Gas stove

“ The best kind of stove is mounted as high as possible so that it may be cleaned underneath. Also it should be set high to avoid fatigue in bending and lifting when using the oven, but not so high that the cook cannot use the hot plate comfortably.
Be sure that no taps are clogged with grease, and remember that when a gas stove smells it is because it is dirty or because the gas is turned on too full and is not being properly consumed, or gas is escaping. Well-managed gas cookers do not smell. ”

“ The so-called explosion of a gas stove is due to the sudden lighting of a quantity of gas under the oven that has collected without being lighted.
The important point in managing a gas stove is to keep the stopcock turned so that the flame is low. The full flame is needed only when water is being brought to the boiling point, and for the first heating of the oven. The low flame should be protected from draft. Many gas stoves now have a small simmering burner that is more useful than the large burner. ”

“ All this, however, may still be secured in the gas stoves of the future, as any one could easily have satisfied himself at the recent Smoke Abatement Exhibition in London. The gas stove of the future must be an open radiating stove, and not a closed stove, which warms the air by conduction and convection chiefly, and renders the air of a room dry and uncomfortable.
It has frequently been pointed out that our coal-fields are not inexhaustible; but they doubtless contain a sufficient supply for hundreds of years to come. ”

“ Replace any tile, crock or flimsy flues and chimneys with substantial brick chimneys.
Gas stoves or other heaters should have a ventilating flue to carry off the burned gas fumes, which are poisonous. Do not use portable rubber or similar tubing, but connect all gas stoves rigidly and securely with gas pipe. Examine valves and see that they are tight and do not leak.
Never permit a stove of any kind to be set up without stone, brick, concrete or metal protection underneath, or near a partition without a metal shield and air space. ”

“ The vital thing in the gas stove is the burner and its regulation. Nothing will compensate for poor burners, poor insulation, poor heating. Some stoves are so made that the linings come out and can be easily washed and greased with kerosene thus keeping them in excellent condition. ”

“ Of late years great strides have been made in the design and construction of gas kitcheners, which now, with their enamelled ovens, and tops, wrought steel grilling bars, atmospheric burners and other improvements, have reached a high degree of perfection. With due care, it is impossible to spoil a dinner on a gas stove. Actual experiment has proved that meat and other food loses less weight, and retains more of its flavour when cooked by gas, than if cooked by coal. It has been shown that meat cooked in a coal-heated oven loses about 35 per cent, of its weight, in a gas oven only 25 per cent. ”

“ Oil and Gas Stoves.—In many households, oil, gas, and gasoline stoves have largely taken the place of the kitchen range, especially during the hot weather of summer. They can be used for nearly every purpose for which a wood or a coal range is used; they require much less labor and litter, and can be instantly started into full force and as quickly turned out when no longer required, while the fact that the heat can be regulated with exactness, makes them superior for certain processes of cooking to any other stove. ”

“ And now, last and most important of all, the stove; for although we may do without a great many things which are nice and useful to have, without a stove it is impossible to cook well. It may be for gas, wood, or coal, but it must act well. Gas stoves are extremely simple, clean, and easy to use, there are no flues to get choked, and in towns where gas is cheap it is no doubt the easiest and pleasantest heat to use. To keep them clean and sweet they should be well washed inside and out with soda and water at least once a week and polished with a little Electric black lead. ”

“ With the ordinary kitchen range this is accomplished by cooking on the cooler part of the stove rather than on the hottest part, directly over the fire. Experience with a gas stove, particularly if it has a small burner known as a "simmerer," usually enables the cook to maintain temperatures which are high enough to sterilize the meat if it has become accidentally contaminated in any way and to make it tender without hardening the fibers. ”

“ The modern stove has brought simplicity of working, and yet the highest point of convenience, nearly to perfection. With full faith that the fuel of the future will be gas, its use is as yet, for many reasons, very limited; the cost of gas in our smaller cities and towns preventing its adoption by any but the wealthy, who are really in least need of it. With the best gas-stoves, a large part of the disagreeable in cooking is done away. ”

“ This stove is furnished with Manning-Bowman Chafing Dishes and it more than doubles the practical value of every chafing dish equipped with it. The Alcohol Gas Stove is really a portable cooking range, being sufficiently powerful for any kind of cooking with any sort of cooking utensil. A great thing for light housekeeping, impromptu meals, late suppers, picnics and camping. ”

“ A gas stove can be turned off as soon as you no longer require it, so is economical in every way. I know I must not add that it will save you much work, both in cleaning and lighting, though that is the truth. ”

“ If it appears elsewhere, the burner is not working properly. Sometimes the gas ignites at the point where the air is mixed with it. The fire should then be turned out and the stove re-lighted immediately.
If the little holes where the flames should be, or if any other part of the stove is clogged with soot, it will not burn as it should. It must be cleaned. A dirty gasoline stove is dangerous.
32. Filling the Gasoline Stove. Never get oil on the tank or any part of the stove while filling it. If oil is spilled, wipe it up before igniting the stove. ”

“ Of paramount importance is, of course, the stove, and what kind it shall be, whether gas, coal, or oil. Those of us who have grown accustomed to the immunity from those inevitable accompaniments of a coal range, ashes, soot, dust, and heat, afforded by the gas range, with its easily regulated broiler and oven, could hardly be persuaded to go back to first principles, as it were, and the coal range. But when this is necessary, either for warmth or because there is no gas connection in the house, one has a wide choice of first-class stoves and can hardly go astray in selecting one. ”

“ Owing largely to the strides made in the cycle trade enamelling is stoved by means of gas, and of this a plentiful supply is necessary. Enamelling stoves may really be described as hot-air cupboards or ovens, and for a stove which will answer most requirements—say one of 6 feet by 6 feet by 31/2 feet—six rows of atmospheric burners will be necessary to heat it, while it will be also advisable to fix pipes of 11/4 inch internal diameter from the gas meter to the stove. ”

