Smeg Gas Stovetop starting 'igniting' spontaneously.

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itxtme

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#3299799 22-Oct-2024 10:14

networkn:

I'll need to check that, but one of them is definitely 'gluuey' compared to the others.

I'd like induction, but in a powercut Gas is very helpful, plus for basting when cooking a steak, plus there is the $1000 a nice set of pots will likely cost.

Sigh. Right now, it's not great timing.

What kind of pots do you have currently? Not many don't work with it as aluminium pots are out of favour now days. Some of my weber BBQ ones dont as they have that funny pattern on the bottom which stops enough engagement with the magnet. ALso cheaper non-stick pans can be made out of aluminium. I went to my parents a couple weeks back and used their gas. It was so incredibly slow comparatively I could never imagine going back to it.

The biggest consideration for upgrading to induction is running the wiring from the kitchen location to your fuse box. Its a beefy wire if you want a decent induction hob.

eracode

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#3299801 22-Oct-2024 10:25

Maybe wrong but it seems all pro kitchens use gas. There must be a reason for that. I have used induction for extended periods several times in the past and could never get used to it - far prefer gas.

Induction hobs are easier to clean. One disadvantage I find with our Bosch gas hob is that it can be difficult to get it to go low enough for a slow simmer.

I'm sure a lot of people here are induction fans and will disagree.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

richms

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#3299802 22-Oct-2024 10:46

eracode:

Maybe wrong but it seems all pro kitchens use gas. There must be a reason for that. I have used induction for extended periods several times in the past and could never get used to it - far prefer gas.

Induction hobs are easier to clean. One disadvantage I find with our Bosch gas hob is that it can be difficult to get it to go low enough for a slow simmer.

I'm sure a lot of people here are induction fans and will disagree.

Cheaper to outfit for high capacity with gas, as its just a larger pipe and meter they have to pay for. Whereas to get many kW of electric for a large kitchen can result in costs to get a transformer and higher voltage connection as they have limits to how much you can get at low voltage.

Richard rich.ms

networkn

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#3299809 22-Oct-2024 10:53

itxtme:

What kind of pots do you have currently? Not many don't work with it as aluminium pots are out of favour now days. Some of my weber BBQ ones dont as they have that funny pattern on the bottom which stops enough engagement with the magnet. ALso cheaper non-stick pans can be made out of aluminium. I went to my parents a couple weeks back and used their gas. It was so incredibly slow comparatively I could never imagine going back to it.

The biggest consideration for upgrading to induction is running the wiring from the kitchen location to your fuse box. Its a beefy wire if you want a decent induction hob.

Yes, we will need mostly a new set of pots. That adds probably $500-1000 to the cost of moving to induction.

Induction is safer, easier to clean, and much more efficient.

Gas would be cheaper to replace.

I am still waiting on a quote, now at day 10 without a cooktop. It's all a bit frustrating.

I haven't had a good look around, but I am unsure how I would safely clean the gas top to stop the constant ignition.

networkn

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#3299813 22-Oct-2024 11:01

There is also, as mentioned the potential to need replacement power, which I am sure won't be an insignificant job.

How do I determine what I have and what I need reliably? Call a sparky or is there a way to easily tell from what I have?

robjg63

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#3299818 22-Oct-2024 11:23

If you want to give induction a 'limited' try, they buy one of these from Kmart ($59). Its a plug in induction 'ring'.

Provided you have (as mentioned above) pots that are induction capable it gives you a means to cook.

It will not have the subtle control of a proper induction cooktop and not the full power of a wired in model - but when we remodelled our kitchen several years back, we used one (A Breville model) and were actually quite impressed.

These portable ones mange the lower power settings by switching on/off, rather than the expensive ones that actually lower the power smoothly.

We had a full gas (mains) cooktop prior to remodelling.

My wife was convinced that we probably wanted mainly gas, but perhaps a small induction 'ring'.

We decided that the induction was quicker and more immediate control aso went with a 4 ring induction top and put one gass burner in because we had a pipe for it.

Rarely ever use the gas burner.

EDIT: Yes - get a sparky to look at your wiring for a possible induction top.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

networkn

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#3299819 22-Oct-2024 11:24

We have a portable induction already we really like.

Induction is the smarter but significantly less convenient and more expensive option.

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richms

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#3299827 22-Oct-2024 11:50

robjg63:

If you want to give induction a 'limited' try, they buy one of these from Kmart ($59). Its a plug in induction 'ring'.

Those are crap compared to a real induction surface. At the lower levels it doesnt reduce power output but cycles on and off, so you cant dial it down to a simmer without it doing what the old junky electric cooktops do which is boil the hell out of stuff and then cut out for a while. Seems that they have to go above 5 before they are a constant output.

Richard rich.ms

itxtme

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#3299858 22-Oct-2024 13:36

eracode:

Maybe wrong but it seems all pro kitchens use gas.

Its cheaper and less parts to go wrong. The electrical demands in a commercial kitchen would probably be quite high and choice wise in that space isnt there. The burner gas supply is always higher than a home. Its a bit like home woks are not the same as restaurant woks.

For a home though it is excellent and the instant change in heat is what I love. Use all my cast iron on it. Speaking of woks this is its biggest weakness I recon. So even OPs comment about basting, works well on induction. Plus the boiling time, 30-50% faster, tells you all you need to know really. Only other thing is being aware of build quality, some are built very well and preform well, and others have the coils further apart and so are less effective.

networkn

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#3300447 23-Oct-2024 11:34

Alright. Finally got the quote after chasing it again.

$500 in parts with a 3-4 month wait minimum. Doesn't include labour and includes no optional parts like the hoses and other things which I have been advised should be replaced on a unit of this age.

We will be buying a new unit. I'll start a thread on induction to get some wider feedback on that.

On the plus side, with some fiddling, thanks to @bung's suggestion, I have managed to stop it igniting constantly it seems. Allows us to take a bit of time to find the right solution.

eracode

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#3300456 23-Oct-2024 11:46

networkn:

Alright. Finally got the quote after chasing it again.

$500 in parts with a 3-4 month wait minimum. Doesn't include labour and includes no optional parts like the hoses and other things which I have been advised should be replaced on a unit of this age.

We will be buying a new unit. I'll start a thread on induction to get some wider feedback on that.

On the plus side, with some fiddling, thanks to @bung's suggestion, I have managed to stop it igniting constantly it seems. Allows us to take a bit of time to find the right solution.

Is it working pretty much normally again? If so, why don’t you just persevere with it until it really craps out? Or maybe you actually secretly really want induction. 😀

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

networkn

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#3300462 23-Oct-2024 12:14

eracode:

Is it working pretty much normally again? If so, why don’t you just persevere with it until it really craps out? Or maybe you actually secretly really want induction. 😀

I don't deal well with uncertainty, and the lead time to find and get a unit is measured in more days than I want to be without a cook top.

I don't think by any means, that the 'fix' I applied will stay in place. The knob still feels 'gluey' when you press it up and down.

This should buy us enough time to do our research and then order and get one installed before it craps out again.

Induction would be a new toy, but after just buying a new bed AND needing to get our upstairs painted and plastered, it's a heavy hit on the finances all at once.

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