Kitchen

[Icegoddess]

The gas line stops at the top of our hill and since it's a mature neighborhood none of the uphill neighbors are interested in going in on running the line down the hill.  We'd love to have it here for a generator.  However, my daughter and her husband have a gas water heater and their grill is hooked into the natural gas line.  They didn't lose those when we had a week long power outage after tornadoes tore thorough our state years ago.  We went over and got a hot shower mid-week.  They also fed us although we were doing okay with our propane grill.  I insisted on getting one with an attached eye after that.  We had a small generator which we used to keep a few things going, but we lost a freezer full of food.

[RespectLife]

@novamc1 

I don't get it either....I find that the 'ring of flame' is where the heat is ONLY.....and everywhere else...it isn't!

I can actually see the bubbling in the circle flame pattern! 

I can't find a warm or simmer...even the burner that has a melt function boils!  I made the guy come out to check it and he looked at me like I was nuts.

And those industrial grates!  Yikes!

DH said we could replace it w/ Induction...but I hate it the first week we moved it and refused to waste such an expensive purchase.

So I just tortured myself....and growled...til I got my Induction Plate!  Problem solved at less than $80 bucks!

[Bhvbum]

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@novamc1 wrote:

@Bhvbum 

Are you sure your gas stove and hot water heater work  when electricity is out? 

 I know neighbors who tried it during an areawide power outage here.  They would have had to light a match to start up the burners.  We all live in the same little community with homes built by the same builder with similar gas cooktops that are only five-six years old..

I've had gas furnaces and water heaters for many years.  It takes some electricity to get them into operation, doesn't it?  I lived thru many power outages over 40 years and knew that soon we'd have no heat or hot water if the outage was long.

The gas supply line under my nonworking stovetop has been cut off by the gas company guy,  but the electric-powered red safety light that glows on the stovetop is still indicating that all burners have been shut off.

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Yes in multiple instances, for hurricanes and Nor'easters. I very specifically told the plumber who put in my hot water heater that it needed to work with no electricity, and mine does. Same for the gas logs. For the cook top, I have absolutely no trouble with lighting it with a match to turn it on. Guess what, that's how people used to do it in the old days all the time, before they came up with that newfangled "igniter."   

[Bhvbum]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

@novamc1 

You're right about furnace and hot water appliances not working during power outages. Those need an electrical charge to ignite the gas burners plus there are electronics which control how that happens. If the electronics are cut off from a power failure then the things don't work. It happened to me recently. Power lost for 4 days....no heat or hot water.

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Not so, my hot water heater works without electricity, and it is natural gas. My gas cooktop works with a match, like I used 50 years ago every day to light my gas stove.   

[Bhvbum]

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@novamc1 wrote:

Thought I'd mention what we know after living thru some very long power outages,  which threatened food loss in our freezer when there's no other way to cook.

The best thing to own when a long outage occurs is a good charcoal grill and a modest supply of charcoal briquets. 

Also useful, a cast iron pot that can be used on the grill  to heat beans or vegetables while cooking meat.

DH will never part with his Weber kettle grill, and we're using only our second one after getting the first  as a wedding present in 1976.  They serve well for a long time.

Charcoal grills set you free from gas or electricity.

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Why go outside and use a charcoal grill, when my gas stove top works beautifully with the power off?  I just use the match to light it like I did years ago before they had "igniters."

[depglass]

Years ago my favorite bank teller lost her husband to a  gas leak from the water heater.  Don't know about the smell, you can't ask a dead person.  I will not have a gas stove, period.  No open flames allowed in this house, including candles.  

[ncmama]

I have a disc to put on the induction burner which makes every pan suitable for an induction burner.  Very inexpensive.  So every pan can be used on the burner.

[Sooner]

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@novamc1 wrote:

@skatting44 

@SilleeMee 

This is my first gas cooktop and I hated it from the beginning.  Flames are so far below the grate and  pan that even getting water to boil can take forever.  It's also a real pain to clean and needs cleaning constantly.

'

I've asked several experts if it could be removed and replaced with an electric cooktop but have been told it won't be possible.  I still can't  fully understand why, however.

Now that I'm getting used to my induction burners, I think I'll probably use them much more even if the stove gets fixed.

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@novamc1 That's too bad.  Maybe you could replace it with a new gas cooktop with higher btu's.  The one we had at our old house was wonderful.  The one at this house is awful.  But I still like it better than electric tops.

[novamc1]

@Sooner 

I'm not sure a more powerful gas cooktop would be any more appealing than our current one---if there actually is a more more powerful one.

Ours is a big heavy-duty GE Profile 5-burner that is much bigger than the others in the community.  That's because I foolishly selected the option of a "gourmet kitchen", without knowing enough  about it.  This cooktop, unlike others in the neighborhood, , is installed in the kitchen island and steals valuable workspace for preparing food.

Our relatively small kitchen in this downsized home  is open to the living and dining rooms and foyer, so  cooking odors could overake the house without the incredibly powerful exhaust fan above the cooktop.  Even the GE Profile electric wall oven can smell up the place quickly without that fan.