“ The change in manipulation which is suggested to replace that usually followed, requires either a gas stove or a blue-flame coal-oil stove, and one of the small tin or sheet-iron ovens which are so largely used with these stoves. The stove itself will be found in almost every drug store ”

“ The Oliver Oil-Gas Burner—that in one minute, makes your present coal or wood range into a real gas stove that turns on and off with a valve. Gives much or little heat—only when you want it—at a twist of your wrist. ”

“ Stoves are made so that it is difficult to fill them too full. An oil stove cannot explode unless gas has formed in some part, like the tank, and becomes ignited by heat or a spark. Gas is more likely to collect in the tank when it is almost empty. ”

“ A cheap and very satisfactory drier for use over the kitchen stove can be made by any handy man of small-mesh galvanized-wire netting and laths or strips of wood about 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches wide. By using two laths nailed together the framework can be stiffened and larger trays made if desirable. This form can be suspended from the ceiling over the kitchen range or over a clear burning oil, gasoline, or gas stove, and it will utilize the hot air which rises during the cooking hour. It can be raised out of the way or swung to one side by a pulley or by a crane made of lath. ”

“ Its function is not that of a wick at all. It is rather the self-starter of the stove and its business is to light the oil and start the cooking. The stove is lighted by applying the match to the kindler which is saturated by oil (from its very position) and this ignition of the kindler furnishes sufficient heat to the surface of the oil to turn it into a gas. After the burner is started the heat automatically keeps the gas forming (vaporizing) as long as there is oil in the burner. So you can see that all the kindler does is start the gas ball rolling. ”

“ In a close stove and in many furnaces the second condition is violated; there is an insufficient supply of air; fresh coal is put on, and the feeding doors are shut. Gas is distilled off, but where is it to get any air from? How on earth can it be expected to burn? Whether it be expected or not, it certainly does not burn, and such a stove is nothing else than a gas works, making crude gas, and wasting it—it is a soot and smoke factory.
Most slow combustion stoves are apt to err in this way ”

“ Varnish may be purchased at all prices: use only the best, and be very sparing with it.
A small pair of spring dividers, some lard, sweet oil, and lastly, but most important, the finishing stove. Before gas was introduced the finishing stove in use was the now almost extinct charcoal fire. A bookbinder’s gas stove can now be purchased at almost any gas-fitter’s shop or bookbinders’ material dealers. The price varies according to size. ”

“ To his already extensive list of gas cooking apparatus, Mr Fletcher, Warrington, has just added what he calls his ‘Large Cottage Cooker,’ which is simply a Gas cooking-stove in the cheapest and simplest form to be effective. For two pounds may be had a good roasting, and a fairly good pastry and bread oven, with a reversible boiler and grillers on the top. The body of the stove is made of galvanised iron, and the shelves are wrought iron. ”

“ All gas stoves to-day have the automatic lighter, which gives you freedom from the use of matches and makes gas nearly as convenient as electricity. Of course, gas is hotter in the summer than electricity, and to obviate this many of the stove makers produce marvelously contrived combination ranges of gas and electricity. ”

“ If one uses a gas stove, a single burner can be made to do several times its ordinary work by means of a thin sheet of iron, about a foot square, placed directly over it. The flame spreads out against this sheet and renders its whole area available for cooking, so that two, three or even four small vessels can get from this one burner enough heat to boil water, or at least to keep the contents warm against the time for serving. ”

“ The consumption of gas is only 12 ft. per hour. See Gas Heating also, p. 994.
46. Marsh-Greenall Gas Stove. 47. Eureka Oil Stove.
Oil Stoves.—Warming stoves which burn oil fuel are to be commended for many purposes, but are not generally considered suitable for living rooms—bedrooms, for instance—unless the air is continually changed by open doors, &c., as there is a noticeable odour from the burning oil. Rippengille’s are considered the best, and are obtainable at almost any oil, lamp, or ironmonger’s store, or at the chief retail agents, the Holborn Lamp Co., 118 Holborn, London. ”

“ While frying or cooking on a gas stove the grease will spatter over the top and make the cleaning rather difficult, especially where there are many crevices. A simple method of avoiding this trouble is to place a paper over the top of the stove, with round holes cut out for each burner a little larger than the pots and pans used in the cooking. ”

“ When the tank is removed for filling, any gas forming passes out into the room and mixes with so much air that it is harmless. If it is filled before the oil burns out of the pipe above the level of the burners, no gas will be formed.
Stoves must be kept clean. A clean stove means one with a clean framework, clean burners, clean chimney, clean oil and a clean wick or ring. ”

“ If the lever has become worn so that it fails to work, it must be replaced or a new burner put on the stove.
30. Construction of Gasoline Stoves. The gasoline stoves consist of a burner and an oil tank connected by a pipe (Fig. 17) . The tank is elevated for the purpose of forcing the gasoline into the burner. The pipe may be any length. The danger from a gasoline stove comes from the fact that gasoline vaporizes at a low temperature. If the tank becomes heated, producing gas, and then becomes mixed with the proper proportion of air, it may explode if it comes in contact with a spark. ”

“ The devotees of the tank gas method of cooking are many. It works the same as gas from city mains except that your supply is piped in from an individual tank which is installed outside the house and replenished monthly by the company supplying such fuel. The initial cost plus installation and operation about equals that of electricity but no cataclysm of nature will cause it to fail.
Cheapest of all is the kerosene oil stove. These range all the way from the modest two-burner table stove to the pretentious six-burner type with insulated oven and porcelain finish. ”