Natural gas?

[Sigarms]

Some Californians have functional brains, we're in the minority for sure.

Oh, I get it. When we stayed at Angles Camp for a couple of weeks, really no different than living in NC talking with the locals, particularly about guns. I was actually kind of surprised to be honest with you.

If the state of Jefferson ever came to be, and they could work on their cost of living and taxes, heck, I'd support them and even think about moving there (although I know it will never happen).

Mexican food out there was the best I ever had, but man, but it's not cheap vs what I was use to LOL

 

[arto98607]

I can tell you how much better the indoor air quality got. It was a lot. Of course, if one has a typical California home with 2,000cfm of air movement through the house, it might be round off error.

I used to cook in large industrial kitchens, and while I miss the enormous power of those 100,000+BTU burners, I think that there is no comparison between a residential gas stove and induction stoves. Induction stoves heat faster, sear better, boil water more quickly, with very fine heat control, and without the combustion products and gummy deposits from frying fats near a gas flame. I think that the only slight downside for me is that the pots are heavier, so I can see why elderly folks with hand issues or frailty might not enjoy turning in some lightweight aluminum pots for induction compatible pots.

But that's just me.

All the best,

Peter

I don't want gas appliances in my house as was stated in my earlier post, but I think HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) would take care of any indoor air quality issues due to gas flame in the house.

We have had that in our house for 25 years now.

 

[lman]

Be careful to not scratch the glass, as that weakens it.
I'm on propane, the gas cooktop does not use much. And I'll never worry about breaking the cast iron grates.

Been using it for 15 years. I don't worry about how to use it. Works and looks like new.

 

[dstig1]

Put as hood over any cooktop, no matter the fuel. And it MUST be vented to the outside. Then add make-up air if needed for larger hoods. Air quality issue solved, no matter the fuel. Cooking generates fumes. Period. And sometimes you burn stuff. I agree with @rontaki that the gas stove air quality controversy is manufactured on this topic.

 

[rontaki]

Been using it for 15 years. I don't worry about how to use it. Works and looks like new.

Good to hear! Do you take any special precautions to protect the surface?

 

[ponytug]

I just try to keep the spills wiped up. Family members have had some of the old heating element under glass cooktop and those charred spills in no time. I find the surface much less of a hassle to keep clean, as only the pot gets hot. But that's just me.

All the best, Peter

 

[Up to the Axles]

There were concerns upthread about gas feeds that failed to keep up with demand.
Some background:

Historically, houses were fed at ~0.25 psi but the gasco called it say "6 inches of water" as back in the Dark Ages they likely used a water manometer to measure pressure. There was a regulator for each few blocks or so of your neighborhood to get the pressure down to that.

But with rising demand, the gasco's changed to "high pressure" distribution meaning 30-60 psi of compressed gas . (I always laughed at this term as I'd worked on a liquid petroleum pipeline where line pressure was 2500 psi or more.) Then there is a regulator at each house's meter down to the 0.25psi. This meant they could get more gas through the existing street piping. That gives them a lot more protection against low pressure pilot light flameouts, a bad bad thing.

Also, in the event of a regulator failure, only one house would be affected. The ultimate example of this was in 2018 in Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts, where Columbia Gas overpressured the area and set fires in/blew up about 130 houses and killed one resident; about $1 billion in damages.
<https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1902.pdf>

You can tell which you have by looking at the meter.
What Is The Pressure Per Square Inch (PSI) Of Natural Gas In A Home?
The upper right meter has an obvious circular regulator.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I don't doubt you, but my wife wanted a gas top. She's going to win over you even though I do highly value your opinion

An outside ducted vent fan solves the problem.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

You guys have posted some interesting things about gas stoves. It's funny to see how things change because when we bought a mobile home in my youth, the houses all had natural gas ovens and cooktops. This was because the mobile homes themselves and the neighborhood as a whole simply didn't have the capacity to run electric ovens, electric heat, or electric water heaters.

Because of that, I thought natural gas was the poor man's choice.

Imagine my surprise years later when the high end homes were bragging about gas stovetops as a luxury kitchen upgrade!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You guys have posted some interesting things about gas stoves. It's funny to see how things change because when we bought a mobile home in my youth, the houses all had natural gas ovens and cooktops. This was because the mobile homes themselves and the neighborhood as a whole simply didn't have the capacity to run electric ovens, electric heat, or electric water heaters.

Because of that, I thought natural gas was the poor man's choice.

Imagine my surprise years later when the high end homes were bragging about gas stovetops as a luxury kitchen upgrade!

About 60 years ago I rented a house with the greatest range I have ever cooked on. It was 4 gas burners with a heavy cast iron griddle between the burners. The burners were double ring, with a large outer ring for high heat and a tiny central ring for simmering. I had to put a flame spreader over the little ring to avoid hot spots. There was even a gas broiler under the oven element, though for broiling electric is more convenient. I didn't use the griddle that much because cleanup was such a nuisance. The extra width provided a warming oven next to the oven.

Natural gas ranges were the cook's choice for over a century. Electric ovens were always more convenient, but until convection cook tops hit the market, a gas cook top was the way to go. Gas ovens do preheat faster.

This is the electric range we have now. The lower oven is full size conventional/convection while the upper is a pizza/casserole/broiler oven that preheats very fast. Two ovens, a microwave, and a convection toaster oven make Thanksgiving dinner a snap.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Maytag-6-7-cu-ft-5-Burner-Element-Double-Oven-Electric-Range-with-Convection-Oven-in-Fingerprint-Resistant-Stainless-Steel-MET8800FZ/301072124?mtc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D29A-029_015_COOKING-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-5163653-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-MajorAppl_2025_PMAX&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D29A-029_015_COOKING-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-5163653-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-MajorAppl_2025_PMAX-22986820294--&=&ppc_keyword=&msclkid=90c0c9b4d9cf17643013a004a567489b&gclsrc=ds