Cooking on gas - without a gas supply

SlyReaper · 4 Feb 2011 at 21:51

What's the best way to go about this? I'm utterly sick of cooking on electric hobs, and the house I'm going to be moving into soon also lacks a gas supply. So my plan is to buy a set of gas hobs and hook them up to a large gas cannister, which I'll keep in a cupboard and drill a hole for the tube to feed through.

So where can I buy a gas hob I can do this with? Also, what's the best sort of gas to use? Will camping gas do, or will I need some other kind?

SlyReaper · 4 Feb 2011 at 21:58

AHarvey said:
Or just looking at getting gas to the house?

Crazy expensive. There's no gas pipe in the street.

Are camping stoves as good as a normal kitchen stove?

SlyReaper · 4 Feb 2011 at 22:12

unclebob123 said:
We have a gas cooker with 6 burners which runs from two canisters outside. Obviously you only need the one, but it automatically switches over to the second once the first canister runs out. Pretty cheap as well. The two last about a year and a half and I think its about £40 a bottle.

Oooh that's pretty good, I thought doing it this way would be pretty expensive. But it sounds like it's pretty cheap.

SlyReaper · 4 Feb 2011 at 22:21

unclebob123 said:
I cant remember how much it was to have installed to be honest, but it wasn't extortionate. And like I say once you get it up and running it's very cheap.

Who did you use to install the system? Also, how big are the canisters? Could you keep them in something like an under-the-sink cupboard, or do they really need to be outside?

SlyReaper · 5 Feb 2011 at 14:15

Energize said:
Shocking, god knows how much electric heating must cost them.

Lots. I'm paying £59 per month to heat my small studio flat (was £72 per month, but they've just reduced my direct debit). Of course, it doesn't help that this place is so badly insulated.

SlyReaper · 7 Feb 2011 at 18:59

Telescopi said:
Butane needs to be indoors (it'll stop working around zero c), if your insurance won't allow gas indoors it'll need to be propane really.

Indoors I'd recommend a 3-4kg butane under the counter, small and it'll last you for months running a hob. Butane is lower pressure so easier to install (finger tight) especially when having to work in a small cupboard!

just google hobs with lpg jets, common enough.

Looks like I'll be doing that. Since last posting, I've managed to convince my parents to lend me their old camping stove and a butane canister. Apparently, the stove is big enough to stick a full size wok on. Result.

In the long term though, I think I'll be investing in a proper propane gas system, with boiler, gas central heating, etc as well as a gas stove. Expensive, but I reckon it'll be worth it in the long run.