A Different Stove Question

[Jim Koepke]

We live in an area that does not have natural gas delivery as a utility. If we want natural gas, we have to have a tank and then a truck comes when we need it.

We do not have a tank for the house. We do have a tank at our greenhouse.

We currently have an electric stove that will likely need replacement in a few years.

Does anyone here have a gas stove fed from a tank? Any ideas on how big a tank is needed for service to a stove? How often to fill?

We occasionally have power failures and it would be nice to be able to use our stove so we do not have to go out for dinner or breakfast. We have had an occasion or two where our power was out for a full day. A landslide taking out a few poles can do that.

Thanks for any information on this,

jtk

[Izzy Camire]

Jim,
I have a stove and clothes dryer that burn propane. I think the tank has a 50 gallon capacity. It gets filled once a year and we burn about 35 gallons. In my area they charge more per gallon if you use less. In addition some companies add a surcharge if you do not use enough. When the electric is out the stove still works though.
Izzy

[Jim Becker]

At my previous home, I used propane delivered to an on-site tank for cooking. (I have natural gas from the street here) My good friend just did a whole kitchen renovation (the one I did the big island top for) and he's using propane from the big tanks he already has for his pool heater. He'll be running a whole house generator off those same tanks at some point, too. Propane is just fine for cooking. You don't get quite the same BTU as you do with natural gas, but it's close. I highly reccomend cooking with gas over electric unless it's impossible to get at a property for some reason and then induction is the way to go, IMHO.

[William Batdorf]

Jim,
Be aware that it is also possible to buy or rent the tank. If you own the tank you can shop around to various suppliers for the best propane prices, but you're also responsible for maintenance and upkeep. If you rent the tank, you're generally obligated to purchase your propane from the supplier who rents you the tank. Tanks can be above ground or buried (if you're concerned about the looks). Here in rural Penna. propane is very popular for both residential and commercial use. I use propane at home and my business, as natural gas is not available to me either.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Jim, you are not exactly correct. Induction electrical stove much more efficient then any natural gas/propane stove you can buy.
Plus induction stove much faster too.
Ed.

At my previous home, I used propane delivered to an on-site tank for cooking. (I have natural gas from the street here) My good friend just did a whole kitchen renovation (the one I did the big island top for) and he's using propane from the big tanks he already has for his pool heater. He'll be running a whole house generator off those same tanks at some point, too. Propane is just fine for cooking. You don't get quite the same BTU as you do with natural gas, but it's close. I highly reccomend cooking with gas over electric unless it's impossible to get at a property for some reason and then induction is the way to go, IMHO.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, you are not exactly correct. Induction electrical stove much more efficient then any natural gas/propane stove you can buy.
Plus induction stove much faster too.
Ed.
I didn't mention anything about overall efficiency. My comment was reflective of the difference between natural gas and propane for BTU output. Gas on a range top will always be my preference for the level of control it provides. But thankfully, induction has a billion times more control than regular resistance electric for folks who can't do gas and really, really like to cook. :) Yes, there's some subjectivity there, but ask any serious amateur or a professional cook, and most will agree with my feelings.

[Rollie Meyers]

Propane has a higher BTU output then natural gas, it's also heavier then air so will settle on the floor if there is a leak, which one reason I hate propane, my hot water & furnace is natural gas but the kitchens on both houses on the property are all electric, which is way cleaner then gas, it's been 24 years since my kitchen was last painted & still in good shape + no hood either.

[Bill Dufour]

Be aware most modern gas stoves need electricity to run the oven valve. The burners on top can be lit with a match but not the oven. They probably went to electric oven valves by the 70's.
Bill D.

[Jim Becker]

Propane has a higher BTU output then natural gas,
Given that...it's interesting how ranges have lower BTU figures for Propane use vs Natural Gas use...

[Ken Combs]

Given that...it's interesting how ranges have lower BTU figures for Propane use vs Natural Gas use...
That is weird! Since a cubic foot of propane has almost twice the BTU content of NG, you wouldn't think so. But, I think the issue is that convertible ranges don't have enough air/oxygen input to use all the available energy. So, the jet sizing is much smaller for propane. I think dedicated gas or propane are different in that respect.

[Bill Dufour]

I do not belive that propane is really any more btu's per cubic foot if the pressure was equal. The difference is that propane is normally supplied to the burner at about double the pressure of NG so it appears to have more BTU's per cubic foot. But as soon as it leaves the orifice the fuel drops to atmospheric pressure.
The lower Btu content of propane has something to do with the more complex molecular structure of propane and its many more bonds which have to be broken to split the molecule during combustion.
Bill D.

[Peter Kelly]

We live in an area that does not have natural gas delivery as a utility. If we want natural gas, we have to have a tank and then a truck comes when we need it.

We do not have a tank for the house. We do have a tank at our greenhouse.

We currently have an electric stove that will likely need replacement in a few years.

Does anyone here have a gas stove fed from a tank? Any ideas on how big a tank is needed for service to a stove? How often to fill?

We occasionally have power failures and it would be nice to be able to use our stove so we do not have to go out for dinner or breakfast. We have had an occasion or two where our power was out for a full day. A landslide taking out a few poles can do that.

Thanks for any information on this,

jtkReplace the old radiant electric stove with an induction one. Weber cooker or camping stove for when the power goes out.

