Reccommendations for cook top

[Cainad (dec.)]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I agree about getting gas, but depending on where you are and your circumstances it may be expensive to have it run to the house. Here in Portland natural gas installation is about $1500, but if you get a gas furnace, or a gas water heater + stove, the gas company will absorb the fee to run it from the street. Running the line in the house shouldn't cost more than a few hundred, but if your budget is $600, it's not gonna happen.

Still, if you own the house and are looking at long-term, you might consider holding off and making that part of your long range plan, especially if there's a chance that you might have to replace your furnace and/or water heater in the next few years anyway.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Oh hey, how about induction? Induction ranges have always tripped me out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooker

ETA never mind, I looked at prices and you could probably have gas installed AND buy a new stove for what an induction range goes for.

[Richter]

Wow.  I like the idea, I wonder about the control and energy efficiency though.  Also, wouldn't the field heat up any steel / iron cooking implements used too? 

ECH's first idea sounded like a propane setup, not connenction to a central natural gas pipe.  Availability / cost likely varies, but it WOULD be the difference between piping the whole house from the street vs. a tank, one hole through the wall, and gas line to the stove. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

It does sound like that. I don't know if it's an option in cities where municipal gaslines are available... worth looking into, for sure!

[Jenne]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

No, yours looks ceramic.  And there are those that really love theirs and use it for decades, my grandmother being one of them.  I just hated going from it to gas--gas is just so much easier all the way around.

But the costs in converting to gas for us would be about $20K, all told, someone who recently put gas in told us.  They have to run the gas line from clear across the house.  Sucks ass, and in fact, we only have gas in the laundry room, where the water heater is, and in our outdoor built-in bbq.   None of those sources are even close to our kitchen, more's the pity.

[East Coast Hustle]

Wow.  I like the idea, I wonder about the control and energy efficiency though.  Also, wouldn't the field heat up any steel / iron cooking implements used too? 

ECH's first idea sounded like a propane setup, not connenction to a central natural gas pipe.  Availability / cost likely varies, but it WOULD be the difference between piping the whole house from the street vs. a tank, one hole through the wall, and gas line to the stove. 

yeah, I was talking about propane or LPG. We don't have municipal natural gas infrastructure here.

hell, we just don't have municipal infrastructure here, period.

also, it should be mentioned that gas stoves can be easily repaired by even a novice handyman. They are very simple devices, whereas you wil likely have to either pay a professional repairman or buy a new one if your flattop range shits the bed.

[East Coast Hustle]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

No, yours looks ceramic.  And there are those that really love theirs and use it for decades, my grandmother being one of them.  I just hated going from it to gas--gas is just so much easier all the way around.

But the costs in converting to gas for us would be about $20K, all told, someone who recently put gas in told us.  They have to run the gas line from clear across the house.  Sucks ass, and in fact, we only have gas in the laundry room, where the water heater is, and in our outdoor built-in bbq.   None of those sources are even close to our kitchen, more's the pity.

20K? that's bullshit, especially if you already have gas to your house. Unless your kitchen is a quarter-mile from your hot water heater. They generally charge by how many feet of gas line need to be installed.

[Richter]

Unless the house is designed weird.  Older houses especially, you may have to remove whole sections of wall / ceiling / floor to run any new pipes or wires.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

No, yours looks ceramic.  And there are those that really love theirs and use it for decades, my grandmother being one of them.  I just hated going from it to gas--gas is just so much easier all the way around.

But the costs in converting to gas for us would be about $20K, all told, someone who recently put gas in told us.  They have to run the gas line from clear across the house.  Sucks ass, and in fact, we only have gas in the laundry room, where the water heater is, and in our outdoor built-in bbq.   None of those sources are even close to our kitchen, more's the pity.

I can't imagine how it could cost 20k to convert to gas, even if you were getting all-new gas appliances. I had my garage plumbed for gas, with seven outlets, for $600. A new high-efficiency furnace is usually under 6k installed, and the water heater and stove together wouldn't be more than 2k, so, 20k sounds ridiculous.

Hell, I converted my last house to gas and got a new furnace, and the TOTAL cost including new service from the street would still have been under 5k, which I didn't have to pay for all of because the gas company ran the service for free.

If you already have gas service at the house, you should be able to have pipe run for a gas stove for just a few hundred. I'd call a few plumbers and see if you can get an estimate, because 20k, seriously, is insane.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Unless the house is designed weird.  Older houses especially, you may have to remove whole sections of wall / ceiling / floor to run any new pipes or wires.

