What does the watt rating on stove top coil burners mean?

Question

I've been searching high and low for standard replacement burners for this Amana electric stvove I have. The large coils are 8" and the small coils are 6". 4 turn and 3 turn respectively. I ordered a replacement kit on Amazon that claimed it was standard replacement for most makes and models, but I'm not so sure comparing the two.

The original 6" coils have this etched on the bracket: 3W6-212 1250W-240V 840W-208V

The new 6" coil have this 4W6-215 1500W-240V 1130W-208V

I have been searching all over trying to figure out what the difference in these numbers mean and if it's safe to plug in these new coils or not.

The first red flag was the element plugs being different colors. The 6" original coils are red and white and the new ones are blue and green. The 8" coils both match colors. The turn count and etching on the sides are different.

Also the new coils are +1 coil turns compared to the old ones.

Answer 1

The old coils are 1250W if your supply is 240Volts (normal USA/Canada single-phase), and 840W if your supply is 208Volts (usually from 3-phase power.)

The new coils are not the same power rating - they are 1500W on 240V and 1130W on 208V, so 120% - 134% more powerful on 240 & 208V, respectively. That may be a problem if the range controls and wiring are designed only for the lower wattage elements it came with. Or it may not be a problem if the range has the capacity to run them safely (I recall getting a "heavy duty canning element" for an 8" burner that both had a stronger coil support, more elevation from the stove surface, and more wattage, which the appliance store listed as being a compatible upgrade for my range.)

Answer 2

Your original coil is 1250 watts at 240v or 5.2 amps draw. The new coil is 1500w at 240v or 6.2 amps so the new coil would draw An amp more than the original.

Would this be a problem ? Without looking up the controller itself (the part that varies the power going to the element to vary the heat we don’t know) if it can handle the additional load.

You might say oh 1 amp that’s nothing it’s on a 40 amp circuit but the controller may not have any extra ability or capability to handle an extra 20%. If the controller was a 10 amp I would say no problem but what if it’s only a 5 amp that locks across the line at the top of its range this new element may smoke the control.

So that’s what the numbers mean the second set is the 208 values this voltage is common in multi family housing like apartments. If I was on 208 I probably would not worry about the higher value as it would be in line with the current draw of a 240 circuit but if you have 240v it could let the magic smoke out of the controller above 3/4 turned on.