Gas appliances have always been a staple of the kitchen. Even before wide spread electricity, washing machines and dryers ran on gas. If you think washing machines made 20 years ago were noisy imagine using one that basically had a lawn mower motor under it! That fresh exhaust smell- I’m sure it was lovely. Today it is rare to find kitchen appliances other than cook tops and wall ovens that can run on propane. You may stumble across a propane fridge in really deep rural areas where no electricity is available. But more often than not in the main stream natural gas and propane cooking appliances are the norm.
More often than not, propane takes a back seat to natural gas. The reason is that natural gas lines are running through virtually every town in the US. Although, not everyone has a line to their home. Some people prefer to use electricity whenever possible. This is a choice that only you can make. Then there are the ones who have no choice but to use propane. Propane is easily captured in containers of many sizes from small (think grills) to large containers that can be set up on your property and refilled on site. This is a great convenience for those in semi-rural areas. The up side is that propane burns hotter than natural gas which means that you end up using less propane to get to the same desired heat point. The down side is that most appliance manufactures end up restricting the amount of gas that runs through the appliance and you end up with less BTUs than natural gas.
Fortunately, most appliance manufactures offer an LP conversion option. Some make them specifically in the factory but for the most part the appliance will come with a conversion kit that supplies you with fittings that allow the proper amount of gas to flow through the fuel source. This is because natural gas and propane are two different types of fossil fuels that require different restrictions of pressure.
The most common kitchen appliances can run on propane are ranges/cook tops. All brands and price points can be converted to propane. From the top of the line Wolf/Thermador/JennAir to more basic and economical brands such as Maytag/Whirlpool/GE.
Although less common wall ovens are also offered by some brands that run on gas. Frigidaire and GE who by the way makes some great cooking products still offer the classic 24” gas wall oven and are useful in situations where a full renovation is out of the question. Pro style brands like Blue Star offer a great gas wall oven that can be converted to propane.
Although not as common, there are some great propane kitchen appliances out there. Stop by one of our stores and our knowledgeable staff will be glad to assist you.