Yesterday I experienced something quite strange: the burner that I most frequently use wouldn't boil water. I was making some spaghetti in a skillet, and it seemed that the water wasn't quite coming to a boil. Later on, I tested my observation by using plain water in the skillet and taking the temp with the Thermopen. The water never got above 210-deg F, and took a very long time to even reach that sub-par temp.
I did some checking and learned that the heating elements can degrade and wear out. I never knew that. So, I took the rarely-if-ever-used element from a back burner and swapped it for the poorly performing front burner, and I was amazed at the difference. The element heated very quickly by comparison, and got the water up to temperature faster than any time in recent memory.
So, a cautionary tale: electric burners degrade and one might do well to check and replace them every now and then.
Additional comment: I was cooking some onions in a Le Creuset earler this morning, and had the heat set to medium, where it's usually been. Surprise! The new burner was strong enough that I had to turn down the heat to prevent scorching.
