Electric > direct contact of heating element to pot
Gas > flame under pot and much heat goes up the sides
Much as I prefer gas, electric has show to be able to boil a pot of water faster in most cases of a normal sized burner. If you buy a high end stove, you can get more powerful gas burners, but you still lose some heat up the sides.
I don't think those studies show gas is the CAUSE of the respiratory difficulties but merely exacerbates the problem that occurs in defective people.
Considering that Natgas burns quite clean producing CO2 and Water, and one of the (minor) consequences is a minor increase in air moisture, one has wonder about such a study
You are assuming the pot is the exact same size as the element. Having just spent a weekend at a house with an electric stove, I can say with much confidence that some pots are smaller than the burner, leaving parts of the red-hot element exposed.
When all 4 burners are being used, it's not always possible to have the exact sized pot on all elements or even the right pot on the right element. Some items need more attention than others meaning that the front burners may get used so that the cook doesn't have to reach over a pot to tend to something on the back burner. With a gas range I can put a small pot on a big burner and turn the flame on low, keeping it under the pot. On an electric stove, a small pot on a big burner is going to leave parts of the heated element exposed.
You are aware that you can lower the flame to keep in contained under the pot right?
In my experience, stoves are used to do much more than boil water.
I'll take the overall convenience of gas over the time difference to boil water any day of the week.
The other thing that no one has mentioned is the safety factor. When you get done using a gas stove and turn off the burner, the heat is gone rather quickly. The same can not be said for an electric burner. I've seen lots of burnt cutting boards and oven mitts that have been laid on a still warm burner that has lost it's redness but is still hot enough to be a danger.
Sure, you can keep a pot with water in it nearby to place on the off- but-hot burner, but that just brings up the convenience issue again. I don't have to worry about that with a gas stove.
Notwithstanding hydroelectric.... and solar, even nukuler. :)
Of course, on a cold winter day, that heat is not wasted in the house. It just does not cook the food, but it does contribute to the heat you need from some other source.
No matter, I'd never give up gas for electric.
Some new stoves sense the pot size and adjust accordingly.
Yes, I do it every day. Fact is though, with an open flame, some heat is going to be lost up the sides no matter the size. It is not the same as direct contact. It is one of those laws of physics things we have no control over. Put your had over the pot and get back to me.
I dislike electric stoves, but facts are facts.
Ed Pawlowski wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
50+ percent loss in generating electricity,~20-40 percent lost in transmitting it to you....... That gas stove can leak a lot of heat, compared to electricity, and still win.
LP or NG? On NG you pay a minimum monthly charge and there is a good chance you use no where near that amount during warmer months. Using what you are currently throwing away is almost always a good deal.
Jimmie
"JIMMIE" wrote
LP or NG? On NG you pay a minimum monthly charge and there is a good chance you use no where near that amount during warmer months. Using what you are currently throwing away is almost always a good deal.
Jimmie
All depends on what you got, Jimmie. We don't have natural gas on our country ranch, and it would cost an arm and a leg for a one inch line. So, we bought a propane tank. Sometimes, you just have to live with what you got.
Steve
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.