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Gas Appliance Controversy

Community Expert ,
Jan 13, 2023 Jan 13, 2023

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Natural Gas (methane) is still the fuel of choice here because it's in rich supply & cheaper than electricity.   Everyone here uses gas to heat their homes, water and cook meals.  We also have a gas clothes dryer that I really love.  

 

Safety concerns over gas powered appliances are nothing new.  They're dirty, they emit carbons. If not used properly,  gas can cause illness, death & possible combustion.   If you cook with gas (methane or propane), you already know that a gas leak is nothing to ignore.

 

There is no current or even proposed ban on existing gas appliances in the US yet.  But aging infrastructure has caused several human health & safety concerns.  The now infamous Aliso Canyon natural  gas leak made area residents sick for 4 months. It was terrible on many levels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliso_Canyon_gas_leak

 

And herein lies the quandary.  If faced with replacing aged out gas lines and appliances,  would you buy gas units again or opt for a cleaner & more efficient alternative?

 

I ask because my range is 25+ years old and  needs replacing.  The Inflation Reduction Act is offering financial incentives on purchases of electric stoves.  This might be my chance to ditch the gas range and replace it with an induction cooktop & built-in oven.

 

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Community Expert ,
Jan 13, 2023 Jan 13, 2023

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There is no current or even proposed ban on existing gas appliances in the US yet. 


By @Nancy OShea

 

Have a look here:

https://nypost.com/2023/01/11/hochuls-plan-to-ban-sale-of-gas-stoves-fuels-outrage/

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2023 Jan 14, 2023

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No proposed ban for EXISTING gas stoves. I don't expect a future sales ban either, just fewer units available to consumers.  Pigs will fly before hospitality & commercial kitchens give up their gas burners.

 

Drop-in induction hobs I've looked at online require standard copper wiring which we have, a dedicated 240-volt grounded outlet and a 40-50 amp breaker box.

 

I don't want to replace my old pans.  I understand some steel alloys containing nickel, copper, zinc do not work with induction.   And cast iron is subject to thermal shock breaks when heated suddenly.  So there's that to consider.

 

I might get a portable induction cooktop first to see if I like it. Amazon sells them for $50 -100.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Community Expert ,
Feb 24, 2023 Feb 24, 2023

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I researched my pans in advance; I had a set of AllClad about 13 years old. They were supposed to work on induction but they didn't, probably something to do with the way the layers were sandwiched. But I wasn't sad to buy a new set of pots & pans - I love them. Gave the old set, which was still in fine condition to my daughter, who was thrilled to receive them. I used my Lodge castiron skillet all the time on the induction cooktop. It heats quickly and really holds the heat; I have to be really careful not to burn anything when using it it. You can test all of your current cookware with a magnet. If it sticks, it will work. I took a magnet with me when I went shopping at Macy's 🙂 

Jill C., Forum Volunteer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2023 Jan 14, 2023

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Personally, I love gas stoves and really dislike electric. My biases aside, if you switch to an electric stove, it may cost you a great deal in getting power to it. You would need a dedicated 30 amp breaker for it and have to run wire to your stove's location, which could be pricey. 

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2023 Jan 14, 2023

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 You would need a dedicated 30 amp breaker for it and have to run wire to your stove's location, 


By @Chuck Uebele

 

If a built-in oven or cooktop, 30 amp.

If a freestanding electric range with an oven and cooktop, then you would need a 40 or 50 amp breaker and wiring.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 14, 2023 Jan 14, 2023

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Yea, you're right. I just check my daughter's panel, and she has a 40 amp for her stove. I must have been thinking clothes dryer. That's 30 amp.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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You would need a dedicated 30 amp breaker for it and have to run wire to your stove's location, which could be pricey. 


By @Chuck Uebele

With me, it would be the inverse… because I did cut off the gas supply to my kitchen at the time, as I would have had to upgrade security for the gas (I had both gas and electricity).

 

(Let me state for the sake of completeness: as an electrical engineer as basic education, I'm biased to electricity, anyway. My heating, however, is gas as in most of the houses here, that were built between 1970-2010).

