22 August 2004 (Sunday)
it's electric
Julian, my husband and resident electric device expert (it helps that he has two degrees in electrical engineering*) tried to fix our broken hot water urn and slow cooker today. He was successful as to the slow cooker; we are doing some test runs with the crock full of water, and so far things appear to be heating up properly without overheating. The damage seems to have been due to water corrosion, probably because we kept it near the sink. (Yes, I'm smart like that.)
The urn, on the other hand, is unfixable. Julian finally got it turning on, but the temperature sensor is damaged such that it thinks it's at the right temperature after only a few seconds of heating, which obviously won't do for nice hot tea on Shabbat. We plan to replace it, hopefully before Rosh Hashana. We've discovered that we weren't thrilled with all the features of the (now-broken) overpriced urn we currently have, so we're looking for something different. Good features include insulated sides (both for efficiency and to prevent burns, since I'm a klutz) and some way of refilling on Yom Tov (either it automatically turns on an off at specified intervals, or the act of stopping and restrating electrical current via a timer causes it to turn on again). A 24-cup (six quart) or greater capacity would be nice, but slightly smaller is probably OK. Obviously, it has to stay on for at least 25 hours at a time. If anyone out there has an urn they are happy (or unhappy) with, suggestions and reviews are welcome.
* Julian would like it known that these skills were not developed through his college education. Rather, he picked them up as a child by helping his father with similar repairs. His father, incidentally, is also an electrical engineer.
