Gas Range Advice

[reactor]

Will be moving Friday to a new home with a gas range. If any of you have a gas oven, I have a couple of questions.

I have never used a gas range. I was looking at it the other day and figured out how to ignite the burners.

In looking into the oven, I noticed there are no gas jets on the bottom, only at the top.

My question is, does the gas oven cook unevenly because of heat emanating only from the top of the oven cavity? Wouldn't things, such as cookies, not brown well on the bottom as they are receiving no direct radiant energy from an element below them?

Do cooking times on a gas oven very from an electric, that is do cooking times have to adjusted in any way.

Any other things t keep in mind with a gas stove?

Barry

 

[rp2813]

Every gas range I've ever owned or used has had the oven burner located underneath the bottom surface of the oven cavity.  On a lot of ranges, this burner also serves as a broiler element and the broiler rack is located in a drawer below the oven.  In this arrangement, the thermostatic control for the oven also operates the broiler.

 

It sounds like your oven has the broiler inside the oven cavity on the top, but that wouldn't be the only heat source for the oven.  I would guess that you have separate controls for broiling and baking. 

 

I prefer electric heat for baking, but I suppose one can learn over time how to get the best results from a gas oven.

 

Post pictures if you can.

 

[combo52]

Gas Range Vs Electric Range

Hi Barry, As Ralph said there is a gas burner under the floor of your oven to provide baking heat.

 

You will not starve with a gas range, but being mechanically inclined like you are it will seem very crude to cook with gas both on top of the range and in the oven.  Cooktop clean up will be more difficult and time consuming and after a good bit of use a gas range never looks new again.

 

How did you end up with a gas range ? That would have been a major reason not to move to a home unless it can be switched out for an electric range [ assuming you cook a lot as we do ]

 

I guess the good news is it does not sound like you moved into senior housing as I have never seen senior housing where they supplied gas ranges.

 

Let us know what other appliances you have in the new place.

 

There are also many archived discussions on AW about the pros and cons, likes and dislikes of gas Vs electric cooking.

 

John L.

 

[agiflow]

I have a gas slide in range in my new place. While it has a nice big oven,I wish I could have taken my Tappan Centennial. These new gas stoves stink at simmering and the cooktops porcelain or paint doesn't clean up too well.

 

[norgeway]

Try it you might like it

Its much easier to go from electric to gas than from gas to electric , The gas stove IS somewhat slower for some things, BUT the quick response is far better for pressure cooking, frying etc, As for the oven, Im in the minority,but a gas oven will turn out far superior results, Now the reason is Gas heat is a more moist heat, being so, your cakes naturally turn out more moist, Try it,

 

[nmassman44]

Now depending on how old the gas stove you are going to be using...if it is relatively new more than likely you will have a sealed cooktop and they are a breeze to keep clean. The GE that I had in Mass was a dream to use and I do miss it. I went from gas to an electric smooth top Frigidaire and it took some getting used to. I grew up on electric stoves and that is what I learned how to cook on.
The oven that you will be using does have a burner under the floor. Look for slots on the sides of the oven floor and also do not and I mean do not ever put aluminum foil on the floor of the oven or racks. The foil will fuse to the porcelain and on the racks it will hamper air flow and the oven will not perform like it should. I know some people that do the foiling of the racks and then whine that the oven does not bake or roast right.
As fas as the cooktop goes more than likely you have electronic ignition. If you look closely to the burners there should be what looks like a spark plug end that sparks when the knob is turned to the lightning bolt symbol. The GE that I had the whole burner assembly came up as a unit so when it came time to clean the cooktop there was nothing but the holes where the burners were and the electrodes for the ignition. Super easy to clean and the stove always looked like new. If the stove has cast iron grates, just wash them by hand and never put them in the dishwasher. Baking with a gas stove is an experience. The Bosch that I had loved to eat igniters and baking was lacking in many ways. The GE acted like an electric oven where the bake burner would kick on and then shut off and then the broil burner would kick on to balance out the heat and give what ever you are baking a kiss of golden perfection. That is my experience , your milage may vary...

