Gas Vs. Electric Oven

Updated on February 14, 2011
B.P. asks from Lutherville Timonium, MD
20 answers

Here's the deal. Right now I have a gas oven (and stove) and I absolutely hate the oven. It is the only gas oven I've ever used. It came with the house when we bought it and for the last 6+ years it has driven me crazy. We are getting ready to replace it (I hope!) and I'm trying to figure out if the problem is that I prefer electric ovens over gas ones or if most gas ovens are fine, but this particular one is a bad one. Here are the problems:

- It tends to burn things on the bottom or make things stick to the pan on the bottom.
- I can't really use the first two (out of 4 or 5) oven rack positions because they are too close to the heating element and things get REALLY burned on the bottom if I use them.
- The way the heating elements (including broiler feature) are set up, there is really very little usable space inside the oven.

Please tell me your experience. Is this just a bad gas oven or are some of these issues more common with gas ovens? I don't want to have to buy another gas oven to find out because if I hate that one too, it's too late. I'll be stuck with it! Thanks!

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S.H.

answers from Washington DC on

I think it's just a bad gas oven. I have both a gas oven and stove, and I love it, never had any problems.

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A.H.

answers from Washington DC on

A propperly calibrated gas range and oven is a dream to have. I just got a new gas stove/range and I looooove it. I would not change it for electric for all the money in the world. There is a way to calibrate an oven , just ask the stove installer about it. Good luck.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Honey, gas stoves don't have elements in them. You have an electric oven if there are elements inside.

It is very possible that yo have gas stove top and elec. oven. You may need to have a repair guy come and check it out. The thermostat may be messed up. Or you can buy an oven thermometer at just about any Walmart or other grocery store. Turn the oven on to any temp according to the dial then check what the thermometer reads a bit later, maybe 10 minutes. If it's not the same then you know that the oven cooks either hotter or cooler. You can adjust accordingly.

For example:

The oven dial is turned to 350 degrees but the oven thermometer inside the oven reads 425. You'll need to turn the dial towards 300 a bit until the thermometer reads 350 degrees and then put some sort of mark to show where 350 degrees actually is.

Also, if you do end up having a has oven I would be sure and ask the repair guy if he can remove the other stuff inside so you can have more room.

It basically comes down to what you were raised using. That's typically what you will like as an adult. I hate elec. cook tops. I like being able to see the flame and adjusting it to where I need it. On elec. I have no idea how hot the heat is and I under-cook or burn about everything.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Macon on

Ive had both and I perfer electric.I do alot of baking and never liked gas for baking anything.But as far as the using the stove top i seen no diffrence but if you get another gas on expect to cook things at lower heat for a longer time this will make baking goods stiff and not moist.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

I prefer gas. It sounds like your oven may just be too small for your needs.

If you find that your cookies get burned, consider buying a camping cookie sheet or two - they are thicker and do a great job keeping things from burning on the bottom.

C.H.

answers from Denver on

Gas & if you can swing it find one that has a convection feature for the oven, pretty standard feature these days (i think...) and really works to distribute the heat evenly.

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B.B.

answers from New York on

When we did our kitchen about 5 years ago everyone told me to do a gas stove, so I did. I could kick myself...I hate it. I find gas stove tops much harder to keep clean with all of the grates and removable pieces.

And, I have not been able to make cookies since I moved here to this house. I think it is because of the gas oven, that is the only thing that is different. I am using all of the same recipes. Even my mom said that my oven sucks!!! And it is brand new. IDK, everything else cooks fine - breads, cakes, dinners, but cookies - no such luck.

If I could go back and do it all again, I would 100% get an electric oven.

The only positive I see about a gas oven is that if we lost power I could still cook, but in the 5 years we have lived here, we have never lost power for an extended amount of time **knocking on wood**

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Gas is GREAT!!! I wish I had gas!!! I sooo miss gas cooking!!!

Gas is great because if your electricity goes out - you can still cook!! :)

Buy an oven thermostat. Place it in the front of your oven and "test" the temperature. You may have to adjust your temperature for cooking to prevent burning, etc.

It sounds like you have an old gas stove. Go to Sears.com or even consumerreports.com and check out what appliances are out there and how they rate BEFORE you buy!! In my old gas stove (and this was YEARS ago) I NEVER had a problem with the size of the oven - no problems with the heat, etc. I know I had to adjust cooking times and temperature but never had the problem you state of "very little usable" space! :)

Most ovens now have between 3.9. and 5.0 cubic feet INSIDE. I just bought a new stove/oven as my sister tried to burn down my house!! (LOL!!! It was an accident!) Any way - I THOUGHT I wanted one of the ovens with the warmer and oven - NO WAY!!!! I don't think I'd be able to cook a turkey in there!! Let alone make muffins! NO THANK YOU!!! Go to Best Buy, Home Depot, Sears, etc. and LOOK in the oven - bring one of your pans with you. No kidding. MEASURE a turkey that you would normally cook and see what you can do inside. So what if people think you are crazy - you are spending YOUR MONEY on this item - it needs to be what you want!!!

