Appliance repair recommendation

I wonder if anybody has any advice they can give me. My cleaners routinely pull the knobs off my stove (an older GE profile) to clean them. A few weeks ago, in the process of doing that, the knob got twisted permanently "askew." I.e. the "off" position went from the 12:00 position to about the 1:00 position. So when you turn it all the way "off," it actually looks like it is on.

Then today, they pulled the knobs off again and completely wrecked that knob so that it won't stay on the stove. The burner is now unusable.

I can find a replacement knob online and can easily order one and put it on, but I don't know if the burner is safe with it twisted out of alignment like that. Among other things, it is impossible to tell if it is on or not and if gas is leaking.

So ... if you think I should get it looked at, do you have a recommendation of a competent, non rip-off appliance repair place? The last time I went with an "official" GE repair service the guy was clearly not interested in fixing my issue but in selling me a new appliance. We did end up buying a new one (dishwasher that time), but not GE. But the "repair guy" (Salesman) nagged me via email for a long time afterwards. Very high pressure. It gave me a bad taste in my mouth. 

Thanks for any help,


One more thing as I have been investigating this issue online, and see a lot of advice that doesn't seem to apply: the misalignment is in the stem that the knob attaches onto. If I take a knob off one of the other burners I can put it on the broken one, but it is still in the wrong position. And  you can see looking at the "stem" that the burner in question is different from the others.

I think this happened because somebody aggressively pushed the switch past the "off" position. It happened right after my cleaners were here a few weeks ago, so I am assuming it happened when they were here. They actually left the burner a little bit "on" (i.e. it looked "off" but it wasn't) and I smelled gas, which is how I detected the problem. Thank goodness I was home that day.


Larry from Astre Appliance: 908-272-7744. Prompt and trustworthy. A house call is $64 (applied to the cost of the repair if you have it done).

I don't know if you need a repair, but given the gas smell, my peace of mind would be worth $64.


Thanks, DaveSchmidt. I only smelled the gas that first time until I realized that the knob was askew. It is fully off now and pretty sure it is safe for the moment, but not usable.

I will get somebody in to look at it and thank you for this recommendation. 


Some years back now, but I wound up with some kind of arrangement with PSE&G and was happy with it. If i recall, there was a smallish monthly fee, then little or no charge if they had to come out.  Covered stove (electric "pilots" + gas burners), boiler, and clothes dryer.  Before that, we always called Norman (search MOL for his phone # and more recent info), but maybe he's retired now.


mjc said:

Some years back now, but I wound up with some kind of arrangement with PSE&G and was happy with it. If i recall, there was a smallish monthly fee, then little or no charge if they had to come out.  Covered stove (electric "pilots" + gas burners), boiler, and clothes dryer.  Before that, we always called Norman (search MOL for his phone # and more recent info), but maybe he's retired now.

worry free contract through pseg is pretty good. 


the18thletter said:

worry free contract through pseg is pretty good. 

problem is you have to have the contract BEFORE the appliance breaks.  in some cases, it can break....you don't say anything, but sign up and a month and a half later report it broken.

from what i remember there is a short exclusion period where nothing is covered ..but even if you just wait that out, it is highly suspicious that it broke as soon as it was eligible for repair.


jmitw said:

problem is you have to have the contract BEFORE the appliance breaks.  in some cases, it can break....you don't say anything, but sign up and a month and a half later report it broken.

from what i remember there is a short exclusion period where nothing is covered ..but even if you just wait that out, it is highly suspicious that it broke as soon as it was eligible for repair.

Isn't that the nature of insurance to have it before you need it? I don't start worry free until after the manufacturers and or seller warranty expires. You can also pick and choose what's covered so you can tailor the coverage to your needs. 


OPs appliance already broke, so no point in buying into the warranty now....is the point...unless you plan to commit fraud and pretend it just happens to break in a couple months.,,,and with gas....you don't want to risk waiting


I have been pleased over the years with George’s Appliance out of New Providence. Extremely responsive, usually your appointment is within 24 hours of your call and they have been around for decades. 



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