# Buying a new stove



## snic (Sep 16, 2018)

It's sometimes a good idea to find a local appliance store, especially if they have their own repair business that services what they sell.

One blog I found pretty useful is Yale Appliances. They're a local shop in Boston that services what they sell, and they occasionally post statistics concerning how many times they get called to repair different brands. Home Appliance Blog | Yale Appliance

Electric burners generally don't get very "monster"; usually gas is used to get a wok to extremely high heat.

Induction is a dream to cook with. The advantages are that it heats your pots and pans up _extremely_ fast, you get excellent control over the heat (you can also dial it down to barely warm), it is the absolute most energy-efficient way to cook, in some models you can put your pot anywhere on a large rectangle and it will detect the pot and heat it, and the smooth cooktop is very, very easy to clean. The disadvantages are that any pot that does not have steel or iron on the bottom will not work (you can test your pots with a magnet; if it sticks, it will work), your wok will probably not work at all especially if it's aluminum (as I said, woks love gas), and induction is fairly new in the US so manufacturers are still finding their way a bit. That said, induction is very popular in Europe so the manufacturers do have experience. One thing to look out for is how easy it is to use the controls. Some manufacturers have gone all space age with touch controls rather than actual knobs. That is just stupidly inconvenient and eventually they will realize it and put the knobs back.


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

I would ask your price range, and some of your goals for the range top?

I would also ask if you have experience with gas or if you have something against gas?

We grew up with an electric range in the house. I've always lived in Total electric apartments, or with electric range until three houses ago about 10 years ago in my 40s we rented a house with a gas range for the first time.

Not counting the air conditioning in the summer, our electric bill was almost cut in half. I can boil a gallon of water in under 10 minutes. I can fry anything at the right temperature. Combine that with some decent cookware (we use cast iron) cooks very evenly with consistency. If I can avoid it, I will never go back to an electric range top.

Plus, when the power goes out, like during that Texas ice storm we had a few years ago, I can still cook. I can still use the gas oven.

I do miss the temperature control at the low temperature ranges. I've heard this can be achieved with some foreign aftermarket modifications that use many pinhole outlets for the burner. Melting cheese, making cream sauces, chocolate mole, anything with precise temperature control in the very low temperature range.... This is the weakness of most American made gas ranges. I have this cheap aluminum percolator that is almost impossible to set on the perfect temperature to perk, and that is the only moment when I wished I had an electric range top.

Our gas bill is like $30 a month. In the winter we have a gas furnace so it goes up then, but a gas range is a must-have if you have a choice.

Induction and some of the more expensive options, I can't really speak to that. We have an air fryer that we use all the time. We do not own a microwave by choice. We are on a budget, but the possibilities are endless with gas.

Interesting thread, thanks for starting it. Good luck with your new range.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Ironic. I just saw the news on 32 children with carbon monoxide poisoning in a daycare.

Yay electric stoves.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

Nik333 said:


> Ironic. I just saw the news on 32 children with carbon monoxide poisoning in a daycare.
> 
> Yay electric stoves.


Not to digress but did they have CO detector?


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

There’s no gas here. The only thing I wouldn’t want is a glass top stove. friends that have them like them. I use heavy iron skillets and I would probably crack a glass top stove.


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## snic (Sep 16, 2018)

Rinse Cycle said:


> Not counting the air conditioning in the summer, our electric bill was almost cut in half. I can boil a gallon of water in under 10 minutes.


"Bringing 1 liter (33.8 fluid ounces) of water to a rolling boil takes roughly 10-15 minutes on a gas or electric stove. On induction cooktops, which tend to be more powerful and efficient at transferring heat, this time is reduced down to 2 1/2 minutes." How Long Does It Take for Water to Boil? - Home Cook World

I didn't believe it either until I tried it.

I'm not sure how induction would have affected your electric bill: "Research clearly shows that induction cooktops are more energy efficient: gas cooktops are about 40 percent efficient; electric-coil and standard smooth-top electric cooktops are about 74 percent efficient, and induction cooktops are 84 percent efficient." Which is More Energy Efficient - Gas, Electric, or Induction? - LeafScore There are a lot of variables here, including the relative cost of gas and electricity in your area, whether you have a gas line to the house, whether you have a gas line to the kitchen, etc.



Startingover said:


> There’s no gas here. The only thing I wouldn’t want is a glass top stove. friends that have them like them. I use heavy iron skillets and I would probably crack a glass top stove.


Induction cooktops use a ceramic-glass that's pretty strong. Still, if you aren't careful, it can crack. Avoid The Number 1 Reason Why Induction Hobs Crack - Dreamy Home


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

What does it cost to service and maintain electric or induction stoves? 

Those big expensive tops I've heard can be eyepopping expensive if one gets cracked.

Gas has the advantage of being easy to service and much easier to work with if you're cooking in a wok or similar. On the other hand, it heats up a room, which can be a pain on a hot day or night.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Lowe's has a much better selection of major appliances including ranges that the Depot. Dual fuel is the way to go, gas cooktop with electric oven.

