What You Want to Know About Heat Pump Dryers

Back when we were doing our Deep Dive on Dryers, we mentioned a type of dryer that many of our readers weren't familiar with, the Heat Pump Dryer. People had no idea what we were talking about, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it means we get to introduce you to something new.  This week we're taking a closer look at this interesting dryer type and seeing if they can fit into your home. 

What Is A Heat Pump Dryer?

A heat pump dryer is a dryer that works on a closed loop. It draws air in, heats it for drying the clothes, and pushes that into the drum. 

Once the air has become full of moisture from the clothes, it's filtered for lint and pushed into an evaporator to cool and have the water drawn off. That evaporator system heats up on the outside though and that heat is reused to heat the now cool, dry air.  That air then goes back into the drum to start the process all over. 

The water that was drawn out of the air is pumped out through the same drain that your washer uses, which means that you don't have to worry about emptying a collection reservoir or anything. 

A diagram showing how a heat pump dryer works to draw in air, heat it, remove water from it using a condenser and then put the air back into the dryer

How is A Heat Pump Dryer Different?

The two biggest differences to your usual dryer are tied together, the vent or ducting and how the air is used. On a standard electric or gas dryer the air comes in, it gets heated by a coil or a flame and then is pumped into the drum. When the air becomes saturated with moisture that's pumped back out, into the vents and pushed outside of your home. This has led to all sorts of problems that we've talked about before for vents becoming clogged and full of lint. Because the heat pump dryer reuses the air over and over, that external vent isn't needed. There is some loss of air, but not enough that it needs a separate duct to go outside of your home.  

A heat pump dryer is also considerably more energy efficient than your standard dryer since the air is used over and over and the different steps serve multiple purposes at the same time. 

A heat pump dryer also works at a lower temperature, which means that it's easier on your clothes as it runs. 

What do I Need to Know Before Installing A Heat Pump Dryer? 

- They Do Cost More

As of right now a heat pump dryer does cost more. Because this design of dryer is relatively new by comparison to electric and gas dryers, they're still more expensive to purchase. However, since you end up saving on your electricity bill, that does weigh against the initial cost. 

-They Do Have A Smaller Capacity

Because of all the different pieces that go into making the dryer run, there's less space for the drum. So for the time being, most heat pump dryers are more 'compact' in terms of how much they can handle. So no, if you've got a large or active family, we wouldn't suggest getting this. 

- You Can Stack Them

Yup! If you're short on space, or you want to make it easier to get things in and out of your dryer, you can get a stacking kit for your heat pump dryer. 

-What About Wall Mounting A Heat Pump Dryer? 

Sadly, no. Because of how much a heat pump dryer weighs, you can't attach them to a wall. Even with brackets, they're too heavy to stay safely suspended. 

-What Are Some Brands That Make Heat Pump Dryers? 

Some of the brands that you can find a Heat Pump Dryer with are: LG, Miele, Whirlpool, Beko, Samsung and Bosch.

-Is There Anywhere I Can't Install A Heat Pump Dryer? 

Yes. As of right now, you cannot install one on the moon or in sitting pools of water. Jokes aside though, we would avoid areas that you know are cracked, uneven or prone to flooding. You'll also want to make sure that the electrical outlet is a high enough voltage that it can handle the power draw. Although as we've said the Heat Pump Dryers are very efficient, they are still going to draw more energy than what a standard outlet can provide. 


With all of that in mind, what's next? Do you think you'll end up getting a heat pump dryer for your home? Why or why not? We'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. 


If you ended up here because you already have a heat pump dryer and it's on the fritz, no worries! We can still help. Just give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out to us over on our contact page to set up an appointment. No matter which of your appliances is acting up, we'll be happy to work with you to get your home running smoothly again. 


Additional Reading: 

Dryer Deep Dive

6 Things Your Should Never Put In Your Dryer

Why You Need To Clean Your Dryer Vent 

9 Things Your Dryer Hates

9 Electric Dryers At 3 Different Price Points

Answering Your Major Questions About Induction Stoves (2022)

How It Works And Why Your Pans Won’t

Induction Stoves

The Basics

In-Depth Look

So my current pans won’t work? 

