should i try an induction hob?

reevesy

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hi,

well finally bought another house and probably wont be in till jan/feb now ...i'm playing around planning at the moment with the most work needing doing in the kitchen


one thing i'm looking at is electric rather than gas hobs...always had gas...but went electric oven in my last house and was happy using it...especially as it came with a 3 pin plug :thumbsup: ....and kept with a gas hob

new place will need the gas pipe moving so although not a big job it did get me think about electric hobs....especially induction

did think they all needed wiring on a 32 amp mcb etc ...but i did see a bosch one that came with a 3 pin plug ...same as a lot of single ovens

i havent looked into the power side of it yet...if the hard wired ones are better han a 3 pin plug option ...the only thought i had was if a plugged oven and a plugged hob are both on at the same time would be a problem

any way ...apart from you need certain pans...ie magnetic ones..and the fact i've never had one ..or know anyone who has i wondered what peoples views / experiences are...and if you had a recommended ones to seek out?

cheers
 
I brought a Neff plug fitted induction hob for my current place to replace a gas hob(we're not on a gas supply and have to have bottled gas delivered which is a pain). You do have to get saucepans that work with induction but we got a great deal on both the pans and hob.
The first thing you will notice is how quickly these things warm up and it will take you a while getting used to the settings but I wouldn't change mine for the world. Easy to use, very safe for children (remove pan from hob and power cuts and it will start to cool down). I went for one with a plug pre-fitted as it meant I didn't have to get an electrician in to rewire my kitchen. They aren't as powerful as a dedicated wired one though.
 
If you're an avid cook or cook large meals for family and friends, obviously not that relevant for now then a plug-in hob might be too low powered for you.

My mum had one and while it was fine for her, if you tried to boil a pan of water at full blast the other rings were compromised and couldn't manage to do more than a very gentle simmer.
Whereas with one wired in on a dedicated circuit you could have all 4 or more going at their highest level.

It depends on your own case use.
 
IMO.... Induction is a totally different process of can I say cooking😂😂
Instantaneous regulation of heat, pretty rapid to boil, easy to keep clean.... A simple egg whether fried, scrambled or made into an omelette will have a different texture from what is the norm. That being said I did njoi my 7years inducting, now moved to gas using cast iron pans. It's all just a bit chemistry n physics at the end of the day😊 Good luck
 
Induction all the way. Check what circuits are there and costs to add a new circuit if required. Induction with plug will be “crippled” to ensure a maximum 13A draw - say 3 kW. As you say for ovens that is fine. My induction is hard wired on a 32A circuit and has 4 zones - each of which can deliver 3.3kW at super-dooper power. Even that has current limiting technology to ensure 32A isn’t exceeded. In normal use though you won’t be pushing 32A - you will almost certainly push 13A if there is more than one decent powered zone.

Add separate dedicated circuits for hob and (ovens) - each then will never trip its own breaker nor circuit breaker unless there is a fault.
 
Thanks all

I did think s separate circuit with its own MCB would be the way to go....especially as the main fuse box is in the kitchen under one of the units ..I hard wired a larger cable with a cooker switch in my last house before I ordered my first electric oven ....only for it to turn up with a plug on the end :facepalm:

So if I go induction ..10mm cable to a 32 amp MCB would be the way to go?
 
Check the induction you want to buy. Some are more than 32A and some are as much as 63A! “Most 4 area hobs will be 32A I suspect - wiring is a licensed trade here but I can check the cable specifications installed. It will be acceptable
To UK standards I’m sure
 
Well mine was “New V90 6mm2 circuit for induction cook top to operate via 35Amp isolation switch” so 10mm2 should be overkill :)
 
I would recommend induction based on how easy they are to keep clean.

I understand they are even more flexible that GAS but that does not matter much to me.

Coincidentally , only last week I was discussing electric requirements for a new kitchen we are planning with an electrician.

As we are moving the kitchen to what used to be our lounge we need 2 new rings putting in. I was asking what cable I should get for the first fix. He told me I need 4mm for all sockets that will be on the new ring and 6mm for the ring that will feed the hob
 
Proper woks don't work on electric or induction hobs - the flat bottomed woks are useless - just my two penneth
 
had a few woks over the years......tend to just use a frying pan these days.....ken hom would probably roll his eyes but does the job

looking at some ovens that need hard wiring ....in order to run both a hard wired induction hob...and a oven ...i take it a double connection point would be used....one suitable size of cable from there to a suitable single mcb
 
I've had gas, electric and induction over the past 5 years (we've moved a lot as we were previously renting).

Induction is better than electric for the reasons listed above: safer (especially with kids), easier to clean, more energy efficient, quicker to heat up and easier to regulate temperature.

You will notice the difference between 'really cheap' and 'cheap but decent' pans, however. The really cheap ones will not distribute heat evenly across the pan, and (as with electric) any bending/deformity of the base will mean less energy transfer from hob to pan. We went from really cheap to Le Crueset and the difference was incredible.
 
thats interesting...though Le Crueset ...i imagine a set of pans will be more expensive than the hob :eek:
 
had a few woks over the years......tend to just use a frying pan these days.....ken hom would probably roll his eyes but does the job

looking at some ovens that need hard wiring ....in order to run both a hard wired induction hob...and a oven ...i take it a double connection point would be used....one suitable size of cable from there to a suitable single mcb
Not sure what the rules are there. Here an induction hob needs an isolating switch (that kills live and neutral) in reach. That was the 35A switch mentioned in my invoice. Mine is in a group of 6 light switches and dimmers so looks great. Marked “Hob” and coloured to show when on as also required. Own circuit no RCD (so mine is on a 40A MCB)

I have two ovens and again here the rules are they go on seperate circuits. Each is on a 15A circuit with an MCB each. Since fitted the rules changed and an RCD is needed for ovens now (and maybe the induction) - my sparky had a choice and didn’t fit an RCBO each. He reckons the RCDs are a pain on oven elements but now there would be no choice.

Rules aren’t often different - our AS is after all born from the BS system:) the above is safest and neatest anyway I reckon :)
 
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Thanks.
..nothing is ever straight forward.....

Red to red ...'blue' to bits 😉
 
I would favour induction over any other type of electric hob however I'd view induction as a downgrade from gas (mains gas, bottled gas as mentioned by pp is a pita so would be a closer call).
Depends how much and how seriously you cook, and I'm a regular and decent cook (if i say so myself!) and have experience of using gas, induction (and conduction) for several years each.
Gas is still faster to heat up, more controllable and you can use any material or shape of pan (induction does win on cleaning though).
I like induction a lot and have replaced thermal electric hobs with induction but wouldn't go gas to induction in a million years.
 
Cleaning was definety a motivation ....then I started thinking if you're going electric go induction

....though I have seen a gas hob within an added glass top
 
If you're someone who likes to cook and wants the control and flexibility that gas offers, definitely go gas. For cooking it is the best of the three.

If ease and low maintenance/low cleaning effort is preferred then I'd say go induction.
 
Well I've had to sack the cook......so it's me doing the cooking .

Must admit I'm starting to think should I stick with a gas hob..

As it happens someone at work has almost finished a big kitchen extension and has an induction hob ready to go in...one with a down firing extraction system apparently.

Will have to see how he gets on with it
 
Gas is still faster to heat up, more controllable and you can use any material or shape of pan (induction does win on cleaning though).
Induction is faster to heat up. Gas sends a heap of heat around the sides of the pan. Induction sends it all into the bottom of the pan and therefore the food. I went from gas to induction and I get the love of gas - this “gas is faster to heat up” though is based on that love, not fact :)

More controllable is doubtful. I think that depends on the controls on the induction. The drop and increase in heat is “the same”. It is so close it isn’t noticeable.

Yes you need to use a ferrous bottomed pan. Many pans have ferrous bits or layer on the bottom nowadays regardless of the material. We have one copper-bottomed pan we keep for sentimental reasons only but a couple of the rest worked and it was a good opportunity to get a couple of decent pans. This is about an outlay on pans which are working fine. It isn’t an advantage or disadvantage of induction cooking IMHO.

