If you own a gas stove, you might assume it would work during a power outage as long as you have matches or a lighter handy. While this is often true, it depends on your stove’s make and model — and its built-in safety features.
Most gas stoves allow you to light the surface burners with a match or lighter when the power is out or the electric ignition isn’t working. However, some models have gas valves that are controlled by electricity. If your stove has electrically operated gas valves, the match or lighter method won’t work. This feature is more common in ovens than in stovetop burners.
How To Light a Gas Stove When The Power Is Out
Though this is a straightforward process, you should always be careful when manually lighting gas appliances. Follow these steps to do it safely:
- If the power is out, use a flashlight so you can clearly see what you’re doing.
- For safety, make sure all gas burner knobs are turned to the “off” position before you begin.
- Find a long barrel lighter if you have one — this is ideal. If not, a kitchen match works well. A standard lighter will do in a pinch, but you risk burning your fingertips.
- Light your lighter or match and hold it near the center burner holes.
- Turn the knob to the “pilot” position to release enough gas to ignite. In a quiet room, you’ll be able to hear and smell the gas flowing.
- Once the burner ignites, quickly move your hand away.
If it doesn’t work after a couple of attempts and you smell gas, turn all knobs off and take a break. Allow the gas to dissipate before trying again. You don’t want to build up too much gas, which could create a dangerously large flame when ignited.
Can You Light a Gas Oven When The Power Is Out?
You can light a gas oven during a power outage only if it’s an older model — typically those made before the mid-to-late 1990s. Modern gas ovens are designed with electrically operated gas valves, making manual lighting nearly impossible.
While you could theoretically disassemble the oven to manually open the valves, power would likely be restored before you finished the job — and reassembling it correctly would be another challenge.
Some newer gas stoves have similarly designed valves for the stovetop burners as well. While these features exist for safety reasons, they can be frustrating during power outages.
How To Turn Your Gas Stovetop Into an Oven
When you can’t use your gas oven, you can actually bake on your stovetop. You’ll need a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid or a Dutch oven — not something lightweight with a loose cover.
The most important thing is creating space between your food and the bottom of the pot or Dutch oven. Without this separation, whatever touches the bottom will get overcooked. Here are several options to create this separation:
- Place stones at the bottom
- Use sand
- Insert a wire rack
- Arrange aluminum foil
- Use a lined cake tin
The goal is to use heat-resistant materials to create a barrier between your pot’s bottom and your food.
Rocks work well because they’re readily available. Make sure they’re uniform and evenly distributed so your food cooks evenly.
Sand is another good choice that you can easily spread across the pot bottom. Since it resists heat, the burners will transfer heat more evenly through your cooking vessel.
A wire rack can work too, but finding one that fits properly while still allowing the lid to seal can be challenging.
Aluminum foil is versatile since you can shape it as needed. You can make several uniform rolls to place at the bottom of your pot.
You can also use an aluminum cake tin or line a steel one with foil and place it at the bottom of your cooking vessel. This might be less practical unless your pot is the right shape. However, you can stack cake tins to effectively bake a cake inside your pot or Dutch oven.
As long as you create separation between your food and the pot’s bottom, you’ll have successfully transformed your stovetop into a makeshift oven. (This explains why it’s called a “Dutch oven” in the first place.)
Final Thoughts
Unless you have one of those completely safety-featured gas stove/oven combinations, you’ll likely be able to use your gas stovetop during power outages or if the pilot light fails. This is typical for most gas appliances.