Kitchen Appliances

Gas stoves, cold storage and the rest of the kitchen:

propane from a cylinder is what nearly every home cooks on, apartments included, because cooking on electricity costs far more. That makes the gas stove the piece everything else is fitted around. A 20-inch four-burner with an oven suits most apartments; a 30-inch six-burner is for a big family or a kitchen that turns out tamales by the dozen. Cold storage splits between the refrigerator and the chest freezer, which earns its floor space in a home that buys meat in bulk or sells ice pops from the front door. A microwave mostly reheats, while a countertop or built-in oven is for people who bake. Extractor hoods and dishwashers belong to fitted kitchens planned around them.

The blender and the small kitchen appliances around it:

of all the small kitchen appliances, the blender works hardest, because pepián, jocón, refried beans and fruit smoothies all start in its jar. Oster’s glass-jar models are the ones many households grew up with, and their jars, blades and couplings are sold as spares, which is why an old base is often worth keeping. Rice cookers, air fryers and coffee makers cost less to replace than to repair, so judge those on a test run and the state of the non-stick.

Fitting a stove, a hood or a built-in oven:

measure the gap, the depth and the narrowest door on the way in. On a stove, check that it comes with a regulator and hose for a propane cylinder, and decide where the cylinder will stand. A stove brought from the United States is often set up for natural gas and burns badly until its jets are changed for propane. A hood either vents outside or recirculates through a charcoal filter, and in an apartment with no outside wall behind the stove, recirculating is the only choice. A built-in oven or dishwasher needs a cabinet opening of the right size, and the dishwasher also needs a water supply and drain near the sink.

The gas stove as a price yardstick:

a new 20-inch four-burner with an oven sits around Q2,500 to Q3,000 at its ordinary shelf price, and a used one that lights on every burner and holds its oven flame changes hands around Q800 to Q1,500. The gap comes from how simple a stove is: few parts fail and most of them are cheap, a valve, a knob, an oven thermostat, so what you are paying for is a sound body rather than a recent purchase date.

A used kitchen appliance, seen working:

every burner on a gas stove should light with a steady blue flame. Yellow, lazy flames mean dirty burners or a poor air mix, and any smell of gas at the knobs or the hose is a reason to walk away. Light the oven, then look at its floor, where rust shows first. Heat a cup of water in a microwave and check the cavity for flaking paint or scorch marks. Run a hood on every speed and lift out its grease filter. A blender should spin without a burning smell; a cracked jar or a worn coupling is cheap to replace but worth taking off the price. Note the model number on the rating plate so you can check that parts are still sold.

A stove, freezer or blender listed so buyers can judge it:

give brand, model number, width and age, and for a stove say whether it runs on propane and comes with its regulator and hose. Photograph the burners lit, the oven open, the inside of a microwave or freezer, and the rating plate, and say plainly what does not work. Whether the buyer is coming from Cobán or Antigua, have the stove disconnected from the cylinder, cleaned and ready to carry when they arrive: nobody wants to wait while a hose is unscrewed and grease is wiped off the top.