DIY Kitchen: How to Replace Your Electric Stovetop
DIY Kitchen: How to Replace Your Electric Stovetop
There is something so deeply satisfying about laying your own tile and installing your own fixtures in a DIY home renovation. Every change makes the home more yours, more personal. Each renovation is a testament to your care and skill in putting together a home for yourself and your family. Kitchen renovations are especially rewarding because the kitchen is the hub of family life - and you'll be enjoying those home improvements every single day.
If you're planning a gorgeous new upgrade to your range stove, you don't have to hire an installation team if you know the right steps. A cooktop is an appliance, made of wire harnesses and metal panels like any other. If you're confident with a screwdriver and know how to switch off a breaker, you can install your own electric stovetop into the counter or even the top of a standing stove in your next DIY home renovation.
If you want to replace your stove cooktop, the process is much easier than you might have realized. All you have to do is take out the burners, remove the old cooktop, and secure a new one in its place. With all the right safety precautions, of course. Let's dive into the technical steps of replacing a standard electric cooktop.
Gather Your Supplies
- Screwdrivers
- 1/4 inch Nut Driver
- Work Gloves
- Putty Knife
Start by putting together the supplies you will need for this repair. To replace your cooktop, you'll want screwdrivers and possibly a 1/4 inch nut driver. Have a pair of well-fitting work gloves and a putty knife. These are what it takes to remove and then reinstall an electric stove cooktop
Of course, you also need the new cooktop itself before you begin. Use your range's make and model to find the right replacement cooktop and order it. When the cooktop arrives, remove all of the packaging and compare it to the originally. Ideally, you will be satisfied if there were any minor design changes since your stovetop was released.
Safety Tips and Preparations
Any time you are working with an electronic appliance, it is essential to cut the power first. There is always at least a minor risk of electrocution and shock. This repair is simple but you will be handling burners so it's better safe than sorry. The easiest way is to pull the power plug. However, if your stove is emplaced and you can't find or reach where the plug is, you can also flip the breaker to the kitchen. Just be sure to find yourself an alternative form of light if you cut power to the entire kitchen for this repair.
We also advise wearing your work gloves whenever handling the cooktop panel. The underside and edges can potentially be sharp because they were not designed with the same safe-surface policies as chef-facing angles when the cooktop is in use.
Remove the Electric Stove Burners
Ready to begin, start by taking out all of the burners. Most electric cooktop stoves will allow you to remove the burners simply by tugging on the coil away from the socket until the prongs come loose. For each burner, pull it out of the socket and then set it aside on the counter nearby. Then pull the drip cups which sit underneath each burner and protect the oven insulation from being damaged by stovetop cooking spills.
Open the Oven Door
Now you will need to prepare to remove the cooktop. Start by opening the oven door by a few inches or opening it completely. Crouch or sit down next to the open oven door and look up. The cooktop likely forms a lip over the top of the stove's front panel. With out the door in the way, you can see several screws along the underside of the lip. These are likely the cooktop's only mounting screws.
Extract the Underside Mounting Screws
After having found the screws on the underside of the lip behind the oven door, use the correct driver tool to remove each one. We advise placing these screws in a small bowl or cup on the counter so that there is no risk of them being lost or one of them rolling away. The correct driver will depend on the shape of the screw heads. If there is no indent, you'll need the nut driver. If there is a hex indent, you'll need a hex driver or Allen wrench. You should be able to recognize a screw for slot or Phillips screwdrivers to remove.
Lift then Pull the Old Cooktop Surface
Now stand in front of your cooktop with your work gloves on. Grasp the underside of the lip and push upward. The cooktop should come away from the rest of the cabinet and from the sockets if everything has gone right. Then pull the cooktop toward yourself away from the back of the stove. It should now come unhooked from the back panel of your stove appliance. You can now throw away the old cooktop, recycle it, or use the cooktop for art projects.
Fit and Push In the New Cooktop Surface
Grab the new unwrapped cooktop and reverse what you just did. Start by fitting the cooktop's tabs into designated slots in the back panel. When the cooktop has hooked, lower the front edge and push it forward. This should settle the new cooktop into place so that you can easily secure it into place. The cooktop should settle cleanly right over the place where the burner sockets are still present.
Re-secure the Underside Mounting Screws
Take your collection of screws and put them back into the underside of the cooktop. Use the correct driver to twist the screws home. Tighten them securely but there is also no need to over-tighten. Once the screws are in, you can close the oven door again.
Return the Electric Burners
Grab your drip cups and settle them into each burner space, ensuring the gap in each cup points to the burner socket. Then take the burners and put them into burner sockets of the correct size. Fit each set of prongs firmly into the appropriate socket and push it until it feels set into place. Then let go of each burner so it settles. If the burners look correct, then they are likely properly reinstalled into the new electric cooktop.
Test Your Success
Finally, you can plug your range back in and find out if the replacement was a full success. Fire up each burner and if it lights, your installation has been a success. Take a moment to test each feature and make sure it has come back online since you plugged the stove back in. Test your control panel, stove controls, and oven control, just in case. With everything in working order, give yourself a big pat on the back because you just accomplished a serious home improvement and saved a few hundred dollars on labor costs from bringing in a technician.
Your Beautiful New Kitchen Stovetop
If your project has been a success, then you are now looking at a gleaming new cooktop in your kitchen. Four burners or six? Glossy black, chromed silver, or gleaming white finish? Did the installation make room for your backsplash to extend behind the control panel? We hope your kitchen renovation has brought both the function and satisfaction to your kitchen that you had envisioned before the project began. For more great home renovation insights, contact us today!
