Gas or electric oven? What's everyone's preference if you could choose.

[jwc]

gas.

[CECAA850]

1 hour ago, wstrickland1 said:

Propane contains more energy, like twice the btu's as natural gas per cu. ft. so it's more efficient.

Makes sense.   My generator is rated at 20kw on Propane but only 18Kw on natural gas.

[JJkizak]

Well I prefer electric because there is no gas line to the house. Between that and the microwave the stuff gets cooked. And besides, I never learned how to cook. Burn it on both sides then it's done. Amen.

JJK

[Mallette]

2 hours ago, wstrickland1 said:

It's not all raw horsepower either. It will do precise, delicate work. It's definitely a great option for those who love gas but can't get it for whatever reason.

Great choice even for us old time gas freaks. I use it 90 percent of the time. As you said, totally precise and no guesswork once you've used it a few times. And, no cleanup. Flat bottom wok gets more heat than anything short of 15k BTU or more gas, which almost nobody has inside. Plus, timer and only about 60 bucks. No brainer...  At that price, I suggest skeptics try one just for portable and table use. It will grow on you.

 

Dave

[oldtimer]

Build a big fire, put your giant wok right in it.  Plenty btus.   (wear protective gear)

[tigerwoodKhorns]

If you look at any serious cooking setup, the oven should be electric and stove should be gas. 

 

If you have a range, go gas because you use the stove more. 

 

In any event pre-wire for electric.  Solar is getting cheaper and we might all be on solar in 10 to 15 years. 

[YK Thom]

I prefer the control of electric. 

[dtel]

38 minutes ago, YK Thom said:

I prefer the control of electric. 

It is easier to know where to set things without guessing at the flame.

 

But I would rather gas, the only downside to gas is if you don't have it and walk in where something is being cooked with gas, especially propane you can smell the gas burning, I would still rather gas if I did it again.

One thing that is much better is how gas stoves are made now, they are much easier to clean compared to the ones from 20 years ago, but if you go much further back gas stoves were easier to clean. When they made them more modern it made them harder to clean since many parts were not removable, new models have mostly fixed that problem.

[Schu]

Where's the option for wood?

[John Chi-town]

Gas, hands down

 

Regards,

John

[mungkiman]

5 hours ago, dtel said:

If you go much further back gas stoves were easier to clean.

 

I have a 60" 1940's Roper Town and Country, and it's the easiest stove I've had to clean so far. Heated the whole damn house when I first hooked it up, with 12 standing pilots.

 

 

[dtel]

A house we rented many years ago was was well over 100 years old it had one brick wall in the kitchen with a kenmore wood burning stove. It was too far gone to be saved, I gave it to someone who collected things like that. The other stove in the kitchen was a really old gas stove, the old large heavy porcelain type it was not safe so we replaced it because there were many leaks, I wish I could have saved that one but it would have been really expensive to repair if it could even be done.  

[Schu]

How much wood could a would stove burn if a wood stove could burn wood.

[dtel]

Went and asked ours, it said it likes 1.5 cords if it's a cold winter here, being the only heat.

[Jeff Matthews]

7 hours ago, dtel said:

One thing that is much better is how gas stoves are made now, they are much easier to clean compared to the ones from 20 years ago, but if you go much further back gas stoves were easier to clean. When they made them more modern it made them harder to clean since many parts were not removable, new models have mostly fixed that problem.

IMO, this is the paramount consideration.  Gas stoves are dirty.  Some might be easier to clean than others, but that's still all relative.  There isn't one I've ever seen that is simply "wipe 'n go."  

 

Electric/glass cooktops are so easy to keep beautifully clean.  I'd specifically look for one that has no parts that grease can infiltrate or get under.  "Wipe 'n go!"

 

Compare:

 

 

 

[dtel]

That is exactly why we have one like the bottom picture, at the time I was not the one cooking and they (wife and daughter) said if they had to clean it this is what they wanted. Now I cook everything and clean the kitchen, I would like gas, in a way. But your right they are easy and quick to clean so this is tough. 

 

Good point

[garyrc]

13 hours ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

Solar is getting cheaper and we might all be on solar in 10 to 15 years. 

 

And indeed we should.

 

Electric, because I hate smelling a hint of gas.  That happened in every vintage home I lived in.  PG&E and their soap like bubbles were of little help.  Being in Earthquake Country didn't help.  Sometimes a whiff of gas occurred again and again on certain streets.  People crossed their fingers before barbecuing.  I don't believe I'm given to olfactory hallucinations.

[avguytx]

I agree with everything that's been said.  There's a trade off with each one,  pros and cons for each, and preferences for each.  There's safety factors to consider with gas as far as leaks, smell, someone turning a gas knob on by mistake, etc., and there's safety issues for electric.  I've used both about a split between the two over the last 30 years with success on both.  I grill the "big stuff" more than using the oven for things like turkey's, chicken, etc., and it's mainly the cooktop that gets used.  Our daughter just headed to the Univ of AR for college so that will reduce the amount of cookies that get baked on average and our 11 year old boy really doesn't mess with anything more than the microwave.

 

I need to call the gas people today and see what it will run for the yearly lease on a 250lb tank, the type of gas they have, and what it will cost to get the tank set so I have a comparison.  With electric, all I have to do is plug the oven in and slide it in place.  Good point on the cleaning of the top of a gas oven as it can be a pain and, if anyone else in the house cooks, I know it would be a mess that I would have to clean up.  Definitely easier to clean an electric top for the most part.  

[wstrickland1]

Propane would be the deal killer for me. If you go electric try to get an induction cooktop. I wasn't onboard until we got it. I can vouch for this unit and it is worth the money. The pic is a VIR 530. We got the VISC 530 which had an infrared broiler. Same thing otherwise.

 

 

[mark1101]

I always preferred gas but where we live we are lucky to have water and electricity.  I actually really enjoy living in an all electric house and have the easy to clean glass top electric stove.  No issues.  We adapted to it.

 

Actually..........I prefer charcoal.  Basques Canadian Sugar Maple lump is my favorite.