Do I actually want one? 

If you’ve gone shopping for new stoves recently, you’ve probably seen something about induction stoves. If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve probably questioned “what’s an induction stove and why the heck would I buy one?” This week we’re answering your major questions about induction stoves: How do they work, and why don’t my pans work with them?


If you’re not really interested in the technical aspects of an induction stove, this is for you. Start off by thinking about a typical gas or electric stove. You turn on the burner, and it heats that specific spot. But there are uneven areas, due to the way the heat has to spread through it. Induction stoves are an entirely different beast. A copper coil within the ‘burner’ has electricity sent through it. That electricity is transmitted through the glass top to the pan that you put on top of the burner. That pan heats up, only where it comes into contact with the electricity. So, in theory, yes, you could heat only one-half of your pan. If however, you have all of your pan on the coil, you are going to get a very even heat, since the heat is actually coming from the pan itself instead of from the stove.  

If that didn’t answer all of your questions, that’s ok. We can take a slightly more in-depth look at things now. If it did answer everything you wanted to know, feel free to skip this paragraph. Picture a coil of copper wire. Now apply an alternating current to the coil, making it oscillate, or move back and forth at high regular speeds. This oscillating creates a magnetic ‘flux’ or a field around that singular burner. Now put your pan on top of that burner, and the two interact, so long as the pan is made of either iron or steel, both magnetic materials. The magnetic flux from the stove creates a current in the pan, the pan has a natural resistance to that current, and so it begins to heat up. Since all of this is based on magnets and electricity, you don’t have to have the pan and the coil directly touching, which means that the stove can have a heat-resistant ceramic layer between the two. Although the surface will still become hot, it’s considerably less hot than either a gas or electric stove will get. 

 So why then don’t copper and aluminum pans work? Or ceramic ones? The reason is the magnetic current. None of these things are magnetic, so they can’t interact with the current. While it is less than ideal, it is one cost of using this type of stove. On the upside though, if you have to purchase all new pots and pans, at least you can choose specifically which ones you’ll need instead of just getting a set? 

And now we get to the real crux of the matter. Do you really want one? Well, to be honest, we can’t tell you if you do or don’t. Since we fix all sorts of stoves, we see, perhaps better than most, that all stoves have their pros and cons. On one hand, you’ve got a stove that is noticeably cooler to the touch. It also creates perfectly even heating, no need to worry about hot spots. Since there isn’t a flame or a hot surface element, you can worry less about accidentally starting a fire.  In terms of how quickly they work, gas stoves are faster than electric stoves. However, an induction stove is even faster than a gas stove, heating water twice as fast as most gas stoves.  They’re also supremely easy to clean, a fact we love. 


However, just like with any purchase, there are cons to an induction stove as well. An induction stove is a very complicated system. They’re typically more expensive to purchase and to install. They’re also more expensive to repair, if and when they do suffer a malfunction. As mentioned above, you will have to purchase a new set of pots and pans, as anything without an iron or steel bottom won’t work.  Since they heat up faster than other types of stoves, your cooking style will have to adjust to match it. That can take time, and mean a lot of burnt food at first, if you’re not prepared for it. A final, if odd, con, is that they do make more noise than other options. 


Important warning: THEY CAN BE RISKY IF YOU HAVE A PACEMAKER, DO TAKE NOTE. The electromagnetic system does pose a certain risk to disrupting pacemakers, however, most pacemakers are safe around these. Still, check with your doctor before purchasing to make sure it won’t compromise your health if you have a pacemaker. 


So, do you think you’ll be getting an induction stove any time soon? Why or why not? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we’d love to hear from you! 


If you’re here because you have an induction stove and it’s broken or otherwise acting ‘odd’ we can help. Give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or set up an appointment via our page and we’d be more than happy help get your stove back in perfect condition.


