up back where you started. – MandoMando Aug 03 '13 at 23:42
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about *repair* of a cooking appliance, not design features, selection, or other *culinary* aspects of the appliance. – SAJ14SAJ Aug 04 '13 at 10:38
  • I agree that this is off-topic. I suggest going to [diy.se] and browsing their questions to see if this will fit there. – Aaronut Aug 04 '13 at 13:23
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    The tag wiki says "Questions on selecting, **maintaining**, and using cooking tools and equipment." Are we going back on that? (Or do we need to clarify the difference between "maintain" and "repair"?) – Cascabel Aug 04 '13 at 14:49
  • @Jefromi This is well past maintain. Maintain would be cleaning the oven, or removing the burners to clean under them, then reseating. Its the same as the difference between sanitizing a cutting board (definitely culinary), sanding one down (borderline), and building one (definitely not culinary). Repair is not a culinary skill unless the item breaks so often in my mind that the repairs are routine. – SAJ14SAJ Aug 04 '13 at 15:56

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Apart from blowing a fuse your problems may be worse than that. Most electrical appliances are designed with the assumption that all the components used are within specification. One example failure mode I can think of is that your new heating element may heat the attached wiring to unacceptable levels and increase its electrical resistance due to both the extra current flowing and the increase in ambient temperature.

Increased power loss though the wires will won't cause a fuse to trip but may cause a fire. I'd recommend replacing the element with one that has a rating similar to the original. In addition to safety aspects your temperature controller (often called a simmerstat) may not be rated for the additional current required and may fail prematurely.

PeterJ
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