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My wife and I decided to switch to induction after the NYT article on this topic a few months ago. Not only did we have a gas stove that was probably spiking N

My wife and I decided to switch to induction after the NYT article on this topic a few months ago. Not only did we have a gas stove that was probably spiking NO2 levels when we actually used it; we also seemed to have a gas leak. It was not a big one, just a faint smell, but it was hard to pin down. A plumber concluded the connection between the range and the pipe wasn't the problem. No specific part of the range smelled stronger than the rest of it. For all we knew, it might be a hole in a pipe. So we wanted to make gas stop flowing through our unit (a condo within a three-family home, very normal here in Cambridge, Massachusetts) altogether. We contacted an appliance company about switching to induction. To prepare, they told us, we would first need to upgrade the range power outlet to 40 amps, and cap off the gas pipe behind the range. The electrical work cost $1800. It could have been much more; we were lucky our circuit breaker was positioned such that they only needed to make two openings in our walls. (They suggested we put little hatch doors in those spots to make future work easier.) We asked our plumber to not only cap off the gas pipe behind the range, but also put in a valve in the basement, such that gas flow could be shut off to our unit, but also easily turned back on if a future owner wants to reverse what we did. We did this rather than turn off our gas altogether, because we have a gas water heater and still needed gas available there. The plumbing work cost about $300 I think. To make cooking stay as close as possible to being how great and fast it is with gas, we chose a range with an induction stove: The LG LSE4616ST, which cost $3000. We were lucky to be able to afford this change for our health. Of course, it would have cost a lot less if we hadn't cared about induction, but still multiple thousands of dollars. We should be subsidizing conversions like this.