Good luck!

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L.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I was raised with gas oven and stove top. I will never move into a house with electric cook top or gas oven. I have been to friend's who have electric and can't get used to cooking with that. My husband was a chef in several restaurants. He prefers gas. And our friend who is a professional baker just replaced his stove in his house with another gas range. He told me that most bakers he knows prefer gas for baking.
My 2 cents.

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C.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I love my gas oven. I have the opposite problem. I could never cook with electric without burning stuff. my gas oven has the heating element on the top so my food doesn't burn on the bottom shelf. I did get a high end version of a middle of the road model so that helps. I got it on clearance when they were coming out with the next year model and they wanted to get rid of it so i got a great deal on it at Best Buy. Also, if the temp isn't even you should be able to adjust the thermostat, on mine you can but so far its been accurate for about 3 years so i haven't had to adjust it. I also looked for a larger size oven when I was buying mine but you do have to search for the larger sizes. GOod luck.

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S.W.

answers from Amarillo on

It sounds like it is the stove and the configuration. If the stove came with the house it may not have been adjusted properly when installed and that is why you are burning the bottoms and edges. What is your price range for a new one? I have seen a gas stove top and an electric convection oven but the price is large. Many gas stoves have a separate broiler than the regular oven.

Learning how to cook on an electric range is harder than a gas range in my opinion but I have used both equally and still like the gas.

Good luck to you.

The other S.

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W.S.

answers from Norfolk on

I agree that it's probably the oven itself, not gas. I grew up with gas, had electric for a number of years, and am now back to gas. Couldn't be happier, and can't imagine going back to electric, but I do have a full size unit. I must say it has taken me a while to get used to cooking with gas again. It is much more adjustable and immediately on and off, but oven cooking can be a little harder to get just right. I still occasionally burn cookies, but it's probably more the pans than anything else. Good luck!!

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I have a glass cooktop and I hate it and wish I had a gas stove/oven. So when I win the lottery I get to replace the stupid stainless steel refrigerator and electric/ glass stove. Guess I should buy a ticket.
I think it also depends on what you have had when you were growing up. My mom has always had gas so I knew nothing else.

I think you have bad one.

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C.K.

answers from Atlanta on

I prefer a gas oven. At our last house we had two gas oven with electric start. It needed to be calibrated. I found that it preheated quicker than our current house's electric oven. The electric one takes forever to cool down.

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K.P.

answers from Washington DC on

We have a gas oven and gas stovetop, and I love the gas stovetop. Our gas oven doesn't seem to be calibrated correctly -- it takes twice as long as we expect to cook meats or cakes. Lately, we've been adjusting the temperature setting when we cook. I read an article recently that said gas ovens tend to lose calibration more quickly than electric ovens. So, if you like the gas stovetop, maybe you could get a dual system -- gas stove and electric oven?

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J.V.

answers from Chicago on

Electric ovens cook more evenly. I have a dual fuel. LOVE IT. You can control gas so much more effectively for the stove stop, but like I said, electric ovens cook more evenly --which is really important if you bake a lot!

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L.M.

answers from New York on

I grew up and learned to cook using a gas stove and oven. Now I have electric. I don't notice too much of a difference with the oven, but it's been over 20 years and I still miss my gas stove.

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S.E.

answers from Wichita Falls on

Most modren gas ovens will not have the problems to the same extent that the older ones had. Having said that, electric ovens do (in general) heat more evenly and tend to be more accurate temperature wise. I prefer a gas range because gas cook tops work better than electric and I don't use the oven very often. I use a large toaster oven for 95% of baking (it doesn't heat up the whole house and heat up quicker) and can fit almost anything in it (short of the thankgiving turkey).

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

i love love love love my gas oven. i would kick like a mule before i went back to electric.
khairete
S.

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K.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I have a gas oven where I live now, but my previous home had an electric one. Gas oven get hotter faster, so when you cook on them you need to use a lower heat setting. I rarely turn mine up above 5, when I do its to boil water quickly. As far as oven space I do not have that problem. Maybe your model is just really small. I don't know how true this is but I was told it not as easy as one would think to switch from gas to electric, the person who told me this may have been telling stories. I just wanted to let you know that. Good luck. oh cast iron works wonderfully on a gas oven.

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