Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to
have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most
evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that
you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big
enough and powerful enough to heat?

How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most
expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only
is on for a few minutes each day?

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?

Thanks,
Stephen.

Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to
have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most
evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that
you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big
enough and powerful enough to heat?

How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most
expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only
is on for a few minutes each day?

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?

Thanks,
Stephen.



Gas, just look at what the professionals use

On 29/05/14 08:45, Stephen wrote:

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

On 29/05/14 08:55, F Murtz wrote:

Gas, just look at what the professionals use

True - but Gordon Ramsay has minions to clean them.

Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven. I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

On Thu, 29 May 2014 09:41:22 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven. I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

+1



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
My posts (including this one) are my copyright and if @diy_forums on
Twitter wish to tweet them they can pay me £30 a post
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 29/05/14 08:45, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?


Gas hob, Electric Oven.


but if ye put ya mind to it, probably anything can be done to a
sufficient standard in a combination microwave nowadays.

--
Adrian C

Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to
have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most
evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that
you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big
enough and powerful enough to heat?

How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most
expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only
is on for a few minutes each day?

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?

Thanks,
Stephen.

My feeling is that gas/electric combined hobs (2gas rings, 2 electric
rings) are best (Scholtes make one I believe, together with electric
ovens. YMMV.

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...

On 29/05/14 08:45, Stephen wrote:

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

+1


Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

On Thu, 29 May 2014 09:25:27 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

Of all the electric hob variations induction is streets ahead of any
of them and is almost as controllable as gas. Induction is discrete
steps, albeit 10 or so not linear like gas. The big problem with
other electric hobs is the thermal mass, the whole system is just too
laggy. Whack it up to get hot in a sensible amount of time and you
overshoot, turn it down and the cooking temp takes minutes to drop
back. Then on low settings the primitive BANG BANG control means that
the cooking temperature goes from not cooking to burning,
particularly if you have a thick sticky sauce.

Halogen are reasonably responsive but still laggy compared to
induction or gas. Trouble is if you don't have pans that cover the
element you end up cooking staring into a bright red light.

Induction is still BANG BANG but on much quicker duty cycle so the
pan temperature is far more even and there is very little overshoot.
Induction also offers a "pan temperature" control option along with
"power".

What I don't like about induction is the stupid touch controls that
may or may not "see" your touch. What's wrong with a real knob FFS!

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

Expensive yes but if you don't have gas worth it IMHO. No mains gas
here so was seriously thinking of propane tanks outside until I
bought a cheap single ring induction hot plate from Lidl to "play
with" ...

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
Andy Burns writes:
Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven.

+1

I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

Induction hobs can be OK for most things, but none match the power
of a large gas burner (anywhere near), can't be used with all pans,
unsuitable for a wok, fish kettle, etc. Also, don't expect anywhere
near the life of a gas hob. If those limitations don't worry you,
then may worth investigating.

Some friends with a tiny flat with a 2-ring gas hob, who liked to
cook and entertain, bought a stand-alone table-top induction hob,
which complimented the has hob very well, and could be put away
when not in use. You could look for a split induction/gas hob if
that combination appeals.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 29/05/14 10:39, Dave Liquorice wrote:

What I don't like about induction is the stupid touch controls that
may or may not "see" your touch. What's wrong with a real knob FFS!

Probably an extension of the "easy to clean" idea - but I do wonder why
no one offers a choice...

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

Expensive yes but if you don't have gas worth it IMHO. No mains gas
here so was seriously thinking of propane tanks outside until I
bought a cheap single ring induction hot plate from Lidl to "play
with" ...


Me too - I'm cooking entirely on a single plug in induction ring (untill
we fit out kitchen in October) and that's what sold me - never really
thought about it before...

Still going to get a free standing cooker version though - I'm not a fan
of built in anything...

On 5/29/2014 4:41 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven. I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

That's what we have now - plus a single induction hob. I've used all gas
and all electric, and for me, the gas hob/electric oven+grill combo
works best. If I had to go all-electric, I'd definitely consider induction.

On 29/05/2014 10:43, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Andy Burns writes:
Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven.

+1

I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

Induction hobs can be OK for most things, but none match the power
of a large gas burner (anywhere near), can't be used with all pans,
unsuitable for a wok, fish kettle, etc. Also, don't expect anywhere
near the life of a gas hob. If those limitations don't worry you,
then may worth investigating.

Some friends with a tiny flat with a 2-ring gas hob, who liked to
cook and entertain, bought a stand-alone table-top induction hob,
which complimented the has hob very well, and could be put away
when not in use. You could look for a split induction/gas hob if
that combination appeals.

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

On 29/05/2014 12:24, newshound wrote:

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

For a small oven you can use a convection microwave.

Cooks well and faster than a normal oven.

On Thursday, 29 May 2014 08:55:41 UTC+1, F Murtz wrote:
Stephen wrote:

Hello,



If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric

one?



Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to

have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most

evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?



For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is

adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you

turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter

and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?



Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that

you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big

enough and powerful enough to heat?



How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most

expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only

is on for a few minutes each day?



For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a

ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which

has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and

model you have.



I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a

row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and

they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like

an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.



This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down

the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It

is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they

are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,

just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I

guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.



Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if

buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the

shop before buying?



Thanks,

Stephen.







Gas, just look at what the professionals use

I'd choose microwave ;-)

I prefer oven cooking with electric but gas hobs, but I didn;t have the space or the money to get one of thoese duel fuel so went for electric.

I can set a start delay and stop in x mins with an electric oven (not seen that option on gas), but gas honbs seem far for controlable, but you can fake electric control by removing the pan from the hob, which is s bit more hassle than just turning the gas down.

Note that this applies to the cheaper standard elctric cookers not induction or halogen

Andy Burns wrote:

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven. I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

+1

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Thu, 29 May 2014 09:25:27 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

Of all the electric hob variations induction is streets ahead of any
of them and is almost as controllable as gas. Induction is discrete
steps, albeit 10 or so not linear like gas. The big problem with
other electric hobs is the thermal mass, the whole system is just too
laggy. Whack it up to get hot in a sensible amount of time and you
overshoot, turn it down and the cooking temp takes minutes to drop
back. Then on low settings the primitive BANG BANG control means that
the cooking temperature goes from not cooking to burning,
particularly if you have a thick sticky sauce.

Halogen are reasonably responsive but still laggy compared to
induction or gas. Trouble is if you don't have pans that cover the
element you end up cooking staring into a bright red light.

Induction is still BANG BANG but on much quicker duty cycle so the
pan temperature is far more even and there is very little overshoot.
Induction also offers a "pan temperature" control option along with
"power".

What I don't like about induction is the stupid touch controls that
may or may not "see" your touch. What's wrong with a real knob FFS!

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

Expensive yes but if you don't have gas worth it IMHO. No mains gas
here so was seriously thinking of propane tanks outside until I
bought a cheap single ring induction hot plate from Lidl to "play
with" ...


When we were thinking of replacing our old all electric cooker (which had
those solid hot plates) we bought one of those cheap induction plate things
to try. It worked but wasn't a great success. Fortunately we didn't let that
deter us and went on to get a proper all electric cooker with induction hob
(90cm Stoves). The cooker induction rings are far superior to the cheap one.
They are faster and much more controllable. It does have touch controls but
we find no difficulty with them.

We have had the cooker now for 18 months and we are still delighted with it.
My wife has used gas in the past and had to convert to electric some 30
years ago but now wouldn't go back.

It's very clean cooking. (We don't have cooker ventilation or filtration.)

We did have to replace some pans but bought a very cheap set of induction
suitable ones as a temporary measure. They are working well and are no
longer considered temporary.

Edgar

On 29/05/2014 08:45, Stephen wrote:

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

Gas hob, run off propane cylinders if there's no mains. Electric oven.

On 29/05/2014 08:45, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?
....

It will depend upon your style of cooking. I rarely cook anything on the
hob and, if I do, it is unlikely to be anything more complicated than a
pan of boiling water for pasta or rice. However, I have a main fan oven,
a secondary oven / grill plus a combination microwave and all three can
be in use for a meal. That makes electric the better choice for me. If
you mainly cook on the hob, gas is probably what you want.

Colin Bignell

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to
have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most
evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that
you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big
enough and powerful enough to heat?