 

[sudsmaster]

I actually prefer gas for both baking and top burners.

As already stated, quite likely there is a gas burner under the floor of the oven. I don't know of any gas ovens that would only have a top burner.

Unfortunately when I bought this place, even though it was built in 1941 and undoubtedly had a gas range originally, the kitchen had been remodeled in the '60's and was all electric. Around 1998 I pulled out the in-counter electric cooktop, had gas run to that location, and got a gas cooktop. I left the GE P*7 electric wall oven, though. It's OK.

There's a second kitchen in an enclosed patio, with a vintage Frigidaire electric coil top range. I've used the range occasionally there for canning. But I'd really prefer gas there too. I acquired a couple of gas ranges to put in its stead but since I use the patio kitchen so infrequently, running a gas line to that location hasn't been a priority.

A photo of the gas range in the new house would help.

 

[agiflow]

The Frigidaire model I currently have is FFG3026TSA.It is a great baking oven. Browns better than my older Tappan did but the top burners I have simmer plates. Sometimes you just want gentle heat.

Plus I actually prefer the older open burners. The heat went directly under the pot . Overall through it is a good performing range.

All my appliances came with my new home.

 

[reactor]

Thanks

Thanks, everyone, for all the good answers/advice/opinions.

Finally got everything moved in and just got internet service. When I locate my camera I'll take some pictures of the range and kitchen.

So far, I have only used the cooktop on the gas range, and I love it. It is so much faster than my GE ceramic electric cooktop and the gas burners are precise and responsive. Thus far, I am quite impressed with gas cooking.

On the GE if I was boiling something, even after I turned off the burner the boiling continued for a short while from the residual heat in the ceramic. Had to learn to turn the heat down earlier than called for to allow for this, or just had to remove the cooking utensil from the burner.

Now when I turn down the heat the boiling or simmering stops almost immediately. So far I haven't burned anything and that's unusual for me.

Hope to try the oven out soon and will let all of you know.

This house had no disposal, so I installed my General Electric induction Batch Feed, approximately a 1979 model.

Replaced the Frigidaire/Electrolux dishwasher (about 3 or 4 years old) with a GE (not vintage, about 14 years old)..... got tired of the Electrolux taking three hours to pee on the dishes. Dishes with the GE come out cleaner in about 1/3 of the time, and it's good to hear some powerful wash action.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Most of my life I've had a gas, so I'm biased. I've also had too many power failures to want to be dependent on electricity for cooking or hot water. Speaking of power failures, read the manual make sure you're comfortable lighting the burners with a match. You don't want to wait until a power failure to start learning.

That said, I do see the advantages of induction. The next time I make the decisions I'll probably go with two induction burners and two gas burners.

 

[sudsmaster]

I also had mostly only gas ranges most of my life.

 

[reactor]

pictures

Rich asked for pictures of my gas range. Here are some of the range and my "new" kitchen in my "new" home (not really new, but new to me.)

Replaced the Frigidaire (Electrolux) dishwasher with my older GE. The previous owner did not have a disposal, so I installed my 1979/1980 General Electric Batch Feed.

Ralph you are correct, the gas burner is below the oven cavity, and you can see the glow produced by the flames on the two sides of the oven bottom.

As far as use of the gas range, wow, so much better than my GE ceramic cooktop in the respect that is heats pans instantly, once the flame ignites and touches the bottom of the pan and skillet. Temperature control is precise and immediately responsive. Fast! I got so used to turning the heat down on my GE well before things were done because of the lengthy residual heat in the ceramic top.

Have to get used to the heat which is released to the kitchen (and the cook!). Heat from the flames rolls right up the sides of pots and pans, especially the smaller ones. I left a spoon in a skillet, and then walked away for a moment. When I went back to stir with the spoon I nearly burned my fingers from it getting so hot from the heat rising up on the sides of the skillet.

Only used the gas oven once for a pizza. Worked quite well, the pizza was cooked very evenly with no overly browned or burnt spots on the bottom. Could not tell any difference in the baking speed nor the preheat speed when compared to the electric.

