1926 Copper Clad cookstove
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The Difference Between Electric and Gas Users
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I lived in "rental hell" for the first 20 years of so of my adult life. Most of the time the stoves were gas - largely due to the older nature of construction in the Bay Area and the lack of 220 wiring in many older homes/apartments. I also grew up with gas - none of the flats my family rented in SF were modern enough to have electric stoves. In one case I had a great rental flat in Berkeley; the only downside was an ancient GE coiltop stove. I really didn't like that thing, it had these pushbuttons the size of chicklets on the upper part of the rear backsplash, which were a bit sticky with age/debris, so I was never sure what temp it was really doing. But it worked well enough, I guess. The next place I rented, I made sure it had a gas range. Even though it was a flimsy coppertone Tappan, it was still better than the GE coil top.
When I bought this house, one of the first things I did was to extend the natural gas line to the laundry closet and the cooktop area. I pulled out the '78 GE electric dryer and put a gas WCI in it place. I pulled out the Corning white glass cooktop (which was a bit dangerous - the big burner didn't always shut off) and put in a modern Frigidaire "Gas on Glass" sealed cooktop. I left the electric wall oven (GE P-7) in the main kitchen and the GM Frigidaire Compact 30 electric dropin thick coiltop range in the patio kitchen. I prefer electric for baking, although I think gas broils better.
If the kitchen here hadn't been remodeled in the 70's, it would still fit a full size gas range comfortably. But now that's all turned around, with a fridge and the wall oven where it used to go, and a peninsula on the other side of the kitchen where the cooktop lives. I'd love to get an old 50's Wedgewood or O'Keefe & Merritt into the kitchen, but it would require a lot of demolition to do it ;-). There is nothing quite like an open gas burner... the flame doesn't bloom too big like on a sealed burner. If the range has crumb trays, these make cleanup a lot easier. And the air circulation means that spills don't burn onto the drip trays as readily as with a sealed top.
PS-I saw a 110volt induction hotplate at the local Costco Business Center the other day. All of about $70. Not bad. Good size too, there was a ring the size of a normal large range burner on the unit. About a foot square, I'd say. Induction is the kinder, gentler form of electric cooking
When I bought this house, one of the first things I did was to extend the natural gas line to the laundry closet and the cooktop area. I pulled out the '78 GE electric dryer and put a gas WCI in it place. I pulled out the Corning white glass cooktop (which was a bit dangerous - the big burner didn't always shut off) and put in a modern Frigidaire "Gas on Glass" sealed cooktop. I left the electric wall oven (GE P-7) in the main kitchen and the GM Frigidaire Compact 30 electric dropin thick coiltop range in the patio kitchen. I prefer electric for baking, although I think gas broils better.
If the kitchen here hadn't been remodeled in the 70's, it would still fit a full size gas range comfortably. But now that's all turned around, with a fridge and the wall oven where it used to go, and a peninsula on the other side of the kitchen where the cooktop lives. I'd love to get an old 50's Wedgewood or O'Keefe & Merritt into the kitchen, but it would require a lot of demolition to do it ;-). There is nothing quite like an open gas burner... the flame doesn't bloom too big like on a sealed burner. If the range has crumb trays, these make cleanup a lot easier. And the air circulation means that spills don't burn onto the drip trays as readily as with a sealed top.
PS-I saw a 110volt induction hotplate at the local Costco Business Center the other day. All of about $70. Not bad. Good size too, there was a ring the size of a normal large range burner on the unit. About a foot square, I'd say. Induction is the kinder, gentler form of electric cooking
dj-gabriele
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- Joined
- Jun 24, 2007
- Messages
- 1,685
But guys... you forgot INDUCTION!
It's the third party that gets the best of the other two
It's the third party that gets the best of the other two
We had a gas line in kitchen when we moved in that was operational but had been capped off at some point. There was an modern 30" electric range in the kitchen which I quickly threw away and put in a vintage 40" electric range. I generally prefer electric because I think the 50's electric ranges are more fun looking, but if I found a cool double oven Western Holly range with the round windows I might be convinced to go back to gas for a while. Since I bake quite often in the winter I really prefer an electric oven. As for stovetop it really doesn't matter, granted it is slightly easier to boil milk on a gas cooktop, but it you pay attention it really doesn't make any difference.
Here's one...Gas cookers tend to drive manual stickshift cars, while electric cookers tend to drive automatic transmission cars!
...at least it's that way in my household! My mom and my aunt are deticated electric cookers and wouldn't touch a stickshift car. Myself, my sister, and my grandmother are gas cookers, and we prefer the control of a manual transmission, and the quick, visible control of a gas range too!