5 Kitchen Tools From The Future

What Food Engineers Are Coming Up With Today Can Be In Your Kitchen Tomorrow

Table of Contents:

Fromaggio Smart Cheesemaker

CocoTerra Tabletop Chocolatier

Barsys 2.0 Cocktail Machine

LG Snow White Ice Cream

Mycusini Chocolate 3D printer 



kitchen. We’ve got all sorts of fun food and drink based tools that you might see in your home kitchen over the next few years. From chocolates, to drinks, to ice cream and cheese, we’re taking a look into the future to see what food engineers are coming up with. 




Fromaggio Smart Cheesemaker 

Say you have a dinner coming up, and you want to offer up baked brie and fresh mozzarella to your guests. You’re also thinking about some chevre for a salad that you want to serve. Unfortunately for you, your local shop doesn’t carry any brands that you like. What’s worse, it’s difficult to ship cheese, especially when you’re trying to get it to Texas in the summer. You don’t want to go without the cheese course, so what about making your own? The Fromaggio Smart Cheesemaker connects to an app to create almost any type of cheese you can request. It sits on your table and works away while you go on with your life. You can make everything from chevre to yogurt, and many other cow and goat milk cheeses as well. Some cheeses are even able to be made within an hour. According to Fromaggio, the machine is capable of making up to 2lbs of soft cheese or 1lb of hard cheese in a single cycle, for less than it would cost you at the store. 




If you’re interested in purchasing your own, Fromaggio is taking pre-orders now, with it estimated to ship in April of 2022. 




CocoTerra Tabletop Chocolatier

Not interested in cheeses? What about chocolates? Then you might be interested in the CocoTerra Tabletop Chocolatier. This wonderful tool handles all of the steps needed to make chocolate using the connected mobile app. Whether you’re looking to make specific shapes, or you want to blend your own chocolates, it’s possible with the CocoTerra. The app has many different recipes available for you to begin to learn how to make chocolates, allowing you to exclude ingredients for those with allergies, or to emphasize flavors. In two hours you can make any type of chocolate you can dream up. What’s better is that although the company does offer ingredients and even decorations, you’re not restricted to shopping through them. You can purchase materials from anywhere to make your chocolates.  Roughly half a pound of chocolate can be made at one time, which with custom chocolates would be a wonderful night’s feast. 

Although we’re note certain when CocoTerra is going to move to mass production, they are offering pre-orders right now hoping to deliver in the Winter of 2022.



Barsys 2.0 Cocktail Machine

It’s been a long day, and all you want is a Negroni. It’s been one of those days. You don’t want to mix it yourself, you really just want it ready for you when you walk in the door. Fortunately, you know that you set up your Barsys Cocktail Machine earlier that day. All you have to do is pull up the Barsys app on your phone and tell it to make it for you when you park in the drive and it will be ready by the time you get inside.
The Barsys is an alternative to having to memorize tons of different recipes, or being uncertain of how much you need of this or that. You can put in up to 5 bottles of liquor and 3 different mixers to create all sorts of drinks in 15 to 30 seconds. 

In the interests of full disclosure, we do have to talk a bit about some of the flaws with the Barsys. According to many different sources the Barsys app is buggy and lags when processing requests. It’s also been said that the machine does leak during the mixing process. While these are problems that might deter you from purchasing right now we would still suggest keeping an eye on the company. 

If you’re interested in purchasing it you can grab it here from Barsys. 



LG Snow White Ice Cream 

Think about your friend’s Keurig machine. You insert a pod, and out comes coffee. Now imagine if you will that it’s summer, and you can press a button and get ice cream instead. Insert any combination of flavor and ice cream pods into the LG Snow White and get back a dizzying array of ice cream options. Currently, the flavor pods are expected to include a wide range of common ice cream flavors, and the pods for type will feature ordinary soft-serve, alongside more uncommon types such as gelato and custard.  Although we don’t currently have pre-order possibilities or even a launch date, we do know that the testing is going very well and we should see more news as the next year or two goes on. 



Mycusini Chocolate 3D printer 

Rounding out our list, we’re taking a very different look at chocolates in comparison to the CoCoTerra. This offering from Mycusini allows you to build complicated, edible structures in your own kitchen. Want to make that wonderful chocolate peacock you saw in a magazine? You can. 

