Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get certain
technical info.

What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.

What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners? My reason for asking
is as follows.

I have a Stellar portable induction hob and it refuses to recognise my
smallest pan. This is a pan also made by Stellar and is labelled
"Induction". The hob handbook says that the minimum pan size is 8cm dia
base; this pan is 11-12cm dia so well above the minimum. I took the pan
back to the shop where I bought it and they gave me a new one; still the
same.

I've talked to the shop (different one) where I bought the hob and they
want it back to send to the manufacturer but that is a problem since I've
switched the range off for the summer and the hob is my way of cooking our
evening meal. However, the hob seems to be starting to get iffy with the
next pan size up now - have been occasions when I've had to move it around
the hob a bit to trigger it. Enquiries are continuing. I reckon now to take
the hob and my pan back to the "hob shop" so they can see it for themselves.

After this trouble I'd perhaps have second thoughts about induction but it
happens to be the most viable solution to my kitchen circumstances.

Does anybody know of a source of technical info that you don't reach by
simply googling for the hobs please?

Jane

-- 

Jane Gillett   :   j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk   :   Totnes, Devon.

Jane Gillett wrote:
> Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get certain
> technical info.
> 
> What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.
> 
> What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners? My reason for asking
> is as follows.
> 
> I have a Stellar portable induction hob and it refuses to recognise my
> smallest pan. This is a pan also made by Stellar and is labelled
> "Induction". The hob handbook says that the minimum pan size is 8cm dia
> base; this pan is 11-12cm dia so well above the minimum. I took the pan
> back to the shop where I bought it and they gave me a new one; still the
> same.
> 
> I've talked to the shop (different one) where I bought the hob and they
> want it back to send to the manufacturer but that is a problem since I've
> switched the range off for the summer and the hob is my way of cooking our
> evening meal. However, the hob seems to be starting to get iffy with the
> next pan size up now - have been occasions when I've had to move it around
> the hob a bit to trigger it. Enquiries are continuing. I reckon now to take
> the hob and my pan back to the "hob shop" so they can see it for themselves.

I would do that, as what little I know about induction hobs, the pan 
size should not come into the equation unless the induction element was 
quite large in diameter. Se this link for further info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking

You might have to cut and paste this, it hasn't come as a link on my 
computer.

 From what you write, I suspect the hob is at fault. Try writing to the 
uk.diy news group, there will be others on there that can answer better 
then me.

> 
> After this trouble I'd perhaps have second thoughts about induction but it
> happens to be the most viable solution to my kitchen circumstances.
> 
> Does anybody know of a source of technical info that you don't reach by
> simply googling for the hobs please?

I did a google for induction hobs and about 3/4 way down the first page 
is a wiki entry, see the link above.
> 
> Jane
>

"Jane Gillett"  wrote in message 
news:4fc563e399j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk...
> Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get 
> certain
> technical info.
>
> What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.

Lakeland have a Kenwood hob rated at 1800W

> What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners?

Sorry, they don't say.

In article <g6iktr$hqn$1@aioe.org>,
   Kevin T-man  wrote:

> "Jane Gillett"  wrote in message 
> news:4fc563e399j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk...
> > Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get 
> > certain
> > technical info.
> >
> > What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.

> Lakeland have a Kenwood hob rated at 1800W

Yes. That's the rating I want, but for built in hobs not the portable ones
and I can't find it. We need to know what electrical supply the hob would
need - not an unusual question one would think.

> > What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners?

> Sorry, they don't say. 

Yeh. Same everywhere. The Stellar one didn't say on the packaging or ,
IIRC, on any websites I read but the 8cm minimum was in the handbook inside
the box. An 8cm min is not a problem - don't think I'd ever need a pan that
small but I do use my 11cm one for small quantities and boiled eggs.

 I agree with another poster (thanks, my software won't let me go back and
look for your name without losing this post) that it looks as though the
hob is faulty but it's a case of getting that accepted without losing the
hob for a while - the shop wants to send it back to the manufacturers and
it's in use for all the larger pans. I think I'll take it and the little
pan to the hob shop and see if they'll test it while I'm there - and take
it from there. They're not being difficult - they just want to be sure that
it's the hob that's faulty and they'll replace it.

Cheers
Jane

-- 

Jane Gillett   :   j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk   :   Totnes, Devon.

