The Complete Gas Stove Purchasing Checklist: What to Look for

"It's never easy to choose 'The One'" Emily sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll find him/her soon enough" Said Sophia, patting Emily's back

"I'm not talking about a life partner Sophia. I'm talking about purchasing a gas stove!"

Sophia lets out a laugh.

"You are worried about nothing. I was in the same place a few weeks back. Let me help you out"

Sophia whipped out her laptop and opened a presentation -

"Questions at the end of the presentation. Now let's begin!" Sophia exclaimed.

Factors to consider when buying a gas stove

Size of the burner

It is of utmost importance that you know what size you want. Get the dimensions of the place where you'll keep the stove, and keep it with you at all times.

Number of burners

Okay, now that we know what size we want, we'll go for the number of burners. Do you want a 3-burner gas stove or a 4-burner gas stove? Each has its own pros and cons. We'll discuss this particular topic once again in detail later on.

Heat Output

This depends on your cooking style. Do you want to slow cook a lot? Then go for burners that have low heat output. Or perhaps you want to cook fast. High-heat burners are what you need.

Ignition Style

Moving on, we have the ignition of a gas stove. Do you like lighting up a match every time you want to cook? Then get the manual gas stove. Or perhaps you are too lazy for that and don't want to light up a matchstick every single time. Then electric stove is the way to go. We'll later discuss this in detail too.

Safety ratings

While most of the available gas stoves in the market are safe, it is still advisable to look at their safety ratings once. Sometimes what happens is, in order to save some money, people cheap out on gas stoves, which leads to accidents. Not that it happens quite often, but there's no saying it won't happen to you. So better safe than sorry.

Budget and Pricing

Last but not least, comes your budget. Everything you just selected before this is meaningless if you don't have the budget. So, in order to get the best value, it's best that you realise your budget first, and then start the list. This will help you purchase the best product for the money.

Types of Stoves: Exploring different options

"So, there are 4 types of stoves that are most commonly used, and by extension, you'll also probably be purchasing one of the 4. Let's get into it."

Gas Stove

This is the most commonly used and found stove in our country. It's the one where you connect the cylinder to the stove through a pipe. It is not the most portable, but since it uses LPG (liquified petroleum gas), you can precisely control the heat output. It is comparatively cheaper than most of the other available options.

Inductions

They recently have started to gain popularity, especially after the Covid era. You don't need LPG to operate this stove. It works on the principle of generating heat through the use of electricity using electromagnetic induction. Also called Induction, hence the name. The downside to this is that you'll need unique cookware. They need to have a magnetic base in order for the induction to work. So you can't just use any cookware with it.

Chulha/Solid Fuel Stove

Found mostly in villages, this is not something that you are going to need unless you really want to have one at home. It is made up of mud and is still very prevailingly used by roadside dhabas and restaurants. They use biomass such as coal, and cow dung as fuel. They are said to give a different taste to food as compared to food cooked in normal stoves and inductions.

Combination Stove

Last on our list is the combination stove. As the name suggests, this stove is a combination of a stove and oven, or sometimes a gas stove and an electrical stove together. It basically combines two different types of stoves for ease of use. That being said, it is the costliest on the list. If your budget allows, you should go with this option. But in case it doesn't, the others work just as well, except for the chulha.

Gas Stoves: Manual vs Electric

As mentioned earlier, we will now discuss the manual vs electric stoves in much more detail.

Manual Stove

You can tell from the name, the manual stove requires you to manually turn the burners on using a matchstick or a lighter. While for some it is a much better option, some may not be very comfortable with it as it is known to have some safety issues.

"Safety issues?!" Emily shrieked.

"Let me explain" Sophia calms Emily down.

You see, with manual stoves, you turn the gas on, then burn the matchstick/lighter. And sometimes, the match doesn't light up, or the lighter isn't working. This shifts the attention to you trying to light up the match rather than the gas you just turned on. And when you finally light it up, well, you can already guess what might happen. This can be easily curbed if you pay attention. That's it. Pay attention to your surroundings. Other than that, there's nothing to be wary about. These are cheaper, and much easier to fix in comparison to their electric counterpart.

Electric Stove

These are much safer options when compared to the manual stove. They are much higher in price, yes, but that directly translates to safety. You must have seen them somewhere by now. Just turn the knob, and it starts heating itself up. As easy as it gets.

Now that doesn't mean it is without any cons of its own. These are some of the cons of owning an electric stove:

1. Slow heat up - It takes a while for the stove to heat up. And it also takes time to cool down. So, you might wanna be careful around it.
2. Limited heating capabilities - Unlike the gas stove, it is much harder to select the perfect temperature to cook. And unlike the gas stove, the range of an electric stove is lower.
3. Energy Consumption - Since it uses electricity, the energy consumption is quite high. And will obviously lead to a higher electricity bill the more you use it.
4. Maintenance - As stated earlier, the electric stove is quite high maintenance. It doesn't break down so easily, but when it does, it is going to cost you very well.

"This is the, what we call 'Niche' part of the purchase" Sophia says with a smirk.

Size and Number of Burner

While it obviously depends on the size of kitchen you have, that doesn't mean you are only limited to one type of stove. There are numerous types of stoves in varying sizes. Let's discuss them one by one:

2-burner stove

The most commonly found stove type in Indian households, this is the starting point for everyone who wants to purchase a stove. It is cheap and reliable, hence being the choice of many people nation-wide. This stove can range anywhere from Rs 800 - Rs 7,000.

3-burner stove

Next upgrade comes in the form of one more burner. This is for those who cook somewhat more frequently and in more quantity. 3-burner stoves are the perfect middle ground for those who don't want the size of 4-stove burner, but want more than just 2-burner stove. Price of this ranges from Rs 2,000 - Rs 40,000.

4-burner stove

This is for those who have a big family to feed. Obviously it is not necessarily for people who only have big families, but it is more suitable for them. The point is clear by now, more burners, more ease of cooking, and higher the price. The price for this ranges from Rs 3,000 - Rs 58,000.

5-burner stove

The biggest and baddest stove money can buy you right now, is the 5-burner stove. This stove will cost you anywhere from Rs 30,000 - Rs 60,000. So you have to be REALLY enthusiastic about cooking if you want to purchase this. Or just be rich enough that it doesn't burn a hole in your pocket (get it?).

All of these are avaible in the online market, but it would be advisable to check with the offline market as well. Sometimes, they offer a better value for money than the online market.

"So, any questions?" Sophia asked as she closed the presentation.

"Actually yes. Let's say I do purchase one. How will I fit everything? I mean, I'm clueless!" Emily exclaimed.

"Well funny that you'd ask. I was just about to mention this home service providing company HomeTriangle. They are the one who helped me with everything related to gas services. Infact I liked their services so much that I even opted for a full house clean! I'll share their website with you. Don't worry about that" Sophia reassured Emily.

Sophia continued, "Also, like I mentioned in the beginning of this presentation, it all starts from choosing your budget. Everything is useless unless you set your budget. I have given you the pointers, now go and whip up a budget for your stove. It'll be a cake walk after that" Sophia pats on Emily's back.