We drove a total of 10 hours yesterday to pick this up, The people bought this to use when their power went out....and never used it!

Set it beside the Frigidaire, 2 ovens and 8 burners!

I have to hunt up my flaring tool and go buy a roll of copper tubing so I can get it all hooked up to the propane tank!..I have to work this weekend so maybe it will be a Monday project,,Its amazing how much better built this stove is than whats sold today, the porcelain is so much more glossy looking.

Very nice Hardwick.   If winter gets cruel with ice and snow, you are all set now.  You now have dual fuel done exactly right. Congrats Art

Im going to use it...BUT NOT for heating, nothing will ruin a range faster!I have gas logs that will heat the house fine if the power goes out, I just like cooking on gas and electric, Yes it was made in Cleveland Tennessee,

Baking with gas much better than electric, it does not dry out your food nearly as much, Simmering is better on electric units, because most gas burners simply wont turn down low enough, but frying is far better on gas, especially using something like Revere Ware that doesent heat evenly, the gas flame spreads the heat much better than the coils do.

I FORBID ANYTHING being broiled...My Mother was always broiling stuff and the oven was always a greasy mess, If it needs to be broiled I will go to a restaurant and get it!..LOL..But gas does to me broil better  with less mess because the flame eats the smoke.

A gas surface is ideal for sautéing and pan frying, the sorts of thing where I want to move quickly between higher and lower heats.  For similar reasons, I very much prefer gas for hollandaise, beurre blanc, and similar sauces, and even for heating eggs for a génoise batter.  I also like gas for roasting chiles—there’s nothing like an open flame for that.

An electric surface is ideal for boiling big pots of water—I’m shocked at how much faster it is than gas—and for low simmers, for extended cooking of all sorts, like stews, and for shallow-fat frying. For these applications, the ability to set a specific heat output and keep it constant is ideal.  (Controlled output is also why I’ve learned to love the non-infinite dials and push-buttons of older models.)

In short—

Gas: instant heat adjustment, open-flame applications

Electric: precise levels of heat output, better heat transfer

For canning, which seems to take place only on the hottest days of summer, I use a propane “patio stove” out on the deck.  That kind of work simply has to happen outside.  (I would use an electric version if such a thing existed, but it doesn’t.)

For broiling... well, gas units shouldn’t even include a broiler.

Ovens are a trickier thing to judge.  In my experience, no gas oven has ever performed as well as an electric one.  But the fault very likely lies in the low quality of the gas ovens I was using, not entirely in the fuel source.  Even so, gas units must have an intake of air, which makes the oven temperature unstable, while electric units only need a little outgoing ventilation, which just naturally leads to a more even temperature.  Only the best gas ovens even try to overcome this problem; but even then, I remain unconvinced.  I can trace two dramatic baking failures to gas ovens, both of them destroying baked items that were expected a parties I was catering.  You don’t go through that and forget it.

A gas oven produces a pound or angel food cake that is consistently a inch or two higher and more moist than an electric oven.

The older gas ovens with the modulating flame control hold a MUCH more even temperature than the best electric ever could.

It has pilots for the top and oven...It doesent bother me, everyone has an opinion, When I first started reading comments about stoves on here, I was astounded at peoples likes and dislikes, Ive come to believe its a regional thing,I grew up in an area where electric ranges outnumbered gas at least 50 to 1, The main objection to gas I heard growing up was" I don't want gas, It might blow up!" Which of course was as irrational as my fear of flying....Doesent matter, Im still NOT getting on anything that gets off the ground...Airplane, roller coaster or tall building..NO thank you!..LOL Something that really convinced me as a kid that gas was a better baker was a good friend of ours had a old 36 inch match light Magic Chef, her cakes were always much higher and lighter than anyone elses, you could spot her cakes at Church dinners all the way across the room, It HAD to be the oven because she used the same recipes and ingredients as many of the other women at church..I think peoples perception of quality is based on what they grew up with, in my hometown, people with money had Frigidaire and Westinghouse appliances, GE and Hotpoint were considered cheaper, Many guys here see GE as a TOL product, it all goes back to what you grew up with and like....But the fact remains, darn near ALL professional chefs use gas!..The reason I wanted a Hardwick is that it was made in Cleveland Tennessee and I have actually been by the factory,Hardwick was never a high end brand, but it sure was a quality product.

Louis, we got onto gas vs electric because Han now has both, and several obvious questions come out of that.  I hope my comments weren’t perceived as negative somehow.

I would like to respond to Hans’s comment about getting better cakes from a gas oven.  My gas disasters both involved pastry—puff pastry in one instance, and that experience was a living nightmare, with butter oozing out everywhere and the pastry never turning even slightly brown.  I wonder if the gas advantage is specifically for cakes and such?  Have you also had good luck with pastry, Hans, other than the crust at the bottom of a pie?

As I mentioned in my post, I like gas and electric for different purposes, and I’m always interested in hearing likes and dislikes from someone who has a lot of experience with both. 

No one offended me!!, I love the discussion, I just have had such good luck with a gas oven..I have baked not only all kinds of cakes, but cookies, cream puffs, biscuits as well as pies, so I  have baked a large number of different items, we all like different things, that's what makes the world go round..LOL