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Original poster

Anyone installed an induction hob after gas and regretted it?

154 replies

HalfWomanHalfChocolate · 06/02/2021 14:33

I’m planning a new kitchen. I currently have a gas hob as part of a range cooker (inherited with the house). Definitely going for separate oven /hob next time as the range cooker has been nothing but trouble, but I’m unsure what hob to go for.

Induction jobs are so much more streamlined and easy to clean... but I’m used to the fine tuning of gas. And I am a keen cook who cooks a lot.

Anyone made the switch? Were you happy with the induction hob?

OP posts:
OnTheBenchOfDoom · 06/02/2021 15:38

@earsup

We had one in a holiday rental flat in portugal a few years ago....no instructions, found some tips on youtube but just couldnt get used to it...gave up....ate out !!...it may have been faulty....rings kept going from orange to off ...do they only work once the pan is on the ring...??...
@earsup That doesn't sound like an induction hob, they don't light up, they stay black. Could it have been a halogen hob? They too are flat glass but a totally different way to cook and those rings do light up.

@HalfWomanHalfChocolatet we were very unsure about it before we did it so we bought a 2 ring portable induction hob and cooked with it for a month before making the decision. We were having a kitchen extension built so knew we would need something to cook on in the meantime. Ours is an Andrew James one but this is very similar Von Chef

We have had our beautiful induction hob 9 years now, we have never had any issues with it. It was £850 at the time we bought it but you can combine cooking zone as we have a large Circulon saute pan that was too big for one cooking zone. Ours still looks brand new. It is a DiDietrich.

Boils fast, very controllable, easy for the children to lift a pasta pot with hot handles and me not stress about them setting the oven gloves on fire on a gas flame. For the portable one, we have used it outside too in summer.

Marchitectmummy · 06/02/2021 15:39

Love induction, we are big on cooking and always had 6 ring gas hobs but when we had our daughters decided to fit an induction for safety. I would never go back to gas now. I love that if no pan is present it turns off, how can that feature ever be a negative one. Ours has a feature that affectively instant boils. Change temp and its so responsive.

Cherryberrypies · 06/02/2021 15:39

We had one at our uni accommodation and I vowed I’d only ever use gas going forward as it was so unreliable and cut out and was just awful. The reality was we had no idea how to use it and only some of our pans worked on an induction hob.

I moved into a property with an induction hob and I vowed to get rid ASAP. Many years later here I am in love with my induction hob and I will never go back. It’s easier to clean, ours has excellent control and can boil things very quickly or also keep things warm at a very low temp as a PP said. I will never go back. It also makes the kitchen look less messy too as it just makes the sides look so sleek.

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Home improvement
ValancyRedfern · 06/02/2021 15:42

I would never switch to an induction hob. They're easy to clean but rubbish for cooking- which is more important!!

DrIrisFenby · 06/02/2021 15:42

Another one here who moved over to induction from gas. We thought long and hard about it - have always had gas. We both love the induction hob and like others have said, we wouldn't swap back now.

ZydecoLaydee · 06/02/2021 15:46

I have a Siemens silver induction hob and it is amazing! More control than my old gas one, looks neater, and a better range of temperatures too.

Ifailed · 06/02/2021 15:48

I have never seen a professional kitchen using anything but gas, if induction heating is so good, why don't they use it?

121hugsneeded · 06/02/2021 15:51

The induction hob I have is just as quick and responsive as my gas hob was . It's not like electric hobs that are slow to heat and need time to cool. I cook on mine exactly the same as I would if it was gas.and it's 100% fine. Wouldn't go back to gas now as to fiddly to clean.

XingMing · 06/02/2021 15:52

I was going to have an induction hob, and then... DH needed a pacemaker!

AlternativePerspective · 06/02/2021 15:53

From an esthetic and cleaning point of view induction looks better.

From a cooking point of view gas is by far better, proven by the fact that none of the professionals use induction.

Added to which, you are advised not to have one if you have a pacemaker/ICD, so if it can interfere with one of those, what exactly does it do?

Empressofthemundane · 06/02/2021 15:53

We moved from a home with gas to an induction job. I miss the gas. The induction hob isn’t as powerful. Things still boil over and get cooked on. It’s better than the old fashioned ceramic stoves, but it still never looks absolutely pristine.

That said, I know induction is better for indoor air quality.

AlternativePerspective · 06/02/2021 15:55

@ XingMing spost. When I had my ICD fitted the technician specifically mentioned induction hobs as a definite no-no

Apparently so are Dyson hair driers and Dyson fans....

