Performance of Our Propane Cookstove with Battery Ignition
We shared our new battery powered, propane cookstove with you a while back. I wanted to update that information with it's performance now that we have used it for a while.
First, the oven. I have checked the oven temperature with a hanging oven thermometer off and on, just to make sure the thermostat is accurate, and it is. The difference between this oven and our previous one, is that this new one takes more time. If I fix a batch of biscuits that normally will bake in 10-12 minutes, this oven takes 20 unless I increase the temperature. So things don't bake like I am used to, and don't taste quite the same. Another downside is that if it takes longer to bake, it uses more propane.
I wasn't sure if I would like the open burners or not. I have used a gas stove with open burners before, but it has been a long time, and I couldn't remember any problems accept the occasional piece of food dropped down through the hole. The top is easy to lift, prop open and clean under. So, we haven't really found any downside to the open burners.
The burners are all the same size. I knew it would be nice to have a larger one, but figured this would be fine. They are all 9100 Btu, and just like the oven, take longer to cook things. Since the output on the burners is less than our old stove, I'm not sure if it uses more propane or not. Unless the meal I'm cooking takes a while, my cast iron skillet doesn't heat evenly across like it did with a larger diameter burner that put out more Btu's. For me, that is a negative. If I'm trying to cook a burger, I have to turn it around so all sides will cook and brown evenly on both sides. I have made the necessary adjustments, but if we had it to do over, we would have gotten a different stove.
One of the comments on our previous stove post mentioned Premier stoves. They have a larger selection of stoves with battery powered ignitions, which was the reason we bought the Hotpoint. In our research for this type of stove, Premier never came up. If it had, we would have bought one, probably like this one.
Overall, the quality of our stove is lower than we would have liked. It doesn't appear to work as efficiently or effectively as the stoves we have had in the past. The quality of the stove reminds us of one you would find in a cabin that was used for camping or vacation use, not everyday cooking or canning. But, if the power is out temporarily, for an extended period of time, or forever, we will still be able to cook, at least until the propane runs out, and that was our goal.
Is this stove meeting our overall goal? Yes. Would we like for it to be a heavier quality stove? Yes. Do we wish it had one larger and one smaller Btu burner? Yes. Does the battery ignition work? Yes it does, and it works quite well. When we installed the stove, we put in a 9 volt rechargeable battery in the battery slot, and it's still working fine to this day, which is a little over three months now. This time the old adage, 'experience is the best teacher' applies. We didn't know anyone else that had ever had a battery powered ignition on a propane or gas cookstove, so we just had to find out for ourselves.
Until next time - Fern
I had a propane stove, and propane furnace, for 17 years when we lived in CT. I truly don't remember any difference in cooking times or heat than from an electric stove. At that time all my cookware was cast iron by Le Cruet. I do know that I really liked the control I had on the burners - being able to make tiny adjustments and also being able to bring something to a boil and then immediately down to a simmer. With electric I have to change burners or risk scorching. I think with time you'll get used to it and will be really pleased.
ReplyDeleteBTY, had to get a new electric stove a couple of months ago. Bought a mid-priced highly rated one and am disappointed in the weight as it seems light and the bottom drawer isn't as deep as the depth of the stove. Just another way for the manufacturer to save a few bucks but that savings is not passed on to us.
I have had a few electric cookstoves before, Bellen, and I much prefer propane. Like your new electric stove, this new propane stove is just not the quality, nor does it perform as well as the propane stove it replaced. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteFern
One of the properties we are looking at has a Premiere 6 burner Pro gas Range, without the battery ignition. The lady who owns it says it will start with out electricity and they have used it through power outages without a problem. She just has some of the longer wood matches to start it. She is struggling with their decision to leave the stove with the property. She says very very good things about it. It has the cast iron grate over the burners and can handle big pots and cast iron cookware easily.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the folks could still light their stove with matches even though it has a standard electronic ignition, Fiona. Do you know if the oven would still work as well? The burners on our last propane stove would light with a match, but the oven wouldn't. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteFern
Until I was in my mid fifties, I cooked and heated with propane. With my stove, the regulation for the oven was off the charts and I called it my microwave with automatic burn cycle built in. Things over-heated, cooked quickly and burned around the edges. Every thanksgiving was a mess of overly browned biscuits, crunchy dressing, and a turkey the size of a quail as I tried to balance the size of everything to match. Fond memories? No way. I don't know what they use for a liner in the newer ovens, but mine was black and white porcelain. Might be why it built up the heat so well.
ReplyDeleteI have had a number of propane stoves, Lotta Joy, but never had problems with crunchy dressing. Some memories are funnier than others, after a while anyway. Thanks for the story.
DeleteFern
we have an LP cookstove with no ignition source. has trouble getting the big canner up to temp, otherwise it's fine
ReplyDeleteHi, Morgan. Our propane cookstove does okay. The main reason I bought it, was the little 9VDC ignition source. I wish it were a heavier, better quality stove. And I wish it had one big burner and one small burner instead of all four the same size. But it works. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFrank