Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

Original poster

Are new induction hobs really better than gas?

21 replies

vbus · 26/01/2011 19:29

About to change kitchen. We don't have gas into current kitchen as have an old fashioned slow electric hob which is such a pain to cook with. However, it is really easy to clean and looks pretty sleek.

Someone suggested that the new induction hobs are actually faster than gas hobs. Does anyone have experience of this? I'm a fan of gas hobs so need some persuading!

Plus do you need extra power built into kitchen to run new induction hob? Roughly what is the cost for this?
TIA

OP posts:

bitzermaloney · 27/01/2011 13:02

Bumping for you (am interested in this too). You need special pans for induction hobs as well, don't you?

Original poster

vbus · 27/01/2011 13:19

Thanks, was about to bump myself!

Good point about pans, I hadn't thought about that

OP posts:

CharlieBoo · 27/01/2011 14:00

We having new kitchen too and the guy in John Lewis was teling us about the new induction hobs....he said they are amazing. You do need special pans though...which I think could be a pain...

I am switching from gas to electric hob...am I mad?? I love gas but its a pain to clean, food gets underneath a lot and I am forever cleaning it. I though a ceramic electric hob would be much easier...

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 14:01

There are pros and cons of both. Induction looks more modern, is as responsive as gas, you can have individually timed rings - it switches off when a pan over boils - which might be annoying. No chance of anything catching fire - no flames so considered safer. Easy to clean. But you have to replace most of your pans - use a magnet to check out which ones - if it sticks it will work.

lifeisabowlofcherries · 27/01/2011 14:15

After being really reluctant to have induction (have always had gas for the speed) I absolutely love it now. Easy to clean, heats up soooo quickly and just feels safer with the kids around - although will admit the pan issue was a pain to start with. Definitely wouldnt go back to gas now.

Original poster

vbus · 27/01/2011 14:16

Pinkcushion - Thanks for tip about testing with magnet, will do that now

Charlieboo - Good luck with electric hob, yes, you might miss the gas but think of all the time you'll save cleaning the new hob!

OP posts:

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 14:44

Cernamic is not the same as induction - although they look pretty similar. A ceramic is nowhere near as responsive and is definitely not a good substitute for gas.

The magnet test surprised me - lots of my pans will not be suitable...some of my favourites will not be suitable but I will live with that...I hate a dirty hob and I'm fed up with all the fiddlely bits on a gas hob.

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 14:45

Meant Ceramic - of course!

GetOrfMoiLand · 27/01/2011 14:55

Induction is fantastic - I have always been a fan of gas hobs but I would not go back to one now.

Yes you do need special pans - however my Le Creuset work, and pans in shops are labeled 'suitable for induction'. Stainless steel ones don't work.

They heat up immediately, are so easy to clean, and the heat is very easy to control (for instance you can leave a casserole to cook on the lowest heat for hours, it is as safe as a slow cooker).

CharlieBoo · 27/01/2011 21:16

Ooh should I change my order to an induction do you think? How much would i be looking at for new pans? Thanks

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 21:28

Most definitely - gas or induction there's no other choice for someone who wants instantaneous temperature control.

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 21:31

Not sure about the cost of pans - have a look at John Lewis and Lakeland, I think they make their owm brand induction friendly pans at a reasonable cost.

CharlieBoo · 27/01/2011 21:43

Great stuff... I vaguely remember there being an offer with some free pans on one of the induction hobs at John Lewis. Thanks for your help

pinkcushion · 27/01/2011 22:11

I think it's Neff who have the free pans offer. It will be cheaper to source the hob online even if you have to buy the pans you want separately.

verysomething · 29/01/2011 16:07

Sorry but I hated the induction hob in my last house, it was a big fat PITA. It's just not intuitive like gas and there's usually no nice simple knobs. At the crucial moment you need to turn heat up/down you will always find yourself stabbing at unresponsive "+ or -" buttons where 1 is very low and 10 is very high...

And no visitor (grandparents, childminders) will ever be able to work the damn thing out, so you'll come home to them saying "sorry we couldn't cook dinner for DCs because we couldn't work the blasted hob so we had to give them crisps instead".

And a well meaning cleaner or grandparent will scratch it from using the wrong cleaning product as the list of things you can't use on it is very long, and it will look shit.

Don't even get me started on trying to stir-fry properly on induction.

PorkChopSter · 29/01/2011 16:12

I am growing to like our induction very much = it's quicker than a kettle at getting water boiling.

In the first few months weeks I managed to burn everything to the bottom of every some pans, and boiled over numerous pots because there is no hissing as the water hits the hot surface (no hot surface). Ours is also flush with the kitchen surface so looks good and v easy to clean. The timer-off function is very very useful.

Hatesponge · 29/01/2011 16:20

My hob is part induction - 2 of the rings are, the other 2 are normal. I do love the induction ones though, they are v quick and clean.

Re saucepans, lots do work on it, even smartprice ones from asda :)

bitzermaloney · 30/01/2011 20:40

Can anyone recommend a 5-ring induction hob? There don't seem to be very many of them, and those there are seem eye-wateringly expensive, much more so than the 4-ring ones.

CointreauVersial · 30/01/2011 22:30

I love my induction hob - super-fast (like Porkchop I managed to burn a few things before I cottoned on how fast it could be), no burnt-on grime (because the glass never gets particularly hot), and instant response.

Most of my pans were on their last legs, so replacing them wasn't an issue. Funnily enough, my cheapo Argos pan left over from student days still worked!

Induction pans are no more expensive than regular ones, just harder to find. I bought a set in Ikea that were pretty inexpensive.

One little down-side - if you have all four rings on at once, you can't have them all on high, or they tend to "pulse". But that's a pretty rare occurrence.

I would never go back to gas. All those fiddly bits to clean.....

Original poster

vbus · 02/02/2011 12:48

thanks for all your comments. have to admit I'm tempted by the induction. I did the magnet test all my pans are fine apart from my two faves, typical

OP posts:

CharlieBoo · 02/02/2011 13:57

Hi, I changed my order to an induction and got a set of free pans with it...that I have to send off for. Will let you know how I get on with it. Thanks

Flip