KitchenAid Gas Ranges - Brief History and Useful Information on Gas Ranges

In cooking, a gas range is a cooker which uses natural gas as a fuel source. It is one of the oldest appliances invented.

The first gas ranges or stoves were developed already in the 1820s, but these remained isolated experiments. At the Appliance World Fair in Toronto in 1851, a gas range was shown, but only in the 1880s did this technology start to become a commercial success, especially in Toronto. The first gas ranges were rather basic compared to the appliances of today, but soon the oven was integrated into the base and the size reduced to fit in better with the rest of the kitchen furniture. A high-end gas stove called the AGA cooker was invented in 1922 and it is considered to be the most efficient design that major appliance manufacturers such as KitchenAid followed and improved on.

Gas ranges today use two basic types of ignition sources, standing pilot and electric. A stove with a standing pilot has a small, continuously burning gas flame under the cooktop. When the stove is turned on, this flame lights the gas flowing out of the burners. The advantage of the standing pilot system is that it is simple and completely independent of any outside power source. A minor drawback to this type of appliance is that the flames continuously consume fuel even when the stove is not in use. Early gas ranges did not have a pilot. One had to light these manually with a match. If one accidentally left the gas appliance on, with the oven door closed, gas would fill the oven and eventually the room. A small spark could ignite the gas, triggering a violent explosion. To prevent these types of accidents, appliance manufacturers such as KitchenAid developed and installed a safety valve in the oven. The safety valve uses a pilot flame to ignite the main burner when the oven is turned on. The pilot flame heats a thermocouple that sends a signal to the valve to stay open, resulting in safer appliances.

Electric ignition ranges use electric sparks to ignite the surface burners. This is the "clicking sound" you hear just before the appliance burner actually lights. If the power fails, surface burners must be manually match-lit. After extensive research that was done in Toronto on KitchenAid appliances, using different types of ranges, it was found out that electric ranges tend to be more energy efficient, although many Toronto residents prefer the gas range due to faster use.

Gas ranges tend to be more expensive than electric ones and more information can be found at http://www.canadianappliance.ca/ - a website that greatly helps when trying to make the best choice buying appliances.

Paul Rollins is an expert on Toronto appliances, for more information visit: http://www.canadianappliance.ca/

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