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I wasn't sure where to post but in the towns we're looking at most houses I've seen have electric stoves, gas is rare at least in the listings I've seen.
After decades of renting and having electric I was really hoping to finally get a gas stove when I buy a home.
Is this something that can be changed? Can you have electric heat and a gas stove? Anyway I can find out if its a possibility?
You should check with your realtor on the availability of Natural Gas in the areas you are looking. If available it will most likely be in the town and not the outlying areas. Another option would be to have a propane stove for cooking this is very common in areas without Natural Gas.
What towns are you looking into? A lot of areas in NNY don't have Natural Gas. Most of it is just too unpopulated & remote so I guess its not worth it for the Gas Co's to pipe it in. When I lived up there we had to go with oil, which I hated. A lot of people I knew used a combination of oil & wood or pellet stoves. You can check for availability on this site ............ http://www.newyorknaturalgas.com/ind...g-b-gas+supply
Thanks for the replies. I was wondering why I did find the odd house that had a gas stove - probably they had the propane tank. I know we ran into the same problem when we moved our new gas dryer to North Carolina and gas wasn't available (we were renting so this might not always be the case).
Have to find out more about propane costs, etc.
jblake - appreciate the link. Checked some addresses and natural gas isn't available. We're looking at Plattsburgh and surrounding towns. Looks like it would be a plus if a house has a wood/pellet stove.
Joe is right. You can use propane (LP) to run a stove.
Your local fuel/gas dealer can set a 100lb or larger tank outside your home and run a line to the stove. If you are hooking up a new stove, it'll probably need the jets converted from natural gas to LP which is easy.
People use portable LP tanks up here all of the time to run gas fireplaces and heaters, even if they have fuel oil heat or electric heat. A gas stove is no different.
Rumblebelly, Thanks for explaining how its done. Looking ahead, (way ahead) if we later sold the house, the new owner could switch back right? Just disconnect the stove and the lines or I could and then have the tank removed?
Good to know its a common practice - more likely I could have it switched fairly easily.
Rumblebelly, Thanks for explaining how its done. Looking ahead, (way ahead) if we later sold the house, the new owner could switch back right? Just disconnect the stove and the lines or I could and then have the tank removed?
Good to know its a common practice - more likely I could have it switched fairly easily.
One thing I forgot is that electric stoves require 220 volts and gas require 110 volts. The gas stove would have to be close to a 110 outlet.
Yep, the fuel company owns the tank and they'll come and pick it up when you no longer need it. At least, that's how it works where I'm at.
Remove the connection lines, plug the holes, and it's like the gas stove was never there. I think that would be a waste of time though because keeping the option for either gas or electric could be a selling point for a potential buyer. The only problem I can think you might run into is code requirements. I'm not sure if there's a code issue having a gas line close to a unused 220 electric stove outlet. However when/if you buy a home and when/if you get a home inspector (which I highly recommend), you could always ask them if there's any potential code issues.
Last edited by Rumblebelly; 02-20-2010 at 07:13 AM..
One thing to remember is that pellet stoves require a little elec. fan, so if you lose power, you're out of luck. Go with a wood stove. There was an ice storm up here a few years back (before I moved), and several places were w/o elec. for days, if not weeks.
Thank you again for the added details about how switching over and back would work. Good point that it would make sense to make it an option for a later buyer. Definitely would be getting an inspection.
Appreciate the info on pellet stoves too - I didn't know they required electricity. Winter storms are something to take into consideration, esp. after the way this winter has been going.
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