often the local shutoff valve is behind the stove, using the shut off valve is a problem for ease of use. you could add a second shut off valve within easy reach if you wanted to do this.
also you would need to also light the 3 pilots lights every time to not have hazardous gas flow into the room.
if the shutoff valve is overused it could fail which is an expense and a potential hazard. though you should have a whole house shut off valve for safety. shutting off a seasonal appliance with its local shut off valve is a good thing.
Wow -thanks for those numbers! I feel flattered that my question attracted the all-powerful Una!
Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind if I take a long trip someplace. For now, though, I think I’ll just leave the pilot lights on. Two bucks a month is worth it to save me the hassle of reigniting, seeing as how much I like to cook.
If the pilot lights for the burners can make specific spots inside the oven hot, it would seem that the stove is lacking sufficient insulation around the oven. So this stove would be less efficient when using the oven – lots of heat would escape into the stove and the room – and so would be more expensive to use.
But then, the appliances provided in rental apartments are not generally of high quality.
I always do that too. I have a mnemonic device I use to remember. When I was little I saw a commercial for Stove-Top Stuffing. As they said “stove top” they showed a picture of someone stirring the stuffing in a pan…on a stove. To this day, I quickly think if it’s stove-top or oven-top stuffing before I speak.