"Jane Gillett"  wrote in message 
news:4fc563e399j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk...
> Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get 
> certain
> technical info.
>
> What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.

They vary, the portable units seem to start at about 1400watts while the 
commercial standalone units go as  high as 3000watts. I've got a portable 
Kenwood unit rated at 1800watts.


> What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners? My reason for asking
> is as follows.

It's pretty easy to check, you'll need a compatible frying pan. Just pour a 
little bit of water in and turn the hob to high - After a few seconds, 
you'll see a ring of bubbles as the water boils above the induction ring.

I've just tried this, and the ring of bubbles indicates that my unit has a 
single ring about 3 and 1/2 inches or 9-10cm in diameter.

> I have a Stellar portable induction hob and it refuses to recognise my
> smallest pan. This is a pan also made by Stellar and is labelled
> "Induction". The hob handbook says that the minimum pan size is 8cm dia
> base; this pan is 11-12cm dia so well above the minimum. I took the pan
> back to the shop where I bought it and they gave me a new one; still the
> same.
>
> I've talked to the shop (different one) where I bought the hob and they
> want it back to send to the manufacturer but that is a problem since I've
> switched the range off for the summer and the hob is my way of cooking our
> evening meal. However, the hob seems to be starting to get iffy with the
> next pan size up now - have been occasions when I've had to move it around
> the hob a bit to trigger it. Enquiries are continuing. I reckon now to 
> take
> the hob and my pan back to the "hob shop" so they can see it for 
> themselves.

These hobs have a sensor, which can detect when the pan is moved to far 
away. I would guess that this might be malfunctioning.

> After this trouble I'd perhaps have second thoughts about induction but it
> happens to be the most viable solution to my kitchen circumstances.

I've got an electric cooker which serves nicely for most things, I bought 
the induction hob as the best way to do a decent stir fry - I've got to say 
that for this purpose, the hob is fantastic - I find that though 1800watts 
is lower than most large electric rings, the efficiency gains mean that even 
when stir frying, I don't need to run it to full power.

As a personal choice, if I were to spend the summer with the oven/cooker 
turned off, I'd also invest one of those portable electric hobs with a 
couple of spiral wound elements, I'd send a link, but my ISP seems to be 
having problems and my browser is taking ages to display pages. From memory, 
Argos sell these for about £20, Nisbets do them as well. My second thought 
would be some kind of Baby Belling type unit. Spiral rings are the best kind 
of electric hob to use as they cool down fairly quickly.

> Does anybody know of a source of technical info that you don't reach by
> simply googling for the hobs please?

Perhaps a science based board?

> Jane
>
> -- 
>
> Jane Gillett   :   j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk   :   Totnes, Devon.

I'm actually quite pleased to see this board is still alive, I only dropped 
by as I wanted to check if the mail server was running normally.

Regards,

Pete

Noname wrote:

> "Jane Gillett"  wrote in message 
> news:4fc563e399j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk...
> 
>>Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get 
>>certain
>>technical info.
>>
>>What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.
> 
> 
> They vary, the portable units seem to start at about 1400watts while the 
> commercial standalone units go as  high as 3000watts. I've got a portable 
> Kenwood unit rated at 1800watts.
> 
> 
> 
>>What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners? My reason for asking
>>is as follows.
> 
> 
> It's pretty easy to check, you'll need a compatible frying pan. Just pour a 
> little bit of water in and turn the hob to high - After a few seconds, 
> you'll see a ring of bubbles as the water boils above the induction ring.
> 
> I've just tried this, and the ring of bubbles indicates that my unit has a 
> single ring about 3 and 1/2 inches or 9-10cm in diameter.
> 
> 
>>I have a Stellar portable induction hob and it refuses to recognise my
>>smallest pan. This is a pan also made by Stellar and is labelled
>>"Induction". The hob handbook says that the minimum pan size is 8cm dia
>>base; this pan is 11-12cm dia so well above the minimum. I took the pan
>>back to the shop where I bought it and they gave me a new one; still the
>>same.
>>
>>I've talked to the shop (different one) where I bought the hob and they
>>want it back to send to the manufacturer but that is a problem since I've
>>switched the range off for the summer and the hob is my way of cooking our
>>evening meal. However, the hob seems to be starting to get iffy with the
>>next pan size up now - have been occasions when I've had to move it around
>>the hob a bit to trigger it. Enquiries are continuing. I reckon now to 
>>take
>>the hob and my pan back to the "hob shop" so they can see it for 
>>themselves.
> 
> 
> These hobs have a sensor, which can detect when the pan is moved to far 
> away. I would guess that this might be malfunctioning.
> 
> 
>>After this trouble I'd perhaps have second thoughts about induction but it
>>happens to be the most viable solution to my kitchen circumstances.
> 
> 
> I've got an electric cooker which serves nicely for most things, I bought 
> the induction hob as the best way to do a decent stir fry - I've got to say 
> that for this purpose, the hob is fantastic - I find that though 1800watts 
> is lower than most large electric rings, the efficiency gains mean that even 
> when stir frying, I don't need to run it to full power.

Does this mean the the hob can modulate to the size of the pan put on 
it?  ie Put a large pan on and it heats over a large area, put a small 
pan on and it heats to a smaller area? I have never considered this before.

> As a personal choice, if I were to spend the summer with the oven/cooker 
> turned off, I'd also invest one of those portable electric hobs with a 
> couple of spiral wound elements,

Gas is a far better way to cook on a hob than electric. Almost instant 
heat from gas. I am thinking of going back to a gas oven.

> I'd send a link, but my ISP seems to be 
> having problems and my browser is taking ages to display pages. From memory, 
> Argos sell these for about £20,

The one I bought from Argus last year got thrown out for gross 
missrepesention of being an oven.

The oven had just 2 temperatures that it should heat to. The lower one, 
it could manage, the higher one (180 degrees, or was it 220 degrees) it 
could just about to get to 180 degrees. It has been in a skip for about 
3 months now, paritcularly as the grill element was a single bar 
electric fire and the grill tray was too far below the element to toast 
a slice of bread evenly. Toast was perfect in the middle and soft and 
squidgy on the outside

> would be some kind of Baby Belling type unit. Spiral rings are the best kind 
> of electric hob to use as they cool down fairly quickly.

That is the oven type I had before it went bits up. the modern types 
with rings on the top, is not what I want. I just want something that 
will warm up in a fraction of the time that the main electrical oven 
warms up and can toast bread with cheese on, which your average toaster 
can't. And, roast foods.

Yesterday, I was quoted a price of nearly £100-00 for a small  electric 
oven.

Dave

Dave wrote:
> Gas is a far better way to cook on a hob than electric. Almost instant
> heat from gas. I am thinking of going back to a gas oven.

When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have 
never regretted it.

"Ophelia" <Ophelia@nix,co.uk> wrote:
>
>Dave wrote:
>> Gas is a far better way to cook on a hob than electric. Almost instant
>> heat from gas. I am thinking of going back to a gas oven.
>
>When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have 
>never regretted it. 


Me too.  It is apparently a very popular choice.

Following up to Bruce 

>>When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have 
>>never regretted it. 
> 
> 
> Me too.  It is apparently a very popular choice.

i went for gas hob, electric and gas ovens :-)
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email

"Mike....."  wrote:

>Following up to Bruce 
>
>>>When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have 
>>>never regretted it. 
>> 
>> 
>> Me too.  It is apparently a very popular choice.
>
>i went for gas hob, electric and gas ovens :-)


That's the best of all possible worlds.

I have an electric fan oven that is very fierce.  It tends to scorch
and burn the food before it is fully cooked through.

Following up to Bruce 

>>i went for gas hob, electric and gas ovens :-)
> 
> 
> That's the best of all possible worlds.

but it came at a price.
-- 
Mike........
Google-groups posts not read, genuine posters can contact me by
removing clothing to email

Ophelia wrote:

> Dave wrote:
> 
>>Gas is a far better way to cook on a hob than electric. Almost instant
>>heat from gas. I am thinking of going back to a gas oven.
> 
> 
> When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have 
> never regretted it. 

My problem with an electric oven is the warm up time. Ours was bought 
from one of the big chains and can take up to 20 minutes to get to a 
high temperature. Perhaps I should have taken more notice of the energy 
rating label.

This warm up time got so frustrating that I went out and bought a mini 
oven that warms up to maximum temp in less than 10 minutes. Now that it 
has died, can I find a replacement, can I h**l. I bought what I thought 
was an oven from Argos, but the grill element was useless. That followed 
the old mini oven to the tip a few weeks later, after the thermostat 
went sick. And no, I didn't want a replacement under warranty, it would 
have been as useless as the last one.


