Propane vs. Nat. Gas

I've run a gas grill of a 20# tank, grill 3 or 4 times a week and needed to fill every 3-4 weeks. I suppose if all you used were the burners, it would last longer.

the new stoves come setup for nat, and have the LP orifices included.

Apparently you DON'T cook, like you said. Serious cooking cannot be accomplished on an electric stove.

Go with propane. You don't have to dig everything up to put it in and it works just as good.

Somewhat, but once you get above the basic models the difference disappears quickly.

Almost never happens, at least in the US. People throw out perfectly good appliances during a remodel... not that that's a good thing :(

Nope, it will be free, the usual tactic of the gas utility to lock people into their monthly service charges. When they run lines into a neighborhood, they have crews there anyway and they want to get as many hookups as possible to start paying for that line construction.

Exactly. If he had gas heat, hot water, clothes dryer, shop heat, etc. it would generally be worthwhile. I don't think he's in a big heating area though.

Correct.

If he likes to cook on gas, a 100# owned LP tank (or even a 40# probably) would do just fine and be economical.

A 20# LP tank runs my 5 burner dual fuel range for 8-10 months. I'm single, but I enjoy cooking and cook a lot, often with multiple burners active. A 100# tank would surely last the OP a year, a 40# at least 6 months.

Yes it can, but an electric stove limits some of your options. Gas is vastly preferable of course.

Steve, visit a local RV/mobile home business.. They can give you ideas. many places as a child had duel propane tanks. LP tanks usage was rotated when a tank was empty...turn one valve on and the other off. The local company filled the empty tank, so you always had one tank full of LP.

Before that is was splitting wood to cook (another stove)..

NG is the best for my cooking, BUT you may pay dearly to get it into the house. Let the gas company bring the lines to you. Over time it cost you less.

-- Oren

I had an electromagnetic (?) range top once. All the cooking vessels had to be tested with magnets... or they would not heat. Cast iron worked and aluminum did not. Goood food.

-- Oren

Well, I could add a sub panel but it would mean ripping out drywall and re-framing, which is something I'd like to avoid if possible. During the renovation phase, I pulled an extra 15-amp circuit to the attic and this last slot is intended to feed this line should it ever be required.

Good question. I believe the cable, which is now forty years old, contains a black, red, white and ground, but I'd have to check this to be sure. As to its gage, I can't imagine an issue, given that it was installed at the time the house was built and presumably by a qualified electrican and to code.

Sorry, I should have been more clear -- only with respect to the oven portion and not the gas cook top.

Cheers, Paul

Induction. Seems to drift in and out of popularity.

No appreciable difference between NG and LP for cooking.

Not if they are just bringing the lines into the neighborhood when they're desperate to get people hooked up and paying monthly service charges.

At no charge.

Not if all you run on gas is the stove. LP with an owned tank or two will be much cheaper than paying a service charge to a gas company every month. $20-$40 per year of LP will be a lot cheaper than paying like $8 per month just to have gas available, plus the cost of the gas you actually use.

i have picked up neighbors tanks they buy a new grill and put the old grill at the curb. i piler the tanks, some were full. most had old style valves so i take the tank to home depot and exchange the empty for a full one with current valve, then refill it which is cheaper when its empty again.

i have 6 or 7 tanks in my shed, we grill a lot, i never run out.

about once a year i get them all filled............

If it was my house, easy choice. Go with propane. And then get a vented wall heater for the living room. Propane is usually cheaper than electric. And the propane works during power cuts.

Then you haven't cooked very much. With gas, it's on or it's off. Or it's on just a little. Or it's on a lot. You can visually look at it and see what it's doing.

The perfect description of why many cooks like gas over electric. You must have a different kind of electric stove than I. When I turn mine down, it takes a LOT longer than "several seconds" to cool off. Sometimes it takes until the food starts to burn, or is seriously overcooked.

For me, the OP, there is no question re: gas vs. electric. Gas wins out. I was mainly wondering how people compare the two gases.

Steve

I bet is was fun watching them fight

I realize gas ovens cycle on and off (as do electric) and greater variation in cooking temperature is possible (or so I'm told), but having used both I've never found it to be a problem. Perhaps some models have more accurate controls than others, or maybe newer ranges in general work better than their older counterparts -- I really don't know. All I can tell you is that I've never had reason to complain.

And for those less fortunate, help might be found here:

Last house had natural gas. I grew up with gas appliances. Moved here and had electric. Hated it so we went to propane. No noticeable difference between the two. You can always convert when the time comes. Put in a line for the gill while you are at it.

I did the math, and in the long run, the LP would be the cheapest. Now, aside from that, we are about ready to add another 3.5 ton heat pump to our ever expanding casa here. IF they get the gas in time, that would make it preferable to have the NG for the gas pack on the heat pump. But I'd still just keep the LP for cooking. We don't do a LOT of cooking, but enough to justify turning this range into a boat anchor if I had the choice. Electric stoves suck big time.

Steve