Once again, I felt MUCH more heat released to the kitchen from the oven (via the stove top) when it was on.

Will have to use the oven more before making any assessments. But overall, I am favorably impressed with a gas range. So much so, I don't think I ever want to go back to electric, unless its induction. One day when the electricity was out I was still able to use the cooktop, by lighting it with a match.

Nice to know if there is a lengthy power outage, I can still use the cooktop, and if need be use the range to keep the kitchen warm.

Although, I recently read a gas range should not be used by people who are asthmatic, due to the combustion products released directly into the homes air (small in volume, but with potentially negative results to those with compromised respiratory systems, especially over time.)

Overall, I have to say I agree with the many chefs who prefer gas over electric.

In a separate post I show a "Bob Load" with my GE dishwasher installed in the kitchen.

 

[sudsmaster]

Barry,

Thanks for posting the photo of the range. I don't see where you mentioned the brand, and the photo is a little fuzzy, but it looks like it could be a Frigidaire. Also looks like it has "sealed burners". I prefer the older style open burners but they seem to have fallen out of fashion since they need more vertical space, which can be inconvenient in a compact appliance. But my Frigidaire cooktop is sealed burner and I have got used to it. The main difference is that the flame in a sealed burner spreads out more than an open burner will. Works well with large fry pans, though.

 

[askolover]

Your range looks like mine...except mine is all black.  I love mine.  My grates are porcelain enameled cast iron.  I do run them through the dishwasher at least once a year, usually after a holiday dinner.  No issues yet.

 

[gizmo]

difference between countries

It's an interesting thing - the standard layout for stoves/ranges in Europe / UK / USA.

It appears gas ovens in USA tend to have the oven burner under the oven floor.

The only European gas ovens I know of sold in Australia are Turkish and Italian, they have a similar layout with burner under the floor, heating the floor, with some venting into the oven cavity.

Australian gas ovens always have the burner mounted across the back, just below the oven floor and the flames come through a slot in the floor at the back, so the effect is a line of flame across the back of the oven cavity. Fan gas ovens still have the flame visible in the oven cavity and the hot air/gases from the flame get drawn into the fan and circulated through the oven. I have only seen one UK stove for sale here with a gas oven, a Belling (Also branded New World) which had the same layout as Aussie ovens. These are now superseded a couple of years ago and new Bellings come from Turkey not UK, and have electric ovens even if they have gas tops.

My 1 year old Australian-made Westinghouse all-gas stove has the standard Aussie layout - a bar of flame across the back of the oven, with a fan in the back wall.

Gas ovens are disappearing here, there are only 3 or 4 brands on the market who offer gas ovens, most are all electric or gas top, electric oven.

 

The other standard Aussie layout in stoves is to have griller above the oven. We use the term "griller" for what Americans call a "broiler." It is NEVER under the oven in Aussie freestanding stoves, the standard Aussie layout is oven underneath, griller above, burners on top; occasionally you can find main oven under, second small oven with grill element above and burners on top; commonly now they also offer a single oven with electric grill element in the top of the oven cavity.

 

The link is to my stove - it isn't a patch on the 30+ yr old Modern Maid it replaced. (Which eventually rusted out.)

Appliances Online

We're Australia's largest online appliance retailer with a huge range of fridges, freezers, washers and more. Order now for free delivery to most areas.

www.appliancesonline.com.au

 

[reactor]

brand

Rich, yes, it is a Frigidaire. Sorry, I should have taken a picture of the control panel.

Jim, fortunately, it was easy to light the burner when the power was out the other day. I assume there is no way to light the oven, in a power failure, as there is no access to the lower gas jets beneath the oven floor. At least none that I can see.

 

[wayupnorth]

If it has a glow plug to ignite the oven burner, you can not light the oven manually during a power outage. My Whirlpool has a clicker to light a pilot and thermocouple before the oven burner comes on. Mine will work in an outage.

 

[jakeseacrest]

I used that disposal so many times growing up at my aunt's house. I always thought hers was from 1974 or 75 though. She used it for almost 30 years before it bit the dust and was replaced with an ISE Model 17