Dave

In message , Bruce 
 writes
>"Mike....."  wrote:
>
>>Following up to Bruce
>>
>>>>When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I have
>>>>never regretted it.
>>>
>>>
>>> Me too.  It is apparently a very popular choice.
>>
>>i went for gas hob, electric and gas ovens :-)
>
>
>That's the best of all possible worlds.
>
>I have an electric fan oven that is very fierce.  It tends to scorch
>and burn the food before it is fully cooked through.
>
Mike has a monster range, Bruce.
-- 
June Hughes

> Does this mean the the hob can modulate to the size of the pan put on it? 
> ie Put a large pan on and it heats over a large area, put a small pan on 
> and it heats to a smaller area? I have never considered this before.

My induction unit is just a cheap unit, which I bought for about £30 with 
the sole intention of doing really good stir fry. Being a cheap unit, my 
unit has only a single induction ring and to be honest, if I had to use it 
for day to day cookery it would annoy me, it's noisy as it has a cooling fan 
and there's not a great deal of control over temperature.

Perhaps more expensive induction hobs have multiple concentric induction 
rings?

>> As a personal choice, if I were to spend the summer with the oven/cooker 
>> turned off, I'd also invest one of those portable electric hobs with a 
>> couple of spiral wound elements,

> Gas is a far better way to cook on a hob than electric. Almost instant 
> heat from gas. I am thinking of going back to a gas oven.

I was assuming the OP has some kind of Aga type thing which is turned off 
during the summer and was considering a portable induction unit for those 
times.

While I'm well aware of the benefits of gas, the benefit of an electric item 
for occasional use is that you don't need to muck about with bulky gas 
canisters. You can buy a gas mini hob that uses small gas canisters, but I 
can't see that being practical for day to day usage.

Funnily enough, I did consider having both gas and electric hobs when I 
replanned my kitchen. Space issues eventually meant all electric was the 
most practical solution. I have heard of individuals placing a decent 
electric and gas cooker side by side (This can be good value if you know 
what you're buying and choose second hand items - £300 should fit you out 
with some kit that would make mincemeat of all but the most expensive range 
cooker.)

>> I'd send a link, but my ISP seems to be having problems and my browser is 
>> taking ages to display pages. From memory, Argos sell these for about 
>> £20,

As my ISP is now back to full speed, I had a quick look on the Argos site, 
alas the spiral wound portable electric cookers seem to have been replaced 
with solid element units, decent power ratings mind you, 1500 + 1200 watts 
for the rings which would be perfectly acceptable for boiling simmering etc. 
While I'm not doing down gas, the main benefit is control and to a certain 
degree heat output (Though this is very dependant on the burners of which 
the triple concentric ring burners on some of the higher end Smeg equipment 
would be a good example. Some cheap gas cookers use a single large burner 
which demands a big pot lest all the heat just goes round the pot/pan).

> The one I bought from Argus last year got thrown out for gross 
> missrepesention of being an oven.

Don't you just love the fact that all of this stuff from China is made for 
cheapness rather than to work!

> The oven had just 2 temperatures that it should heat to. The lower one, it 
> could manage, the higher one (180 degrees, or was it 220 degrees) it could 
> just about to get to 180 degrees. It has been in a skip for about 3 months 
> now, paritcularly as the grill element was a single bar electric fire and 
> the grill tray was too far below the element to toast a slice of bread 
> evenly. Toast was perfect in the middle and soft and squidgy on the 
> outside

Yep, these things can be crap.

>> would be some kind of Baby Belling type unit. Spiral rings are the best 
>> kind of electric hob to use as they cool down fairly quickly.
>
> That is the oven type I had before it went bits up. the modern types with 
> rings on the top, is not what I want. I just want something that will warm 
> up in a fraction of the time that the main electrical oven warms up and 
> can toast bread with cheese on, which your average toaster can't. And, 
> roast foods.
>
> Yesterday, I was quoted a price of nearly £100-00 for a small  electric 
> oven.

Try Ebay? A lot of these small oven/cookers get bought for older people in 
sheltered accomodation and don't get much use.

