I have to replace my kitchen stove. The thermostat is no longer working correctly. It’s currently (no pun intended) electric, but I have the opportunity to go to gas. My house is already set up with gas heat and hot water, and there is a gas line under the kitchen that is capped off at the end. All I’d have to do is redirect it up through the floor to a new gas stove, and voila, I’m cooking with gas.
So, is it worth it? Would you rather cook on a gas stove or an electric stove, if you had the choice?
Gas all the way. You have much better temperature control. Ever hear the old joke about how electric stoves have two settings, Off and Burn? It’s pretty accurate. Also, you can still cook with gas when the power’s out.
IMHO, another advantage of a gas burner is that when you shut it off, the heating area cools down very quickly. An electric burner’s heating element stays hot for quite awhile. That’s important if you have kids.
Those are the responses I expected. Gas all the way.
What I can’t figure out, then, is why the local home repair stores have so many choices for electric stoves but not for gas? There were 5 gas stoves there, but like 20 electric ones.
Gas! If I could, I’d be running the line from the fireplace into the kitchen, but that would be difficult at best.
Have you cooked on a gas stove before? Be aware that once your turn it on, it’ll be HOT right away, no waiting for the element to heat up. Keep that in mind, else you’ll be burning your first few meals… That, and the pilot lights will ensure that the oven area is always a bit warmer than the rest of the place. That’s the only real ‘negative’ I know of, but it makes it great for making bread when it’s cold out. (Don’t have to worry about finding a warm enough place, just stick the proto-bread in the turned-off oven.)
I’m a very good cook and I do it a lot, but I hate, HATE HATE gas stoves. I find I can’t control the temperature as well as I can on a good electric (Mine even has noted temp. settings like on an oven.) Note I said GOOD electric. A crappy stove is a crappy stove, no matter its method of heating.
I say electric. Always electric. Never gas. Gas is bad for stoves. Great for water heaters. Bad for stoves.
Modern gas stoves don’t usually use a pilot light. They have a sparking system (I don’t know exactly how it works, but when you turn it to “light” you hear click-click-click and then the flame turns on).
IMHO, gas is also safer if you are a slightly forgetful person. You will never forget that your stove is on, as there is both a visual cue and a low noise from the flame. An electric stove on low-med gives every appearance of being off.
Personally I experience better heat control with gas, as any change in temp is instantaneous.
I’m sure a really good electric stove is a thing of wonder, but at anything less than a professional top-of-the-line model, get gas. No question about it.
– Dragonblink, who hates hates hates her crappy student-slum electric stove
Another vote for gas.
Our dream home has a gas range…our cramped-with-a-view apt has an electric range. I guess we could consider it part of our motivation for working hard and saving…
Another cook who doesn’t like gas. It’s hard to keep a really low heat going, and they smell funny and are harder to clean in my experience.
I have a cooktop with two induction burners and two standard ceramic electric burners. Induction is wonderful, all the best of both worlds and none of the worst. The only drawbacks are the cost, and the fact that you can only use magnetic pots and pans. But once you get past that, they’re just amazing. A Cooktop for the Twenty-First Century! [tm]
I wouuld say GO with GAS. The only thing that I would caution you on is (if you can…) spend the extra bucks and get a good one. I recently had me Kitched re-done and had a gas range put it. It cost me a little more but it’s worth it. With Gas , as many people have said, the heat is instant and with any stove, gas or electric, high heat is high heat… where a good range will show better over an average one is on the simmer settings. With some gas ranges the simmer doesn’t go low enough and it still cooks your food (which is not what simmering is). something to ask about when you are looking for a gas range. Finally DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Research the best range that will suit your needs www.consumerreports.org is ALWAYS a decent place to start.
I miss cooking with gas. All of our houses have had electric stoves, some worse than others. And, unfortunately, the area where we will be building our reitrement home doesn’t have natural gas. I’m not sure if I want to deal with propane and keeping the tank full. I shall be doing research.
Nardopolo:
You may not have much of a choice.
I don’t know when your original stove was wired, but if more than 10 yrs ago, it may be inadequate.
“They” used to run two-wire cable, both wires being “hot”. This provided 220 volts. There was often no neutral 3rd wire. Modern stoves and electrical code demand 3-wire cable plus ground.
Pulling a new wire may be too much of a pain.
You should also consider the cost of electrical vs gas in your area.
And all those prior postings about cheap vs quality appliances are right on the money. Quality gas stoves can maintain very low temperatures without going out. Similarly, a quality electrical stove will have more sensitive thermostats, avoiding the burned-or-off problem.
ps. FairyChatMom: I think you’ll find the cost of Propane will be prohibitive.
The only thing no one has mentioned is that in a gas oven. the broiler is down in the bottom where electric ovens have that drawer for cookie sheets. It’s a pain to get to, a pain to use (you have to sit there on the floor, because it broils so fast, and the heat is amazing), and even sort of scary. In my dream house, I think I have the gas range/electric oven combo.
Also, some of the people here make it sound as if gas’s main advantages come into play if you are super-cook. As a non-cook, I wat to point out that gas is superior for that, too: the instant heat is wonderful for boiling water: everything from tea to maccaroni and cheese is loads faster and easier on a gas stove.
Ok, while you are all here, I want to ask a quick question about my gas oven:
First, picture my range/oven: it’s a brown steel box. That’s it: there is no clock, no timer, and no thermostat. It does have pilot lights, and (faint) numbers on the oven temp dial, but that it the only nod to luxury on the thing. My question is: how fast do gas ovens preheat? Is it more or less quickly than electric? since there isn’t a light to tell me when it is preheated, I have to guess, and my only frame of reference is electric ovens.
I generally prefer gas for the cooktop, for all the reasons listed above. I currently have a ceramic (glass) top electric, however, and it serves my needs very well. It certainly heats up slower than gas, which is a disadvantage, but cleanup is such a breeze that I don’t care. All you do is wipe with a damp sponge and it’s clean as a whistle. Also, when it’s off, the top serves as additional countertop, which is great for my small kitchen. You get used to the slowness of heat, and leave yourself a little time for the pans to heat up.
I’m not so sure that propane will be all that expensive FairyChatMom, it is more expensive than natural gas, but you don’t really use all that much when cooking. I had propane a few years back for the stove, it didn’t cost a fortune to fill up, and I only had to fill up once in the year I was there. YMMV, do the research.