In contrast to the CoCoTerra, the Mycusini only works with specific types of chocolate, so your ability to use it is limited to the availability of the Mycusini chocolate. The machine does come preloaded with several designs, but they do offer the ability to design and load even more through their Mycusini club. 

There are two different versions of the Mycusini, as of writing. The Mycusini 1.0 features a 105mm by 80mm printing area with a maximum height of 50mm (4.1in by 3.1in, 1.9in height)

The Mycusini 2.0 features a 90mm by 90mm square printing area, and updates the original design by having a more robust, enclosed build, and a larger and more user-friendly touch screen display.

Both of them have the ability to use SD cards to download new designs and templates. 

If you’re interested in getting a Mycusini for your home to experiment with you can get them here, along with supplies, and other accessories. 


The future is full of interesting and surprising possibilities, including the future of your kitchen. Some of these are already available, while others are still in the testing phases and will hopefully come in the near future. All of them are likely to get better with each new iteration. Which kitchen tool of the future are you most excited by? Which one do you think is a bad idea? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we’d love to hear from you. 


If on the other hand, you’re dealing with the very real present where you’ve got issues with your current kitchen appliances, we can help! Give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or set up an appointment on our webpage and we can help you, no need to wait for the distant future.  At Appliance Rescue Service we’re here to help you, now and in the future. 


Additional Reading: 

Cutting Edge Appliance Concepts of the Future

Top 5 Craziest Smartphone Capable Appliances

9 Kitchen Gadgets You Don’t Need

 

Comparing 3 Different Leaf Blowers

How do you best deal with the leaf invasion?

With winter just now coming into season, many people are finally getting to rest, not having to rake up piles upon piles of fall leaves. No matter how much fun the piles of leaves are to fall into, they can be a hassle to clean up. Thankfully for those with a variety of trees in their yards, there’s a wide variety of leaf blowers for almost any budget, and a few different types to suit your individual needs.


Generally, there are three types of leaf blower: Plug-in, battery powered, and gas-powered.


Plug-in leaf blowers tend to be the smallest and least powerful options, but are also the most budget friendly by far, with many good options coming in below one hundred dollars in price. That being said, they do come with the issue of cord length limitations. But, for the budget, they’re hard to beat.


Battery powered models are the next step up in size, power, and price, and have free reign to go wherever you do with no worries about cords. Now, don’t worry about spending a fortune on D batteries for these - new models are designed by power tool companies to take the same rechargeable batteries used for things like hand drills!


The final, and largest, type of leaf blower is gas-powered. They tend to weigh the most, but have the absolute most power compared to other models. These are very common options for professional landscapers, but are also a very popular choice for those with larger properties to clean up. Excellent for dealing with large amounts of leaves, but with a hefty price point - not factoring in the cost of gasoline and oil for it. 


An additional consideration is the configuration of your leaf blower. Generally, the most common option is a handheld leaf blower, and for most people, this option will do just fine. However, some very large models come in a backpack configuration, allowing more comfortable shouldering of the weight while offering more power than their handheld counterparts, albeit at a higher price.


First - Plug-in model -

Black & Decker 7 amp 180mph corded leaf blower

Price at time of writing - $30.00

Our first recommendation is a small four and a half pound machine produced by black and decker at a nigh on unbeatable price point for the quality. Pretty serious power for its size and price, this is a great choice for homes that don’t need a large leaf blower to handle things come fall.


WRITER'S CHOICE OPTION

Second - Battery powered model

Greenworks 24V 90/130 MPH Dual Speed Cordless Leaf Blower

Price at time of writing - $80.00

Our next pick is a bit more pricey but comes with quite a bit of extra utility. While it isn’t quite as fast as the corded model, this is a far more mobile option, and best of all comes with a rechargeable battery capable of being used with any other GreenWorks power tools and garden tools! This is an excellent choice for those of you making use of GreenWorks tools, and for those of you with a larger area to go over without necessarily needing something gas-powered to handle things.