ajmurmann 5y ago
We would probably better off not relying on politicians to use what technology wins, but instead tax carbon emissions. And I mean tax it properly at real cost of the externality. Not some fig leaf $1/gallon.
nightfly 5y ago
I live in an apt and bought a ~$100 induction hot plate and now do about 90% of my cooking on that (formerly used semi-faulty burners on a cheap electric range). In the future when I own my home I plan on just a having a few cheap restaurant induction hot plates at ~$250 each I can replace/upgrade at will. It might not look as classy, but it will do everything I could ever ask it to do.
- Symbiote 5y ago
  A cheap induction hob with 4 "burners" should cost about $250, once they cease being marketed and priced as luxury appliances in the USA: https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/hobs/logik-lindhob16-electric-induction-hob-black-10143242-pdt.html https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/h... (Comparing BestBuy.com, where they are all fancy and start at $1000.)
  - maccard 5y ago
    A half decent mid range one is "only" about twice the price too; still nowhere near $1k
jacquesm 5y ago
It could be that your gas lines are old and porous, leading to slow release of gas. Usually not a problem, unless the space is enclosed or poorly ventilated, in which case it can cause pooling of the gas and possibly an explosion. Gas is dangerous, lines should be checked every couple of years (pressurized or vacuum tested) and the rubber connection hose for the range should be replaced every five years or so.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  Rubber hose for gas? Is that really a thing? For years now all the appliance-to-supply line connections I've seen have been flexible stainless steel.
  - ikr678 5y ago
    Perhaps poster meant polyethelene, which is normal for gas retic.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      https://www.europart.nl/aansluitmateriaal/gas/slang/universeel-gasslang-404668-gastec-60-cm-met-koppelingen-fornuis-51835600 https://www.europart.nl/aansluitmateriaal/gas/slang/universe... This is what we use for the final part of a gas line in the Netherlands.
akvadrako 5y ago
> We should be subsidizing conversions like this. No we shouldn't. Whatever you care about, like maybe CO₂, at those prices you can get a better bang for your buck elsewhere. For new installations it might make sense.
maxwell86 5y ago
We bought a single profesional induction stove, 4.5 kW for a single plate, on ebay, barely used, for 100$. The thing is a beast. You can heat a pot with 50L of water in ~10-15min with it to like 60 + degrees celsius. With gas it takes an hour.
- 542458 5y ago
  It’s very bizarre to me how you can get very inexpensive single burner countertop induction plates ($50-100), but multi-burner built-in cooktops are dramatically more expensive ($1000-4000). Anybody know why this is?
  - Latty 5y ago
    I'm sure it is at least partially just what you can get away with charging. Single burners are common for students and people with little room for anything larger, often very budget constrained. Cooktops are often being put in as a part of an already expensive kitchen refit/build. With that said, I'm sure there are other factors. Built-in hobs tend to need to be a lot thinner to fit in the available space, at least from what I have seen.
  - Macha 5y ago
    Product segmentation I guess. One is competing with microwaves and other loose utilities, the other is installed as part of a kitchen outfitting which is expected to be expensive.
  - adrianN 5y ago
    I can order a Bosch induction top with 7.4kW and four fields for 350€ off Amazon. Where do you pay $1000?
    - tssva 5y ago
      In the US you can't order a Bosch induction top off Amazon. The cheapest 4 field Bosch induction cooktop at Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy (stores people frequently buy appliances at in the US) is $1700.
crisdux 5y ago
> We should be subsidizing conversions like this. This is the epitome of the current green movement. Proponents want an unnecessary luxury green product subsidized for higher income households, even though there are perfectly fine substitutes that are just as good for the environment at 1/5 the cost you just described. I just can't get on board with a movement like this.
- antishatter 5y ago
  I mean, they could have just fixed their gas leak (lol what the fuck) and bought a nice hood. Even having to suggest people fix their gas leak is comedic and reminds me of how absurd many tech people are. Bragging about transitioning, recommending a subsidy, allowing a gas leak.
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    if you have natural gas service there are probably active gas leaks in your city from the supply lines, gas is very leaky
    - maccard 5y ago
      Just because there's gas leaks elsewhere doesn't mean I want one in my kitchen.
      - micromacrofoot 5y ago
        Oh sure, but it's very common to have a minor leak in your home and be relatively unaware. Just by nature of natural gas service existing you're being exposed to leaks by your municipality. It's better to be rid of it entirely. Washington DC, for example, has over 5,000 leaks. Boston leaks ~50,000 tons a year. I suspect 50 years from now natural gas will be remembered as fondly as leaded gasoline is today.
  - selimthegrim 5y ago
    Here in New Orleans they take your meter if you report a leak and you can’t get it back for a couple weeks and thousands in reconnection fees because they don’t trust people’s plumbers apparently and have to reinspect everything themselves
maccard 5y ago
We should absolutely not be subsodisong someone who has the means to install a $3000 induction range and do $2k worth of additional work at the same time. A semi decent 4 ring induction cooktop can be had for less than £300, and it plugs straight into a wall socket with no electrical work needed. If you're removing a gas stove and making the point safe, I'd say $100 to cap the pipe at the point of the old range (based on me having that work done in my last apartment). Prices may vary with cost of living. For people using small burners in apartments, single ring plug in induction cooktops are available for about $100 with no other work required.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
  Typical American wall sockets rarely deliver more than 120V * 15A. Plug in induction hobs targeting the American market clock in at 1800 W spread across all burners, at most. There are no four burner solutions for which this power is sufficient.
  - smileysteve 5y ago
    If wired for an electric resistance range and oven, the typical American home has 240x30+
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
      Right, but we are talking about an upgrade to a house that was wired for a gas range. The person I was responding to suggested using a countertop hob plugged into a standard wall socket. That's not going to work in the states. At least, I assume that is what they were talking about because there are no full scale induction ranges available for 300 pounds = $400. They start around $900.
      - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
        > countertop hob plugged into a standard wall socket. There are two-burner countertop units on Amazon that use 120 volt/15 amp and are inexpensive. I have not tried them.
jhallenworld 5y ago
>The electrical work cost $1800 For less than 8 hours of work I'm sure.. I'm in the wrong profession. It could be worse, try doing this in an old building in NYC.
- hyperbovine 5y ago
  Unless there were serious unmentioned complications, that is a ludicrous amount of money to pay for a new 40-amp circuit. Upgrading the entire panel costs less where I live.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    I expect it will cost at least that much for me to do it, and I think my arrangement isn't that uncommon. My meter is on the exterior garage wall, and so the panel is on the interior in that same location. The only path for wiring to my kitchen is up and into the attic then down, or around the garage in conduit until it can enter the crawlspace. Either option is going to cost a day of electrician time, and he's going to charge at least a grand for that. Add in materials, covid pricing, and if I get out of it for less than $2K I'd be surprised. Fortunately my brother in law is a licensed electrician and he'll do it for his normal rate, which won't include the 100+% markup from the business. I'll pay him generously and still end up paying less.