How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most
expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only
is on for a few minutes each day?

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?

Thanks,
Stephen.

Halogen electric. (Quicker than old ceramic hobs.)
Easier to clean.
No nasty NOx fumes relased into the house.
Cheaper.
Easier and cheaper to install/connect.
Safer. No chance of explosion.

In article m,
"dennis@home" writes:
On 29/05/2014 12:24, newshound wrote:

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

For a small oven you can use a convection microwave.

A bugger to cleam, as they don't have stay-clean liners.
I use mine mainly for plate warming.

Cooks well and faster than a normal oven.

My fan oven is much faster getting to temperature than the
convection or fan oven options on the microwave, even though
the microware also switches on the grill element to speed up
the initial warm-up. Speed of heating up does vary enormously
between different electric ovens - something you might want
to look into if it's important to you.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?


I don't know if it is still trendy to have the gas jets out of sight behind
a metal sheet with holes in, which end up with one flat flame all over? They
are awful.

Remember the last couple of winters and consider what you will do in the
next power cut!

On 5/29/2014 2:24 PM, Tahiri wrote:

Remember the last couple of winters and consider what you will do in the
next power cut!

Apart from the fact that I like cooking on gas hobs, they are, indeed,
very useful during power cuts!

In article ,
whisky-dave writes:
I can set a start delay and stop in x mins with an electric oven (not seen that option on gas),

We still have what was my Grandmother's Canon gas cooker working in the
family (probably bought around 1981), and that has timed operation of the
gas oven. Or it did until about 5 years ago when the time clock stripped
the plastic cogs, as the mechanical ones evenually all do.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 29/05/2014 09:25, Tim Watts wrote:

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.

me too

I think I've used nearly all types. An induction though for only 6
months - and then I was made redundant. The new house (near the new
job!) needs a new kitchen, and that's what we're getting. SWMBO agrees!

In order...

Aga - wastes loads of power. Get used to controlling things by putting
them half-on the ring - which is useless for something sticky.

Electric solid hob - can't comment.

Electric radiant - slowish to respond. Not easy to clean - except the
ring itself, which is hot enough to self clean.

Ceramic hob - slow as ***. The nice flat surface _looks_ easy to clean,
but any spills burn on - and it isn't hot enough to burn them off again.

Halogen - faster than ceramic, but not much. Has all the other faults.

Bottled gas - I'm not sure this ought to be above halogen. But maybe
ours is a dud one.

Mains gas - good to cook on, allows woks and other such non-flat bases.
But cleaning is a nightmare with half a dozen awkwardly shaped loose bits.

Induction - really fast. MUCH faster than gas. it's easy to clean too -
the top never gets much above boiling (just from conduction from the
pans) so most spills just wipe off the flat surface. Only downside is
all the pans must be flat based steel. I bought a sauté pan to use for a
wok.

Andy

On 29/05/2014 09:25, Tim Watts wrote:
On 29/05/14 08:45, Stephen wrote:

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Electric induction beats everything IMHO. As fast as gas and as powerful
(eg stir frying). Easy to clean (unlike gas which is horrible).

Main disadvantages: expensive and electronic (risk of going wrong) and
needs ferrous based pans.


Agreed.

Having recently had to use my mother's gas cooker, which is almost brand
new, I am shocked at how poor it is. Our induction hob is so much, umm,
nicer.

I have also been reminded how tedious it is keeping gas hobs clean - and
the need to wait to be sure the ironmongery is cool enough.

Historically I have also seen a lot of pans with distinctly unflat bases
due to being used on gas.

The turn-off-before-damaging-overheat aspect of induction is also a
significant safety feature.

Gas hobs end up with huge amounts of hot air rising from the hob - much
worse in summer. Also tends to cause handles to be much hotter.

Am also not convinced that, at ordinary domestic levels, gas is quicker
than electric.

--
Rod

On 29/05/14 21:15, Vir Campestris wrote:

Halogen - faster than ceramic, but not much. Has all the other faults.

Bottled gas - I'm not sure this ought to be above halogen. But maybe
ours is a dud one.

I find bottled gas (butane) is not as controllable as mains gas
(methane). It seems to be full on whatever the position of the control knob.




