Induction hobs?

[KnittyNorah]

We are looking at changing teh gas hob out to Induction

Seems to me that we would need a new electric line brought from the fuse box due to the highe rpower requirements for any decent hob

Is this true??
I know there are ones that would run of the 13A socket that the current gas hob uses for its ignition - but are these lower powered ones OK?

Will we need an electrician to run a whole new cable - of can it be done more easily?

Thanks

Don't know about the wiring requirements, but do advise you to try one beforehand, via the simple method of buying a portable induction burner, which will, even if you end up not liking the thing, doubtless come in handy for you or someone you know at some time in the next year or so.

 

[MichaelW2]

I looked at induction hobs but had a hard time finding one the right size for a small terraced house galley kitchen.
The std ones are too wide and eat up counter space. The narrow ones are 2 pan and much too small. My cooker is a slim, normal looking one but there seems to be no modern equiv.

 

[Punkawallah]

Besides the appropriat pans, make sure they have flat bottoms - if they are uneven so will be the cooking.

 

[CXRAndy]

Regard wiring, some of these induction hobs are very high power. 10kW is not uncommon when all rings are running. Make sure you get suitably sized mains connection and RCD/RCBO protection

 

[Legs]

We took out our oil-fuelled Aga and replaced it with a Rangemaster induction range about 11 years ago. We’ve subsequently replaced that with a Stoves Richmond range when the induction hob circuitry went on the fritz. Cooking with either induction hob was/is a joy - unlike many, I absolutely detest cooking with gas.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I looked at induction hobs but had a hard time finding one the right size for a small terraced house galley kitchen.
The std ones are too wide and eat up counter space. The narrow ones are 2 pan and much too small. My cooker is a slim, normal looking one but there seems to be no modern equiv.

You can get free-standing/portable induction burners, both single and in pairs. Might one or two of the portable ones work better for you? I have a tiny galley kitchen in over-55s housing and the use of portable induction burners which can be left out ready for use, or easily put away so that I can use the space for eg rolling out pastry, works for me.

 

[midlife]

Daughter has a portable IKEA induction jobby that is quite neat.

 

[presta]

Past experiences of electric hobs has been poor with them being slower and less responsive than gas.

The old spiral rings like mine are fine, it's the newer solid disc ones that replaced them which are a PITA. There's a simple test you can do: put the palm of your hand flat on a cold ring, then switch it on and time how long you can keep your hand there. With a spiral ring it's about 3 seconds, with a solid one ~45s.

We have a touchpad type control interface which is really clunky to use.

Yup. Self catering in over 200 different youth hostels I must have used scores of different cookers, old & new, gas & electric, but I've never yet found anything I'd swap my own one for.

If you think about it, if you had all 4 "burners" working at the same time on a high power level, there would be a large power draw so it did make sense.

Wiring rating is based on diversity: the principle that not everything on the circuit is in use at the same time. Ring mains are protected at 32A, but just tot up what the load would be if you were to draw 13A from every 13A socket on the ring!

Diversity for cooker circuits is 100% of the first 10A plus 30% of the remainder, and then another 5A if the cooker outlet has a socket on it.

 

[the snail]

We are looking at changing teh gas hob out to Induction

Seems to me that we would need a new electric line brought from the fuse box due to the highe rpower requirements for any decent hob

Is this true??
I know there are ones that would run of the 13A socket that the current gas hob uses for its ignition - but are these lower powered ones OK?

Will we need an electrician to run a whole new cable - of can it be done more easily?

Thanks

Ours runs off a 13A socket. This is fine for us, but if you regularly have all four rings going on full power, then the hob may restrict power to prevent overload. In practice we rarely use more than two rings, and most of the time they are not on full power, so I don't think we'll have a problem. We are running oven + hob on a 30A circuit.

 

[slowmotion]

We've had an induction hob for a year and we're really pleased with it. They are far easier to clean than the gas ones and streets ahead of halogen hobs which seem utterly sluggish. Professional chefs prefer gas but I have never aspired to be one.
Ours is an AEG IKB64401FB.

 

[Alex321]

We bough a cooker with an induction hob two years ago. I had always preferred gas to electric before that, but absolutely would not go back now.

It is way better than any other hob I have ever used, either gas or electric.

Uses much less power than most electric hobs, because the heat is directly in the pan. The glass of the hob only gets "hot" because of conducted heat from the pan, and even then it isn't hot enough to bun unless you actually hold your hand on it for seconds.

 

[Alex321]

We are looking at changing teh gas hob out to Induction

Seems to me that we would need a new electric line brought from the fuse box due to the highe rpower requirements for any decent hob

Is this true??
I know there are ones that would run of the 13A socket that the current gas hob uses for its ignition - but are these lower powered ones OK?

Will we need an electrician to run a whole new cable - of can it be done more easily?

Thanks

Not usually. If it is a complete cooker, then the oven may well need a higher rated circuit, but the hob usually won't.

 

[Dave7]

I only need one/maybe 2 rings. Can I assume a plug to socket will be fine ?
Q. Does the glass top not scratch ?

 

[figbat]

I only need one/maybe 2 rings. Can I assume a plug to socket will be fine ?
Q. Does the glass top not scratch ?

Ours is 10 years old and although there may be a fine mark or two it cleans and polishes up very well. The main thing to worry about is molten sugar as that can leave a mark.

 

[figbat]

One of the cleanliness benefits is that spilled stuff doesn’t ‘burn’ into the surface (since it is not especially hot, especially away from the contact area) and also if you do spill you can safely and easily wipe it up immediately.