DIYbanter - View Single Post - What's the Advantage of Having a Gas Stove?

Doug Miller

In article .com, wrote:
A new 1500 sq ft home my wife and I are building is to have propane
heat. We'll be living in Adirondack Park in upstate NY.

We are debating on whether to eventually purchase either a wood stove
or a gas stove. I like wood (I enjoy splitting it, stacking it, the
smell of it) but everyone tells me gas is the way to go for efficiency,
convenience and cleanliness.

My question is that other than ambiance, would a gas stove benefit us
in any way, that is, if I already have a gas furnace does it make sense
to buy a gas stove? Would there be any benefit in purchasing one to
possibly reduce my energy bill?

I'm guessing that you don't do the cooking, or you wouldn't even ask. What
does your wife think?

_No_way_ would I ever want to cook on a wood stove if I had the option of
using gas, and for the same reason I hate cooking on electric stoves, only
worse: far too slow response to changes in the heat setting. When you turn the
burner up on a gas stove, the heat goes up instantly -- and, even more
importantly, when you turn the gas *down*, the heat goes *down* instantly.

On an electric stove, if you have a pot beginning to boil over, or if you're
starting to scorch a white sauce, your only option is to move the damn thing
to a different burner. And if they're all in use... you're SOL. Same problem
with wood, only worse.

On a gas stove, you turn the heat down, and the pot stops boiling, and the
sauce stops burning, *right*now*.

Want to brown meat? Turn the burner up high on the gas stove, and you're
browning it in moments. Electric? Wait ten minutes, and it might be there.
Wood? Build your fire half an hour ahead of time, I guess.

Want to brown meat, and then add sauce and simmer it? Child's play on a gas
stove, to go immediately from high heat to low. Electric? Not hardly. Wood?
Forget it.

And we haven't even started to talk about cleaning out the ashes.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.