...at least it's that way in my household! My mom and my aunt are deticated electric cookers and wouldn't touch a stickshift car. Myself, my sister, and my grandmother are gas cookers, and we prefer the control of a manual transmission, and the quick, visible control of a gas range too!
Interesting observation, cybervanr . . .
I'm picky about cars and have never owned an automatic. I've driven the automatic version of every car I've owned which was available with an automatic in the US, and they always srike me as sluggish and not very responsive. In a way, that's a lot like I feel about electric burners. I used electrics while in college, and I still remember that it took a long time for things to heat up, but once something was hot you'd have to stir frantically to keep it from burning even if you turned the burner off because the response was so poor. Very annoying, especially to someone like me who isn't much of a cook in the first place.
Perhaps some of the newer inductive or halogen rangetops are better. I still haven't seen much interest in them on the part of homeowners - in twenty years of working in high-end residential I'm not sure if I've ever had one client ask for an electric range. Pretty much everyone wants a huge Viking or Wolf gas range or rangetop.
Dryer preference is often due to what hookups are available in homes - lot of homes here in SoCal don't have a 220v outlet in the laundry room, while in some parts of the country they are common. I sent a perfectly good Wards electric dryer to the krusher awhile back because none of the used appliance stores would even pick it up for free due to it being electric.
I'm picky about cars and have never owned an automatic. I've driven the automatic version of every car I've owned which was available with an automatic in the US, and they always srike me as sluggish and not very responsive. In a way, that's a lot like I feel about electric burners. I used electrics while in college, and I still remember that it took a long time for things to heat up, but once something was hot you'd have to stir frantically to keep it from burning even if you turned the burner off because the response was so poor. Very annoying, especially to someone like me who isn't much of a cook in the first place.
Perhaps some of the newer inductive or halogen rangetops are better. I still haven't seen much interest in them on the part of homeowners - in twenty years of working in high-end residential I'm not sure if I've ever had one client ask for an electric range. Pretty much everyone wants a huge Viking or Wolf gas range or rangetop.
Dryer preference is often due to what hookups are available in homes - lot of homes here in SoCal don't have a 220v outlet in the laundry room, while in some parts of the country they are common. I sent a perfectly good Wards electric dryer to the krusher awhile back because none of the used appliance stores would even pick it up for free due to it being electric.
Gabriele, induction came back to our market about 2 years ago with Electrolux offering a 36" induction cooktop through Sears under the Kenmore brand as well as the Frigidaire brand. GE, Viking, and some other brands are now introducing their own. What will help acceptance is when someone begins selling a 30" freestanding range (cooker).
Induction cooktops were sold by Sears in the mid 1970s and a few other brands, but did no catch on.
Induction cooktops were sold by Sears in the mid 1970s and a few other brands, but did no catch on.
I have a 1995 GE induction cooktop that is a fantastic performer - it's amazing that you can cook on newspaper under the pan, cleanup is a snap. The induction is far and away more responsive and efficient than gas or coil-type electric, smoothtop electric cooking is just cumbersome, inaccurate and almost and silly in most comparisons. It's a shame these haven't caught on more with the public, perhaps the coming days of astronomical utility rates will help it's acceptance. It really makes everything else look like cooking over an open fire and primitive. I'd heard from a dealer that Viking is coming out with a free-standing induction range.
I have newfound respect for the power of electricity since using that 1960 Lady Kenmore dryer with 8400 watts of power. Clean, dry, efficient electric heat - the best way to dry clothes!
I have newfound respect for the power of electricity since using that 1960 Lady Kenmore dryer with 8400 watts of power. Clean, dry, efficient electric heat - the best way to dry clothes!
polkanut
Well-known member
16) Gas users are into instant gratification! ;-)
I just self-cleaned my gas GE oven---yeccch what a mess compared to an electric stove. I've got a new-ish deluxe gas GE freestanding 30" stove white on white and...I hate it. Give me electricity any time (and I'm a da** good cook). That said, I grew up w/electricity so am used to it. I may do a trade w/a friend of mine who has a sweeeet Thermador smoothtop electric stove but hates electric...anyway, back to the story.
2 weeks ago cooked a turkey breast in this gas oven. Made the mistake of putting it in a pyrex pan that matched the size closely (didn't want to burn the drippings). Alas, forgot that a gas oven has a hot floor. The spatterings made such a mess...smoky, greasy mess which I didn't figure out to put a cookie sheet underneath (but on the rack) until too late. Of course, was entertaining so did that with a blue haze in the house.
The nice thing about a normal electric stove is that except for the coil, the floor of the oven is the thermostat temperature. Spillovers don't get any hotter than the oven temp. Gas doesn't give that benefit.