Mains gas - good to cook on, allows woks and other such non-flat bases.
But cleaning is a nightmare with half a dozen awkwardly shaped loose bits.

I don't find cleaning a gas ring a problem. If tit dosn't burn off then
anything burnt on just adds to the protective layer.





Induction - really fast. MUCH faster than gas. it's easy to clean too -
the top never gets much above boiling (just from conduction from the
pans) so most spills just wipe off the flat surface. Only downside is
all the pans must be flat based steel. I bought a sauté pan to use for a
wok.


--
djc

On 29/05/2014 21:28, djc wrote:
On 29/05/14 21:15, Vir Campestris wrote:

Halogen - faster than ceramic, but not much. Has all the other faults.

Bottled gas - I'm not sure this ought to be above halogen. But maybe
ours is a dud one.

I find bottled gas (butane) is not as controllable as mains gas
(methane). It seems to be full on whatever the position of the control
knob.

Is that on a camping stove rather than a full size domestic hob, and
hence not terribly well designed? I'm on propane, and it does the things
gas needs to do, ie full control.

Butane for a house would be a bad idea - in winter you'd struggle with
the cylinders getting cold.

On 29/05/2014 21:28, djc wrote:
I don't find cleaning a gas ring a problem. If tit dosn't burn off then
anything burnt on just adds to the protective layer.

It isn't so much the ring itself as the area around. On induction a wipe
with a suitable cleaner, and a quick "buff" with a dry cloth - it looks
like new. Any gas hob, even one which is fairly well-designed, the
grease and muck tends to get much hotter and burn on.

--
Rod

"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
On 29/05/14 08:45, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?


Gas hob, Electric Oven.


but if ye put ya mind to it, probably anything can be done to a sufficient
standard in a combination microwave nowadays.

Not the higher volume stuff like marmalade
done in 15Kg of citrus batches.

polygonum wrote:
On 29/05/2014 21:28, djc wrote:
I don't find cleaning a gas ring a problem. If tit dosn't burn off then
anything burnt on just adds to the protective layer.

It isn't so much the ring itself as the area around. On induction a wipe
with a suitable cleaner, and a quick "buff" with a dry cloth - it looks
like new. Any gas hob, even one which is fairly well-designed, the
grease and muck tends to get much hotter and burn on.

The gas part of our hob is very easy to clean. The only fault after 40
years is the enamel on the burner spreader has flaked in a few places.
The main hob base is perfect.

"newshound" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 29/05/2014 10:43, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Andy Burns writes:
Stephen wrote:

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

For me, gas hob with electric fan oven.

+1

I haven't really tried
new-fangled halogen/induction (what's next laser or plasma?) hobs that
some people swear by.

Induction hobs can be OK for most things, but none match the power
of a large gas burner (anywhere near), can't be used with all pans,
unsuitable for a wok, fish kettle, etc. Also, don't expect anywhere
near the life of a gas hob. If those limitations don't worry you,
then may worth investigating.

Some friends with a tiny flat with a 2-ring gas hob, who liked to
cook and entertain, bought a stand-alone table-top induction hob,
which complimented the has hob very well, and could be put away
when not in use. You could look for a split induction/gas hob if
that combination appeals.

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

Yeah, I do most of my oven cooking in one of those now.

Does the roast leg of lamb fine, but I still prefer the
roast potatoes done in deep fat in a conventional oven.

With a conventional oven I do the initial roasting at 350F and
jack it up to 450F when I add the potatoes for the last hour.

But you can't just do the potatoes in the conventional oven
at 450F in deep fat about half way up the potatoes, it gets
too hot done like that the potatoes are overdone. Haven't
tried say 400F or say 40 mins instead of an hour with a turn
of the potatoes at 30 mins. Presumably the lack of the
leg of lamb in there is the reason it doesn't work with
the potatoes alone.

"dennis@home" wrote in message
b.com...
On 29/05/2014 12:24, newshound wrote:

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

For a small oven you can use a convection microwave.

Trouble with those is the much higher price than halogen ovens.

Not clear how long halogen ovens last tho, I have gone
thru 2 so far, one the fan stopped and the other the heat.