ajmurmann 5y ago

We would probably better off not relying on politicians to use what technology wins, but instead tax carbon emissions. And I mean tax it properly at real cost of the externality. Not some fig leaf $1/gallon.

nightfly 5y ago

I live in an apt and bought a ~$100 induction hot plate and now do about 90% of my cooking on that (formerly used semi-faulty burners on a cheap electric range). In the future when I own my home I plan on just a having a few cheap restaurant induction hot plates at ~$250 each I can replace/upgrade at will. It might not look as classy, but it will do everything I could ever ask it to do.

Symbiote 5y ago
A cheap induction hob with 4 "burners" should cost about $250, once they cease being marketed and priced as luxury appliances in the USA: https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/hobs/logik-lindhob16-electric-induction-hob-black-10143242-pdt.html https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/h... (Comparing BestBuy.com, where they are all fancy and start at $1000.)
- maccard 5y ago
  A half decent mid range one is "only" about twice the price too; still nowhere near $1k

jacquesm 5y ago

It could be that your gas lines are old and porous, leading to slow release of gas. Usually not a problem, unless the space is enclosed or poorly ventilated, in which case it can cause pooling of the gas and possibly an explosion. Gas is dangerous, lines should be checked every couple of years (pressurized or vacuum tested) and the rubber connection hose for the range should be replaced every five years or so.

rootusrootus 5y ago
Rubber hose for gas? Is that really a thing? For years now all the appliance-to-supply line connections I've seen have been flexible stainless steel.
- ikr678 5y ago
  Perhaps poster meant polyethelene, which is normal for gas retic.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    https://www.europart.nl/aansluitmateriaal/gas/slang/universeel-gasslang-404668-gastec-60-cm-met-koppelingen-fornuis-51835600 https://www.europart.nl/aansluitmateriaal/gas/slang/universe... This is what we use for the final part of a gas line in the Netherlands.

akvadrako 5y ago

> We should be subsidizing conversions like this. No we shouldn't. Whatever you care about, like maybe CO₂, at those prices you can get a better bang for your buck elsewhere. For new installations it might make sense.

maxwell86 5y ago

We bought a single profesional induction stove, 4.5 kW for a single plate, on ebay, barely used, for 100$. The thing is a beast. You can heat a pot with 50L of water in ~10-15min with it to like 60 + degrees celsius. With gas it takes an hour.

542458 5y ago
It’s very bizarre to me how you can get very inexpensive single burner countertop induction plates ($50-100), but multi-burner built-in cooktops are dramatically more expensive ($1000-4000). Anybody know why this is?
- Latty 5y ago
  I'm sure it is at least partially just what you can get away with charging. Single burners are common for students and people with little room for anything larger, often very budget constrained. Cooktops are often being put in as a part of an already expensive kitchen refit/build. With that said, I'm sure there are other factors. Built-in hobs tend to need to be a lot thinner to fit in the available space, at least from what I have seen.
- Macha 5y ago
  Product segmentation I guess. One is competing with microwaves and other loose utilities, the other is installed as part of a kitchen outfitting which is expected to be expensive.
- adrianN 5y ago
  I can order a Bosch induction top with 7.4kW and four fields for 350€ off Amazon. Where do you pay $1000?
  - tssva 5y ago
    In the US you can't order a Bosch induction top off Amazon. The cheapest 4 field Bosch induction cooktop at Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy (stores people frequently buy appliances at in the US) is $1700.