I still can't imagine. It doesn't cost twenty thousand dollars to completely replumb or rewire a house, unless it's a mansion. There's just no way that figure is accurate. Well, I guess if it included everything from the street, a high-end furnace, a six thousand dollar range, the highest-end on-demand water heater, and a couple of fireplaces.

But, I mean, running a line from laundry room to kitchen, under the house, shouldn't be more than a couple hundred. Maybe more if there's no basement and it's not a straight shot, but not THOUSANDS.

[Richter]

Unless the house is designed weird.  Older houses especially, you may have to remove whole sections of wall / ceiling / floor to run any new pipes or wires.

I still can't imagine. It doesn't cost twenty thousand dollars to completely replumb or rewire a house, unless it's a mansion. There's just no way that figure is accurate. Well, I guess if it included everything from the street, a high-end furnace, a six thousand dollar range, the highest-end on-demand water heater, and a couple of fireplaces.

But, I mean, running a line from laundry room to kitchen, under the house, shouldn't be more than a couple hundred. Maybe more if there's no basement and it's not a straight shot, but not THOUSANDS.

Yeah, it would have to assume some ridiculous shit.  Like you are (all at once) having pipe laid up your 1/4 mile driveway in a wooded, rocky area, put into your 1830's historical landmark house, having to rip out all kinds of old plaster, hardwood floor, etc. (not to mentioned a new hole through the foundation), and immediately replace it with historically accurate materials and techniques, including wallpapering, varnish, and molding before the local historical society flies down you throat.


(Yes, I've seen this happen.  Price stacks up FAST.  You can never truly buy a historic property.) 

[Jenne]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

No, yours looks ceramic.  And there are those that really love theirs and use it for decades, my grandmother being one of them.  I just hated going from it to gas--gas is just so much easier all the way around.

But the costs in converting to gas for us would be about $20K, all told, someone who recently put gas in told us.  They have to run the gas line from clear across the house.  Sucks ass, and in fact, we only have gas in the laundry room, where the water heater is, and in our outdoor built-in bbq.   None of those sources are even close to our kitchen, more's the pity.

20K? that's bullshit, especially if you already have gas to your house. Unless your kitchen is a quarter-mile from your hot water heater. They generally charge by how many feet of gas line need to be installed.

Yup.  That's what it costs.  And it's $$$/feet here.  I don't know why, but it is.  And it's not a quarter-mile, but I have a rather large house (3K sq feet).

[Jenne]

I guess what I have isn't a ceramic top, then. All I know is that it's flat and smooth.

No, yours looks ceramic.  And there are those that really love theirs and use it for decades, my grandmother being one of them.  I just hated going from it to gas--gas is just so much easier all the way around.

But the costs in converting to gas for us would be about $20K, all told, someone who recently put gas in told us.  They have to run the gas line from clear across the house.  Sucks ass, and in fact, we only have gas in the laundry room, where the water heater is, and in our outdoor built-in bbq.   None of those sources are even close to our kitchen, more's the pity.

I can't imagine how it could cost 20k to convert to gas, even if you were getting all-new gas appliances. I had my garage plumbed for gas, with seven outlets, for $600. A new high-efficiency furnace is usually under 6k installed, and the water heater and stove together wouldn't be more than 2k, so, 20k sounds ridiculous.

Hell, I converted my last house to gas and got a new furnace, and the TOTAL cost including new service from the street would still have been under 5k, which I didn't have to pay for all of because the gas company ran the service for free.

If you already have gas service at the house, you should be able to have pipe run for a gas stove for just a few hundred. I'd call a few plumbers and see if you can get an estimate, because 20k, seriously, is insane.

That might have been with the cost of the appliance as well, but still, it's not cost-effective, unless you are getting a "get the whole damned thing redone" package.  The insane price is why we are not doing it. :P

[Jenne]

Unless the house is designed weird.  Older houses especially, you may have to remove whole sections of wall / ceiling / floor to run any new pipes or wires.

I still can't imagine. It doesn't cost twenty thousand dollars to completely replumb or rewire a house, unless it's a mansion. There's just no way that figure is accurate. Well, I guess if it included everything from the street, a high-end furnace, a six thousand dollar range, the highest-end on-demand water heater, and a couple of fireplaces.

But, I mean, running a line from laundry room to kitchen, under the house, shouldn't be more than a couple hundred. Maybe more if there's no basement and it's not a straight shot, but not THOUSANDS.

  Well, that's what was quoted to me.    Guess I should have called them a liar or something???  And no, this is CA, we don't do basements, not in the Southern part, anyway.  And yes, for me, it would be from the garage to the kitchen, and they are diametrically opposite each other.

But most have to take out a 2d mortgage around here in order to redo their kitchens with gas lines for the stove/oven.  That's just how it goes out here.