Boring q, hob recommendations

[Dunnesbest]

Just discovered a crack on my ceramic hob. Its a year old, bought from a local shop that closed down so no warranty. I'm hoping to get a new kitchen next year with a large hob so I don't want to spend a lot this year. Are induction hobs worth it? As in the expense of new pots etc? Do they crack as easily as ceramic? What about gas? Or electric plates? Any thoughts very welcome

Induction hobs are brilliant. You don't necessarily need to get rid of all your pans - I can't use the old style Le Creuset casserole dishes but all my other pans that I used on my electric hob work on induction.

It's super fast to do anything. We got a 'plug and play' one that slotted into the same gap as our prior hob and plugs underneath. There are also ones that need to be wired in (if you already have that available, the hob is more powerful but you can just do the plug-in version).

Oh great advice there, if I could get a plug that would do for a while and save on installation costs. Thanks

I hate my Neff induction hob with a passion. The one positive thing I can say for it is that I'm genuinely eating more salads and less pasta because that way I can avoid having to cook anything on that fucking hob.

Why @GasperyJacquesRoberts ?

I also had an induction hob. It was great for keeping clean. It was however, a temperamental feckwit. Wow betide you if you took a pan lid off to check your spuds were soft & it dribbled water onto the surface. It would immediately light up like the dashboard on the Starship Enterprise, make lots of noise and turn itself off until you had removed every last speck of moisture. It was an annoying knob of a hob.

check Manufacturers warranty in case 2 years.

if not covered don’t do what I did and leave it, use some epoxy resin to stop the crack from spreading.otherwise you may end up with a big crack and your hob will be dangerous to use and you will need a new hob sooner rather than taking your time.

We used the opportunity to put in a gas hob. Luckily there was already gas in (the owners before us had changed to electric hob). We don’t get on with induction hobs. Easier to clean but that’s it. Just got back from an air bnb with a Neff and my friend I stay in regularly has a Siemens so it’s not to do with cheap hobs.

if you do get an expensive glass hob, I’d recommend getting an accident damage plan on it. If not included from retailer eg John Lewis buy one with domestic & general. (Easy for teens to chip edges and it spreads)

The controls are flat, touch-sensitive areas on the glass so you can't feel which bit you're supposed to be prodding, you have to look every time. This wouldn't be so bad if you could rely on it to register every touch but it doesn't. It misses every third or fourth press. If you've just washed your hands and your finger is still a bit damp then it's even less reliable. Don't even ask what happens when a pot boils over.

If it had proper dials instead of those stupid touch buttons it'd be so much better. As it is, it's a shameful example of form over function.

I bought my Schott ceramic Hob 18 years ago and it’s still going strong. Still shiny glass and still works absolutely fine after daily use. My DM bought an induction hob and cracked the edge within weeks but it is brilliant

I hate my induction hob. Yes, it's so much easier to clean than my previous gas hob but that's the only plus.

Unfortunately we don't have a gas supply now so I'm stuck.

We’ve got a neff downdraught induction hob and I really like it. It’s a proper wired in one so the kitchen wiring had to be the right spec. I’m a good cook and I Use it all the time. My DH finds it temperamental sometimes but that’s because he has no patience at all.

we had a portable induction for about 6 months during building work and that was ok as a short term fix.

I love my induction hob! I’ve got a Zanussi one. I’d never get anything else again. Not had any issues with cracking or temperamentalness. All my pans worked as well - anything that’s stainless steel or cast iron will work. You can test them with a magnet.

I love my Siemens induction hob, I’ve had none of the problems mentioned above and it’s been in since 2012. A wired in one of that makes a difference so on its own ring main, high voltage or amp (not sure of the correct terminology!) so easy to clean, very responsive to temp changes. No knobs or buttons, it’s flush with the worktop so no dirt traps anywhere.

This. Or what happens if you lift the lid and a tiny bit of water dribbles onto it. It throws a complete fit and stops working until you have dried every last speck of moisture.