Should I buy an Induction hob?

[annedonnelly]

Yay - just had a guy to measure up and he's sure I could get a 60cm cooker in the gap. That means induction is possible. It also means I've got to start again with my research - there are a lot more options now...

 

[cosmicbike]

Thanks all for sharing your experience.
Am feeling convinced, but the next wuestion is whether the kind that simply plug-in would be good enough or go for one needing a heftier power supply?

Go for one that gives you both options. I believe NEFF and Bosch still offer these. You can cable to a 13A fused spur, or link out the incoming connections and have a direct 6mm, 40A connection. By some form of magic it understands how it's connected, and operates accordingly.

 

[Milkfloat]

A 13A induction hob is selling yourself short. Quite simply they are not up to the job, especially if you are trying to use more than a couple of pots at the same time. Pony up the extra and get one wired correctly, I promise you that you won’t regret it.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Yep, that's the way to do it

 

[PaulSB]

I haven't read this thread but thought the following might be worth consideration. I am perfectly serious.

A few years ago with some friends, all of us 60+, rented a large house with an induction hob. None of us was able to fathom out how it worked. Fortunately we had some young people with us.

I have a friend recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. They had a new kitchen fitted with an induction hob. He can no longer cook because he is unable to learn how to use the hob.

These points may not apply for you or have already been considered. I simply felt it worth mentioning.

 

[postman]

No no no.Only last week we were in a conversation with a young lady,whose mum had her kitchen done,the hob marks very easily and is a bugg to keep clean,also pans cost a fortune.

 

[derrick]

No no no.Only last week we were in a conversation with a young lady,whose mum had her kitchen done,the hob marks very easily and is a bugg to keep clean,also pans cost a fortune.

Wrong Wrong Wrong.

 

[flake99please]

I had a Neff induction hob (T58FT20X0) installed with the new kitchen back in November 2018. Having used it for little over a year now, I’m more than happy with its performance. With the exception of my aluminium omelette pan, all cookware was already compatible with the new hob.

My only criticism would be the ‘beeping’ sound it makes when I temporarily place something on there while unpacking shopping etc.

 

[figbat]

New to this thread but not to induction hobs. We bought and completely renovated our house about 6 years ago. It is in a village with no mains gas. We had the choice of electric hob or bottled gas. We were coming from a house with a gas hob that we loved. In the end though we went for a 90cm Rangemaster cooker with induction hob - I’ll never go back.

It is very quick to get up to heat and quickly controllable. It looks good too when matched to our black kitchen worktops. Best of all for me, as a clean freak in the kitchen, it is so easy to keep clean. I try to wipe down any overspill or splatter as it happens, which is easy to do given the design. Even if left until cool, so far I have managed to get everything off of it and it still looks great - not new but still shiny and attractive. It’s easy to get induction pans. Another great feature is the ability to do a really low heat - using this I can melt chocolate directly in the pan with no fear of burning and no faffing with a bain marie.

I have read that they are not recommended for people with Alzheimer’s because it is not obvious when they are hot or left on. For example if a hob is left ‘on’ with no pan on it it won’t actually do anything but if you accidentally placed something ferromagnetic on it it would start heating. Given that they look like somewhere to put something down, this is a risk. It’s never happened to us though (we‘re all compos mentis, as far as I know).

 

[gbb]

Having 'moved up the scale' (IMO...and my wifes)..from gas to ceramic and now to Induction, each step has been the right one we both agree.
Super fast, clean , everything you (we) want it to be.
Regarding the glass tops, our ceramic cookers glass top didnt scratch as such but the etched (I assume) rings that indicate where to place the pans did deteriorate a little but it was maybe 10 years old.

 

[Profpointy]

To give another view, we were in a rented cottage last week, which came with an induction hob. After a bit of swearing as I failed to get it to fire up initially (needed turning off and on at the wall to get it out of a state) it did heat up quite quickly and quite hot. However if you wanted it on medium or low, it didn't actually go to a lower setting but "hunted" alternating between high and off every few seconds. The other snag was if you moved or lifted the pan the ring would often turn off. It was bearable to be fair, as we did get a pan hot enough to cook steak, so it was miles better than a halogen hob (these also "hunt") but definitely not for me. I'd also have to ditch my lovely copper pans, but that won't affect everyone. Gas is clearly hugely better - less sure if electric hotplates are better or worse

 

[Milkfloat]

To give another view, we were in a rented cottage last week, which came with an induction hob. After a bit of swearing as I failed to get it to fire up initially (needed turning off and on at the wall to get it out of a state) it did heat up quite quickly and quite hot. However if you wanted it on medium or low, it didn't actually go to a lower setting but "hunted" alternating between high and off every few seconds. The other snag was if you moved or lifted the pan the ring would often turn off. It was bearable to be fair, as we did get a pan hot enough to cook steak, so it was miles better than a halogen hob (these also "hunt") but definitely not for me. I'd also have to ditch my lovely copper pans, but that won't affect everyone. Gas is clearly hugely better - less sure if electric hotplates are better or worse

It sounds like you were using a poor quality induction hob. My Neff suffers from none of the problems you described.

 

[Profpointy]

It sounds like you were using a poor quality induction hob. My Neff suffers from none of the problems you described.

Quite possibly the case, but I only have a sample of one to go by. The "hunting" wasn't a big problem to be fair, but it was odd to see my spuds boil for 2 seconds, then off for 2 seconds, then boil again, rather than steadily simmering.

 

[figbat]

At lower power settings that’s how ours works, but at mid-to-high power it’s a continuous power of varying intensity.

 

[mistyoptic]

I have read that they are not recommended for people with Alzheimer’s because it is not obvious when they are hot or left on. For example if a hob is left ‘on’ with no pan on it it won’t actually do anything but if you accidentally placed something ferromagnetic on it it would start heating. Given that they look like somewhere to put something down, this is a risk. It’s never happened to us though (we‘re all compos mentis, as far as I know).

May be the case with some but our Stoves (Belling group) range cooker has hot indicators and switches itself off after a short period with nothing on the "ring". Can confuse it by putting stuff down on the control area but it usually beeps to tell you you've done so. As mentioned above, some of the fancy settings like "chocolate melting" and "bring to boil then turn down to simmer automatically" are useful. Also, on ours, can set a timer for an individual ring to turn off.

The ONLY reservation/downside (for me) is that (compared to gas) it's not good for a wok as the sides don't heat up, except by conduction which is not enough.
Otherwise, easier to clean than gas but as good in terms of response.