Electric vs gas stove?

[CathyA]

I've had an electric stove for a long time. Wish we had a gas one..........especially for canning. I think electric stoves are almost impossible to keep the pressure in a canner at the proper pressure.
Of course, I worry about carbon monoxide.......but having an alarm would cover that concern.
I would love to have a gas stove when we lose power, 'cause we could still cook.

Just curious........if we did get a gas stove, how big would the tank have to be, if it was just for the stove?

[ToomuchStuff]

Being my stove (and furnace) is older, can anyone with a higher end gas stove answer a question about if it plugs into the wall as well? Gas furnaces now, typically do NOT work when the electricity is out, because of electric pilot lights (more energy effecient), My older, simpler one (and furnace, again) are both thermocouple based pilot lights.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Gas furnaces now, typically do NOT work when the electricity is out, because of electric pilot lights (more energy effecient)

well I got curious and decided to research this earlier today and apparently they do. Most "electronic ignition" gas stoves can be lit manually (with a match) without being plugged in apparently. That's the stove top. The oven will not work without electricity. I have a lovely no name stove with permanent pilot from 10 million years ago that wastes gas and just adds heat to the apartment, so that's why I say apparently (as I do about much I have not tested personally and only heard the internet say ).

But I imagine generally they'd be plugged in because lighting your stove with a match all the time is not normal.

[ApatheticNoMore]

When reading about types of stoves (because it is a boundlessly interesting topic or I like to dream of a better stove maybe) I did come across this interesting tip to save electricity: unscrew the light bulb in your refrigerator. It not only saves the electricity the bulb uses but any heat it generates which the fridge then has to cool.

Ok probably not major savings, but I have little need for the light anyway I figure (when I rarely get up to eat in the middle of the night I usually just make myself oatmeal - oatmeal & cream- very calming). It also says to use an "Energy saver/Less sweating" switch if one exists on your fridge (which I have never seen) and to place the fridge away from heat sources like windows, and ovens etc. (although my kitchen isn't big enough to have any better options). But I did unscrew the fridge light bulb.

[Miss Cellane]

Having used several of each type of stove in various apartments, I agree with the post above about gas cooktops and electric ovens. It's much easier to control the heat with a gas cooktop, and you get immediate results, whereas with an electric cooktop, it takes much longer to heat up and cool down. But a gas oven cycles on and off, while an electric oven holds a steady heat once it is preheated.

That said, if I were buying a single unit, I'd go for gas, every time. The difference in the ovens isn't all that much, and I bake a lot. Maybe if you were heavily into lots of delicate baking, like souffles, it might make a difference. For some reason, a gas burner makes much better rice than an electric one.

[iris lilies]

Gas stove every time. Always gas.

My mother had one of the first ceramic top electric stove and those took minutes to get hot. Of course that was 30 years ago. I've seen my friend's electric cooktop warm up and sure eit's faster than back in the old days, but I still like gas.

I have a yen for those old stoves from the 20's and 30's, they are still around and still working. I see them in kitchens in historic houses where fashion doesn't dictate granite counter tops and convection stoves and etc.

[jp1]

When reading about types of stoves (because it is a boundlessly interesting topic or I like to dream of a better stove maybe) I did come across this interesting tip to save electricity: unscrew the light bulb in your refrigerator. It not only saves the electricity the bulb uses but any heat it generates which the fridge then has to cool.

Ok probably not major savings, but I have little need for the light anyway I figure (when I rarely get up to eat in the middle of the night I usually just make myself oatmeal - oatmeal & cream- very calming). It also says to use an "Energy saver/Less sweating" switch if one exists on your fridge (which I have never seen) and to place the fridge away from heat sources like windows, and ovens etc. (although my kitchen isn't big enough to have any better options). But I did unscrew the fridge light bulb.

As little as the door to the fridge is open I can't imagine this will save too much energy. Even if you open the door 30 times/day for 30 seconds each that would be 15 minutes of light times 25 watts of electricity would be approximately 100 watts/month. We pay about $.15 per kw/hour so that would amount to $.015/month of electricity for the light.

Probably more effective is to have everything in the fridge arranged so that you can just open the door and quickly grab what you need and close it quickly. The big energy suck for a fridge is that every time you open the door the cold air all falls out onto the floor (since cold air falls) and warm room air takes it's place and the fridge now has to cool it. The other thing would be to keep the fridge packed with stuff so that there's only a little air that has to be re-cooled after you close the door.

[Gardenarian]

We have a gas stove and there are pluses and minuses. Ours is an old (60+ years old) stove, and I worry about leaks. Also, the oven does not heat as evenly as an electric oven.

I still prefer gas top because it heats more quickly and I like the visual element of cooking with gas - you can see just how high the flame is. My cabin has an electric stove and I find it harder to judge.

[Blackdog Lin]

Personally: (1) I never learned to cook on an electric stovetop, always had a gas one, so every time I've been exposed to an electric stove, watch out! I'm gonna either burn the food or myself or the kitchen; and (2) in our part of the country, gas is FAR less expensive than electricity. So it's a no-brainer in our household.