Gas bottle/cylinder for cooking in the kitchen - does anyone else use this?

silverwhistle

The use of bottled gas for stoves is quite common in Italy and I used to have it in my rented flat. I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying so bought a cheap stove and there was a cabinet on the balcony which held 2 x 15kg bottles. I often didn't bother with having a spare as a phone call would bring a guy in a 3-wheeler Api popping round with a new one. You could tell the bottle was getting near the end by the weight and the smell. A 15kg bottle would last me 3 months + depending on season, and I used to do a reasonable amount of baking.
If it's only the hob a 15kg bottle and maybe a smaller one as spare (5kg) would be a possibility?
PS: If you want gas for controllability try an induction hob. Back now in the UK I got myself an IKEA one which was good value.

A._Badger

footyguy wrote: »

Basically you have 2 (or more) bottles outside and so that as 1 runs out you can switch to the other whilst a replacement is delivered. Inside the house you know no difference to mains gas supply.
The gas delivery supplier takes total care of switching and installing replacement bottles for you.
All you do is switch the source bottle (via a simple lever/regulator) as one bottle becomes empty.

Not as I said earlier, if you have an automatic changeover system. They aren't expensive and they are foolproof. Having do it manually is, frankly, pretty silly if you are baking or roasting.

A._Badger

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Because there are advantages to using gas for a hob, but not so much for an oven.

Not a cake baker, then? Plenty of cooks prefer gas ovens. There is also the added advantage that they keep working in the event of a power cut - something we rural types have to put up with quite a lot of (and are likely to suffer even more of over the next few years).

Personally, I wouldn't ever want to go back to using an electric oven - fan ovens especially.

ash28

We live in an area with no mains gas and have oil central heating, an electric oven and propane hob.

We had the hob installed about 18 months ago (there was an electric hob when we moved in), we were happy enough with the oven but didn't like the hob.

We have two 13kg calor bottles outside with an automatic changeover valve - we are on our second bottle, the first bottle wasn't full as it was one we used in portable gas fire in the garage....that one lasted over a year.

It cost us just over £300 for the installation including changeover valve - we bought the hob and the gas bottles - money well spent, imho.

As we are in an area without mains gas finding an installer wasn't an issue - we used the small local company who service our oil fired boiler every year.

Smiley_Dan

A._Badger wrote: »

Not a cake baker, then? Plenty of cooks prefer gas ovens. There is also the added advantage that they keep working in the event of a power cut - something we rural types have to put up with quite a lot of (and are likely to suffer even more of over the next few years).

No, I'm not. Although I am a "cook" and have found electrical ovens better in the past, including for baking. Although this may be down to the ovens I have used. And I don't do a lot of baking.

You're right, I have heard anecdotal evidence of gas ovens being "wetter" or some such argument that leads to moister cakes. But it's not been my experience.

Similarly, I have never really got on with induction hobs, finding them less controllable than gas, but it is probably just me not giving them a chance. But others rave about them.

Proper rural types like us use heat storage ranges (Aga, Rayburn et al) don't you know

A._Badger

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Proper rural types like us use heat storage ranges (Aga, Rayburn et al) don't you know

Ah, they'd be the houses with the his 'n hers Range Rovers outside the door, in that case... and the eye-watering AGA running costs considered a mere drop in the ocean.

In all seriousness, even if I liked electric ovens (and I far prefer gas) I'd think twice about buying one given the increasing likelihood of power cuts.

I have a friend locally who was without electricity throughout the whole of last Christmas due to a power cut. Not much fun with three small children!

The downside is that the availability of new LPG cookers is reducing. We've been looking for a new one recently but almost all the range cookers on the market come as dual fuel models only- and even the few that don't still need a power supply to work due to the built-in timers they come with.

Smiley_Dan

In our case, the Aga is turned off and it makes a very expensive baking tray holder

Although I must say that the period when we did have it on (until we realised how much it was costing) it was the best cooker we have ever had. It's just not worth it quite *that* much.

A._Badger

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

In our case, the Aga is turned off and it makes a very expensive baking tray holder

Although I must say that the period when we did have it on (until we realised how much it was costing) it was the best cooker we have ever had. It's just not worth it quite *that* much.

I've had two friends who have had Rayburns and I have to admit they cooked very well - albeit with a different style of cooking which must take some getting used to.

An Aga would look perfect in our kitchen - but they are simply unaffordable to run without a Lottery win!

Smiley_Dan

I'd say even with a lottery win they are morally questionable. Can the world be burning oil for "lifestyle reasons" at all, let alone at 50-55% efficiency? Crazy town.

ash28

A._Badger wrote: »

Ah, they'd be the houses with the his 'n hers Range Rovers outside the door, in that case... and the eye-watering AGA running costs considered a mere drop in the ocean.

In all seriousness, even if I liked electric ovens (and I far prefer gas) I'd think twice about buying one given the increasing likelihood of power cuts.

I have a friend locally who was without electricity throughout the whole of last Christmas due to a power cut. Not much fun with three small children!

The downside is that the availability of new LPG cookers is reducing. We've been looking for a new one recently but almost all the range cookers on the market come as dual fuel models only- and even the few that don't still need a power supply to work due to the built-in timers they come with.

We chose to keep the electric oven when we had a propane hob installed - we still have cooking facilities in the event of a power cut but everything has to cooked on the hob - not a great inconvenience. Power cuts up until now have been from a few minutes to a few hours.

In the event of a serious power cut we have a diesel generator.......