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need to decide - propane or electric range

6 years ago

I’m redoing the kitchen at our vacation house. The house currently has a propane gas range, but it is barely functional. At home I’ve had electric for 30 years. I was planning to get electric, since it’s what I’m accustomed to, but after talking with relatives over thanksgiving, I’m second guessing that choice. They all recommended I get propane, since it’s already set up for it. I was even told it would be better for resale to go with propane. I’m not considering induction, since we don’t cook enough to warrant the extra expense. Is propane equivalent to natural gas? Is It really that much better than electric. Appreciate your advice - hoping to take advantage of some Black Friday sales that end next week.

Comments (17)

  • 6 years ago

    Induction.

  • 6 years ago

    how often do you cook there? If not often you might want to consider a counter top 2-hob induction (110) for around $400

  • 6 years ago

    What is the extra expense that you’re referring to regarding induction? Is it the expense of the actual stove itself? Or upgrading the electrical to the panel?

  • 6 years ago

    Thanks for the replies! The expense I’m referring to for induction is purchase price. The gas and regular electric ranges I’m looking at are half price for Black Friday sales, while the induction isn’t on sale. Makes it more than double the price. Think I’m going to take advice and go with propane. Thanks for taking the time to offer opinions.

  • 6 years ago

    I swapped out electric for my propane range. Would never go back. Power outage for 6 days like last year over Christmas, we would have been screwed with an electric range. Also if it's set up for propane, it's likely not set up for a dedicated 240v breaker which you should consider as well. good luck!

  • 6 years ago

    Not all gas ranges will work if there is no electricity. Propane has less power than natural gas and requires different equipment.

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The big issue is that propane is less powerful than natural gas. 15-30% less powerful. Also standard appliances set up for natural gas must be converted to propane. Or you must buy designed for propane specific appliances. Even “regular” Induction is more powerful than a standard consumer grade 15K BTU natural gas cooktop. Convert that cooktop to propane, and an induction top will be almost twice as powerful as it will be. That means faster and better cooking.

  • 6 years ago

    I lived through two seven day power outages. In this house we did propane range that was set made for propane. We have had two five day outages plus many shorter ones so I am very pleased we went to propane!

  • 6 years ago

    IDK, I don't have a propane specific propane range, it came with a conversion kit that my husband installed. It's an electrolux wave touch. But I just mentioned propane as my go to because I deal with many power outages every winter & if the original poster does as well, it may be the smarter choice. It really doesn't matter whether natural gas burns hotter etc, I don't have access to natural gas, so it's propane or electric. Electric sucks when the power is out for any length of time. ;-)

  • 6 years ago

    We had propane for our range. But as said above it is not as powerful as NG. When we remodeled, we bought electric for our kitchen and moved the propane range to the garage. Now we can do our canning in the garage, bake in the summer without heating up the house, and have a range for power outages. One of the best decisions we've made.

  • 6 years ago

    There is no natural gas anywhere around our vacation place, so I’m pretty sure the local appliance store is only selling propane equipped ranges when they sell a gas range. I’ll have to check with them on that. And yes, we definitely get way more power outages up there than back home. Hmmm, no easy answer! Thanks again for all the replies.

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The default valve setup is always natural gas, not propane. You’ll have to order the jets and have a gas tech convert it. Specific propane cooking appliances are in the high end market only. That doesn’t exist outside of the Wolf Viking type. All the rest suffer from downrating and conversion. That’s a lot of loss in some brands. You have to read the specs, and read how to order the jets. Then hire the licensed gas tech.

    The best of all worlds is an induction cooktop, propane logs for the fireplace, and a propane grill. And a generator.

  • 6 years ago

    Factor in the cost of new pots and pans with induction also. Stainless, aluminum or copper may not work.

  • 6 years ago

    I think I am right saying if the gas range comes from manufacturer vs a conversion kit there is no loss.

  • 6 years ago

    I have ordered 2 gas ranges from national suppliers and specified LP for both - they came with conversion kits for a nominal fee, and a plumber had to do the install which included the conversion. One range was a GE Profile and the other a Bosch. I didn’t have any problem finding ranges that would work, but in some cases had to read the technical specs to find out that the LP kit was available.

  • 6 years ago

    Ranges that are designed from scratch to burn propane fulfill their BTU ratings, as they are tested with that configuration. Those type of ranges are few. Most makers don’t bother with building two separate gas ranges for two separate fuels. They have the jet replacements available and then have the gas tech retune the regulators as part of the conversion. That causes a drop in BTU’s. GE has long been notorious as having a huge drop in power from NG to LP.