Struggling with my induction hob

[sellotape12]

Am I being stupid or do induction hobs reeeeeaaally take some time getting used to? We have a new one, and have only ever had gas hobs before so the transition is panicking me.

It's a Beko one - nothing fancy. But can't figure out why it takes ages to heat something up. We've put some cold, leftover chilli in a pan to heat and it's doing nothing. Does it not accept cold food? It also took me half an hour to boil a 1 small pan of water and can't figure out why.

We are using the correct diameter pan for each ring. All our pans are magnetic, and it flashes anyway if it's not the right pan.

DH is bemoaning that 'gas is so visible, sorry is it to control, so easy to simmer things on' and is fantasising already about ripping out the new hob 😒

Any top tips welcome. Please tell me I will grow to love it eventually!

[sellotape12]

So easy to* not 'sorry'

[PaintingByNumbers]

induction or electric? if induction, it sounds broken. mine heats water in seconds.

[SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower]

No idea, but the times I've used them I just can't get on with them. Even a halogen hob seems so much easier to cook on

[PickAChew]

My Beko would get stuff hot in minutes - even had an extra power setting for bringing things to the boil.

Unless you're trying to use it on its lowest setting, then either the hob is broken or the pans aren't as suitable as you thought.

[ExcuseMyEyebrows]

Sounds as if there's something wrong with it.
My induction hob (Neff, 9 years old) is just like using gas - heats up and cools down almost instantly. For example I have a stove top kettle and it boils water quicker than an electric one.

[CaptainCallisto]

We have a Beko one. After a few weeks of cursing and trying not to throw things, I worked out that you have to turn it up to maximum to start with, even if you turn it down again after a minute, otherwise it just sits there for hours. On max it heats quickly and it's better than others I've used for being turned down to simmer etc. I still miss my gas hob though

[Bluntness100]

Are you sure you've got it on the highest setting?

[Doublechocolatetiffin]

If you've got it on the highest setting then it sounds broken. It takes no time at all to get stuff from cold on my induction hob.

[wowfudge]

We have induction and it's really responsive so it sounds as though there's something wrong. Have you checked the manual to make sure you are using it correctly? Some magnetic pans don't have sufficiently thick bases to conduct the heat so don't work effectively. Have you got a cast iron pan or frying pan you can try to see if it's any different?

[SavoyCabbage]

Could it be your pans? Mine is really quick. Faster than a kettle.

[WeAllHaveWings]

We have a Bosch, love it, it's fast and responsive. I find the quality of pots/pans makes a big difference with induction. We bought cheapish pans (tefal) to begin with and they were shite much slower at heating up than my old circlon ones which I didn't realise were compatible.

[MrsT2007]

Check your pans are induction friendly

Mine heats water mega fast (faster than kettle!)

[EsmesBees]

Mine is really quick too. So much so that you need to be careful that pans don't boil over on the higher settings. I do love mine, and I'm sure you will too when you get the hang of it/get it fixed.

[sellotape12]

Hmm..we've used a ceramic Greenpan frying pan and an, ahem, Ikea saucepan. Neither heated quickly.

DH is currently having a massive paddy and don't know how to get him out of it. He reckons it's not for people who like cooking/ it's not intuitive/ he'll never get used to the buzzing/ it's not cooking, it's heating things, it's too slow to move between settings/ there's no such thing as summer, they should call it 'burns with less frequency'

Argh! I want to cook HIM.

So the pans may be an issue. I'll look into circlon ones. And the other bits - the touchscreen and low pulsing/ buzzing noise - do you get used to it after a while?

[sellotape12]

Simmer* damn my iPhone and it's typos

[AlternativeTentacle]

My new hob has the water boiling before I can peel the spuds. Something wrong with yours. It is immediate change in heat, just like a gas hob.

[PaintingByNumbers]

who installed yours? I dont have beko, but mine is quiet, slight buzzing sometimes. yours sounds broken

[samatamfabahaba]

If it's not a suitable pan it won't work. Mine only works with induction pans that are the correct size for the ring. Big pans don't work on the small circles on the hob IYSWIM.

[sellotape12]

Ours was installed by an electrician who, to be fair, installed a faulty switch initially and it didn't work at all. But a new switch from the box seems to rectify this.

I can phone the supplier, AO.com, but they say they'll charge for an engineer if we're at fault. I wonder if I can post a video somehow to show what it's like?

[sellotape12]

Right, DH now says the main problem is that the ceramic pan will not hear when something cold is put into it. It heats fine if the food is room temperature already, but doesn't heat up if putting something in it straight from the fridge and makes a 'funny noise'.

Basically, he's saying that the hob has some sort of in-built aversion to cold foods.

This isn't normal - right?

[EsmesBees]

Mine doesn't buzz, or make any noise at all. And I use the cheap pans that came free with the job, so I wouldn't have thought that's the issue (unless they are not flat on the bottom?). I think an engineer might be a good idea.

[EsmesBees]

Pans that came free with the hob, that should be. And no, mine heats all food regardless of starting temperature.

[NannyR]

I use Ikea pans on mine and they work fine. It sounds like its broken to me.

[Mermaidinthesea123]

I love my induction hob, so easy to clean, just wipes down, no fiddly bits like gas.
You need special pans, I'm sure you know that.
I hated it at first but am well used to it now. Possibly not quite as instant as gas but good enough.

[llangennith]

I use ikea pans on my very basic induction hob and they're fine.
Sounds like your hob is the problem or you're not using it properly.