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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Pros and cons to both, Nancy, but when I have lost electricity for five days on more than one occasion,  I have been grateful that I could light my gas stove with a match for coffee and bath water. 

 

Jane

 

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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when I have lost electricity for five days on more than one occasion,  I have been grateful that I could light my gas stove with a match for coffee and bath water. 

 

Jane

 

==========

In power outages, my gas stove, water heater & furnace auto lock for safety reasons.  I can't use them.  Plan B is the backyard barbecue / solar cooker or call for take out. 🙂

 

Less than 38% of American households have natural gas stoves, most of whom reside in CA, IL, NY & NJ.  The rest of the country is twice as likely to be using electricity as their primary fuel with some backup alternative like wood or propane. 

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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I discovered recently that induction conversion plates are a thing. Like a heat diffuser but for induction rather than gas.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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And I forgot to say that the point is to allow other types of pots to be used on induction cooktops (the plate heats up just like an electric plate)

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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But you lose the high efficiency of the induction cooktop.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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Right.  What @Peru Bob said.  On induction, you can boil water in under 2 minutes.  On gas or electric, it takes about 8 minutes.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Community Expert ,
Jan 15, 2023 Jan 15, 2023

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Of course. But if you have a few beloved pots you want to keep, it's an option for those couple of pots.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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I have those, I don't use them. Why? Efficiency! But for the time I did not have changed my pots to induction compatible ones, they were valuable.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 17, 2023 Jan 17, 2023

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I have electric and given the opportunity I would switch to gas.  I've worked in kitchens in the past, and there is just nothing close to a gas burner.


George F, Fine Art Landscape Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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 there is just nothing close to a gas burner.


By @George_F

Induction is like gas. Switch on: heat, switch off: no heat. The trick with the induction is: the heat is “produced” in the bottom of the cook top. The efficiency is very high. The problem with induction is that you need special cooking pots. But these should be widely available now and are not much more expensive, if at all.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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@Abambo wrote:

The problem with induction is that you need special cooking pots. But these should be widely available now and are not much more expensive, if at all.


 

Some of my favorite cast iron skillets are older than I am. My son tried to use one on induction, but it did not work!

 

Jane

 

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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Some of my favorite cast iron skillets are older than I am. My son tried to use one on induction, but it did not work!

 

Jane

 

By @jane-e

Yep! That's the problem. You can use a converter plate, but that is less efficient.

 

In principle, cast iron should work. I haven't, however, not studied the process, and I have only superficial knowledge about induction hotplates. Accordingly, I do not know exactly what are built-in security systems, and what does not work. I assume that older cookware would work, would not the electronics turn off, as the response is not as expected. The aluminium cookware that my mother used on her gas stove, and that she scrapped when she changed to an electric stove, don't work by principle.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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In theory, if a magnet sticks to your iron or steel pan, it should work with induction element.  

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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@Abambo perhaps that's what I've been missing.  We have induction cook tops and I've always thought they worked only ok.  But the stove came with the house so I've never really done any research about it.  I've just longed for gas instead, haha.  I'll have to look at these special cooking pots.


George F, Fine Art Landscape Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Jan 19, 2023 Jan 19, 2023

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I've used both types - electric and gas and between the two prefer electric. Induction cooktops, however, seem to be more efficient in power usage.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 28, 2023 Jan 28, 2023

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If you produce your own electricity (via solar panels …) it could be interesting to use more electrical appliances than gas appliances. If the electrical energy is produced by coal or gas, you did not do anything for saving CO2, by switching to electrical appliances.

 

But in the long term, switching to electrical appliances will prove the better system.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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Community Expert ,
Feb 01, 2023 Feb 01, 2023

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Well I take back everything I said about natural gas being cheap.  It's not cheap anymore!  😲

 

My neighborhood message board is flaming with complaints about recent gas utility bills jumping from $147 to $700!!!   Ouch.   December-January were especially cold & wet months here but that's not the reason.  The radical price hikes are attributed to severe supply chain issues of unknown duration.  And once utility prices go up, they rarely come back down again.

 

Replacing the aging furnace with an high efficiency heat pump may be of imminent necessity.  Nobody can afford $700 gas bills.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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