Will a Gas Stove Work Without Electricity?

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If your gas-powered stove was made in the last few decades, it most likely requires electricity to light the burners during normal operating conditions. But you can bypass the electric ignition during a power outage by using matches to light the burners instead.

Bypassing Electric-Ignition Stove Burners During an Outage

Step 1

Shine a flashlight or other light source -- even a flashlight app from a cellphone -- near the stove if it's too dark to see the stove well.

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Step 2

Turn all the stove burner and oven dials to their "off" positions.

Step 3

Set the flashlight on a counter near the stove, aiming the light toward the stove burners and controls for the burners. Skip the light if you can see well without it.

Step 4

Light a long wooden match and hold the flame near the holes located around the center of a burner.

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Step 5

Turn the dial for the same stove burner to a low setting while holding the match in place. Act quickly to light the burner before the match burns down toward your fingers.

Step 6

Remove the match from the burner area once the burner lights. The burner should light within a few seconds. Blow out the match.

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Avoid the Oven

Although the burners on an electric-ignition gas stove may be lit by hand, the cooking flame inside the oven works differently on models from the 1990s and newer. As a safety feature, these require electricity to light and cannot be lit by hand -- so skip the oven and cook on the stove burners instead until the power returns.

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