Induction hob and saucepans

[Pinkrinse]

Help. Just had a new kitchen and a new induction hob installed. I am new to induction so had to purchase a few new pans. I’ve got an aeg hob with flexible heating areas. I was told that induction boils water really quickly, mine doesn’t. A cup of water in the kettle takes 48 secs. On the hob the same amount varies between 2.00 and 5mins depending on the pan. Have I bought a bad hob? Is there a fault? Or is it the pans? I’m at a loss at the moment as I’m so new to this. Any advice welcome. Bought from John Lewis and of course they are closed at the moment.

In my experience lots of pans that say they are suitable for induction just don't work well at all.

I don't look at the labels on pans anymore, just look at the base of the pan. If the base is covered in little circles it won't work. It needs to be completely flat shiny metal.

Is your induction hob hard wired in or is it plugged? In my previous house I had a top of the range samsung induction hob which cost a fortune to get hard wired.

After moving house I didn't want another hefty electrician bill so got a plug in induction hob. It works ok, but definitely not as powerful as a hard wired on.

I have mostly Tefal pans, some have circles on the bottom, some have indentations in other shapes, and none are a problem on my induction hob.
As long as the pan is made from the right materials ie contains a ferrous metal, then it should work.

Marmaladecake Thanks really useful advice!

RhubarbBikini hard wired.

Barbaraseville - yes they do.

The simplest way to check is to see if a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan. If it doesn't, or really weakly, then it's no good.

Isolapribby done that and still not brilliant!

Pans with a thicker base will take longer to heat up. I have 2 frying pans for example. The cheaper one has a thinner base and heats up quicker. The more expensive one is more substantial and takes longer to heat up. My saucepans are mid-range, and all heat up much quicker than the kettle would take.

test them with a magnet, if the magnet sticks they're ok.