Third - Gas-powered model

Husqvarna 125B handheld leaf blower

Price at time of writing - $180.00

The third recommendation we have, for a bit of a larger budget, is one made by a company most well known today for their motorcycles. That being said, the 28cc gasoline engine in this handheld leaf blower delivers excellent power and solid mobility for the size. Overall, a very impressive leaf blower, and an excellent choice for those needing power to handle a very large area. Now, we must warn you - The cost of this option is not just upfront with the leaf blower itself, but also with the cost of gasoline and oil to mix in for its tiny two-stroke engine. That being said, the power can’t be beaten.

Fourth - Backpack leaf blower

Husqvarna 150BT backpack leaf blower

Price at time of writing - $300.00

Our largest and most expensive option on this list, another offering from Husqvarna. Backpack leaf blowers are more common to see in the hands of professional landscaping crews for businesses and people’s homes, but they’re an excellent option for people with massive areas to de-leaf every fall. These provide the absolute most power, but are also the absolute priciest, and for smaller properties, can really be overkill. 

These are the general types of leaf blower, and a few good examples of each. Options range well with price as well as size, to suit whatever needs your home has. Of course, any option works for any size property, but it is never a bad idea to consider your needs versus what options you have. We would love to hear what choice you made, as well as what comments you have on these offerings. Feel free to comment here, or go over to our Facebook page to talk to us about it, and if you notice any problems with your appliances, feel free to give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or schedule an appointment here on our website!


Stove Deep Dive

All about stoves, how they work and the differences to expect.

Table of Contents

Types

Surfaces

Burners

Ventilation

Features

Additional Reading

When was the last time you had to go looking at a new stove? Do you remember how many different options there were? Not to worry, we’re taking a look at them this week to see what main features exist in stoves and how to find the one that best fits you. Let’s dive in. 

Types



Electric

Let's start off by looking at THE most common type of cooktop you're likely to encounter when looking to purchase a new stovetop, an electric stove. They are the single most popular variety in the United States, and the easiest to find. They're also the easiest to set up, as most kitchens will already have an outlet that's heavy enough to handle the power draw of an electric stove. Due to the popularity they're also fairly inexpensive to pickup which makes them great for someone who is on a budget or is just looking to put their money elsewhere.  They're also typically very easy to clean, no matter whether you get a cooktop with coils or without. 


Since you don't need an 'ignition' as soon as you turn on a burner it will begin to heat. However, because the heat is cumulative rather than immediate, it does take more time than a gas stove to heat up. This also means that it takes longer to cool off by comparison to a gas stove.  Since there isn't an open flame of any sort though, many people prefer an electric stove over a gas one. 


There are some drawbacks to an electric stove though. One is that if your home loses power, you lose your stove as well. The other is that while there are energy efficient stoves, as of right now an electric stove is still going to be a significant chunk of your electric bill. A final, smaller point is that you do have to be careful about what pots and pans you purchase. Make sure to do research ahead of time as some types can scratch, damage or shatter your cooktop if you make the wrong purchase. 


Gas


Next up, let's take a look at gas stovetops.  A gas stovetop has a number of benefits to it, the primary one is how quickly they heat. Due to their instant flames as soon as you turn on a burner you begin to heat the room (and the food you're wanting to cook.) With that visual element, you also have very precise control over the temperature of your burners. Although it's more intuitive than just setting the burner to high, medium or low, you get the upside of being able to see over time how the heat affects your recipes. The speed with which the flame responds also means that you can cool what you're cooking much more quickly by lowering the flame. All of this boils down (ha!) to being less likely to burn your food. 


Another benefit of such quick temperature response is that you can heat up or cool down the pan you're using. So if you've got pets, small children or you're just working in tight spaces, you're less likely to burn yourself thanks to how quickly a gas stove will cool off. This also means that you don't have to worry about a pan getting damaged by the stove OR that a pan is going to damage your stove in some way. 


A gas stove is able to still be used even if your power is out. You'll need to use a match or lighter to get the burner lit, but you'll still be able to cook or boil water if you need to, to heat your home in the event of a winter storm.  Under normal circumstances a small bit of electricity will be used to 'spark' and ignite the burner when you turn it on. 


