13 amp induction hobs - yes or no?
Discussion
Unfortunately for DS, a real chef showed up.
21TonyK said:
Few years ago I was not a fan of induction and I am still gas at home (often induction at work as a chef) but a good induction hob is fine for 95% of stuff at home. Not so sure about 13A though. I'd probably want more than that for home. A single "burner" on my work ones are 3.5kW, (16A?)
We've always had gas, be it in range cooker or hob format. Our last range was excellent as it had what I would call a wok burner. We've recently redone our kitchen and have gone induction, Bora Pure X. I'm really pleased with it so far. It's a 32A supply though. We've regularly used 3 of the 4 zones so I'd be wary of one that limits what you may need to do in terms of having a number of them on a high setting at the same time, I suspect that may be a bit tedious.
However, I'm not a professional chef ;-)
However, I'm not a professional chef ;-)
DoubleSix said:
Induction is binary. An induction pan is either inside or outside of the reactive field. It doesn't "induct a bit less" as you gradually lift the pan to stop fried rice from catching or impart heat to a delicate sauce.
A magnetic field obeys the inverse square law, but more importantly, you can lift the pan away from the hob or just turn it down a bit.To the poster who keeps boiling his pasta over - you need to keep an eye on it and turn it down at the appropriate time. It would boil over if you left it full blast on gas too!
Simpo Two said:
DoubleSix said:
Induction is binary. An induction pan is either inside or outside of the reactive field. It doesn't "induct a bit less" as you gradually lift the pan to stop fried rice from catching or impart heat to a delicate sauce.
A magnetic field obeys the inverse square law, but more importantly, you can lift the pan away from the hob or just turn it down a bit.To the poster who keeps boiling his pasta over - you need to keep an eye on it and turn it down at the appropriate time. It would boil over if you left it full blast on gas too!
Put a Bosch induction hob in my new kitchen, best thing in it. No new pans needed as all my pans were already induction compatible, wipe clean, no gas bits to clean or knobs to collect dirt, very controllable, turns power off to ring when you move the pan away and back on when you move it back.
You can probably wire it into the same 32a feed as the oven and you’ll get more than 13a into it, the Bosch hob works out what power’s available to it. The boost mode (on mine) works on any of the four rings but only one at a time and I’ve never needed to speed boil on all four rings at the same time it’s never been a problem.
ETA: Now use a ‘hob’ kettle as it’s just as quick as a (cabled) electric kettle and there’s an argument it’s more efficient as there’s no element to heat up. May or may not be true, but saves having a kettle permanently taking up a socket and a cable across the worktop.
You can probably wire it into the same 32a feed as the oven and you’ll get more than 13a into it, the Bosch hob works out what power’s available to it. The boost mode (on mine) works on any of the four rings but only one at a time and I’ve never needed to speed boil on all four rings at the same time it’s never been a problem.
ETA: Now use a ‘hob’ kettle as it’s just as quick as a (cabled) electric kettle and there’s an argument it’s more efficient as there’s no element to heat up. May or may not be true, but saves having a kettle permanently taking up a socket and a cable across the worktop.
Edited by Dashnine on Thursday 16th May 21:54
We switched to induction, I'm not sure of the figure but it's more than 13 amp.
Ours is a Neff. After much research we went for once one of those that has a removable magnetic wheel to do the controls as I read the touch controls can be frustrating. Really easy to use.
I don't see any draw backs over gas control wise. Being able to boil a pan of water for veg etc in a matter of seconds is handy. Has zones so you can cook on skillets, casserole dishes etc, gets really hot for searing steaks and other meats. Ours is meant to have an over boil feature when it automatically reduces the power if you take your eye off and something starts to boil over, but on the odd occasion that's happened it's a bit laggy.
Ours is a Neff. After much research we went for once one of those that has a removable magnetic wheel to do the controls as I read the touch controls can be frustrating. Really easy to use.
