How can I tell the degrees on an electric stove?

Answer 1

You can't. They suck and I hate them.
They take forever to heat up and cool down.
(P.S. You need to validate your email address)

However, since water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius)....

You could put a pot of water on and try adjusting it until the water just simmers and the tiniest crank up makes it boil.

See what number it's set at and that's around 212 degrees.
You may or may not be able to interpolate other temperature based on that.

The infrared temperature gun's a good idea. I thought about it, but they start around $75 and you'd be better off saving that for a new stove - unless you can borrow one.
Oven thermometer, also a good idea. I have two - neither of them agree.

Sorry, where I come from, the top parts the "stove", that big open part's the "oven" and the whole thing's a "range" or a "stove"...

On the ovens, there's often an adjustment screw under the knob, as the manufacturers know they're likely to be off.

As far as digital oven controls go, I highly recommend avoiding one with the all electronic control panels!

I had a GE where the control panel elecronics died (just slightly out of warranty of course) and the replacement part was $300-something (not labor - the part).
I couldn't use the oven at all - and this one was gas!

As I knew I was moving within a year, I ended up just not using it and not fixing it. As a result, I can cook anything in a microware - just ask me!

Now, the Amana microwave just needed two 49-cent thermal fuses from Radio Shack. The hardest part was figuring out how and where to stick all of the pieces back on (after a couple of years) when I was showing the house.

Ok, jjthinstrips mentioned another good point.
Know your controls!

I now have a Sharp microware - which is great with tons of automatic cook settings. However, the LCD display works when if feels like it and, it doesn't feel like it 99% of the time (did I mention this occured slightly out of warranty too?).
It never fails. If I get an extended warranty it doesn't either doesn't break or breaks in a manner that's excluded by a rare clause.

So, for the last couple of years, I've just been flying blind without it. However, having memorized the sequences and setting variations, and somehow managed to retain the manual too!
I can do anything I want to except tell you how much time is left to go...

Electric stove, ranges - I hate them, but I'm stuck with one now - so - I may go try some of these this myself!

In lieu of the oven, I usually use a toaster oven. It'll heat up in 2 or 3 minutes versus about 15 minutes for the oven and works just as well.

Answer 2

Figuring out the temperature controls is the next challenge.
Fortunately, many ovens start out at a constant temperature. Some start at 350. Unfortunately, I am told that a few ovens start out at the last temperature that was set. You will have to experiment to see how your oven works in this respect. Then, determine how many degrees each press of the "UP" or "DOWN" control go. Most likely, each press is five degrees. In the case of one oven, we get beeps when controls are pressed, but not when the temperature is moved. It is important, therefore, to become very familiar with the characteristics of your oven. For example, does the "up" or "down" button start to repeat when held? If you tap the button too quickly, is the tap ignored as it is on one oven? In other words, on one oven, one must press the "up" button no more quickly than perhaps once every one-half second. If, for example, I want to set the oven to four hundred degrees, I cannot just press it ten times rapidly, because some of the presses are ignored if they come too close together.

This is an example if you don't have the High, Medium, Low, or baking numbers on your stove.....

Answer 3

The knob on the oven will tell you. If you're speaking of the range then get a meat thermometer and put it in whatever you are cooking and it will tell you the degrees.

Answer 4

You need a thermometer, which you use by sticking into the thing that is being cooked.

If you really want to record the temp of your burner, there are thermometers that look like a "gun". You simply point it at the thing you wish to measure, and pull the trigger. You see them all the time in auto racing, as they use them to measure track temp and tire temp.

Answer 5

Buy yourself an oven thermometer, they are usually fairly accurate

Answer 6

Not by placing your hands on the oven! OUCH! Good Luck. :)