[Jim Koepke]

Replace the old radiant electric stove with an induction one. Weber cooker or camping stove for when the power goes out.

We are not much fans of induction stoves. We do have a lot of cast iron, but my wife tends to like the lightness of some of her aluminum cookware.

Sometimes the power goes out when it is snowing. Not sure the wife would want to fire up the BBQ during inclement weather.

jtk

[Howard Garner]

I have had both over the years and would take either over electric.
The natural gas models can not be directly connected to the propane line.
Most units you can buy the other orifices needed and change them your self.
Some even come with both. My older one (1966) did.

Howard Garner

[Peter Kelly]

I've cooked with gas for much of my adult life and having recently tried induction with a small countertop unit, I'm completely sold on it. No open flames, instant heat adjustment, easy to clean, perfectly even heating, can't see any cons.

Fondue if the power goes out in the snow!

[Jim Becker]

I've cooked with gas for much of my adult life and having recently tried induction with a small countertop unit, I'm completely sold on it. No open flames, instant heat adjustment, easy to clean, perfectly even heating, can't see any cons.

Yes, we have a one-pot induction unit that I bought to use when I was doing our kitchen renovation back in 2003...that, plus the microwave and grill outside was our cooking setup for about a month while the kitchen was completely gutted and there were no fixed appliances available. That little thing is impressive. Current generation stuff is even better. That said, no way would I give up my Thermador range unless either form of gas was not an option at a future home. (a long time from now, most likely)

[Peter Kelly]

Same here minus the microwave as I've been re-doing my kitchen at the house upstate. I installed a Bosch Benchmark gas cooktop as I didn't have any open slots in the panel for a separate 240v line to do induction. Now that I've gotten used to it, I certainly prefer the cheapie Fagor cooker. Awesome to be able to set an actual temperature for cooking rather than a gas mark.

[Dave Cav]

We lived up in rural Snohomish County for about 30 years. The first 15 was in an all electric house. We got a big Vermont Castings woodstove after the first prolonged power outage and learned how to cook on it pretty well. Did much of a Thanksgiving dinner on it once. Coleman, kerosene lanterns got used a bunch before I finally got a generator.

The second house had a 250 gallon propane tank. Furnace, water heater, range and dryer were all propane. The tank had to be refilled every one to two months depending on the time of year and how cold it was. After about seven or eight years we installed a heat pump with emergency backup gas heat and our propane consumption went down considerably. We also had a wood stove there, but normally only used it when the temps were below freezing for extended periods. When the heat pump was installed I also had an 8KW generator installed; that made the power outages a lot more tolerable. We were at the end of a single ended feed down 1.5 miles of private road through heavy timber. Power went out at the drop of a hat (or an alder) and we were generally last on the PUD's list to get back in service. Outages of a day or two were not uncommon. I don't miss that here in Utah at all.

[Robert Engel]

Jim,

I believe you're talking about LP or liquid propane delivery rather than NG.

Just in case you're not aware, gas ranges usually come set for NG. You have to change the burner orificesand possibly change other things (the manual will tell you). You will also most likely have to adjust the flames.

We have only ever had gas ranges mostly because we like cooking with gas & the "when its off, its off" thing, plus we live in an hurricane zone.

We just got done installing a new dual fuel range (gas top, electric oven). We noticed the electric oven heats up in ~ 1/4th the time it took the old gas range.

I have a friend with a back up generator and a 240 gallon subterranean propane tank which has on the order of $1500 worth of LP gass in it. He's had it 5 years and its been used twice in sustained events, both hurricanes, and the power was out 3 days one time and 2 days the other. He told me had to do over he would have gone with a diesel generator.

I was tempted but after he told me he's got >10K in invested I will keep using my 8500W generator which runs my fridge, lights, and well pump. Gas range and water heater. Runs for 8 hours on 2 gallons of gas.

[John K Jordan]

We use tanks of propane for our range top (convection oven is electric). I connect two tall 100 lb cylinders with a wye and keep two more tanks as spares. I open the valve to just one tank until it runs out, then close it and open the other to keep cooking. This alerts me to be sure I have spares on hand for when the second runs empty. Anything larger than 100 lb tanks I don't want to haul and manhandle into place. (They look something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Worthington-Pro-Grade-100-lb-Propane-Tank/1080473) I made a little concrete pad outside to set them on but I had them on a couple of PT pine boards for 15 years.)

I haven't paid any attention but a pair of tanks lasts a LONG time for just a range top - several years at least, using it several times a day. Sorry, I don't know about the oven. Might ask the gas supplier (or maybe search the net) for the number of BTUs per pound of gas which would let you calculate how long you can run your stove for typical use based on specs.

JKJ



We live in an area that does not have natural gas delivery as a utility. If we want natural gas, we have to have a tank and then a truck comes when we need it.

We do not have a tank for the house. We do have a tank at our greenhouse.

We currently have an electric stove that will likely need replacement in a few years.

Does anyone here have a gas stove fed from a tank? Any ideas on how big a tank is needed for service to a stove? How often to fill?

We occasionally have power failures and it would be nice to be able to use our stove so we do not have to go out for dinner or breakfast. We have had an occasion or two where our power was out for a full day. A landslide taking out a few poles can do that.

Thanks for any information on this,

jtk