No gas in my location so I installed 2 30 pound propane tanks with a auto change regulator. A 30 pounder last 3-4 months and my wife does a lot of cooking.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

Nik333 said:


> Ironic. I just saw the news on 32 children with carbon monoxide poisoning in a daycare.
> 
> Yay electric stoves.


True. Then there is every house with an attached garage, every fireplace...and when electric starts something on fire, that carbon monoxide is equally poisonous. I guess it's like anything else. Seat belts, helmets, all modern homes should have a carbon monoxide detector. Fire can cook and keep you warm; fire can burn.

My only close call, ironically, was in the late 90s over an electric range cooking a batch of hamburger helper. I sat down for a second, fell asleep... And it wasn't the fire it was the smoke. So yeah. Electric range.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Rinse Cycle said:


> Melting cheese, making cream sauces, chocolate mole, anything with precise temperature control in the very low temperature range.... This is the weakness of most American made gas ranges.


Look up "using a double boiler for lower temps".


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Startingover said:


> Not to digress but did they have CO detector?


I don't know yet.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Rinse Cycle said:


> My only close call, ironically, was in the late 90s over an electric range cooking a batch of hamburger helper. I sat down for a second, fell asleep... And it wasn't the fire it was the smoke. So yeah. Electric range.


I think you can do that with gas, too?


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

Nik333 said:


> I think you can do that with gas, too?


I concede: electric is probably safer. I should be saying, "non-induction electric". When I think of an electric range top, it has four coils that need to be changed, and it is avocado green.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

After about 10 years with a glass top electric cook top my wife dropped something and chipped the edge of the glass. We put up with it for a while but then bought another glass topped unit when we got new granite countertops. Glass is so easy to keep clean that it is worth the remote possibility of breakage. We had coil burners and stuff went down in so the burners and pans below needed cleaning and replacing. We had solid cast discs instead of coils and stuff still seeped in and the burners got filthy looking. I would not consider anything but a glass top.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

Also I read reviews in ‘Consumer Reports.’


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## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

My price range is not


Rinse Cycle said:


> I would ask your price range, and some of your goals for the range top?
> 
> I would also ask if you have experience with gas or if you have something against gas?


I'm not sure about the price range. Not cheap, not snobishly fancy. Probably I'd like to keep it under $1000. 

I have nothing against gas. I used to prefer it. We do have gas at the house, but we don't have the plumbing up to the kitchen. So that would be more work. I guess I got used to the electric now.


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

I'm at 18 minutes. I started with tap water, which is pretty hard here. The boiling pot stainless steel with a copper core bottom. Still not boiling.

20:50 started to boil but not rolling.


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

22:20 rolling. That's with a cold pot and a cold gallon of tap water. I think if I had an aluminum pot and a gallon of filtered water I'd come in under 20 minutes.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Can you char things on an electric stove, like poblano chiles, to remove the skin?


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Yes. Not with a flame, hopefully, but with a hot skillet


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Rinse Cycle said:


> Plus, when the power goes out, like during that Texas ice storm we had a few years ago, I can still cook. I can still use the gas oven.


*____*
Not always . We were surprised + 10 years ago our new gas range required elect. power to open the gas valve . After research in the manual i didn't even try with our Honda 2000 i generator because of some of the wording mentioned about ( clean ) power .


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## snic (Sep 16, 2018)

SeniorSitizen said:


> *____*
> Not always . We were surprised + 10 years ago our new gas range required elect. power to open the gas valve . After research in the manual i didn't even try with our Honda 2000 i generator because of some of the wording mentioned about ( clean ) power .


Huh, that's a new one. WHY? What purpose does an electric gas valve serve that couldn't be accomplished with manual? (I can ask the same question about the electric toilet that came with the house I live in. Literally it is just an electric valve, so you push a button instead of a lever to flush. And of course if the power goes out, no flushing. It is the absolute stupidest thing I have ever seen.)

And yeah, more and more electronics demand clean power, i.e., a perfect sine wave. Cheap (and some expensive) generators don't provide it.


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## Rinse Cycle (4 mo ago)

My estimate being way off... That has been bugging me. I think I figured it out:






Extremely Powerful Thai Gas Burner With Stand - ImportFood


The "Extremely Powerful" Thai Gas Burner & Wok Stand




importfood.com





When we were in Las Vegas we had a (prohibited) Thai propane LP gas stove. It wasn't this one in the link. This one is 100,000 BTU. I was using it for cooking, but also for processing large batches for water canning.

This is like the one I had:



Amazon.com



This is nowhere near 100,000 BTU on the big burner, but definitely more heat than a typical gas burner.

Prohibited from using indoors, even though they are designed for indoor use (in Thailand). This is why they're marketed as a "camping stove" in the United States.

I'm not saying I could get a gallon of water boiling in under 10 minutes with this. But a gallon of water, in an aluminum wok--it wouldn't take much more than 10 minutes if I had it cranked all the way up.

If I had an RV, a garage apartment with no kitchen, or an excuse to be camping all the time, I would definitely buy this again. It is superior to any stove I have used, gas or electric. And it's only $80.


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