Gas vs. electric stove

E

evan

Well-known member
Time has come to buy a new stove, and as I was checking out stoves at a few stores here, I saw that they have started to carry gas stoves too.

My country is an electric using country. I don't know anyone with a gas stove. I'd probably be the first one to buy one - IF I purchase one.

I cooked on a gas stove while I lived in the US but that is so many years ago and for some weird reason I didn't give it much thought.

To be totally honest, I'm terrified of gas. I loathe explosions, kwim? smileys/smile.gif

BUT, I am willing to check it out. Many people say that they prefere gas over electric stoves, and I need to know why.

Also, I need to know about the safety issues and how you replace the gas. Were do you keep your gas tank, how often do you have to refill it, and how do you keep it from exploding? (I guess this comes under "maintenance").

I'd love to hear your input on this since I hardly have any experience with gas myself.

 
Hi Eva, We moved into a new home last year and while the house was being built I decided to go with

gas instead of electric and I hate it. I had an electric cooktop in my other home, so easy to clean and maintain, I miss it! You will hear many remarks about the ease of regulating gas, not having to remove pots from the burner to cool down, etc. But, for me, I just miss my wonderful cooktop. I get so tired of cleaning the grates, burners, etc. everytime I use my gas burners. My cooktop took 30 seconds to clean, and it was pretty. Just my 2 cents worth!

 
I am forced by circumstance to use an old electric cooktop at the holidays...

...and the food still gets done. But I wouldn't trade my (at home) gas cooktop for it even if it is easier to clean.

Now, as for the newer electrics, someone else will have to rate those. Never had the pleasure (?) of using one.

Michael

 
Eva, some info -- plus and minus

I grew up in the country and we used the propane tanks that you describe for our gas ovens and stove. Let me be blunt: they are a royal pain in the behind, not to mention an eyesore. Most of the users on this board that are using gas have it piped directly into their home from the utility, so this is not an issue for most of us now in the US.

When we did the complete renovation of our kitchen, we thought long and hard about gas. Unfortunately, I didn't have a gas line running into the kitchen and it would have added great expense, so we went with the sealed glass electric cooktop. I will certainly second Barb's comments: It looks great and cleaning it is so easy. My old gas cooktop was always getting messy and was hard to clean especially under the grates. Plus since it is set into the countertop, when it is not being used for cooking, it is countertop (always an issue for me: having enough work counter).

The last thing, with the large glass surface, the issue of regulating heat is easy. You just slide the pots from the heating area or leave some fraction of the pot on the heating element. Since it's one smooth contiguous surface (without the old-fashioned electric coil elements) the pots and pans can be moved wherever you want on the surface. You have the instant regulation that gas offers.

On the downside, it takes longer to preheat pans. I find myself frequently waiting impatiently for my pans to heat.

Another downside is you have to be very careful about using castiron (which can scratch the glass) and my instructions said do not use a wok (the traditional kind with the ring) as the heat buildup could crack the glass.

Those are my pluses and minuses. Overall though, I'm quiet happy with the glass cooktop and manage quiet well cooking on it.

 
I totally prefer gas but I have piped in gas, not a tank. Maybe I'd feel differnet

if I had to use bottled gas. I've had electric and couldn't wait to get back to gas. Basically, it is much more adjustable than electric and somehow seems hotter, though that may be my imagination.

 
Hi Eva, the pros and cons that Richard points out, are on the mark...

I live in a rural area where there are no gas lines directly in to the house, and have opted not to have a propane tank put in. One thing I do not like about the sealed glass stovetops, is that you are limited in the size of the pot you can use. I like to can, and have trouble and worry about cracking the stovetop with the size and weight of my canning kettle. I have a Kenmore sealed stovetop, and it does look nice, it easy to clean, and I LOVE the oven. My stovetop has a raised border that goes around it, so sometimes my pans and pots will not fit correctly on the burner. I also have a couple of pans and pots that are not completely flat, so they sort of rock on the burners.
Given the choice, I would love to have a gas stove again, but I think if you get a higher quality glass stovetop, you will be happy with it too.
One other thing I like about the glass stovetop, it is like having a giant trivet at your disposal when you take something hot out of the oven.

 
We just switched to a gas stove, we already had gas coming into the dryer and water heater,

I really like the gas cooktop. It certainly came in handy when the electricity was out during last years hurricane season! There was one thing we didn't consider before installing. The stove has open counter to the left, but on the right side, it butts up against a cupboard on the right side. I never noticed an issue with our old electric coil stove, but the flame on the gas burners heats up the formica on the cupboard like crazy so now we just lean a cookie sheet between to protect it. Also, one thing I noticed when shopping for the gas stove, it seems the higher end models have burners with more or different flame ring shapes (can't think of the real name for this). Anyway, I think it gives better control of the flame. Our stove is a GE stove with gas cook top, and it's certainly fine... but I do think that's where some the high end models excel... that and the amount of BTU's. Lastly, our stove top has a center burner that is for a griddle insert. I think it's fairly worthless.

