So we have camping equipment right, gas hobs and all that. Said to the ladies, if it gets that bad, we can go “camping” … in the kitchen. 
My wife really wanted a gas top but I have been fighting against it since it just seems like extra hassle and cost to me (Not to mention I can create my own electricity but not gas)
Then luckily the other night I found a WSJ article referring to peer-review study done showing that children in households cooking with gas were 12.7% more likely to develop asthma.
That little 12.7% also settled the debate for good
I mean it’s just much nicer to cook on in general. You have much finer control of the temperature and you can do things like stir fries properly. I’d only consider replacing it with induction, which is also instant control, could never go back to resistive plates.
That seems like the compromise we are going to make, the only problem is the cost of a decent 5 top induction unit is a lot more than a 5 top resistive unit, but I guess it’s all a bit of give and take in these negotiations
Gas doesn’t save cost. In fact it costs more… but not so much that it will kill you (financially).
I came to this conclusion simply by doing the math. The calorific content of 1kg of LPG is 46MJ/kg. 46MJ is 12.7kWh. Your typical 9kg refill therefore has 114kWh of energy and costs R350, or R3/kWh. Which is more than many people pay for electricity right now (even in Cape Town, the top bracket is R3.63/kWh).
Then comes the efficiency. While a conventional electric stove is as much as 70% efficient at getting the heat into the food, a gas stove is maybe half that. So you’re really paying a lot more for gas, up to double.
But, because we spend relatively little time cooking, and because of the independence and sheer pleasure of cooking on gas, I still think it’s a conversion to be considered in South Africa. Being able to cook during load shedding is worth it, even if it costs a bit more (and you have to weigh that against more solar panels, batteries, and a larger inverter).
The same argument applies to heating water with gas. Don’t for a minute think a gas geyser is going to save you money. It will save a tiny bit (mostly because the efficiency is much better than a stove top, and there is no standing loss, it is heated on demand), but you’re not even going to notice it. You’re replacing an electrical bill with a gas bill
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I did try and explain that to them. Glazed looks. As a matter of fact, I shared your comment with them just now … along with Kari’s gem of a comment.
Camping stove … if Eskom gets really bad AND the batts are too low for the induction plate.
I’m actually really positive about cooking on gas (despite the extra cost). The extra control, heat is on and off immediately. In the three years we’ve had a gas stove I’ve burned something exactly ONCE. On an electric stove this was a common event. Setting 4 is too cool, setting 5 is too hot, and turning the heat down can be “too late”. Burning rice is one thing. Burning beans that took your wife ages to chop… that makes things icy really quick.
Come on man… give your family a gas stove top because you love them… you know you do!
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Bloody dinges, they have induction plates, they have Airfryers, pressure cookers, convections overs … everything in the plural.
I also have gas bottles and multiple stove plates for the bottles…
Nee.
EDIT: And everything can work off solar, if there is sun, one at a time.
We’ve got one of these.
1.5kW peaks, for short periods. We run ours off the 3kVA easily. We’ve cooked full Sunday dinners during a 4-hour outage with that thing. It’s not quite as awesome as the old “crockpot” slow cookers with the clay inside (which drew a constant 300W or so), but it also has a non-stick removable pot inside that you simply chuck in the dishwasher. I love this thing.
Yes, we have similar … forgot the slow cooker, yes, they have that too.
Ditto!!
If ya thought them Coal trucks in rural SA is a sight, just you wait at the gas refill station for LPG. This is already happening in winter time, hello summer and level 8 and above…
GasGroetnis
Another reason I don’t heat water with gas. A 19kg bottle lasts MONTHS when only used for cooking, and I always have two of them (one in use, one on standby). I also swap the bottles at the local Afrox rather than the (much closer to me) service stations, also specifically because the local stations are often backlogged of waiting for stock, especially in winter.
My last refill for 9kg was R291.
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Moral of the story: Don’t use resistive elements for heating! 
Very happy with mine. Works great and off my inverter and free PV!
I trust this is DC 
No - Normal AC element…
Me too. Just replaced the 3kw element with a 2kw one and only turn the geyser on between 10am and 4pm.
Interestingly, I had 2kw elements fitted.
Geyser popped, warranty, so I thought bugger this, leave the 3kw in. Got tired of waiting for the 2kw element to heat the 150l of water.
Usage control with peak daytime hours and <800w house loads, and the 3kw still fits nicely on the 5kva.
EDIT: Removed the Geyserwise, Installed a Shelley with a temp sensor driving a 25a relay. Geyser is vertical so the temp sensor is at the top at the outflow of the geyser. Set the thermostat to the max, think it is 70.
The top of the geyser now shows 50 deg, so we use less hot water.
The risk is if the temp shows like, not sure yet, but say 45 deg, One has a lekka shower, then the temp drops off a cliff. Not “bothered” yet to add a 2nd temp sensor at the bottom … i.e. wife and daughter have not had that experience yet … hence I have not been “bothered”.
That is the 3kw element heating the geyser …
Those peaks at night, the bloody 50l geyser … must still sort that one … Maaaaaandag.