Induction Hob … yes or no? And worktop advice.

[Kitchendilemas]

Hi
Can anybody who currently has an induction hob give me some advice/tips/recommendations?
I’m looking to replace a very old kitchen, with a gas hob. I’m moving the hob location and planning to upgrade to an induction hob. I’m not sure which one to buy? Regular or one with built in extraction? Which brand? Any great features I should look out for?
Some friends have advised to keep gas, as the induction hobs are temperamental and don’t work well?
I am confused and need to decide soon.
i am also thinking of 20mm Quartz, is this better/ worse than 30mm?

We were forced to change when our block of flats decided to remove the gas supply to the few remaining flats that used gas (heating is done via communal boilers). We both thought we would miss gas SO much and were a bit annoyed, but were proved wrong.
Husband who does most of the cooking is in LOVE with the induction hob (Bosch, not integrated, reasonably-priced) and I do not miss gas at all.

Didn’t seem that complex with us and we did need a new fuse box. Electricians did something in the ceiling above the fuse box which is down a hall. 🤷‍♀️

To all the induction fans, does anyone have a Ringmaster induction or do you know if they're as good as the ones mentioned on this thread?

We currently have a freestanding Zanussi cooker with induction hob, moving house soon and will need to replace the kitchen in the new house and one of the only decisions I’ve made so far is that we’re definitely getting another induction hob! I would never go back to gas. Haven’t experienced it being temperamental and I drag stuff all over it, including heavy cast iron, and it’s never scratched.

Rangemaster!

We can't have gas here so have an induction range cooker. I wouldn't go back now, it's so quick to heat up, fantastic control and easy to wipe clean. We did have to have our electrics adapted to accommodate it.

Ours is wired into the electric cooker point. So if you have an electric oven anyway then it can go to that. Otherwise it’s not to big a job I don’t think.

Just adding as well that I love how low the heat on the induction can go. On gas I could never have things on a low simmer.

We had the whole house rewired so I’m certainly hoping I wouldn’t need any further work done🤞🏼….I’ll maybe speak to my friendly sparky before I get too excited!

We thought about getting a gas ring too…but that would have been the only gas in the house as oil Central heating.

got a neff with built in down draft extractor, it’s quite (not dreadfully) noisy on full power. It’s very effective though. It does take up quite a bit of room underneath but not a whole cupboard. We also have the removable button….only lost it once briefly.
Flexizone too which is useful. Make a perfectly fine stir fry…as good as it was on gas.
I really like it.

Love mine. Never going back to gas now. I have a free standing oven, so no integrated pieces, but it has lasted well. John Lewis about 10 years ago.

You may find you have enough hardwires( I’m no sparkie).We only had one hardwire which we needed for something else and house hadn’t had any electrics work for 30 years . Have a look at the appliances you’re thinking of which need hard wiring and how many you’ve got. You e probably got more if it’s just been redone.I wanted to be able to use everything at full blast whenever I want. Think the plug in ones go down if power demand is too high. Think that’s the gist of it. As I said I’m no sparkie though .

Siemens induction hob here. Have had induction for about 10 years now, in 2 different houses. Would never go back to gas, such a pain to clean! Would recommend flexible zones as I can put a big pan across several zones and control them as one. No worries about pan size either as it only heats up the area under the pan. As to whether your pans will work with induction, check if the base is magnetic. Easy to check by putting the pan base against the seal on your fridge door. If it sticks, it will be fine.

OP, wouldn't worry about how powerful an induction hob is in relation to the trip switches in your electric box. Any electrician coming in to move power points can deal with it. We're literally have our kitchen ripped out tomorrow and electrician says he can do whatever is needed with the trip switches.

We have a Schott Ceran induction hob. I love it. Really easy to clean and energy efficient.
I have white and grey fleck quartz worktops. Whilst they look beautiful I wouldn’t choose quartz again.
It stains so easily ( Barkeepers Friend on standby) and needs protecting from heat. I have a huge Joseph Joseph worktop saver by the hob and a few trivets.
It’s meant to be hard wearing but ours chips very easily on the edges e.g. if you catch it with a plate putting it in the dishwasher.

@40To41we have a Rangemaster induction which came with the house we’ve just moved into. Previously we had a Neff induction. Can see no discernible difference between the two. Love induction hobs.

Another Neff induction (Schott Ceran glass)owner here. Ours is 11 years old, looks brand new, though very close up you can see some tiny surface scratching. Never used anything other than hot water to clean, no chemicals ever, buffed off with a spotless ecloth(the silky ones). If it went wrong I'd definitely buy another Neff.
Before buying the induction I'd had gas hobs for thirty odd years but in my tiny kitchen I wanted something as streamlined as possible, wouldn't go back.

I’ve just very dangerously found a rather nice Neff with 18 months interest free credit…

Induction hobs are amazing. And not just because I don't have to get up throughout the night multiple times to obsessively check I turned the gas off.

They are really responsive and so much cleaner than gas. We have a neff n70. I sometimes miss having physical buttons but that's the only slight negative.

Ours is a vented hob. You can recirculate but we vent outside under the floor. No more noisy than a regular extractor hood.

We have 30mm quartz but we have an inframe shaker kitchen so I think it looks good with traditional kitchens. 20mm looks good on more modern kitchens I feel.

I need a new hob as my AEG broke this week when someone was trying to remove it from the worktop. I didn’t like it particularly. Yes the boost feature was great for quickly boiling water but I could never get the right setting for simmering.

I’ve been thinking about getting a gas hob installed. The main downside I think is cleaning the hob.

Any other fans of gas?

I will look at NEFF after all the recommendations on this thread

thanks @Kitchendilemas for starting this thread

I share your pain about simmering. Also the fact that it turns itself off if you lift a pan to shake something, or of there is the slightest bit of moisture over the side.

It's impossible to stir fry anything, or do pancakes as the darn thing just turns itself off.

@HappiestSleeping - are you sure yours isnt broken? It shouldn’t turn off if you just lift the pan? Just put pan back on and it carries on. I stir fry and make pancakes all the time. And simmer

Absolutely this. Induction all the way.

I’ve had a Bosch induction for 13 years, would never go back!

To be honest, it could be, but it doesn't give a few seconds and starts beeping before turning itself off. I don't find the time it allows long enough for the way I cook.

I can't say I haven't given it a fair chance though as we've had it a few years now.

Would never go back to gas. Love induction.
Jeffrey is meant to be good. I went for a Range master and love it. Touch wood no problems 7 years on