I wiped out the bulk of the mess, but still had to run the self-cleaner. Yesterday AM, I girded my loins (lol) and set it for a 4 hr 20 minute cycle. Choked on the fumes, but it did clean the body of the oven (the da** big windows don't get clean any more...still need to scour that). Yecch. Give me electric.
2 weeks ago cooked a turkey breast in this gas oven. Made the mistake of putting it in a pyrex pan that matched the size closely (didn't want to burn the drippings). Alas, forgot that a gas oven has a hot floor. The spatterings made such a mess...smoky, greasy mess which I didn't figure out to put a cookie sheet underneath (but on the rack) until too late. Of course, was entertaining so did that with a blue haze in the house.
The nice thing about a normal electric stove is that except for the coil, the floor of the oven is the thermostat temperature. Spillovers don't get any hotter than the oven temp. Gas doesn't give that benefit.
I wiped out the bulk of the mess, but still had to run the self-cleaner. Yesterday AM, I girded my loins (lol) and set it for a 4 hr 20 minute cycle. Choked on the fumes, but it did clean the body of the oven (the da** big windows don't get clean any more...still need to scour that). Yecch. Give me electric.
selectomatic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2007
- Messages
- 483
My roommate loves to cook, but he tends to make some messes.
I've always liked electric better than gas anyway, but when the salesman told me that the slightly recessed cooking surface on the flat-top Hotpoint range would hold 5 quarts of spilled liquid, I was sold!
So easy to clean -- just scrape off any gunk with a razor blade and use non-abrasive cleanser over the whole surface.
-kevin
I've always liked electric better than gas anyway, but when the salesman told me that the slightly recessed cooking surface on the flat-top Hotpoint range would hold 5 quarts of spilled liquid, I was sold!
So easy to clean -- just scrape off any gunk with a razor blade and use non-abrasive cleanser over the whole surface.
-kevin
Induction is taking over as the preferred type of rangetop in commercial kitchens. Fagor, from Spain is selling their commercial and domestic induction cooktops in many countries.
Robert, for boiling milk, you need the French Pyrex device called Le Stop or something like that. It sits in the bottom of the pan and gives a very audible thump before the milk suddenly boils up.
Most people I know that use electric cooking do not have the problem of having to lift pans due to too hot a surface unit. For one thing they know to pay attention. Two, they know that except in cases of bringing water to the boiling point, you do not use high heat unattended, ever. Third, they realize that you can have very intense heat under the pan without having enough heat coming up the sides to singe the hair on the hands and arms of the cook. The heat that rises from the burners is what carries the cooking vapors to the ceiling and surrounding areas if you do not have a hood over the range.
Larger pieces of Corning Ware and large cast iron pans generally give better heat distribution over a flame which will spread over the base of the pan before going up the side. The exception is the Corning Ware used on the special Corning heating elements. If you heat a larger diameter cast iron skillet slowly so that the heat spreads sideways before the middle of the pan gets too hot, it will perform well over an electric element.
Maybe it's because so many people are approaching cooking with little experience, but many gas top of the range controls now have click positions for medium and low heat settings. Older gas range manuals and cookware manuals used to give drawings of flame ratios to high for determining medium, low and simmer settings. Our old Crown gas stove had the Harper Center Simmer Burners where at the simmer position, the outer ring received no gas and there were just 4 little ears of flame from the center button.
Robert, for boiling milk, you need the French Pyrex device called Le Stop or something like that. It sits in the bottom of the pan and gives a very audible thump before the milk suddenly boils up.
Most people I know that use electric cooking do not have the problem of having to lift pans due to too hot a surface unit. For one thing they know to pay attention. Two, they know that except in cases of bringing water to the boiling point, you do not use high heat unattended, ever. Third, they realize that you can have very intense heat under the pan without having enough heat coming up the sides to singe the hair on the hands and arms of the cook. The heat that rises from the burners is what carries the cooking vapors to the ceiling and surrounding areas if you do not have a hood over the range.
Larger pieces of Corning Ware and large cast iron pans generally give better heat distribution over a flame which will spread over the base of the pan before going up the side. The exception is the Corning Ware used on the special Corning heating elements. If you heat a larger diameter cast iron skillet slowly so that the heat spreads sideways before the middle of the pan gets too hot, it will perform well over an electric element.
Maybe it's because so many people are approaching cooking with little experience, but many gas top of the range controls now have click positions for medium and low heat settings. Older gas range manuals and cookware manuals used to give drawings of flame ratios to high for determining medium, low and simmer settings. Our old Crown gas stove had the Harper Center Simmer Burners where at the simmer position, the outer ring received no gas and there were just 4 little ears of flame from the center button.
