OT: induction hob or ceramic hob?

[bin]

We need to replace an ancient range cooker that has a ceramic hob. I'd prefer gas but mains gas isn't available and I don't want to mess around with bottles, so the choice is induction (and some new pans) or ceramic. Induction seems to win on speed and controllability but with some risk of expensive repairs; ceramic is cheaper and simpler. I'm told that one problem with induction is that it's easy to accidentally turn them off or change the settings by putting things on the control area - are they all like that? I'm also told that ceramic hobs are much faster to heat than they were 15 year ago and that there's a slight "market shift" back to ceramic from induction. What's the experience of people here?

[Huge]

We have an induction hob and you're right about it squeeking if you put anything in the control area.

But I wouldn't go back to a ceramic hob in a million years. They're utter crap by comparison.

[Michael Chare]

+1

[critcher]

I've had an induction hob for about 12 months, it is as controllable as gas, the actual work surface is easy to keep clean, and generally is a better choice than ceramic. If you put anything on the control area when area is not live there is no noise. Mine is a Neff and has a magnetic control knob for power output which is removable, but you have to switch the main touch switch on first before it becomes operational.

try the above link and get some background knowledge before you buy.

Mine is similar to the above but cost £300 from John Lewis, it was a markdown but still with 2 year guarantee.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ive used both extensively. I probably slightly prefer induction. Mostly because it is easier to get te temeperature right without the thermal inertia of ceramicc.

The downside is that if you spill anything on te touch control they go haywire till you wipe it off...

On the upside, the top itself doesnt get so hot and bake on any spills

Both are pretty bombptoof IME. But both will crack if you drop a cast iron pot on em

[bert]

So does our ceramic hob.

[SteveE]

We've had induction for 7 years. Like Huge, no way would we be going back to ceramic.

[Peter Parry]

Definitely induction, as good as gas for controllability and no burnt on bits on top. If you have used gas before and like how easy it is to control heat you will be happy with induction.

[Tim Watts]

Induction is the bollocks - fast, easy to clean and many can match the power of a large gas burner on one or two of their "rings".

As for the control area - you shouldn't put things there anyway as the heat may damage the electronics below.

However, if you are getting a range version, it will probably have knobs on the front and no control area on top.

[Tim Watts]

That seems to vary - I've used a Miele that doesn't go mad if the control area us under water - though it becomes difficult to control. I know from videoing it (don't ask) that Miele use optical detection (it has a load of blinking IR leds in that area) - maybe others use other touch detection methods?

And they are very safe - leave it on without a pan and it will shut down and not get hot at all.

[Martin Brown]

Haven't had that as much of a problem but putting a pan or something that resembles flesh down on it can engage the child lock - which happens so infrequently it always requires finding the manual to regain control. It is a shame you cannot disable the child lock.

And scratch if you do stupid things like using it as a cutting board - this is potentially seriously damaging to it.

Ceramic hobs only advantage is that they will work with any kind of pans though they are less controllable than induction that only matters if you are in the habit of boiling milk over or something.

Similar control can be had by just lifting the pan off the ring.

I find the all digital control a bit quirky on ours since you have to select a ring and then alter its setting with +/- there isn't a slider for each ring. Previous generation had real knobs one for each ring but were a lot harder to clean as a result.

[Huge]

[40 lines snipped]

Neff? Ours is like that. It's the one thing I dislike about it.

Which is what I wanted.

Despite this!

[Brian Gaff]

Is safety for the user a concern? I know for blind people the new talking induction hobs are very welcome as they remain mostly cool when the pan is removed. Not sure about reliability though, probably not been around long enough to know. Brian

[dennis]

If you have a choice go induction.

They are easier to use and easier to clean and are safer.

The more you pay the more features you can get, like auto temperature controls on the pans. However you probably don't need them.

Any shift back to ceramic hobs will be down to how cheap they are these days, they have to be cheap to sell.

[dennis]

Same on any hob with touch controls. You can buy induction hobs with knobs if wanted.

Not really surprising as they are both ceramic tops and only the heating elements are different.

I have seen hobs with induction and halogen elements if you need to use a pan that's not induction compatible.

[Graeme]

In message , [e-mail] writes

You have probably made up your mind but, if you like gas, bottles are not a major hassle. We have two large bottles outside, with a changeover valve, and a full bottle lasts at least a year. OK, hassle to take an empty bottle to the garage once a year, but other than that, simple, and a pleasure to use.

[Martin Brown]

Yes. Otherwise it is a fine piece of kit. Previous was too and served for another decade in our village hall kitchen before being scrapped.

I hope the next generation will have a slider.

[Huge]

That's what we had in our last house. And the enormous man with no neck who delivered the gas used to swap the bottles (at 47kg + the weight of the bottle, I couldn't even pick them up - that's why I bought a sack barrow!) TBH, gas is very slightly more controllable than induction, but way dirtier. All things considered, induction has it.

[SteveE]

"Brian Gaff" wrote: On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:32:58 -0000

The safety is improved significantly Brian. Anther thing that helps in this respect is that the hobs sense a pan being removed and go into a sleep-mode until the pan is replaced. They also sense extremely hot (boiled-dry) pans and cut the particular "ring" off.

Another feature connected to the low-surface temperature of the hob itself is that splashy things like pasta that should be cooked with the lid off can be cooked with a square of kitchen towel between hob and pan.

Had ours now for seven years and apart from a few scratches has, so far, been faultless.

"Brian Gaff" wrote:

[Brian Reay]

We had a ceramic hob on our previous cooker, which we brought to this house which had a gas hob.

I grew to like the gas hob but my wife didn't care for it and I swapped the kitchen around to use the cooker we had.

When we came to have the kitchen replaced, I was keen on having either a range cooker or at least a gas hob, my wife wanted an induction hob.

We got an induction hob ;-)

Of the three options (plus we've had normal a cooker), the induction hob wins 'hand down'. It is as 'controllable' as a gas hob (the feature I like- I'd never used gas in a domestic setting before), easy to clean, etc. While it does get hot due to conduction from the pans, it doesn't get hot enough for things to 'burn on' etc.

You do need a dedicate 'spur' for the hob, we have spurs for each oven and the hob. Plus you need pans which are compatible- some of ours weren't - including a much used pressure cooker (not all stainless steel pans are compatible).

My only regret, we went for 4 'rings' rather than a larger hob. Even now, with just two of us, I find sometime more 'rings' would be useful when cooking 'fancy' meals.

Ours is an AEG, as are the other were the other appliances. The hob is one of the few which hasn't given us any issues.