Ceramic hobs?

[Nano2nd]

I'm just redoing my kitchen and am torn better getting a Ceramic hob or sticking with a gas hob, either way i've gotta buy one as the current gas one is knackered!

Anyone had experiences of both? how do they compare? Unfortunately i can't afford an induction one so thats not an option....

Also for the electricians, Ceramic hobs need a 30 amp supply, would i be able to connect this to the same supply as the electric oven? or would i need to run another supply?

[motco]

Nice and easy to clean but slow to respond and to boil large pans. Pans MUST have dead flat bottoms to make the heat transfer effective unless the hob is halogen.

[rustyspit]

I'd take gas over ceramic (but induction over gas). Our old ceramic hob took a long time to get up to temperature, but was positively nuclear once it got going - not at all responsive and my wife found it very difficult to cook with (possibly due to a lack of patience, forward thinking or any kind of mechanical sympathy... ).

Induction is awesome though....

[ATTAK Z]

rustyspit said:

Induction is awesome though....

+1

[NerveAgent]

Do induction hobs cool down quicker? The problem I have with ceramic hobs is that if stuff starts to boil over and you turn it down it takes an ages to actually cool down

[ATTAK Z]

NerveAgent said:

Do induction hobs cool down quicker? The problem I have with ceramic hobs is that if stuff starts to boil over and you turn it down it takes an ages to actually cool down

It's the pan that heats up on induction hobs, not the ceramic surface - however the pan does transfer some heat back to the ceramic surface by conduction. Induction hobs are as controllable as gas

[rustyspit]

NerveAgent said:

Do induction hobs cool down quicker? The problem I have with ceramic hobs is that if stuff starts to boil over and you turn it down it takes an ages to actually cool down

More or less instantly - the hob itself is never heated at all, it only gets hot from the heat conducted from the base of the pan. I can put ours on boost, boil a big pan of water from cold (faster than our fast-boil kettle), then lift the pan off and touch the hob immediately without burning myself .

Obviously it's not cold, and you couldn't hold your hand on it for any length of time, but if I did that with a ceramic hob, I'd have a hand like that Gestapo agent in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[ATTAK Z]

Echo?

[rustyspit]

ATTAK Z said:

Echo?

Echo .. Echo ..

[anonymous-user]

You would need a separate electrical supply to the hob if you were going to do it properly.

[micky g]

Most modern ceramic hobs have 'quick' zones which work, well, quicker!

Halogen hobs are very quick but expensive.

Induction hobs are head and shoulders above the rest and are now reasonable in price.

Wrt electrical supplies, you will need a dedicated 30+ amp (check) supply for the hob. If you have a single oven, they will usually (check) run off a 13 amp supply, a double will require a dedicated 30+ amp. Hth.

Btw, if you buy an induction hob, buy De Dietrich, best vfm on the market in my opinion.

Edited by micky g on Sunday 31st August 13:07

[Jonny_]

If by ceramic hob you mean the old-fashioned (and probably el cheapo) solid hotplate type then avoid these like the plague. They're utter, utter dogste disguised as a cooking appliance. Unless you like waiting half an hour for the frigging thing to warm up, then realising that its now too hot and requires a similar length of time to cool to a usable level.

Unless you can stretch to induction or halogen then always go for gas (and I'm not convinced that either has much advantage over gas, plus electricity is much more expensive per kilowatt-hour than gas).

[thinfourth2]

Think of it this way

If you have a power cut how you going to have a cup of tea if your hob is also electric

[motco]

One huge drawback with gas is that it evolves water just by burning and steams the place up even more than the cooking alone.

[AndrewTait]

I've had both gas and ceramic in the past, and never had a problem with either. The gas tends to be more controlable though.

[Nano2nd]

forgot about this thread, thank for all the info, i'm gonna stick with Gas i think, it also means i don't have to muck about with the electrics

[Jetl3on]

But dont buy the old style metal top, that requires an angle grinder to clean them. Get a black glass top, with the cool `X` hobs rings, they take seconds to clean, nothing sticks to them and they do look the bizniss.

[Simpo Two]

Nano2nd said:

forgot about this thread, thank for all the info, i'm gonna stick with Gas i think, it also means i don't have to muck about with the electrics

Fitted an induction hob a few months ago, to replace ugly old gas hob. Now I have the benefits of both, and stuff heats up far quicker (no heat wasted up the sides). Much easier to connect than gas - one wire - and of course easy to clean and a handy extra flat surface to put shopping on

[Davi]

Simpo Two said:

Nano2nd said:

forgot about this thread, thank for all the info, i'm gonna stick with Gas i think, it also means i don't have to muck about with the electrics

Fitted an induction hob a few months ago, to replace ugly old gas hob. Now I have the benefits of both, and stuff heats up far quicker (no heat wasted up the sides). Much easier to connect than gas - one wire - and of course easy to clean and a handy extra flat surface to put shopping on

Have to say have been a life long anti-electric hob person, my parents have just fitted an induction hob and I'm almost swayed into putting one in when we redo our kitchen in a couple of months. Only downsides I can see are that you can't really use a wok on them, and I've yet to find a large range style cooker with an induction top!

[Nano2nd]

Jetl3on said:

But dont buy the old style metal top, that requires an angle grinder to clean them. Get a black glass top, with the cool `X` hobs rings, they take seconds to clean, nothing sticks to them and they do look the bizniss.

do u have any links? i haven't seen those