Any experiences of an induction hob very welcome!

[Cyclops]

Hi all,

Any replies will be welcome....

We're thinking about having an induction hob installed...I'm still at the research stage so if anybody has experience of using one (good or bad), then I'd be very interested to read your posts.

Also, what is the difference between halogen and induction? Does a halogen hob require special pans too? Is one more recommendable than the other?

TIA for any insight.

[LynetteScavo]

Eh? I thought this was going to be a thread about a new way of inducing babies.

[Cyclops]

No, induction hobs!

[cheesebaby]

Have had an induction hob for just coming up 2 years now... Fantastic! Instant 'heat' and control very much like gas; beats the socks off every version of electric hob I've ever tried. No experience of halogen tho.

Induction hob is incredibly easy to clean as nothing really gets stuck on. Ours also has intelligent control which means it can detect difference between for example a pan vs a fork - it should shut off if you have anything that doesn't look like a pan on it (and also if a pan boils over). And of course it's impossible to set fire to tea towels etc which get chucked on

We did need new pans as most of our motley collection wouldn't work with induction. But we just used this as an excuse to invest in a nice set of le creuset stainless steel pans; mmmmm

Do it, do it, do it!

[Cyclops]

Thanks for your reply...are all induction hobs ceramic? I've heard that food can get stuck fast to ceramic or is this a myth?

I am interested in induction...just need to trawl the main shops now to touch and feel!

[pippop1]

I have an induction hob too. I've had it for just over a year and it's fab. I also had to buy all new pans (a good excuse. It's just as controllable as my gas hob. My parents have a ceramic hob and it's so slow and uncontrolable.

Mine has a timer so you can, for example, put big pot of veg on to simmer to make soup and set for half an hour. It will then turn itself off. You can go up and have a shower while it's getting on with the cooking. Also, during dinner parties, you can tell to it warm something up and then switch off automatically. It's a great feature. The cleaning is simple. I would NEVER have a different kind of hob now.

[Cyclops]

wow pip, that's a good endorsement! Thanks for that. I plan to do some hands-on research this week in the shops....

[blametheparents]

Does it scratch if you shake a pan on it?
Eg. when doing stir fry and you shake the pan to love everything around.

[cheesebaby]

The top is a single piece of glass, so yes it will scratch; ours has a few very fine scratches but they're not overly noticeable and we're not particularly gentle with it!

[DiscoSquish]

And here's a negative review just to balance things out.

99.99% of saucepans etc will not work on an induction hob. If you want instant heat then personally I would stick with gas. I had an induction hob in the house I rented for 6 months and I absolutely hated it. I can't begin to explain how much I hated that hob and the joy I experienced when I moved to my new house with it's lovely gas hob.

[Alouiseg]

I love mine, a spray and a wipe and it's gleaming! It boils water in super fast time, beats gas every time. I love mine and could never go back to gas.

[2madboys]

We have had one for about 5 years. It's brilliant. Cleans easily (was always tempted to hoover the old gas one to remove the crumbs). It's completely controllable with instant heat - I'd say it is no different from the old gas one in terms of controllability. Looks much nicer and is also a bit of extra worktop space when I've got three sandwich boxes out in the morning to fill up. We also needed a new set of pans, but that is the biggest drawback.

[TheNextMrsDepp]

We have had an induction hob for just over a year and I also adore it.

It is incredibly fast - put a pan of cold water on it and it literally boils before your eyes. So much so that I kept burning things until I got used to it!

It is really easy to clean; because it doesn't actually heat up you don't get any stuck-on burnt food, and there are no knobs/burners to clean around. A quick wipe with a damp cloth and a buff with some kitchen roll and you're good to go.

Yes, I did need new pans (although a couple of them worked OK), but I needed some anyway, so it was a good excuse. Take a magnet shopping with you - if it sticks to a pan base it will work on an induction hob (check the base, not the sides).

Only downside is that when you have all four rings on they seem to "pulse", and you can't have them all on full (which you rarely need anyway). It doesn't really affect the cooking ability and I'm sure it's due to the fact that mine was relatively cheap.

