Gas vs Electric stoves

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D189379

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My wife and I are having a mild arguement about which type of stove to install in our new house. She wants gas and I am leaning towards a ceramic top electric.

I'm trying to understand all the pros and cons of each type and here's what I come up with.

Gas
-More even heating. (I don't know what this really means. I've never had an issue on my electric stoves, but I also don't know much about cooking.)
-Looks like a lot more of a pain in the but to clean with all those weird grills and such.
-Slightly more dangerous (At least I think so)
-Faster heat, I guess (although my electric would melt my skin after about 3 seconds)
-No overhead oven element
-Wife claims it's better for resale value.
-Neither of us have ever used one
-Do you need to run the fan while using the stove. Are there any fumes given off from the burning gas?

Electric
-Super easy to clean
-Supposedly better for baking. (More even heat)
-Not dangerous
-I can and do use ours as a cutting board/spare countertop when not in use. Very durable.

Now neither of us do much cooking, and when we do it's nothing gourmet. Not to say we won't start.

The price for the stoves are identical. I'm not really concerned with the cost of gas vs. electricity.

The stoves are something like these:

http://www.frigidaire.com/products/cooking/ranges/slide-in_gas/prod_PLGS389EC.asp

http://www.frigidaire.com/products/cooking/ranges/slide-in_electric/prod_PLES389EC.asp

We also found one with gas burners but an electric range.

Please feel free to share your opinions, experiences, and recommendations.

Dave
 
After cooking in professional kitchens for some years now, I cannot wait to have a gas stove in our new house. I hate electric stoves. To me it's easier to control how much heat you have and when you have it. Don't know much about cleaning residential units though...I would imagine the flat-top electrics would be easier in that regard.
 
I'd go gas for a cooktop and prolly electric for the oven.

edit...wood for the oven is the best of all.
 
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Living in the Pacific NW a lot of older pre-oil heating homes are electric, where some neighbors still have electric ceiling heat. As dumb and expensive as electric can get, our house is all electric, watching new homes go up with gas and some neighbors switching to gas:

Two have had CO in the house.

One has had a gas leak in the house.

One had part of the block evacuated when they ruptured a gas line during a home project.

Some ended up with appliances shut off that they couldn't turn back on during a cold snap, as the pressure in the line dropped too low.

All have seen prices increase.

Problems with electric appliances seem to usually result in a breaker getting tripped, or the appliance just quits working.
 
Aside from the cleaning problem, the other concern I have with a gas range is that the broiler is under the oven, and just over the storage drawer. Anything in that drawer would be heated pretty hot. Could cause a fire if some flamible material is stored there.
My 2¢
 
Gas > Electric, period.

In applications such as Asian cooking, electric stoves simply CANNOT provide enough heat needed with the large woks.
 
Gas appliances are good and fine if properly installed, maintained and operated. In the case of rental property it's a liability. Also, in earthquake country I'll stick with an electric stove top. For the oven I prefer electric anyway. If I need a gas flame I'll use a compact camping burner.
 
We put a Jenn-Air dual-fuel stove in last year. My wife loves to cook and LOVES the gas top. The oven is electric. I had a "glass" top halogen cook top in my last house. I like the gas better. The grills pop out and into the dishwasher. Wipe out the trays and your done. We even have a grill insert on one side and we grill food all the time on it.
 
In general, gas stoves are far cheaper to operate than electric. Though in CA I know that electric rates are cheap because of the geothermal energy that PG&A includes in their portfolio, so you may have different economics.

I personally much prefer gas for cooking.
 
We have a 1st generation electric flattop stove.

Doesn't simmer worth a darn.

The thing runs on a slow pulse-width-modulated output and you see the "red" ebb and flow.

Of course my wife will put something on, then gab on the phone for 10 minutes, come back, and complain that the stove's no good.
dunno.gif


I finish maple syrup on the thing and wish for more BTUs.

Also note the gas stoves work in a power outage-- might need a match if they're electronic igniting but still a good deal. If for whatever reason there's a gas shortage you can get one of those $10 plug-in single electric burner things.
 
Do you have the option for a gas cooktop & an electric single or double wall oven? That's the route we just went. GE seems to make good stuff with options. If not, I might pony up for a dual-fuel unit which drm7 mentioned. I agree with Shannow as well.
I don't think that the super expensive professional ranges would be worth it for you.
Most cooks prefer gas cooktop & electric oven. A gas oven provides too much water vapor.
 
Quote:

Do you have the option for a gas cooktop & an electric single or double wall oven? That's the route we just went.

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Based on our plans, there's no where to really put the wall over. Unless we put it right below the cooktop, which to me seems a bit pointless since all I'd have done is create a permanent version of the gas range & electric oven.

I am starting to lean towards the dual fuel gas top-electric oven. The price is identical to the gas-gas and electric-electric versions so price isn't an issue. I know that in the winter, gas prices sometimes triple because of the demand for heating, especially in a cold snap. Electricity prices remain very consistent throughout the year.
 
We have a 1000-gal underground propane tank so I can buy all I need in the summer & have it delivered by March of the following year.
As eljefino mentioned, a gas cooktop can be used when power is out if that is a concern where you live or you don't have a generator.
My parents went the dual-fuel route about 6 months ago as well. They like it, but I don't remember which model they got.
 
Quote:

We have a 1000-gal underground propane tank so I can buy all I need in the summer & have it delivered by March of the following year.
As eljefino mentioned, a gas cooktop can be used when power is out if that is a concern where you live or you don't have a generator.
My parents went the dual-fuel route about 6 months ago as well. They like it, but I don't remember which model they got.

Click to expand...


The natural gas here is piped right into the house. So when you use it, you pay whatever price it is currently at. I assume any newer model gas ranges would have an electric igniter as well. I don't like the idea of needing to use a match to light the stove.

Do these things put any carbon monoxide into the home? It seems odd that you can just burn a fossil fuel and not have to vent it outside.
 
Actually, there are vent free fireplaces as well. We have one. Obviously, I have placed CO monitors around the house but so far it has been OK.
 
Quote:

Do these things put any carbon monoxide into the home? It seems odd that you can just burn a fossil fuel and not have to vent it outside.

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Yes, they do, and that is why you're not supposed to use them (gas stoves) to heat your house. The short amount of time they're in use to cook something is OK but leaving the oven on all night to keep your house warm is not.
 
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