There are two factors though that you do need to pay attention to when it comes to purchasing a gas stove for your home. If you don't already have a gas stove, you're going to need to have a gas pipeline run. That can be expensive as it's not typically done on construction for new buildings these days. Fortunately the price of having the line run will pay for itself over time when you don't have to worry as much about your electric bill. You also need to make sure that you have some type of ventilation set up. We'll talk about it more down below, but you have two options when it comes to ventilation. An overhead hood and a downdraft extractor. Both are good options, so long as you actually use them. While a gas oven is by and far superior in terms of precise temperature control, it does burn gas, which you don't want to be breathing over an extended period of time. Make sure to always have your fans on while you're using you stove. 


It is possible to have a combination of a gas stove and an electric oven, or vice a versa, although it's not common. You can also choose to have them as separate appliances, setting the stovetop into your counter and the having a single or double oven in your wall.  Both of these are wonderful options if you've got the space for them in your kitchen as they spread out the cooking area in your kitchen and mean you aren't fighting for space when cooking multiple things at once. 


Induction 

If a gas stove isn't fast enough for you,  then you're going to want an induction stove. We'll tell you off the bat that the benefits of these stoves are weighed against their hefty price tag. While the heat from an electric or gas stove is going to transfer across the entirety of the cookstove to some degree, an induction stove doesn't work that way. The stoves are ceramic with different 'zones' built into them. Instead of applying heat to the outside of your pot and the heat transferring to the material inside, the heat is created directly inside your cooking pot. Once you take the pot off the stove, the heat immediately is turned off. The good news here is that the stovetop is never as hot as an electric stove or a gas stove is going to be.  The downside though is that you need to purchase an entirely new set of pots and pans to go along with your new stove. The two work together much like velcro.  A normal pot doesn't have the elements needed for it to work with the stove, and so it won't. The elements within the stove won't 'register' the pan and so it won't turn on. 


You also have to be very careful with an induction stovetop as you can shatter the surface of them if you're not careful in how you put things down. 


Surface

When it comes to the surface of your stovetop, you have two different options, coils or smooth cooktops. 

A coiled cooktop can be either electric or gas. A smooth cooktop is only going to be electric or induction. 

The benefits to going with a coiled cooktop is that they're extremely durable, easy to clean and they will stand up to years of use and abuse. It doesn't matter how hard you scrub your stovetop to get rid of a mess, it's not going to damage the coils.  Your cookware won't either, even if you're dragging out that giant dutch oven that you have. 

A few downsides to keep in mind are that  while they do heat quickly, coils also hold onto that heat for a long time. You will also need to check them periodically (every 4 months or so is pretty good) to make sure that each coil's connection to the power source is still in working condition if you're dealing with an electric stove. If you're dealing with a gas stove you'll want to make sure that the burner is clean and free of debris. 


The other type of cooktop option you have is a smooth cooktop.  People love them for three key reasons. One, they're supremely easy to clean. You don't have to remove anything, unplug anything or get under anything in order to get them shining like new. All you need is the special paste that is designed for the job and you're good to go. Reason number two is that they heat up your pots and pans, without heating your kitchen. If you live in Texas, it makes it that little bit more bearable for cooking during the summer.  Three, you don't need to worry about little hands or paws getting burned because they touched the stove at the wrong time. A fourth one, is how seamlessly they fit into a modern design. They are the latest in cooking technology and we know people love to upgrade to the latest and greatest. 


A few downsides do come with working with a smooth cooktop though. As we said, you do have to be careful about which cookware you use. You're also going to have to be aware of how you move that cookware though. Or any groceries or anything else that you move around in your kitchen. The surface of a smooth cooktop, whether electric or induction is going to be fragile. They can be easily scratched by 'sliding' pots and pans over them. Even worse is how easily they can be shattered by putting something heavy on top of them without paying attetion to how you set it down. 


So, which type of surface do you think you want? 

Burners

Number of burners

You can get your stove in a variety of different number of burners, 2, 4, 5, or 6.  How large you want it to be is going to dictate how many things you can cook on it at once. Take into consideration a few things when you're shopping .