crisdux 5y ago

> We should be subsidizing conversions like this. This is the epitome of the current green movement. Proponents want an unnecessary luxury green product subsidized for higher income households, even though there are perfectly fine substitutes that are just as good for the environment at 1/5 the cost you just described. I just can't get on board with a movement like this.

antishatter 5y ago
I mean, they could have just fixed their gas leak (lol what the fuck) and bought a nice hood. Even having to suggest people fix their gas leak is comedic and reminds me of how absurd many tech people are. Bragging about transitioning, recommending a subsidy, allowing a gas leak.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  if you have natural gas service there are probably active gas leaks in your city from the supply lines, gas is very leaky
  - maccard 5y ago
    Just because there's gas leaks elsewhere doesn't mean I want one in my kitchen.
    - micromacrofoot 5y ago
      Oh sure, but it's very common to have a minor leak in your home and be relatively unaware. Just by nature of natural gas service existing you're being exposed to leaks by your municipality. It's better to be rid of it entirely. Washington DC, for example, has over 5,000 leaks. Boston leaks ~50,000 tons a year. I suspect 50 years from now natural gas will be remembered as fondly as leaded gasoline is today.
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  Here in New Orleans they take your meter if you report a leak and you can’t get it back for a couple weeks and thousands in reconnection fees because they don’t trust people’s plumbers apparently and have to reinspect everything themselves

maccard 5y ago

We should absolutely not be subsodisong someone who has the means to install a $3000 induction range and do $2k worth of additional work at the same time. A semi decent 4 ring induction cooktop can be had for less than £300, and it plugs straight into a wall socket with no electrical work needed. If you're removing a gas stove and making the point safe, I'd say $100 to cap the pipe at the point of the old range (based on me having that work done in my last apartment). Prices may vary with cost of living. For people using small burners in apartments, single ring plug in induction cooktops are available for about $100 with no other work required.

asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
Typical American wall sockets rarely deliver more than 120V * 15A. Plug in induction hobs targeting the American market clock in at 1800 W spread across all burners, at most. There are no four burner solutions for which this power is sufficient.
- smileysteve 5y ago
  If wired for an electric resistance range and oven, the typical American home has 240x30+
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
    Right, but we are talking about an upgrade to a house that was wired for a gas range. The person I was responding to suggested using a countertop hob plugged into a standard wall socket. That's not going to work in the states. At least, I assume that is what they were talking about because there are no full scale induction ranges available for 300 pounds = $400. They start around $900.
    - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
      > countertop hob plugged into a standard wall socket. There are two-burner countertop units on Amazon that use 120 volt/15 amp and are inexpensive. I have not tried them.

jhallenworld 5y ago

>The electrical work cost $1800 For less than 8 hours of work I'm sure.. I'm in the wrong profession. It could be worse, try doing this in an old building in NYC.

hyperbovine 5y ago
Unless there were serious unmentioned complications, that is a ludicrous amount of money to pay for a new 40-amp circuit. Upgrading the entire panel costs less where I live.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  I expect it will cost at least that much for me to do it, and I think my arrangement isn't that uncommon. My meter is on the exterior garage wall, and so the panel is on the interior in that same location. The only path for wiring to my kitchen is up and into the attic then down, or around the garage in conduit until it can enter the crawlspace. Either option is going to cost a day of electrician time, and he's going to charge at least a grand for that. Add in materials, covid pricing, and if I get out of it for less than $2K I'd be surprised. Fortunately my brother in law is a licensed electrician and he'll do it for his normal rate, which won't include the 100+% markup from the business. I'll pay him generously and still end up paying less.