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If your home uses more than one gas appliance, you'll continue to use gas, even outside of the heating season. Your water heater, gas stove and oven, and gas dryer will all use some gas, although typically much less than a furnace. Additionally, those appliances may also have a pilot light that is lit continually, using a small amount even when no one is at home.

Installing a gas line is no simple task. From start to finish, you’re looking at anywhere from six to 12 weeks to acquire the correct permits, dig a trench, and connect your appliances. Naturally, the longer the gas line, the longer it will take to complete. If your plumber needs to hire additional contractors to dig trenches and navigate around or remove obstacles, this could put you at the longer end of the timeframe. 

Once the land is prepped and licenses acquired, installing the actual line may only take a few days to a few weeks, weather permitting.

Many people find switching from an electric stove to a gas stove well worth the hassle. After all, gas stoves last up to 15 years, whereas most electric stoves only last up to 13 years. Plus, the sentiment and joy of cooking over a real fire is indeed irreplaceable—and offers more precise temperature controls than electric cooktops. The cost of converting an electric cooktop to a gas stove depends on whether your kitchen already has gas supplies, and the cost can range from $125 to $2,000. Also, make sure your new stove’s dimensions match the old one.

In most cases, yes, it’s safe to light a gas water heater manually, but you should shut the gas off first, open a window, and let the space air out for about 10 minutes. Modern water heaters shut the gas off entirely if the pilot light goes out, but airing out the area beforehand is good practice and will ensure it’s safe to relight your pilot light manually. Just make sure you turn the gas valve to “pilot” before lighting. If the light keeps going out or won’t light at all, call in a professional.