Original poster
HalfWomanHalfChocolate · 06/02/2021 15:55

This is giving me a lot to think about, thanks everyone! Though opinion is very divided... Grin

Hmm, on ‘just cooking’ I do think I’d miss the gas. Though the quick boil thingy would be handy, it is offset by not being as good for stir fry etc. Does meat sear well? Can you get it hot enough to properly sear a sirloin steak, for example?

Cleaning isn’t the end of the world, but it would
be handy and I do think in an open plan kitchen the induction hobs take up a lot less space, visually. And the safety thing is attractive - I have young kids and one has SN so I do worry about him setting fire to things. I’d certainly feel a lot safer trying to teach him some self-sufficiency on an induction hob that have him setting his sleeves alight.

I just can’t shake the feeling that I might regret switching, but don’t know if I’m just being a dinosaur!

I think I might need to try one. Perhaps the temporary induction hob is a good investment, as a PP suggests?

Thanks also to people who mentioned their temperamental hobs. I’ll definitely have a better idea what to avoid if we do switch.

OP posts:
Cherryberrypies · 06/02/2021 15:56

@Ifailed

I have never seen a professional kitchen using anything but gas, if induction heating is so good, why don't they use it?
You may not have seen it but doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. There are chefs who have changed to induction as they are cleaner and more environmentally friendly than gas.

I even know a couple who installed induction in their restaurant rather than gas.

explorerdog · 06/02/2021 15:57

Absolutely love mine and I really wasn't sure.
Our house had a ceramic crappy one which was great for cleaning but nothing else.

Best things about it are how reactive it is, boiling water quicker than a kettle. Mine has a timer on each 'ring' that is just the best thing ever!
When it goes off, it turns that ring off and you can have different times on each.
We got an xtra wide 5 ring one. It's an AEG and I've had it 4 years.
Would never go back to gas

CraftyGin · 06/02/2021 15:58

I don’t love my induction hob. Yes, it’s great for cleaning, but on the other hand, doesn’t work if it is not super clean (eg if water has boiled over).

The other thing is that it doesn’t have the ‘cookability’ of gas (that ages me). Our hob is super powerful on 9, and the falls off rapidly below that. It seems that it only has two powers.

HappyThursdays · 06/02/2021 15:59

We hate ours and if we had the choice, we would go back to gas!

Can't stand the fact that it's not as sensitive as gas in terms of cooking and has so many safety features, you have to watch it's not turning itself off. We would snatch a builder's arm off to go back to gas but we can't.

CookEatRepeat · 06/02/2021 15:59

The only problem with the portable ones is that they are unlikely to be as sophisticated as a high end fitted one. So you’d have much less control and less power, so slower boiling. I cook at lot and at a reasonable standard. I find I have much more control with the induction. The only thing missing is the ability to roast veg directly on a flame and a blow torch ha fixed that!

Blackberrycream · 06/02/2021 16:01

I chose gas when I redid my kitchen. I love cooking and couldn’t see any benefit to changing. If professional kitchens were switching, I might have been more persuadable. I would have had to replace my pans too which are all heavy bottom, copper/ steel sandwich and cost a lot. It felt wasteful. I also use cast iron skillets for browning.

longtompot · 06/02/2021 16:06

I went from an induction hob to a gas and now want to keep the gas when we do our kitchen up, but I've seen a 5 burner gas hob which has a two ring induction on the side. I've only seen it on one of the house programmes, yet to find it to buy.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 06/02/2021 16:07

We don't have 'induction' as such but a Neff Ceramic hob. Our previous house was a gas hob. I wouldn't go back to a gas hob now.

A good experiment to see which one you prefer is to let a pan of jam boil over on both, and then clean it up!

filka · 06/02/2021 16:10

When planning your kitchen be aware that induction hobs use a lot of power, so you will need a thick cable and high current isolating switches. Pretty much the same as an electric oven, though those are more efficient these days.

How about a 4 ring induction hob and two gas rings along side just in case? Or you may even be able to get a combi:
www.appliancecity.co.uk/cooking/aeg-hd955100nb-88cm-mixed-induction-and-gas-hob/
I note that the gas ring is called a wok burner so that's your stir fry covered.

Candleabra · 06/02/2021 16:12

Following with interest. Will be getting a new kitchen with a new house this year and the standard kitchen has a gas hob - induction is an extra I could do without paying for (but would if it was worth it). Still weighing up what to do, so this has been very helpful.

Empressofthemundane · 06/02/2021 16:12

Yes, our induction seems to only be super hot, or very low, despite 9 numbers on the dials. And super hot is not that hot. It doesn’t work as well for searing meat for example. Sometimes the metal “sings” when the induction is on. You can here a whine coming out of the pots!

Cast iron works on induction. My all clad stainless steel with aluminium cores works. Thinnner pans work, but I think are less good on induction stoves.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 06/02/2021 16:12

Love ours!!!