BajaNomad

Electricity Required for Gas Ranges/ovens?

oladulce - 6-27-2012 at 11:43 AM

Learned something new while shopping for appliances. US gas ranges/ovens have a series of electric "glow bars" which somehow control the gas in the oven and light up periodically throughout the baking cycle (I don't understand the specifics cause that's my husb's dept).

We have an electric outlet in place for a range and a wall switch to turn off the clocks etc when not in use. But we didn't know a gas oven may require a significant amount of electricity and didn't plan for this when we designed our solar set up.

Has anyone ever hooked up a Killowatt to their US gas range to check the electricity consumption for baking?

I haven't decided what brand or model I'll get and don't know if the electricity usage varies much with different brands. So far the manufacturers I've contacted do not have this info available. Bosch specs say " Power 1800 watts" for one of their models but that's the only reference I found and it doesn't say if that's per hour, per baking cycle, or surge power requirement.

Any other solar powered folks have experience with this?

We didn't plan to have to fire up the generator to bake some corn muffins...

willardguy - 6-27-2012 at 12:18 PM

here's a lengthy discussion on the subject.http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?12831-Gas-oven-without-an-electric-glow-bar

Bob and Susan - 6-27-2012 at 12:48 PM

you MUST have a "fancy-smanchy" stove

ours uses electricty ONLY to ignite the flame

its mexican so you need to light the oven and watch the temp

oladulce - 6-27-2012 at 12:57 PM

Thanks willardguy- that Wind-sun forum thread is where we learned what a glow bar was. Manufacturers don't provide any info for electricity use of their gas ranges and Energy Star doesn't rate gas ranges. (For most of our appliances I start with Energy Star to see which models will work best with solar).

Bob, apparently the electric glow bars are a safety feature required on US products only. Mexi ovens don't have them and won't use the extra power. But I've owned one (cheap model) Mexi gas range and I really don't want another.

Buying a less expensive US gas range may cost more in the long run if we have to buy more panels and batteries to run it or resort to the propane gen every time.

stoves

captkw - 6-27-2012 at 01:19 PM

stoves/hot water heaters without all the fancy gizmo's have a safety valve and a thermal coupler and wont have a 110 cord coming out the back.. K & T :cool: oops unless for the lights!!

[Edited on 6-27-2012 by captkw]

Taco de Baja - 6-27-2012 at 01:27 PM

Had an old Tappan oven in the early 1990s and when the glow bar died we had to replace the glow bar at a cost of almost $100 (actually more than we paid for the entire range at the yard sale down the street :lol: ) as when it stops glowing, no gas is flowing. We tried hand lighting with no luck.

I seem to recall it pulled ~3A which means it used around 330 Watts whenever the oven was on. Probably similar for other models on the market.

[Edited on 6-27-2012 by Taco de Baja]

mtgoat666 - 6-27-2012 at 01:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Learned something new while shopping for appliances. US gas ranges/ovens have a series of electric "glow bars" which somehow control the gas in the oven and light up periodically throughout the baking cycle (I don't understand the specifics cause that's my husb's dept).

We have an electric outlet in place for a range and a wall switch to turn off the clocks etc when not in use. But we didn't know a gas oven may require a significant amount of electricity and didn't plan for this when we designed our solar set up.

Has anyone ever hooked up a Killowatt to their US gas range to check the electricity consumption for baking?

I haven't decided what brand or model I'll get and don't know if the electricity usage varies much with different brands. So far the manufacturers I've contacted do not have this info available. Bosch specs say " Power 1800 watts" for one of their models but that's the only reference I found and it doesn't say if that's per hour, per baking cycle, or surge power requirement.

Any other solar powered folks have experience with this?

We didn't plan to have to fire up the generator to bake some corn muffins...


I suspect power draw of a glow plag should be pretty small, but if I were curious about actual demand I would write an email to the manufacturers customer service department -- they can be quite helpful. Also you can find online manuals for many models, and the appendices should list electric consumption data

vandenberg - 6-27-2012 at 01:52 PM

Oladulce,
We have a commercial/restaurant Montaque Grizzly gas range. Four large burners and a 2'x2' griddle.
Propane only, no electricity required. I would highly recommend spending money on a high end stove, especially if you like to cook. Ours is 20 years old and works like new.

capt. mike - 6-27-2012 at 02:49 PM

my viking pro line 6 station gas cooktop - propane - plugs into 110 v to power the piezo electric igniters. i would think most modern gas ovens would have the same facility.
pilot lights etc are very old technology.

old tech

captkw - 6-27-2012 at 03:16 PM

yes, your right and they WORK when you need them

larryC - 6-27-2012 at 04:06 PM

Oladulce
I got lucky when my wife and I were looking for appliances, someone mentioned about the glow bars in ovens drawing alot of power. The ones I looked at drew around 500 watts when they were on. We looked around and found Peerless Ranges, they use a piezo spark to light the top burners and the oven also, so very little power usage, not even enough for me to measure. They make a nice household model. Here is a link to their website:
http://www.premierrange.com/gasranges30.php
Hope this helps,
Larry

J.P. - 6-27-2012 at 04:57 PM

We have a newer Maytag 5 burner elc. ignite with a gas broiler and a large gas convection gas oven Its all computer controlled I dont know anything about but it shure makes my wife happy. all of my appliances have electronic ignition I dont have any statistics to back it up but i will say its probably a trade off on the gas verses elect.

Jim/Liisa - 6-27-2012 at 05:42 PM

You could go buy a MABE propane range any where in Mexico. They have models that are ignited by matches or lighters. No electric required. You can also buy them with the electric igniters as well.

We have the electric igniter for the burners only oven lit with lighter We control the temp for baking with a thermomiter put in the oven it hangs on the oven rack and you can see it from the window you can adjust the temp as needed.

[Edited on 6-28-2012 by Jim/Liisa]

Commercial type

bajaguy - 6-27-2012 at 06:16 PM

Go with what Vandy and Capt Mike say.

Get a residential "commercial" model......you will be happier in the long run!!!

oladulce - 6-29-2012 at 01:56 PM

Thanks for the input everyone. Because of the location of our gas line and power outlet for the stove and because of the glow bar issue, I think we're going to get a PremierPro like Larry mentioned. It's an electronic ignition style without any glow bars.

As suggested, I looked at some of the commercial/residential ranges and there are some nice ones. It's tempting, but we're nearing the end of casa construction and have to prioritize the dwindling budget. I'd rather splurge on a nice BBQ for now and can maybe upgrade the stove in the future if needed.

monoloco - 6-29-2012 at 04:51 PM

Found this one in a segunda on Jalisco in La Paz:



Works great!