Tom,
What brands/models of gas ranges have controls that click on the low and medium settings? I have some neighbors who are blind, and they have been looking to replace their older Caloric gas range (it keeps on having igniter problems), which has clicking controls, but they can't find any. I also looked over the past couple of years, and none of the new ranges I've seen have clicking controls.
What brands/models of gas ranges have controls that click on the low and medium settings? I have some neighbors who are blind, and they have been looking to replace their older Caloric gas range (it keeps on having igniter problems), which has clicking controls, but they can't find any. I also looked over the past couple of years, and none of the new ranges I've seen have clicking controls.
Harper Burners
Tom, I remember the couple of 30's Wedgewoods I had the pleasure of using in past residences had the Harper "Speed and Simmer" burners. Those small flames from the center were pretty near perfection when it came to simmering.
As for electric users needing to lift pans from the heat, etc, I was raised with electric as many here have read and the reason the '49 Westy is still in full working order in my mom's kitchen is because everybody knew to keep the pan on the burner and use a utensil to move the contents around, not slam the pan around on the coil. So electric users I think are more disciplined out of necessity. I still prefer gas, and while I'd never buy a Jenn-Air stove again, I do like my dual fuel model as it provides the best of both worlds. When it comes to ovens, I much prefer electric.
Ralph
Tom, I remember the couple of 30's Wedgewoods I had the pleasure of using in past residences had the Harper "Speed and Simmer" burners. Those small flames from the center were pretty near perfection when it came to simmering.
As for electric users needing to lift pans from the heat, etc, I was raised with electric as many here have read and the reason the '49 Westy is still in full working order in my mom's kitchen is because everybody knew to keep the pan on the burner and use a utensil to move the contents around, not slam the pan around on the coil. So electric users I think are more disciplined out of necessity. I still prefer gas, and while I'd never buy a Jenn-Air stove again, I do like my dual fuel model as it provides the best of both worlds. When it comes to ovens, I much prefer electric.
Ralph
pturo
New member
Gas users tend to drive Volkswagens and be Democrats
Electric users tend to drive American trucks and be Republicans
Electric users tend to drive American trucks and be Republicans
"the reason the '49 Westy is still in full working order in my mom's kitchen is because everybody knew to keep the pan on the burner and use a utensil to move the contents around, not slam the pan around on the coil"
Kind of puts a damper on stove-top popcorn, and omelets, though.
I'll take gas over any kind of electric other than induction, any day. Besides, what good cook hasn't slammed a pot down on the stove at least once in his life?
Kind of puts a damper on stove-top popcorn, and omelets, though.
I'll take gas over any kind of electric other than induction, any day. Besides, what good cook hasn't slammed a pot down on the stove at least once in his life?
How does induction compare from an energy consumption standpoint? Is it more efficient than a conventional electric stove?
FWIW, I love a gas cooktop, but that probably has a lot more to do with my psyche than anything rational. There's something about a gas flame I find very comforting.
FWIW, I love a gas cooktop, but that probably has a lot more to do with my psyche than anything rational. There's something about a gas flame I find very comforting.
As I understand it, induction is significantly more energy efficient than a regular coil or smooth top electric cooktop. That's because nearly all the energy goes into heating the pot or pan and then the food inside, whereas with a regular electric burner, substantial heat is wasted heating up the cooktop and surrounding air (although electric wastes less heat than gas). Still, the energy consumption of a cooktop is relatively insignificant to that used for resistant space heating, A/C, etc.
I'm left of center...
And I did try an electric mower, hedge trimmer, weed whacker, and edger. They are all in storage or sold or given to charity. I replaced each and every one with gasoline powered versions. The electrics either didn't have enough power to do the job, or the cord got in the way (ever cut a power cord with a hedge trimmer?). I didn't even consider cordless electric because of the hassle with charging, weak batteries, etc.
I did upgrade my gas powered mower from a flat head Briggs to an overhead valve Honda powered version. The Honda engine is much more efficient. It sips gas compared to the Briggs.
And I did try an electric mower, hedge trimmer, weed whacker, and edger. They are all in storage or sold or given to charity. I replaced each and every one with gasoline powered versions. The electrics either didn't have enough power to do the job, or the cord got in the way (ever cut a power cord with a hedge trimmer?). I didn't even consider cordless electric because of the hassle with charging, weak batteries, etc.
I did upgrade my gas powered mower from a flat head Briggs to an overhead valve Honda powered version. The Honda engine is much more efficient. It sips gas compared to the Briggs.
