gas stove question

We are planning a new kitchen for the lower level of our home. I've always wanted gas to cook on and now the wife is giving her ok .
Will the burners and the oven work in a gas stove during a power outage?
What size tank do I want for a gas stove use only?
Thanks

 

Not sure about the oven but the burners can be manually lit with no power.

 

I would get a one hundred gallon tank.

 

Natural gas or propane?

 

If you can get one of your kids to help out, I'd get a 100 Lbs tank and not the 100 gallon one. You can transport the 100 Lbs tank to your local propane filling station and back without violating any laws. I believe it is the largest one you can transport without a hazmat placard on the side and commercial plates. You'll have to confirm this though. The 100 Lbs tanks sell for about $130 at Lowes or TSC but you will own the tank. If you enter into an agreement with a gas company to use their tank, they may give you a discount up front but then may later end up overcharging for propane or charge you a rental fee if you don't use enough propane.. If you end up going this route, check the reputation of the company on ripoffreport, consumeraffairs, and of course the BBB.

The appropriate size of the tank will be determined by the maximum expected flow rate of the propane (4 burners on high with oven on full blast). That will tell you how quickly the propane (Liquid Propane Gas) will need to evaporate to supply the appliance. Evaporation causes cooling and on a -20 degree Maine morning, you might have restricted flow on a smaller tank. The boiling point of propane is -44 degrees F, so excessive evaporation due to use could lower the temperature of the tank that low on a really cold day and slow or stop the flow. That said, we have a 4 burner cooktop and I'm running it on a 20 lbs tank and haven't had a problem with flow yet.. We generally don't use more than 2 burners at a time.

When you buy the stove, confirm that there isn't a safety mechanism to stop gas flow in the case of a power failure. If the logic is programmed to not work in a power failure, then you'd be screwed during an outage.. Unless of course you can get it on the same circuit as your generator is powering.

This site has some good information.. http://www.propane101.com/

That's about the limit of my knowledge on the subject..

 

Ovens will probably not work without power. Especially ones with electronic thermostats which is what I have now. Burners do, you just might need to use a match to light it.

 

Like others have stated already, I also have an older gas stove. Works just fine when the power is out, BUT...like I say, its older. I think from the 60's, and does have pilot lights. With the newer stoves, (no standing pilots) I don't know if you would have a source for ignition.....

 

I think it is more a factor of safety. I think the pilot light ovens have a thermo coupler that the pilot light opens up to let the gas flow. I seem to recall having to hold a button on them to get the pilot light to stay light. Ones without pilot lights must have some kind of electric valve. Otherwise it would be too easy to fill one up with gas and then BOOM.

 

This one doesn't require holding down any button in order to light the pilots on the cook top or the oven. Indeed, it is a safety feature as once the pilot light on the oven only had gone out. Got to the cottage and could smell just a hint of gas!

 

I have a newer gas stove and has electronic ignition on top burners so if no power have to light with a match, oven runs off a glow plug and you can't use in power outage...As far as gas usage a 100lb tank use to last for at least a year and a half, just me here and I don't cook as much as alot of you here....I couldn't handle the 100lb tank anymore and switched to a 20lb one and it works fine for me....

 

It has been years since I cooked on a propane stove and I loved it. You could really adjust the flame to suit your cooking especially for canning. I don't know anything about the newer ones but our old one (1970s) could be used in a power outage. Now in a rare power outage, we use the RV cookstove or the camping cookstove.

 

That's what I use too, used to have a 100 lb. tank I would take it to get filled it was heavy ,when tank went out of date I started using the 20 lbs so much easier , I have 3 of them 1 for the stove 1 for the Weber and a back up .

The oven won't work in power outage ,but the burners will just use a Scripto lighter .

 

Sorry...StuckintheMuck...I meant 100 pound.

 

Agree with paul,oven may be hard to light.I have gas because used to work in restaurant,only way to cook.Mine is prob 18 years old,light in oven,electronic spark for burners,hot element for oven,whirlpool,cant kill it.Burners I light by hand as ignitors bad,and too cheap to replace.Never used oven when power out,got a big gas grill on deck.You really do not want an older one with standing pilots.

 

Also going to have to assume you are going to let the kids move back in?

 

Yeah, we got a really nice ge cafe ss range. Dual oven, electric on the bottom tray oven which looks only like a drawer, but gas main full size oven, and 5 gas electronic start burners. In a power outage, all that will work is the burners, manually lit with a grill/ candle lighter. The gas oven is all display run, so, no power and it won't work.

I think that's common now, all that will work at best is the burners, when manually lit.

 

You can actually light the oven with a candle/grill lighter,but takes a long time to heat the thermocouple and be in the right spot(head in oven),but doable.