Ok, I’m not sure that most older kitchens with gas stoves already have 40-amp circuits, but even when they do, what installation costs are you talking about for a gas stove when the kitchen is already plumbed? Do you hire a plumber just to screw the flexible gas line onto the spigot in the wall?
not exactly a plumber, but a licensed/ bonded technician as some locales required a certified install or - no permit. regulations, ain’t they great? it is that way in many places for reasons.
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You need a permit to install a replacement gas appliance to existing plumbing in your own home? Dang, I guess some of us have apparently been doing this wrong…
The gas connection at the cooktop was not compatible, and the beefy downdraft fan we got required rerouting it, anyway. So that was ~$200. Induction cooktop was plug and play. Any kitchen with a modern electric oven will probably already have a 40 amp circuit.
Bingo.
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in some locales.
yes, one would need to apply for/ receive county building permits for a kitchen remodel. here in Monroe County it is a huuuuge boondoggle, but a real one.
off topic: i have to have a permit to prune a tree of any branch larger than 4in. diameter or replace a fence, even if exactly like the old one.
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Well that I believe. But I was specifically talking about existing older homes with gas ovens (which don’t necessarily have 40 amp circuits) when commenting on your price comparison.
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Way to go, Ohio.
Ok, I’ve read through this thread and there has been enough discussion about whether gas stoves are better, that I feel like I can ask what I’m doing wrong. I was really excited to move into a place with a gas range a couple of years ago, and google suggests it is a pretty good one, but I can’t get the temperature low enough. On the lowest setting of the smallest burner I get full boils when I want barely simmering.
Is there a trick? Something to adjust?
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Check if you have a “simmer” burner. It’s usually the smallest burner that accepts a second top plate that diffuses the flame.
Alternatively, see if you can get a diffuser that will accomplish the same thing?
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The other gotcha with induction is that it only works on some types of cookware (ones in which current can be induced). The big ones missing are glass and aluminum. If you use a big glass Dutch oven for coq au vin, for example, or if you have the always-popular All Clad aluminum pans, you’re out of luck.
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Except that is changing and might not even be true outside the US. It also needs to change. Restaurant workers shouldn’t have to work in kitchens using gas. It’s unhealthy and makes the kitchen itself very hot
Top restaurants worldwide are adopting induction, including Michelin three-star restaurants Robuchon au Dôme in Macau, Alinea in Chicago, and the French Laundry in Napa Valley, California. Iron Chef Amanda Cohen pioneered all-induction cooking in 2008 in Dirt Candy, her renowned Manhattan vegetarian restaurant, and Top Chef Masters champion Rick Bayless and Canada’s famed Angus An have sung the technology’s praises.
From
Chefs Turn Off the Gas and Light Up Induction Cooktops | Sierra Club
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Yes, and here’s another chef talking about working in both types of restaurant kitchens:
I’ve had the pleasure of working in both large kitchens that use gas and large kitchens that use induction. [The latter] was over seven years ago, I was working at this 24-hour restaurant in Macau in China. All of the facilities that I was using were all 100 percent induction. There were woks the size of me to boil water for pasta and noodles.
Another point he makes is that older venues don’t have sufficient ventilation:
Interesting you say you used induction out of necessity. What made it a necessity?
Lack of ventilation was the biggest thing because I lived in a super-old building in Detroit, and even though there was a gas range in there, there was no ventilation that was helpful. It predated any kind of safety and health regulations. Because of that, I started using induction ranges.
I was also doing pop-ups in places like museums where it was really important I didn’t have a lot of exhaust in these rooms. So induction does seem like the natural way to go because it provided me with the power I need, with portability and cleanliness, and lack of fumes that requires me to have a fan.
Whenever I tried to cook at my home [with gas] in the same way that I cook in that restaurant, I set off the fire alarm because there wasn’t enough ventilation. The fans just weren’t strong enough to take in all of the smoke and gas.
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We currently have three single burner camp stoves and one double burner. (At Peak Stove, we had five single burner and two double burner at the same time. Hey, I like stoves.)
In the event of a power outage I’m not comfortable using a single burner indoors because they tend to be tippy, but I’ve used our two burner Coleman propane stove successfully in the kitchen. The smooth-top range makes a good surface for it, with a couple of wood spacers to allow air circulation underneath. I’ve always used the disposable canisters, but I have an adapter hose that lets me connect a 20-pound BBQ tank, which would allow me to cook for a month or so.
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I would certainly hope anything to do with gas would only be installed by a licensed technician and by permit! Gas (and high voltage electricity) are not something that should be left to amateurs who think they know what to do after watching a YouTube video
I’m not quite sure how ironic that was, but yeah, this. Unironically
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Also now in Wired
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Fine, but just to be clear, “installation” in this case consists of screwing a single, low pressure compression fitting together. Yes, it’s possible to mess that up and it’s important to do it right but it’s hardly an advanced technique that requires a ton of expert training.
I’m assuming that most people are reasonably comfortable with the idea of unlicensed people swapping out their own propane bottles on a bbq? And letting people plug in their own “high voltage” appliances to outlets?
Only if the person you eventually sell the place to cares. 
I actually had a licensed, reputable company give me quotes for installing a tankless water heater, with different rates for permitted and unpermitted. The difference was the time and fees involved with the permitting process.
Convection (electric) ovens are just too good to pass up if you got a choice between gas and electric. Just go induction top and a convection oven combo. The only issue induction cookers have is they’re switch-mode (necessary to heat the cookware) so if you’re a ham radio nerd then you’ll just have to adjust stuff to choke the appliance to prevent it from conducting their RFI on the house wiring.
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I agree with the first part, and had no idea about the second part. Are there other electronic items in the home that might need shielding from the RFI in the wires? I have had induction in 2 homes now, and have never encountered an issue, but then I’m not a ham radio operator.
To add to the other links already provided, here’s a decent (simple) overview from USA Today:
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Basically the issue is that all switching circuits must use a square wave to produce the best results whether it’s induction cookers or power supplies. Essentially, square waves produce nearly infinite harmonics so there’s a need to add better filtering to the input of such devices to prevent the leakage of their radio noise but that costs money since we’re talking chokes, bypass capacitors, proper grounded shielding, and so forth. Most companies don’t invest that much time into such measures since the FCC doesn’t strongly enforce its rules about RFI/EMI. The best you can do is just not run the offending device if you’re on your radio rig or choke it which I do believe for home appliances there are decent RFI chokes you can wire up to them but I wouldn’t bother if you’re not trained to do electrician work since we’re talking some dangerous stuff (240V and such).
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