Shape of the pan is also not a feature comparison. If it was I reckon induction wins. Mine will take a large rectangular pan both sides.

Cleaning is easier on induction by a country mile. As was mentioned you can get gas with the same glass - I looked at a Smeg like that. Still the low surface temperatures of induction mean no scraping or scrubbing. There is no comparison IME.

I have an aluminium wok (with ferrous in the base as it turned out) and it works fine. It must be flat bottomed but the lack of heat up the outside on a wok (where it improves the cooking) doesn’t negate the waste of heat up the sides for everything else for me. If you are a professional then a seperate gas wok burner is the go. Not the ones on gas hobs for houses though - the industrial ones like a jet afterburner.

They are very expensive but you can get a sunken dome shaped induction wok “burner”. Professional kitchens are already using these here - although maybe “Western” restaurants first - in the push to begin phasing out gas.
 
I would like to less reliant on gas ideally .....cooking aside I think heating is where electric falls flat
 
Induction is faster to heat up. Gas sends a heap of heat around the sides of the pan. Induction sends it all into the bottom of the pan and therefore the food. I went from gas to induction and I get the love of gas - this “gas is faster to heat up” though is based on that love, not fact :)

More controllable is doubtful. I think that depends on the controls on the induction. The drop and increase in heat is “the same”. It is so close it isn’t noticeable.

Yes you need to use a ferrous bottomed pan. Many pans have ferrous bits or layer on the bottom nowadays regardless of the material. We have one copper-bottomed pan we keep for sentimental reasons only but a couple of the rest worked and it was a good opportunity to get a couple of decent pans. This is about an outlay on pans which are working fine. It isn’t an advantage or disadvantage of induction cooking IMHO.

Shape of the pan is also not a feature comparison. If it was I reckon induction wins. Mine will take a large rectangular pan both sides.

Cleaning is easier on induction by a country mile. As was mentioned you can get gas with the same glass - I looked at a Smeg like that. Still the low surface temperatures of induction mean no scraping or scrubbing. There is no comparison IME.

I have an aluminium wok (with ferrous in the base as it turned out) and it works fine. It must be flat bottomed but the lack of heat up the outside on a wok (where it improves the cooking) doesn’t negate the waste of heat up the sides for everything else for me. If you are a professional then a seperate gas wok burner is the go. Not the ones on gas hobs for houses though - the industrial ones like a jet afterburner.

They are very expensive but you can get a sunken dome shaped induction wok “burner”. Professional kitchens are already using these here - although maybe “Western” restaurants first - in the push to begin phasing out gas.

While I do think induction is very good, I still maintain I wouldn't replace a gas hob with one. For one/two pot cooking it's definitely on par. A 13A plug in hob can only go up to 3kW, not enough when you're cooking a big dinner. Otherwise you need to upgrade the circuit and if there's gas already there, why bother?
Other small niggles I had with induction:
You can't put a tin on the hob to make gravy from the meat juices (the bottom of a well used roasting tin is rarely flat).
When making chapatis you need to put them on a direct flame to puff them up.
Blackening aubergine/pepper
Ok there are workarounds for these things, but. they're less good and I can't think of any reverse examples. The wok induction thing is a good example, fine if you use a wok every day but a waste of space if you use it less often.
Not everyday situations, but good reasons to keep gas if you have it.
 
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thanks...yeah a few things to think about....

was thinking if ive got to pay someone to move the gas pipe it'll probably cheaper to do the switch to a beefy cable

definitely sticking with a fan assisted oven though....only had a cheapy beko in my last house and it was fine....7 or 8 years use with no problems...other than replacing the element ...which was an easy diy job to do and only cost 20 quid for the part
 
well one way of trying one out easily and cheaply


actually thinking this might be a good idea as i'm going to stuck for a hob when i first move in
Yeh we tried the IKEA plug in version here whilst doing the extension so we got an idea of what induction can do. Never looked back :)
 

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