I mostly get them unused from garage sales for $10 so its
no big deal, but they are the cheap end of appliances

Cooks well and faster than a normal oven.

"whisky-dave" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, 29 May 2014 08:55:41 UTC+1, F Murtz wrote:
Stephen wrote:

Hello,



If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric

one?



Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to

have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most

evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?



For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is

adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you

turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter

and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?



Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that

you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big

enough and powerful enough to heat?



How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most

expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only

is on for a few minutes each day?



For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a

ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which

has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and

model you have.



I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a

row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and

they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like

an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.



This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down

the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It

is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they

are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,

just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I

guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.



Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if

buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the

shop before buying?



Thanks,

Stephen.







Gas, just look at what the professionals use

I'd choose microwave ;-)

I do too for quite a bit of stuff but they don't do some
stuff very well, particularly roasts and stuff with crisp
pastry etc. Convection microwaves do, but they arent
cheap.

I prefer oven cooking with electric but gas hobs,

I don't bother with gas hobs, mainly because what
I used to do on the hob like rice and frozen veg
etc is much better done in the microwave.

Stuff like stir fry and currys etc I do in an electric frypan or wok.

I do other stuff like the bulk marmalade and relish
on the hob but an electric glass top hob works fine
for that and is much easier to clean than a gas hob.

but I didn;t have the space or the money to get
one of thoese duel fuel so went for electric.

I can set a start delay and stop in x mins with an
electric oven (not seen that option on gas), but
gas honbs seem far for controlable, but you can fake
electric control by removing the pan from the hob, which
is s bit more hassle than just turning the gas down.

I just don't need the fine control that you certainly
get with a gas hob anymore, because I do the stuff
you need the fine control for in the microwave now.

Note that this applies to the cheaper standard
elctric cookers not induction or halogen

"Nightjar" wrote in message
...
On 29/05/2014 08:45, Stephen wrote:
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?
...

It will depend upon your style of cooking. I rarely cook anything on the
hob and, if I do, it is unlikely to be anything more complicated than a
pan of boiling water for pasta or rice.

I don't even do rice on the hob anymore, the
microwave by absorption leaves it for dead
and no cleanup at all if you cook the rice in
the thing you will eat if from and add the
curry etc to for eating etc.

You do have to fiddle a bit to get the amounts
of rice and water and time on full and reduced
power right, but once you do and record that,
it makes the rice trivially easy.

I still do the bulk marmalade and relish on the
hob, in stockpots of varying sizes, but don't need
the control that a gas hob provides for that.

However, I have a main fan oven, a secondary oven / grill plus a
combination microwave

I've added a halogen oven to that collection
and mostly use the halogen oven for most meals.

Main thing it doesn't do as well as a conventional
oven is roast potatoes in fat deep enough to have
the potatoes have covered.

and all three can be in use for a meal. That makes electric the better
choice for me. If you mainly cook on the hob, gas is probably what you
want.

But you should be doing much of that in the microwave.

Much better for the veg and rice etc.

"harryagain" wrote in message
...

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
Hello,

If you had the choice, would you install a gas cooker or an electric
one?

Is it fair to say that electric fan ovens are the best type of oven to
have because the fan helps the oven to heat up fastest and most
evenly? Or do gas ovens have a big jet that heats up even faster?

For the hob, I've heard people say gas is best. Is this because it is
adjustable and changes instantly? I'm thinking with electric if you
turned the heat up there would be a slight delay before it got hotter
and if you turned it down, there would be residual heat for a while?

Or is it just that gas is more powerful and has larger jets so that
you can, for example, use woks that electric hobs simply aren't big
enough and powerful enough to heat?

How do running costs compare? Electric is said to be the most
expensive way to heat or isn't that significant for cooking which only
is on for a few minutes each day?

For some years I lived in a village without mains gas so I had a
ceramic hob and electric oven. I am currently renting a house which
has a freestanding gas oven. I think it must depend on what make and
model you have.

I remember having a gas cooker when I was a child and the grill had a
row of flames along the back of the grill that came towards you and
they were quite adjustable and from memory, it was ok to use and like
an electric grill, heated all of the grill pan.

