It’s been just over a year since our kitchen renovation, so I thought it was a good time to share a few updates. To fully bring my vision for this kitchen to life, we either had to have the gas company run a line to the house or add a propane tank. I received a lot of questions about this during the renovation, so I wanted to circle back to it and share the cost, process, why we chose propane, and how it’s been cooking with propane instead of natural gas.
When we first looked at the house, I immediately noticed the stove was electric and I called the local natural gas company to see if there was a line run to the house (that perhaps wasn’t being used) or if a line could be installed. The bad news is there wasn’t an existing gas line and more bad news was it would be costly to install. I think the quote was around $150/linear foot to run a line from the nearest gas line, which wasn’t very close. It would’ve cost thousands of dollars and, since it was only to power a range, the gas company would not supplement that initial expense.
I spoke to my sister-in-law about it since she builds and renovates homes and she assured me adding a propane tank was a simple and affordable alternative. She has done it in several homes and it’s an easy change for someone who prefers cooking with gas.
When I ordered the Ilve 48″ Nostalgie range (you can read my review about it HERE), I had to specify that it would run on propane. There was an adapter kit that was set along with the range to be installed when the line was connected. My contractor wired and installed the range and the propane company installed the adapter kit and connected the propane line.
We were able to select the location for the propane tank so it would be as unobtrusive as possible. We happen to have an overgrown abelia hedge on one side of the house and it ended up being the perfect place to put it. It was on the opposite side of the house as the kitchen, so we did have to pay a bit more to have the line run through the basement, but it was worth it to have the tank hidden. Believe it or not, it’s back in there (and so is our house!) You can see the apex of the roof peeking up on the top right of the photo.
See the propane tank in there? There are a couple of reasonable access points to get behind the hedge, but we need to cut everything way back and get this area cleaned up. Since it’s on the least-visible side of the house, it hasn’t been a priority, but we’re going to work on it over the winter when Abelia bushes like to be pruned. We’ll cut everything way back, remove any dead branches, clean out under the hedge, weed, and mulch to make things tidy. In addition, we’ll make two pathways to access the propane tank.
We have a 120-gallon tank and it ended up being about $1500 to have the tank installed, the line run through the house, and the range connected. We have only needed the tank refilled once in the past year and that cost $60. I actually e-mailed the propane company in October to see when they would be checking in on the tank because I was worried about running out over the holidays. They assured me they check on the tank twice a year and it doesn’t need to be refilled very often. Since our oven is electric, only the burners run on propane, so a 120-gallon tank will go a long way!
When I first mentioned installing propane, a few of my blog readers warned against it. In their experience, propane was inferior to natural gas or even electric. I recall the chief complaint was it took a long time to boil a pot of water. I haven’t experienced that, but we also have pretty powerful burners so the range might have an impact on cooking times and responsiveness. I did do more research after those comments and the prevailing opinion among chefs is that propane is the favorite over natural gas. I cooked on natural gas for over 16 years in our last two homes and I really haven’t experienced a dramatic difference. The propane flame is a brighter blue, but that’s the only thing I’ve noticed.
It was another expense on top of the kitchen renovation costs, but it’s one I am so glad we made. I love the responsiveness of gas burners and, from an aesthetic perspective, I love how a gas range looks. From now on, this kitchen can have a gas range. In addition, we can add gas logs to the fireplace if we ever want to convert it from wood-burning.
Let me know if you have any questions or your own experience to add…
PS – When I purchased a carbon monoxide alarm for our long hallway, I got one that detects propane as well since we knew we were installing a propane range. It made me feel better knowing we would be alerted to a leak in that event.
23 Responses
We also had the same problem, natural gas was not possible as we live on an island and have issues with distance between us and a neighbor for a tank. The gas technician suggested that we drill a hole in the wall behind the stove and connect to two regular grill size tanks that are on our pool deck which backs up to the kitchen. He suggested we buy a deck box cut out part of the back and cover them. We can still use a good part of the box. The cost was 300 dollars and usually 2 or 3 tanks get us through the year and I cook ALOT!
I never thought about converting a range to propane from electricity! We have a 1000 gallon propane tank, left here by the previous owners. The only thing that uses propane on this property is our heating system for the older part of the house. The newer part we built my husband put in electrical heat. We don’t even fill the tank from March through November. It’s on a monthly monitor, and when it gets down to a certain level the propane company comes out to fill it. Only when we’ve had really cold weather (here in TX that’s TBD every year!), has the cost seemed to be more than I budget for. I do not care for my ceramic electric cook top, and it’s in my island. It will be some major construction work to change it to a propane cooktop, but it might be worth it! Have you cooked with an electric stove before for comparison?
If you already have the tank, that’s a big step in the right direction. Yes, I have cooked with electric before in apartments, our first townhouse that we owned, and for a few months in this home before the renovation. I think gas ranges are a huge improvement over electric. The biggest difference for me is that the burners are more responsive when you’re trying to change the temperature, which can make a big difference in the end result of a dish or something as simple as a pot not boiling over because you can reduce the temp immediately.