Hope that helps - good luck!

 
On Kauai we only have Propane and I love my gas stove, wouldn't trade it

We do not have piped gas here- we only have Propane tanks and at our home we have two, twenty gallon tanks so if one runs out we switch to the second one effortlessly and I order a refill immediately so this system means we never run out accidentally. We built this house so the gas line was put under concrete but at our old house we converted from elecric to Propane very easily. My Husband ran the line and the gas company came and inspected it to make certain it was right. I used electric for years but have never used the new glass top cooktops myself- just the old style coil burners. I hated them! I know many who swear by the new electric cooktops and I would welcome cooking on one to see why but for me, gas is preferred. We have a commercial Imperial stove and one tank lasts (even with me cooking non-stop) over 6 months. The savings of Propane over electricity is big here- our electricity costs more than anywhere else in the U.S.

 
even with the clean-up issue, I'm all for gas. I was just thrilled when we bought our

house and it had gas. for me, gas gives you better control, you can very quickly lower or raise the flame. there's something about broiling with gas that you don't get with an electric broiler.

annnd, our winter storms come with high winds, 80mph is a norm. if the electricity gets knocked out I can still cook on the stove top. it's such a comfort when the winds are howling around you.

if you need more to convince you.... you can roast marshmallows over the open flame and make s'mores '-))

happy cooking with whatever you choose smileys/smile.gif

 
Our propane tank is buried but that has it's own set of problems. I've been told it's illegal to do

in most states and I wouldn't recommend it. The gas access cap is always dirty and sometimes full of water and impossible to read. Also, there is an ongoing concern with the gas lines. We recently came home to a very discernable odor of the additives used in gas when we opened the back door. Long story short, it was a leak outside the house and the gas tank had gotten empty from the leak, causing the gas to have an odor that had built up inside the house. No leak inside, but this is the second underground leak and they are costly to find and fix, plus the loss of very expensive propane.

That said, this is the first gas cooktop I've had and I love it, except for as mentioned above...cleaning it. Mine is an older (13 year) 5 burner model, white and gray GE Profile, came with the house. I think a stainless and cast iron, it would be easier to clean. I've never had a smooth top.

 
Barb, is it propane or piped in? My stove gets so dirt also, from propane and I was told that

piped in didn't do that, just wondered. I also have a lot of blue flame at times, but wonder if it has to do with the little holes in the burner cap starting to rust and get stopped up. I probably need a new cooktop, but keep thinking I won't be here that long and realize that at 13 years old the house will probably be renovated when it's sold.

 
I have both: electric at the house and propane at the chalet

And I have to tell you, while I enjoy cooking with gas because of the heat and easy temperature regulation, there isn't enough of a difference from my electric cooktop to make me prefer gas. From a purely cooking point of vue I have a slight preference for the gas, but cleanup is a hassle and my electric cooktop works so nicely and is so convenient that if I had to choose one or the other, I'd definitely go electric.

 
Curious, it's piped in, we live in a big subdivision in Houston. Like Dawn said, the cooktop is

like a giant trivit. I miss that too!

 
I cook on clients' electric cooktops and they drive me crazy cycling on and off,

I prefer gas because it maintains an even heat.

I admit they're harder to clean, but I pay someone to do that once a week.

But I could probably get used to electric if I had to, and I like the flat surface type that gives extra counter space when the burners are off.

I think BTU's are more important that whether it's gas or electric.

 
When we remodeled I wanted gas but it's not available in my area. I hated my old stove so much I

didn't think I wanted electric again. However, my new stove is so advanced I love it and it so easy to keep clean. As Joe says it cycles on and off, however, my stove, anyway, continues cooking at the same point....that was one thing the salesman pointed out to me. Whenever I saute something or do a sauce, it stays consistently bubbling or whatever it is I want it to do. I'm very happy with my new electric stove.

 
one con with glass tops is if you spill sugars/starches on or near the heat they are near permanent.

you need a special cleaner to maintain the top, but that's not likely a huge issue. i wonder about gas ovens - many people seem to prefer electric ovens over gas, so if you do lots of baking that might be an issue. if you do go with electric, i'd definitely go with the glass top over the conventional coil elements for the reasons mentioned by everyone else - infinitely easier to clean and much nicer to look at.

 
How do I HATE electric? Let me count the burns....

burns on my flesh and burned dishes when I've had to use electric at other people's houses and when we moved into our house 20 years ago. I changed to gas at the first opportunity. It is SAFE so do not worry. Baked goods from the oven are moister because it's a moist heat. Crusts turn out better like for bread. On the burners, when you turn the flame off because your spuds are boiling over, the heat STOPS! Instantly. (Unlike the electric where the heat continues and things keep boiling over.) No moving the pan. It's instant control. No more burns on my arm from reaching into the oven and hitting my arm on the upper coil. (I have a permanent scar). No more burns on my hands from touching one of those smooth stove-tops (no coils) because you don't know that they're still hot! What a terrible design! Not to mention the permanent spills. Love my gas stove!

 
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