This cooker has the jet/nozzle/burner thing (what is it called?) down
the middle of the grill, from which the flames go to either side. It
is very like a camping grill and my experience of these is that they
are not very good. This type doesn't seem to heat the whole grill pan,
just the central part. IME this type doesn't seem very adjustable; I
guess because it is already pretty feeble at full power.

Perhaps the moral of this story is to use an electric grill or if
buying a gas grill, get a good look at the layout of the jet in the
shop before buying?

Thanks,
Stephen.

Halogen electric. (Quicker than old ceramic hobs.)
Easier to clean.

In some ways, but the glass bowls don’t leave
much room for anything else in the bottom of
the dishwasher.

I put a paper towel in the bottom, and then
one of the plated steel racks upside down on
top of that to keep it down on the bottom
when the fan is running. That absorbs the
mostly chicken fat that comes out of what
I do most of the time in the halogen oven
and just toss that paper towel in the bin
and don’t bother to wash the glass bowl
every day.

That isnt really feasible with the roast leg
of lamb, the lamb fat is much more of a
distinctive smell so you really do need to
put it thru the dishwasher after one of those.

No nasty NOx fumes relased into the house.
Cheaper.
Easier and cheaper to install/connect.
Safer. No chance of explosion.

There isnt any chance of an explosion with the
electric oven that’s the main alternative either.

Certainly better with all the rest except the life
tho. I have had 2 halogen oven failures already,
one fan and one heater. No big deal because
I get most of them unused from garage sales
for usually $10 but they certainly don’t last
as long as a conventional electric oven.

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article m,
"dennis@home" writes:
On 29/05/2014 12:24, newshound wrote:

Similarly, an Andrew James halogen oven gives you a small, storable fan
oven. Havn't tried baking or roasting in it, but cooking for two it's
certainly faster (therefore cheaper) than a full sized fan oven.

For a small oven you can use a convection microwave.

A bugger to cleam, as they don't have stay-clean liners.

True. And you cant put the whole bowl in the
dishwasher like you can with a halogen oven.

I use mine mainly for plate warming.

Didn't think of that, thanks for that.

I use mine for the stuff I used to do on the hob,
frozen veg, potatoes microwaved in their jackets,
and rice etc, with just the microwave, no convection.

Cooks well and faster than a normal oven.

My fan oven is much faster getting to temperature than the
convection or fan oven options on the microwave, even though
the microware also switches on the grill element to speed up
the initial warm-up. Speed of heating up does vary enormously
between different electric ovens - something you might want
to look into if it's important to you.

I don't find the speed of the non fan conventional oven
is any big deal myself, I don't even bother to preheat
even when the recipe calls for that, just start if from cold
with the food in it with everything and that works fine.

On Thu, 29 May 2014 06:41:06 -0400, S Viemeister
wrote:

I've used all gas
and all electric, and for me, the gas hob/electric oven+grill combo
works best. If I had to go all-electric, I'd definitely consider induction.

Thanks for all the replies. It seems there is a lot of recommendation
for gas and induction hobs and electric ovens. One thing that hasn't
been mentioned much is grills and it was criticism of one particular
grill that made me start this thread. I do think grill performance
might be model specific. Induction is not an option here (obviously)
so which way would you go: electric or gas? I suppose you have no
choice as it comes bundled with the oven, so if you have an electric
oven, you are going to have an electric grill.

On 30/05/2014 09:42, Stephen wrote:
On Thu, 29 May 2014 06:41:06 -0400, S Viemeister
wrote:

I've used all gas
and all electric, and for me, the gas hob/electric oven+grill combo
works best. If I had to go all-electric, I'd definitely consider induction.

Thanks for all the replies. It seems there is a lot of recommendation
for gas and induction hobs and electric ovens. One thing that hasn't
been mentioned much is grills and it was criticism of one particular
grill that made me start this thread. I do think grill performance
might be model specific. Induction is not an option here (obviously)
so which way would you go: electric or gas? I suppose you have no
choice as it comes bundled with the oven, so if you have an electric
oven, you are going to have an electric grill.


All I'll say is that a fan assisted oven is a must, and these tend to be
electric AFAIK
We pushed the boat out with a dual fuel freestanding job but ONLY
because it had a shut down lid that wasn't glass. I don't like having to
worry about breaking it