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What's the Difference Between All Gas and Dual Fuel Professional Ranges?

July 15th, 2021 | 4 min. read

By Steve Sheinkopf

What's the Difference Between All Gas and Dual Fuel Professional Ranges?

If you were looking at a dual fuel and gas range, you might not be able to notice a difference.

A dual fuel range is a gas stove top with an electric oven, while an all gas range has both a gas stovetop and a gas oven.

On the outside, they look identical, but there is a big difference in their cooking performance and installation.

JennAir-48-Inch-Pro-Ranges-in-Gas-and-Dual-Fuel

Buying the wrong type will be a problem, depending on how you cook.

In this article, you will learn the differences between all gas and dual fuel ranges from how they perform to each fuel type's special features.

This article will focus on professional ranges because of their popularity in dual fuel.

If you are looking for a 30-inch dual fuel range in an affordable luxury brand like Café Appliances or Samsung, the same basic rules and considerations apply.

This article will help you choose a range based on your cooking style. Many stores have "go-to" products and brands.

If you do not buy your range based on your cooking style, it will be a problem when you want to broil with a baking oven.

Let's get started.

What Is the Difference Between All Gas and Dual Fuel Ranges?

yale-appliance-36-inch-pro-gas-range (1)Professional Gas Ranges at Yale Appliance in Boston

 

Many believe that a dual fuel range is automatically better than a gas range.

That is not entirely true. It may be a bad decision based on your cooking preferences.

There are many differences between all gas and dual fuel ranges.

All gas and dual fuel ranges differ in their oven's performance, features, installation, and price.

Cooking Performance

A gas range's oven uses a moist heat better for roasting, while the drier electric heat of a dual fuel oven is better for baking.

Roasting needs moist heat with higher temperatures.

Roasting in a gas oven is great for more structured foods like proteins and vegetables while giving them a richer color.

A dual fuel range uses drier heat evenly that is distributed throughout the oven from convection fans.

Gas range ovens use radiant heat from the bottom of the oven. It's not blown in from the back of the oven like in a convection oven.

Only BlueStar, Signature Kitchen Suite (SKS), and Hestan offer a pure convection gas range.

Pure, European, and True convection are interchangeable terms referring to convection heat being blown from the back.

More even heat distribution is a huge advantage and is far better than having heat circulate from the bottom and then blown around by a fan.

Most pro gas ranges have infrared broilers, unlike a dual fuel range. An infrared broiler uses direct heat great for searing your food.

Bluestar-Infrared-BroilerBlueStar Infrared Broiler in a Professional Range

 

The hottest infrared broiler is Miele's at 23,000 BTU, followed by Wolf's, JennAir's, Thermador's, and BlueStar's broilers.

Prices and Features

Dual fuel ranges are more expensive than gas by 10-20%. For instance, a JennAir 48-inch dual fuel range is roughly $11,699 while a JennAir all gas 48-inch range is $9,699. 

However, a dual fuel pro range offers more features depending on the brand and size.

Your dual-fuel range could have feature upgrades like self-cleaning, steam, better controls, a clock, and a timer depending on the brand.

Gas ranges are less expensive, but you may have fewer features.

A gas range may not always include self-cleaning modes for your oven, a clock or timer (only Miele and JennAir offer both), no steam features, and can sometimes have a less powerful BTU output than a dual fuel range.

Thermador offers self-cleaning in its dual fuel ranges and a few extra cooking modes.

Thermador-36-Inch-Pro-Ranges-in-Gas-and-Dual-Fuel-(1)

In their 48-inch and 60-inch sizes, they also offer steam and warming drawers with dual convection.

Wolf's dual fuel range offers a higher BTU output, a clock, timer, self-cleaning, and twin convection, unlike their gas range.

Wolf-36-Inch-Pro-Ranges-in-Gas-and-Dual-Fuel

Wolf's gas range offers 15,000 BTUs on their burners, while their dual fuel has a combination of 20,000, 18,000, and 15,000 BTU.

Miele's dual fuel ranges offer the most features. Miele does not add extra BTU output on the stovetop like Wolf, but they introduce steam assist in all their dual fuel ranges and smart technology.

Miele-36-Inch-Pro-Ranges-in-Gas-and-Dual-Fuel

Steam is great for hardening crusts and other foods, especially bread. You can add steam to a cycle or automatically bake bread in the Miele oven.

Additionally, Miele was the first to add sophisticated controls to their professional range. Their MasterChef control system is completely intuitive.

All you have to do is choose the food type and press a button.

The oven calculates time and temperature automatically. It will also provide step-by-step instructions for cooking your food.

 

Installation

wolf-dual-fuel-pro-range-df304Wolf 30-Inch Dual Fuel Range Installed

 

The vent requirements will be the same because the rangetops are identical except when using liquid propane (LP), where there may be a slight drop in BTU output.

In a dual fuel, you will need a gas line and 30-50 amps for the electric ovens depending on whether you have a single 30 or 36-inch or double 48 and 60-inch oven.

With an all-gas range, you are installing the gas line with a simple 110 volts.

In Summary:

Advantages of All Gas Ranges

  • Heat is moister, so it is better for roasting
  • Better broiler and searing with infrared
  • Less expensive and easier to install (you don't need additional amperage)

Disadvantages of All Gas Ranges

  • Not self-cleaning
  • No clock or timer
  • Sometimes less powerful BTU burner output and no steam option for bread

Advantages of Dual Fuel Ranges

  • Heat is drier, so it is better for baking
  • Pure convection provides more consistent cooking results
  • Offers self-cleaning, steam features, clocks, and timers

Disadvantages of Dual Fuel Ranges

  • More expensive
  • May need an electrician to provide adequate amperage
  • Not as good for roasting
  • Broiling in all gas, especially infrared, is way better as well.

Should You Buy an All Gas or Dual Fuel Range?

It depends on how you like to cook with your oven.

Both have advantages and disadvantages.

If you like to broil meats, a gas convection system will be better because it is more moist than electric.

Broiling is far better with a gas infrared broiler than electric.

If you like to sear meats, then gas will be better than electric.

Gas is less expensive to buy and easier to install than electric in most cases. It does not require the same electrical load as gas.

Moreover, if you have limited electrical outlets, then gas is a better option.

With dual fuel, you will have more advanced features than a gas range like steam ovens or steam assist, intuitive controls, and self-cleaning, depending on the manufacturer.

Also, your dry electric oven will produce better results for baking versus moist gas heat.

In Summary:

  • If you cook more meats and poultry or use the broiler often, an all-gas range would be the way to go.
  • If you're cooking style is geared toward more baking, a dual fuel range is your best option.
  • If you do an equal amount of baking and roasting and want to save a little money, choose an all-gas range.

Additional Resources

Get our free Pro Cooking Buying Guide with tips, trends, and reviews of all the best brands. Over 900,000 people have already found answers in a Yale guide.

View our Pro Cooking Buying Guide

 

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Steve Sheinkopf

Steve Sheinkopf is the third-generation CEO of Yale Appliance and a lifelong Bostonian. He has over 38 years of experience in the appliance industry, and he is a trusted source of information for consumers on how to buy and repair appliances.

Steve has also been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Consumer Reports, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg Radio, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur, for his knowledge of how to buy appliances and appliance repair.

Steve is passionate about helping consumers find the best appliances for their needs, and he is always happy to answer questions and provide advice. He is a valuable resource for consumers who are looking for information on appliance buying, repair, and maintenance.

Despite being the worst goalie in history, Steve is a fan of the Bruins and college hockey, loves to read, and is a Peloton biker. The love of his life is his daughter, Sophie.

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Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.