What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[gtaus]

No we didn't get a regulator for the stove end. That's where I believe the gas pipe would normally be screwed in. I do have to say that the oven doesn't work but that's why I was given the stove. My husband hooked it up so I'm just going by observation.

My gas stove/oven worked fine when I put it out in the garage, but that was like 15+ years ago. I am willing to invest a little money to see if I can get it running on a BBQ propane tank out in the garage, but I don't think I'm willing to pay $$$ for someone to make a service call to do the hookup for me.

I know people need to make a living, but our labor costs around here are $100+ per hour and that makes a lot of things not even worth checking out anymore. If I can get the gas oven in the garage working on my own labor, it might be a good deal.

Speaking of high labor rates, I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos on small engine repairs, like gas push mowers, chainsaws, weed whackers, and leaf blowers. I have some of those old gas engines sitting out in my shed. If I can get them running by myself, that would be nice. But I already talked to the repair shop mechanics and was told that the older gas engine equipment would not be worth my money for them to fix at $100+ per hour labor. At least the shop is up front with me and told me that my older gas equipment is not worth them fixing.

In truth, I have replaced all those gas devices with battery powered equivalents. The battery equipment just works out so much better for me. No more carburetor problems, hard starting, stalling out, etc... Just put a fresh battery in the new battery powered unit and it works. My battery powered equipment has saved me a lot of money over the years compared to the gas engines I would have to replace every 2-3 years. I'm really glad I made the conversion years ago.

 

[NanaK]

Do you need a regulator on both the oven and the propane tank?

*Disclaimer: I am not a propane installer or repair person. I only have my personal experience.

You should only need a regulator at the tank.

While our home was being built we lived in our camper and barn. We added a small kitchen and bathroom in the barn. We installed and ran lines for an apartment size propane stove and wall heater in the barn and ran an extra propane line for the camper. All ran off a 250 gallon propane tank with one regulator.


If you decide to hook up your stove to the 20lb tank, I would move the stove outside to light it the first time. Since the stove has not been used in a while you want to make sure there are no fuel leaks. Sometimes spiders or other insects can crawl into the appliance and partially block the ports or fuel lines. Ask me how I know???
This will make the pilots or burners not burn correctly. You want to see a clean blue flame with no smoke or smutting. If your burners do not get a clean blue flame, you may need to clean a burner or the propane lines in the stove itself.

Keep in mind a 20lb tank will not burn very long.

I've seen some propane heaters that required at least a 100lb tank to run properly.

We did run our wall heater with a 20lb for a short time until we installed it permantly in the barn. We did not have any problems. By the time we were gifted the old stove we had permant fuel lines in place.

I would think you can run your stove on the 20lb tank. You may or may not have a problem if you want to run all burners and the oven at the same time. I don't know if you would get a correct flame.

Make sure you have good ventilation when you use it in the garage. Just want you to be safe.

 

[saysfaa]

Maybe not for a kitchen stove but the last time we had our propane tank filled, the guy filling it gave good advice I hadn't heard anywhere else.

He was also a fire fighter. He said to open the tank only a turn or two (or half a turn? It has been a while. Anyway, much less than fully open). That is more than enough for a bbq grill; it won't affect its performance at all. Then if something were to go wrong, you have a smaller fire to deal with.

 

[gtaus]

If you decide to hook up your stove to the 20lb tank, I would move the stove outside to light it the first time. Since the stove has not been used in a while you want to make sure there are no fuel leaks. Sometimes spiders or other insects can crawl into the appliance and partially block the ports or fuel lines. Ask me how I know???

Thanks for all the info. If I get to the point where I have everything ready to hook up, I will certainly take it outside for that first leak check and light off.

I don't expect a 20lb tank will last a long time, but as little as I would use the gas oven/stove in the garage, I would probably get use out of it for the entire winter. Last year I used a 20lb propane tank to occasionally heat up my garage with a Mr. Heater and that one tank lasted all winter.

But your comments got me wondering how long a 20lb propane tank would last hooked up to my gas oven. I asked Microsoft CoPilot AI and this is what I learned...

*****************
The duration a 20-pound propane tank will last depends on the oven's BTU (British Thermal Unit) rating, as propane consumption is directly related to BTU usage. Here's a general way to estimate:

1. A 20-pound propane tank contains approximately **430,000 BTUs**.
2. Ovens usually consume **20,000–30,000 BTUs per hour**, depending on the model and settings.

Using these numbers:
- If your oven uses **20,000 BTUs per hour**, the tank could last around **21.5 hours**.
- If your oven uses **30,000 BTUs per hour**, the tank would run for about **14.3 hours**.

However, keep in mind that usage may vary based on the oven's efficiency, cooking time, and whether it's cycling on and off to maintain the temperature. It's always a good idea to check the oven's manual or specifications for its exact BTU rating.

*******************

Even at the 30,000 BTU's per hour usage, that's still a lot of pizzas I could cook in the oven and heat up the garage at the same time. My Mr. Heater does a great job in boosting the temperature in the garage, but I am thinking a pizza in the oven would be a bonus.

 

[NanaK]

Even at the 30,000 BTU's per hour usage, that's still a lot of pizzas I could cook in the oven and heat up the garage at the same time.

Yes! You can also consider yourself being frugal by getting double duty out of those btu's.
Food + Heat

 

[gtaus]

Yes! You can also consider yourself being frugal by getting double duty out of those btu's.
Food + Heat

Yes, and if the oven in the garage works out OK in the winter for pizzas, then I suppose it would work out for cooking something in the oven in the summertime and save all that heat from working against the AC in the house. Save money there too.

 

[Sally PB]

Yes! You can also consider yourself being frugal by getting double duty out of those btu's.
Food + Heat

I bake more in the fall/winter/spring. Like tomorrow, I'm baking the turkey I bought when they were really cheap around Thanksgiving. That ought to help warm up the house! It's going to be another chilly day.

 

[alwaystj9]

I also don't bake during summer months. I have been enjoying meat pies and sheet pan dinners this past month knowing I won't turn the oven on after June1.

 

[Molpet]

I also don't bake during summer months. I have been enjoying meat pies and sheet pan dinners this past month knowing I won't turn the oven on after June1.

Me too.
I cook extra and freeze for summer use.

 

[igorsMistress]

Vegetable scraps from the freezer and whatever was going to go bad before I could use it up from the fridge drawer made four quarts of vegetable stock for my pantry. The cooked vegetables will go into the compost pile because there’s no salt or fat in it.