Also, there is not the same "choice" of pans in the shop, so you may end up paying more for the pan you want.

[MumtoF]

I love mine. Easy to clean, as quick as gas. not too hard to get pans - I got a great Bialetti? frying pan from TKMaxx/Homesense. We got a Siemens one in a lovely silvery gold colour.

[Cyclops]

Thanks for all your great replies; it seems that the majority like induction very much. It's good to hear that the hobs are so easy to clean and I like the bit about being able to co-opt the hob surface into an additional work-top!

Does anybody have any brand recommendations/avoid advice?

I don't mind buying new pans - our current pans are ancient, chipped, dinted, wonky-handled, etc, so new pans are way, way overdue! I've seen induction-friendly pans online and they look OKish in price....

[daddadoesnadda]

Another induction fan.Quick, easy to clean, safe

re the pans, I got induction friendly ones very easily. If in doubt test the pan's base with a magnet, if it sticks you can use it on an induction hob.

I have a Neff one and have no complaints, I think it was about £690.

[dikkertjedap]

I have a Siemens induction hob (approx £500). Also have AGA. They are the complete opposite. Induction hob is incredibly fast (did really need to get used to it at first as I burned quite a few things as it was so fast). Now love it, you can cook rice, potatoes, meat much quicker than on a normal hob (just cooks quicker, must be simply much more efficient, I don't mean higher temperature). Did need complete set of new pans though. Also, induction hob is more child friendly as the hob itself and the pans are not getting hot (still dangerous because content of pans obviously does get hot). I would definitely recommend it!

[Unprune]

We hummed and hawed for 2 years (big fans of gas, LOATHE electric) but finally went for it and it is fantastic.
Boils things quickly
Completely controllable (like gas)
super easy to clean
I can't believe I get so excited by a farking hob but there you go
We have Neff

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Unfortunately we don't have gas in our flat or I'd have chosen a gas hob

But........

Last year we changed our crappy old cooker for a spanking new Electrolux induction hob and it's fab! It heats things amazingly quickly, and cools down just as fast so it's really safe for kids. Very easy to control unlike other types of electric hobs. Also very easy to clean as it's smooth glass.
we've managed to get a small crack in the edge of ours but it hasn't affected it in anyway.

It can make me grumpy though as it's a bit moody! If a pan boils over a little the heat turns off. ALso if you put something onto the hob when it's turned off, or onto a ring which isn;t on when you're using another, it gets annoyed and beeps at you. All for safety I'm sure but sometimes you just need the extra surface space a glass hob gives you so you just need it to shut up!

Finding pans can be tricky, but they are around. Quite alot of John Lewis own brand are ok IIRC. We had some Le Crueset already so just got a couple more (outlet stores very good).

Go for it!

[Cyclops]

Wow, definitely more yays than nays so I am being swayed....just need to get round the shops now

Many thanks again for all replies.

[Unprune]

I remember doing lots of research (some on here!) and totally rejecting the idea of an Electrolux because people said it drove them mad.

The Neff one we have, I promise you, isn't annoying. The only thing is that when you wipe a wet cloth over the controls it panics a bit and locks itself. It's easy not to do that.

[Cyclops]

Interesting about the Electrolux - do you know what it was that drove them mad about this brand??? TIA.

[Unprune]

It was what Icoulddoitbetter said - it will switch itself off at the slightest spill, apparently. You can't cook like that!
And beep like a bastard. I can't do with beeping.

[Cyclops]

yes, of course!

I had a look at some hobs this morning and they all seem fairly similar (apart from the really expensive ones but I'm not looking at those!). I guess choosing one all boils down to features in the end? How many features are available and which are:

1. necessary
   
2. nice-to-have (e.g. simmer timer)
   
3. not necessary
   
   Thanks again if you're still reading!

[pippop1]

Timer is essential for me. Beeping is good!

I do stir frys with a flat bottomed wok and don't think there are any scratches so far. (some one asked about scratches and woks).