I would have to research the BTU comparison, but I imagine gas would beat electric in that category as well. The fact that every professional kitchen I’ve ever seen has gas ranges says a lot! If you love cooking and might be doing some upgrades anyway, it would be worth looking into.
I far prefer propane over both other options. I grew up in the country, we have no gas lines.
We use propane to cook with and to run our gas logs. We also added a tankless hot water heater that we love.
Ginger
We have a propane tank buried in the ground that services our tankless water heater, fireplace and Bosch cooktop …. Which I love. I have lived in 25+ house in my lifetime and never had natural gas! But recently my neighbor told me that propane gas cooks higher than natural gas. Does anyone know if this is true?
Propane is my preference by far, for heating the home and cooking. Well, for a back up heat for the home. We use wood heat primarily.
I lived in the country for 30 years and cooked only with propane. When we redid our kitchen I switched from a gas oven to a dual fuel electric oven with gas cook top. We also used propane to heat the house. We never had a problem with it.
We moved to a suburban area and now are stuck with a glass electric stove. I wanted to change it to a natural gas cook top but the cost would have been prohibitive as it would have involved adding a large exhaust fan system. We had just added the backsplash so we would have had to redo all that plus take out a cabinet. We decided not to bother but I sure do miss my gas stove. I am trying to make peace with the glass cook top but it’s not cooperating. Boiling a pot of water is a nightmare…plus I have burned things which I never did on the gas stove.
You made a great decision. Enjoy!
I am curious why you have an electric oven rather than propane. I have always had a natural gas stove but my parents had propane.
I always had gas but then downsized to a townhouse with an old electric range. When I remodeled I assumed I would stay with electric but definitely wanted a real exhaust fan. Fast forward through demolition where I discovered a natural gas outlet! Surprise! But I stayed with an induction cooktop for the cleanest cooking and got my fancy 600 CFM exhaust fan. Gals! You haven’t lived until you’ve cooked with induction. Water boils in an instant! Settings are absolutely precise! Induction does it all.
We heat our home with propane with two 120 gal. tanks. We do not have access to natural gas but on occasion gas will occur after I eat what I cook.
But,
It’s all natural!
I just love your charming kitchen and yes, your stove is a center feature!
I ordered a 36″ ILVE in black and brass and it is gorgeous! I wish I could have gotten a larger one but it would have eaten into my counter space too much on either side. It’s plenty for our needs. I was wondering how you clean the brass gaskets? Also, any stubborn stains on the rings. I’ve used dawn and that seems to do the trick but there are a few spots. The oven liner says place on bottom rack but do you place it on the bottom of the oven? I’m pretty particular about keeping up with cleaning as I want it to last a lifetime too! Thanks for sharing the practical side of homemaking, as well!
I do basic cleaning with dawn, but when I need to scrub something that is baked on, I’ll use a sponge with a no-scratch scrubber side and Bar Keeper’s Friend Cream Cleanser.
We rented a little summer cottage years ago for a few years, one of my fav things was the small range that ran on propane. I felt it cooked so quickly! I loved it and would totally use propane if gas was not an option for us.
Long, long ago we rented a house with an electric range, and never would use one again by choice. Gas, for all your reasons Marion , will always be my choice. Living in the country now, we’ve used propane for years, and I love it. When we bought this house, my husband bought a 500 gal. tank, and discovered that owning our own tank gives us a discount on the propane we use. It’s not an awful lot, but it does add up over the years.
Enjoy your gas . Here in Victoria, Australia in new builds and I believe renovations our state government has banned gas appliances. It must be all electric and induction. I love my gas cooktop. We recently stayed at a holiday home with an induction cooktop and the water took 40 minutes to boil for our pasta. I think it was about an hour and a half before our dinner was ready, believe it was a Smeg cooktop.
They are pushing for that in the US for new stove/range sales and builds.
Propane is hotter than natural gas and feels different if you have cooked on natural gas. My camper was on propane, and the house was on natural. I used different pans on both. Since my solar panels, I cook on induction. I love it. It is about the same reaction time as gas and in my case, for free. Have you ever cooked on induction, Marian?
I live in NE Texas and the cost of propane is 2.5 times as expensive as natural gas. There is not access to natural gas where we are so propane is what we have. I do love gas cooking and I agree gas ranges are more esthetically pleasing, but really, it’s about having warmth and AC and the ability to cook when we have power outages which can be frequent in “tornado alley.” We do have a whole house generator, propane powered, which it is very expensive to run but, yes, in extreme circumstances, worth what it costs. It’s all a matter of perspective.
More of an oven question than propane vs gas
Does your electric oven take a long time to heat? My MIL has a propane & electric range by Wolf & her oven will take over 40 minutes just to heat to 350 🤯. My much cheaper gas oven takes less than 10.
Oh wow! No, our oven takes about 10-15 minutes to preheat depending on the temperature.
Great to know — thank you so much!!