In article >,
"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote:

> "Stan Horwitz" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > Dan Abel > wrote:
> >
> > > In article >,
> > > Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Sun 01 Jan 2006 08:57:52p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Stan
> > > > Horwitz?
> > >
> > > > > minutes later, meatballs are bubbling away, so I turned off the
> heat. I
> > > > > realized I was late picking up a friend from a nearby train station,
> so
> > > > > I asked my sister to check on the meatballs
> > >
> > >
> > > Sounds like your sister didn't do a very good job of checking on them.
> >
> > Since I thought the heat elements were turned off and I told her so
> > before I drove over to pick up my friend, she had no reason to doubt me
> > ... until the burned smell started to waft through her kitchen!
> >
> [snip...]
>
> How old is the electric range?
>
> The reason I ask is because I have a Hotpoint electric range that has what I
> consider two different safety features.
>
> 1. The dial has to be pushed in to move from the OFF position to any heat
> position.
>
> 2. A red light on the dial console labelled Surface Unit lights up when any
> of the burners is in any heat position.
>
> As such, turning a burner off results in an audible click as the dial pops
> out and locks in the OFF position, and the Surface Unit light turns off when
> all burners are in the OFF position. By extension, if any dial doesn't click
> out and lock, it's not fully in the OFF position, and the Surface Unit light
> will remain lit.

That describes my sister's stove. The range was there when she moved it,
but it looks pretty modern; lots of buttons and things. The red
indicator light on her range is in a bad position; its easily blocked by
pots on the rare burner, so I did not notice it.