OT: induction hob or ceramic hob?

[Capitol]

I prefer gas/electric hobs. Very difficult to find in the UK though.

[Robin]

As we are facing a kitchen refit, did you (or others) consider buying a single, free-standing old-style ring for occasional use with incompatible stuff? I can see the risk that it'll turn out to be too much bother to pull it out of a cupboard for use with the pressure cooker, fish kettle, jam pan etc. But it is a bit of a bugger to have to replace everything at once.

[Tim Lamb]

Yes. She has insisted on a two burner gas hob as well. Tracpipe laid in screed already.

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[harry]

There is also "halogen hobs" to consider.

Cheaper than induction but faster than a conventional ceramic hob.

[harry]

Bear in mind, the initial cost of the gas bottle. If you finish with gas and take the bottle back, they won't refund it.

[Graeme]

In message , harry writes

Didn't know that, because, luckily, there were two bottles here when we moved in. They were feeding a gas fire which has now been removed.

[DICEGEORGE]

i've heard a rumour that induction hobs can stop heart pacemakers.

theres one in Lidl for £30

[george]

[SteveE]

We purchased one of the very basic cheap camping rings e.g.

or:

We use that with our glass coffee maker daily and occasionally with other induction-incompatible pots and pans. At about 9" square, it doesn't take too much benchtop and is left out permanently.

[Brian Reay]

We had a double burner gas camping stove and a microwave. Our garage is integral and has a utility area so we just set up a table and cooked in there for a few days. A bit a planning to ensure we had some pre-prepared meals in the freezer (we generally bulk cook some things anyway) and it was no big deal.

In the past, when I've refitted kitchens myself, we just ensured we had the essentials working within a day. When we had a company in to do the job, we essentially abandoned the kitchen although that was more our choice than a requirement- it seemed like less hassle.

[Vir Campestris]

We have bottled gas. It's rubbish.

In our old house we had an induction hob for a year or so (before I was made redundant, and had to move for work).

The new kitchen is on the jobs list. It will have an induction hob. It's cleaner, faster, more controllable and safer.

The only down side that I know of is that you can't use a wok or similar round bottomed pan. I bought a sauté pan to do that job.

Andy

[Vir Campestris]

My mum has halogen. It's a bit better than ceramic - probably as good as a conventional electric. But compared to induction? It's slow, and things burn on to it.

Andy

[Huge]

That's a little strong. Ceramic hobs are rubbish. Bottled gas is merely inconvenient.

You also can't scorch peppers in order to peel them.

[Bob Minchin]

Do you have any aluminium pans? they wont work with induction hobs.

[dennis]

My aluminium ones do.. they have a steel disk inside the base.

My stainless ones also have a different stainless steel disk in the base.. the rest of the pans use a different stainless alloy that isn't magnetic. Some stainless is magnetic but some foods will attack it so it not really suitable for cookware.

[Brian Reay]

I'm intrigued by your final comment.

I was aware that some stainless steel wasn't magnetic but not that the magnetic stuff is attacked by some foods etc.

While some ss pans have embedded discs, others are made of magnetic ss, are you suggesting they are all unsuitable was cookware?

We have a mixed of types- some Le Creuet pans with embedded discs and some others (I forget the make- European) which are magnetic stainless steel. The latter don't should signs of being 'attacked' after circa 9 years.

[dennis]

Are you sure they aren't a laminated construction?

I have some where the magnetic layer appears to be seamless but the instructions tell you its a three layer construction with the centre being an alloy with less chromium in it.

Its the chromium that makes it stainless and you need about 16+% to make it corrosion resistant. 16+% chromium makes it austenitic.. non magnetic. You really want 16+% chromium for food stuff as lower grades can be damaged by some food stuffs. Common one are lables 16:8 stainless which I think is chromium:nickel percentages.

[Rob Morley]

Why does it need to be magnetic anyway? Any conductor can have a current induced in it, surely it's this current that causes the heating effect? After all copper isn't magnetic, but copper wound transformers make good use of magnetic fields.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

What is one of those and what is the point?

[dennis]

If you pay enough then yes it could be done, they use induction to melt copper and aluminium in furnaces. However on the scale of an induction hob it just isn't worth the problems/cost.

[Vir Campestris]

It's not a little strong. Maybe it's our hob though.

One small burner, two middle ones, and a big one - plus a wok burner we never use. There's no overlap in the power outputs between the sizes. Max on small is about the same as min on middle (etc).

Andy