I don't see any draw backs over gas control wise. Being able to boil a pan of water for veg etc in a matter of seconds is handy. Has zones so you can cook on skillets, casserole dishes etc, gets really hot for searing steaks and other meats. Ours is meant to have an over boil feature when it automatically reduces the power if you take your eye off and something starts to boil over, but on the odd occasion that's happened it's a bit laggy.
DoubleSix said:
Simpo Two said:
DoubleSix said:
Induction is binary. An induction pan is either inside or outside of the reactive field. It doesn't "induct a bit less" as you gradually lift the pan to stop fried rice from catching or impart heat to a delicate sauce.
A magnetic field obeys the inverse square law, but more importantly, you can lift the pan away from the hob or just turn it down a bit.To the poster who keeps boiling his pasta over - you need to keep an eye on it and turn it down at the appropriate time. It would boil over if you left it full blast on gas too!
AdamV12V said:
Tant said:
Big no from me...we had one and it limits the power between the 4 rings so if you want all 4 on they can barely manage to simmer a pan. It was impossible to have 2 rings on full power, so very limiting in what you can do unless it's a one pot meal.
Ended up upgrading the supply to it and now have a different hob where we can have all 4 on full whack, also 2 on the left can be combined so you can put a large rectangular "tray" on it.
This ^^^ is exactly what I was describing above is the issue with a limited Amp supply. Ended up upgrading the supply to it and now have a different hob where we can have all 4 on full whack, also 2 on the left can be combined so you can put a large rectangular "tray" on it.
Of course it all depends on how and what you cook, so for some people it will seem just fine, for others rather limiting indeed.
Plus, easy to clean, super safe, and when you finally break it, it's replaceable in a day without needing an electrician.
Gary C said:
13A is far to low unless you are going to cook with no more than two pans.
Ours is a 30A NEFF and its ok but four pans means it has to switch between them until fully up to temperature whereas the gas could run all four at full power all the time.
We have an AEG 30amp jobbie and it throttles the power automatically, when my wife turns everything up to maximum. Ours is a 30A NEFF and its ok but four pans means it has to switch between them until fully up to temperature whereas the gas could run all four at full power all the time.
To be honest though, in the five years we have had it, I have only missed gass once, while trying too cook noodles in a wok. To be fair though, it still turned out ok.
Road2Ruin said:
Gary C said:
13A is far to low unless you are going to cook with no more than two pans.
Ours is a 30A NEFF and its ok but four pans means it has to switch between them until fully up to temperature whereas the gas could run all four at full power all the time.
We have an AEG 30amp jobbie and it throttles the power automatically, when my wife turns everything up to maximum. Ours is a 30A NEFF and its ok but four pans means it has to switch between them until fully up to temperature whereas the gas could run all four at full power all the time.
To be honest though, in the five years we have had it, I have only missed gass once, while trying too cook noodles in a wok. To be fair though, it still turned out ok.
Another vote for Induction.
The good lady would never go back to gas. Those filthy, fiddly, rattly burners and rings are a distant memory.
Induction gives you one sheet of glass to wipe down, that took longer to type than do !
As mentioned by others, the pans just need to be steel or iron, or have a base of the same. Maybe ' Induction Branded ' pans were expensive when the hobs first appeared, a marketing opportunity perhaps ?. Today most pans I see are suitable, whether branded or stores own brand.
Ours is a Siemens which at time was also available with Bosch or NEFF badges. We just bought the one that had the best price at the time. Years old now, still smart and working as on day one.
The good lady would never go back to gas. Those filthy, fiddly, rattly burners and rings are a distant memory.
Induction gives you one sheet of glass to wipe down, that took longer to type than do !
As mentioned by others, the pans just need to be steel or iron, or have a base of the same. Maybe ' Induction Branded ' pans were expensive when the hobs first appeared, a marketing opportunity perhaps ?. Today most pans I see are suitable, whether branded or stores own brand.
Ours is a Siemens which at time was also available with Bosch or NEFF badges. We just bought the one that had the best price at the time. Years old now, still smart and working as on day one.
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