Failing that, some kind of small commercial unit? I'm not that keen on 
commercial ovens as they tend to regard insulation as something they don't 
need to bother with, as prices have come down, there's a good range of 
grills and the like though.

Regards,

Pete

Dave wrote:
> This warm up time got so frustrating that I went out and bought a mini
> oven that warms up to maximum temp in less than 10 minutes. Now that
> it has died, can I find a replacement, can I h**l. I bought what I
> thought was an oven from Argos, but the grill element was useless.
> That followed the old mini oven to the tip a few weeks later, after
> the thermostat went sick. And no, I didn't want a replacement under
> warranty, it would have been as useless as the last one.

Have a look at a Panasonic multifuncion oven.  It really does do everything, 
microwave, convection, grill, and permutations of all.  It does everything 
your oven can do but of course is limited to size.  Also it makes the best 
baked potatos and half the time:))

"Dave"  wrote in message 
news:iI6dnUfrZ-TC3RLVnZ2dnUVZ8gidnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> This warm up time got so frustrating that I went out and bought a mini 
> oven that warms up to maximum temp in less than 10 minutes. Now that it 
> has died, can I find a replacement, can I h**l. I bought what I thought 
> was an oven from Argos, but the grill element was useless. That followed 
> the old mini oven to the tip a few weeks later, after the thermostat went 
> sick. And no, I didn't want a replacement under warranty, it would have 
> been as useless as the last one.

I bought a Dualit mini oven in January. It was expensive but I've not 
regretted a penny of it and it has taken over from the big oven for many, 
many things. Not only small bakes like a half dozen scones, but a single 
sponge cake, single loaf *, casseroles, rice pud etc. etc. all come out 
perfect. It's also very handy for oven chips and frozen fish which I 
sometimes use. I reckon I should soon recover the cost of the oven in saved 
electricity.

* A full size 800g loaf was a bit too big in a normal tin but placing the 
dough in a Pullman tin cured that and it does make much better sandwich 
bread than a normal bake.

June Hughes wrote:

> In message , Bruce 
>  writes
> 
>> "Mike....."  wrote:
>>
>>> Following up to Bruce
>>>
>>>>> When I had the choice I went for a gas hob and an electric oven.  I 
>>>>> have
>>>>> never regretted it.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Me too.  It is apparently a very popular choice.
>>>
>>>
>>> i went for gas hob, electric and gas ovens :-)
>>
>>
>>
>> That's the best of all possible worlds.
>>
>> I have an electric fan oven that is very fierce.  It tends to scorch
>> and burn the food before it is fully cooked through.
>>
> Mike has a monster range, Bruce.

What butchers sell monsters these days

June Hughes  wrote:
>
>Mike has a monster range, Bruce.


Oh, now I see.  Thank you!

Following up to Dave 

>> Mike has a monster range, Bruce.
> 
> What butchers sell monsters these days

its the lack of knight errants.
-- 
Mike.....................
Google-groups killfiled
Remove clothing to email

In article <3qnjk.87649$oo.23232@newsfe09.ams2>,
   Noname  wrote:

> "Jane Gillett"  wrote in message 
> news:4fc563e399j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk...
> > Thinking of buying an induction hob but finding it difficult to get 
> > certain
> > technical info.
> >
> > What is the electrical power rating of various hobs? They don't say.

> They vary, the portable units seem to start at about 1400watts while the 
> commercial standalone units go as  high as 3000watts. I've got a portable 
> Kenwood unit rated at 1800watts.


> > What is the minimum dia of the pans for the burners? My reason for asking
> > is as follows.

> It's pretty easy to check, you'll need a compatible frying pan. Just pour a 
> little bit of water in and turn the hob to high - After a few seconds, 
> you'll see a ring of bubbles as the water boils above the induction ring.

> I've just tried this, and the ring of bubbles indicates that my unit has a 
> single ring about 3 and 1/2 inches or 9-10cm in diameter.

Thanks for that but I really wanted to know both power rating and min pan
size before buying the unit. However, I'll try your test on my portable
just out of interest.

Jane


<snip>

> Pete

-- 

Jane Gillett   :   j.gillett@higherstert.co.uk   :   Totnes, Devon.

Mike........ wrote:
> Following up to Dave 
> 
> 
>>>Mike has a monster range, Bruce.
>>
>>What butchers sell monsters these days
> 
> 
> its the lack of knight errants.


:-)

Dave