Propane or Electric Stove

jtsummie · #1 05/19/14, 09:11 AM

My wife and I are new to country living, we recently moved to Indiana from Utah and we're looking to buy a few acres. The house we're looking at is set up for electric, busy my wife loves cooking with gas. I am a bit worried because this last winter there was a huge spike in propane prices. Would you risk the high propane prices or the power going out? Where we are looking isn't too far out so it would not necisaraly be an emergency situation if either went out. It also has a back up wood burning stove, but looking for everyday convienience.
Thanks

Les · #2 05/19/14, 09:38 AM

Our house was all electric, but we put in a propane cook stove, as I hate cooking on electric cook stoves. We have a 100lb propane tank which usually lasts us a bit over a year. All during the big propane price hike we just went about our business. I keep a couple of 20lb tanks on hand for just in case. Fill everything up in the summer when demand is low, then you're laughing all winter.
It works for us, your mileage may vary.
As far as heat goes, that's another issue. I would check with neighbors, ask how reliable the electrical service is, especially in winter. Our new place is where my wife grew up... Way back when she was a kid the power went out for days at a time in the winter and everybody heated with gas or coal. That was back in the 60's. We have lived here 4 years now, and the electrical service hasn't been off for more than an hour at a time. Yet.

jtsummie · #3 05/19/14, 09:42 AM

Thanks Les that makes sence. I didn't want to judge (mainly because I don't know too much about propane yet) but was wondering who waits till winter to fill up anyways. I am however the type of person that won't let my car gas gage go below a quater of a tank.

Nimrod · #4 05/19/14, 09:45 AM

If she likes cooking with gas then put one in. If she's happy so are you.

Do you have gas for anything else? There will be a higher initial price if you have to put in a tank, regulators, and gas line. You can rent the tank but then you are locked into buying the propane from that supplier at whatever price they want to charge you. Some suppliers will only rent you a big enough tank so you have to fill it up in the winter when the prices are high. Some charge a premium if you don't use a minimum amount. Buy your own tank if you can afford it. Then you can buy propane from whoever you like with no nonsense.

How much will you use? I only run the stove from the propane, although the furnace is available as backup to the wood stove. I use about 100 gallons a year and part of that is to fill up my 20 pound tanks for the BBQ, camper, and ice fishing house. My 250 gallon tank holds 200 gallons (they can only fill your tank to 80%) and lasts 2 years so I only fill in the summer when the price is low. Propane does not spoil so it's a good prep. Store as much as you can.

The newer propane stoves don't have a pilot light, they use electricity to light the burners and oven. If the electricity goes out you can light the burners with a match but can't light the oven. Check CL for a used stove that has pilots.

The fuel air mixture is different for propane and natural gas. You can usually get new orifices to convert the stove from one to the other but it's easier to buy the right one in the first place.

Hope you enjoy living out in the country.

light rain · #5 05/19/14, 09:57 AM

I would vote yes on the propane stove. We heat and cook with propane. The LP gauge hardly moves with cooking and drying clothes. The hot water boiler is a whole 'nuther story, though.

You need to decide what size tank you want and learn about the rules of propane commerce in your area. Whether you want to own your own tank/tanks or rent them from a supplier. There are lots of folks here from Indiana that I'm sure willing to help you understand the nit pickies of this way of energy consumption.

*If you're in this area, try to take a drive/walk in Brown County in the fall. Beautiful!

Les · #6 05/19/14, 10:02 AM

I bought my 100lb tank at Rural King for about $100. Tractor Supply has them too, as does Farm & Fleet I think. It is not too heavy to load and unload with a pickup truck. My local propane supply company installed the line and regulator and hooked up the stove for a very reasonable fee.
But I am in rural Illinois, don't know how Indiana is about such things.

lonelytree · #7 05/19/14, 11:13 AM

Check out the new stoves. Gas on top, electric oven.

wr · #8 05/19/14, 01:56 PM

If the cook prefers gas, the cook will be a lot happier with gas and operating a gas stove isn't that expensive.

Awnry Abe · #9 05/19/14, 04:53 PM

A gas cooktop won't run your bank account dry when prices are high. My preference is cooking on gas, to the point that I'd rather not cook on anything else. Electric ovens are fine.

Callieslamb · #10 05/19/14, 06:06 PM

With propane, you could also install a heater on the wall to heat part of the house in an emergency. We put in 2 500 gallon tanks so our whole house generator has one of it's own. We reserve it for emergeny situations- like this past winter when the price went to over $5 a gallon. We just flipped a switch and filled the empty one when the price came back down.

light rain · #11 05/19/14, 06:21 PM

Callieslamb, we had one of these on the wall heaters 20+ years ago.(All of us use to back into it gratefully in the mornings). Do you have any manufacturers names? Our boiler system just about broke us last winter. I was thinking of having a wall mount installed. I think it would be much more efficient. Along with the boiler we use wood and electric space heaters. I don't want to go through another winter like last one, without other cost-saving options. And, barring unforeseen circumstances, winter is coming...

farmerted · #12 05/19/14, 06:25 PM

That is all they use in Europe. A whole continent can't be wrong.

MO_cows · #13 05/19/14, 06:30 PM

When we bought our house it came with an ancient (propane) gas stove that didn't burn right and made propane fumes. Hated it, put in an electric. It didn't take long to realize we should have bought a new gas stove instead. Power outage, we're cooking on a camp stove. Also if you have gas for the oven, too, you can run it and leave the door open for some supplemental heat if you should need it. A gas oven kept us in our home during an extended power outage in the 80's, a major ice storm.

Michael W. Smith · #14 05/19/14, 10:41 PM

I would go with propane - just because if the electric goes out - there won't be cooking going on - unless your wife cooks on the wood burning stove.

We have lived here for the past 23 years. During that time, there have been at least two winter storms that have left us without power for days. The one - we were out for over a week.

And with your wife used to cooking on gas - you don't want to go electric and hear her complain everyday when she has to try to cook on the brand new electric stove you bought her!!!!!!

davel745 · #15 05/20/14, 02:03 AM

they have large propane tanks here http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...1897_200511897

do you have a tractor with a loader to move it because this would be the best bet for you could take it to the propane place and have it filled.

davel745 · #16 05/20/14, 02:05 AM

or get a generator for the house. here http://centralmainediesel.com/

goatlady · #17 05/20/14, 05:50 AM

Let's put it this way - I do not think there is a restaurant in the world that uses/cooks with electricity! Gas cook stoves can be fine-tuned to cook withexactly the flame needed for the results desired.

geo in mi · #18 05/20/14, 06:47 AM

Keep in mind that nearly all gas stoves require electricity to operate the oven. If the power goes out you can still light the burners with a match, but the oven won't work. There are still some that do operate without electricity, but you'll have to look for one.

geo

7thswan · #19 05/20/14, 06:55 AM

Gas only here. Elec isn't fast enough, and it stays hot to long after I'm done(danger). Esp. because I cann so much and cook dog food in large pots-it's not good for the elec burners. I even have an antique gas stove because I don't like the restricted BTU's of new stoves(yes, I light with matches). If we had the room, I'd have restaurant equitment. I do use a wood cookstove in the winter and have one outside also for summer.

ErinP · #20 05/20/14, 08:54 AM

Yet another vote for propane.

I grew up with an electric stove, but when I moved into my first house in college, it had a gas stove. I've never looked back.
BTW, another option for a low-volume user is to get a tank like oxygen/acetylene comes in for welding. Larger than a grill tank, but small enough you can still take it in yourself. My dad did this at our cabin for years...