-How often do you end up saying "I need more space?" 

-How often do you use all of the burners on your current stove? Not just at once, but the different sizes? 

-Do you have the space in your kitchen for a larger stovetop that it would need if you got one with more burners? 

-Would getting a second smaller stovetop in addition to your current one benefit you, rather than getting one large one? 


All of these are ways to look at what type of stovetop you might consider getting next as the number of burners you have will directly impact the size and placement of your new stove.   We will say that getting a stove that has five burners in electric is very difficult but getting one that is 6 burners and electric is possible. 


Automatic reignite

A useful feature that you might want to look into is automatic re-ignition if you're looking to get a gas stove. Occasionally with a gas stove the flame might go out on a burner, or on multiple burners without you noticing. This can throw off cooking times and temperatures if too much time passes. With this feature that's not a concern as the stove will automatically re-ignite after it senses that a burner has gone out. 


Continuous grates

If you want to make your gas stovetop more professional looking, you might consider getting continuous grates for your stove. Instead of having a single grate over one burner, you combine two f them together into one long, smooth line. Yes, they're heavier, but the make the stove look more appealing and 'finished' according to many homeowners. 


Stove top griddles

On the other hand, if you're looking at your stove and wondering why you need pots and pans, a griddle might be more your thing. These can be added to either a gas stove or an electric, but as of yet it's not happening on an induction. These heat more smoothly and evenly than a griddle that you just lay on top of preexisting burners. Great for making every meal of the day without needing to use mutliple dishes. Eggs, bacon and sausage? Check. Grilled cheese sandwich? Check. Sausage with peppers and mushrooms? Check.  There's a huge amount of  food that you can make on a griddle. 

Ventilation

A downdraft stove with vents both at the back of the stove and in a strip along the center

We mentioned earlier that you need a ventilation system with a gas stove, and many people choose to have them with electric and induction stoves too, just in case you burn something. One option is a downdraft cooktop. This option, instead of having a fan or range hood, has a small vent built into the cooktop. It's built into the back of the cooktop or in between the burners to suck steam and smoke away. This also gives you back the space over your stovetop to be used for lighting or additional storage. 

A slim rangehood over a stove and oven with additional lighting

Or, if you prefer going with a traditional range hood, that's also an option. You can choose what it looks like and whether it's a centerpiece of the kitchen, or if it blends into the walls.  

Regardless of which one you choose,  the important point, even if you have an induction stovetop, is to have a way to pull the steam and smoke safely out of your kitchen so that you can breathe and see easily while you're in the kitchen. 

Features


Speed heat

Some recent stoves have started to make it so that you can very quickly bring a pot of water to boil. While water is what they typically show, ‘speed heat’ can be applied to anything. It will be one of your burners for those times when you need to make things go that little bit faster. 


Safety

Who hasn’t accidentally burned themselves on a burner because you weren’t looking closely enough? Two safety features that we love for stoves are auto-shutoff and a heat indicator. The auto-shutoff makes it so that you can set a timer for what you’re cooking. After that point, the burner will shut off and you don't have to risk your food burning if you have to step away or forget to turn it off. The heat indicator is just that. It might be at the front right next to the burner knobs, or it might be on the control panel at the back. Either way it will be a light of some sort to show you that the burner is still hot. 


Wi-Fi

There are stoves now that come with wi-fi and app connectivity to make it so that you can keep an eye on your stove from anywhere. 


Controls

When it comes to controlling your stove, as of right now at least, you’ve got two options on most stoves. You can have knobs to turn on an individual burner. Or you can have digital controls that activate just when you touch the panel. These are great if you’re struggling to handle knobs due to arthritis or something similar. 



That’s our deep dive on stoves! Let us know what you think in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. Are you looking to get a new stove? Are you trying to figure out what features you want to change in your current one? We’d love to know. 


On the other hand, if you’ve already got a stove you love and it’s just not working right, give us a call or head to our appointment page. No matter what’s going on Appliance Rescue Service will work with you to figure out what’s happening and get it fixed.