Hobs: ceramic vs induction cooktops, practical considerations and experience (plus which stove mode/brand)

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Hobs: ceramic vs induction cooktops, practical considerations and experience (plus which stove mode/brand)

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#1186456 1-Dec-2014 16:03

qyiet: Late to the party here, but I've upgraded to induction and would never go back. The speed and responsiveness are amazing.

I've ended up trading my stand alone jug in for an old whistle kettle that sits on the stove because the induction was so much faster. My trick when looking for pans (as it's sometimes hard to tell if they will work) is to take a magnet with me. If the magnet sticks, the pan should work.

Upgraded from what? What benefits have you found in practice, control is good but only if it achieves an outcome, not just for the sake of it.

qyiet

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#1186458 1-Dec-2014 16:13

timmmay:
Upgraded from what? What benefits have you found in practice, control is good but only if it achieves an outcome, not just for the sake of it.

In the location it's in it replaced a gas cooktop. But before that I've used both electric coil and ceramic. (one of the people who uses it on an irregular basis, is now quite unhappy with their ceramic cooker at the other place the frequently cook)

I find the rapid response really helpful when adjusting a pot that you want to be simmering.. you can set exactly *how* close to the boil you want it.

The only downside from my PoV is I have to recall that full power is... a lot of heat. I've managed to burn soup while reheating and just throwing the power up to max. rather than thinking about it.

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timmmay

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#1186486 1-Dec-2014 17:12

Thanks qyiet. Interested in your comparison of coil with ceramic.

I'm starting to get the impression that I probably won't be very happy with ceramic, given I like to cook things very hot, and because I do then turn things down sometimes - fast fry veges then lower the heat and add a sauce. A coil cooker works fine, so I suspect it's either that, a solid metal plate cooker, or induction.

mattwnz

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#1186489 1-Dec-2014 17:19

My brothers rental has a ceramic hobb, and the surface can get very hot, when it may not look like it is hot, so I wouldn't get one if I had small kids around. The benefit of induction is that although surface can get hot too due to transfer of heat from the pan, it doesn't get anywhere near as hot as ceramic ones. I don't know of anyone who would chose ceramic over induction apart from people who install them in rentals for cost reasons.

timmmay

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#1186493 1-Dec-2014 17:24

mattwnz: My brothers rental has a ceramic hobb, and the surface can get very hot, when it may not look like it is hot, so I wouldn't get one if I had small kids around. The benefit of induction is that although surface can get hot too due to transfer of heat from the pan, it doesn't get anywhere near as hot as ceramic ones. I don't know of anyone who would chose ceramic over induction apart from people who install them in rentals for cost reasons.

There seems to be upsides and downsides. They look good and they're easy to clean at a price between coil and induction, with the downsides of being unresponsive, stay hot a long time, not getting really really hot. For people who do basic stuff they sounds fine, I'm just not sure now if they're up to the performance I'd want - I often use my stove twice a day.

richms

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#1186497 1-Dec-2014 17:36

Have tried a cheap range with the solid elements, and it sucked - massive lag and quite low power output. Tried a ceramic and it was not able to get a large cast pan hot enough to sear steak. Old coil elements on my vintage 70s shacklock range are way better than both for both heatup and cooldown times, but the cooldown is still too slow for simmering, and you often have to lift the pan off while the element cools.

I do most of my cooking on a butane powered camp stove for that reason, turn it down, heat is gone, no estimating when to turn it off ahead of time.

I have only used a countertop induction cooker, which was limited to the power due to a 10 amp plug compared to a built in one that can boost to way more wattage depending on the draw on the other burners. Anyway, it was awesome, but only worked on iron pans so my giant stock pot I use for boiling things since its aluminum.

I would stick with the coiled elements or else go gas/induction. The ceramics are just to gutless and the cheap solid elements on the cheap ranges are pathetic too.

Richard rich.ms

qyiet

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#1186507 1-Dec-2014 17:53

timmmay: Thanks qyiet. Interested in your comparison of coil with ceramic.

It's been a while, but I don't recall any major differences in how I used them. I vaguely liked the ceramic more because it was easier to clean. They 'felt' similar while cooking to me.

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Niel

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#1186639 1-Dec-2014 21:17

My wife does a lot of baking, cooking, frying, steaks, etc. We both work and have little time for waiting, but have not found it an issue with a ceramic top. Maybe it depends on the brand. Or maybe having a 90cm stove means we have larger elements with higher power rating and heating area.

Each type of stove works differently. Ceremaic does not work so well with thin pots, they need something with thermal mass to help smooth out the heat. But the way they work is through IR radiation, not an element heating up. The thermostat helps to keep the rest of the stove cooler, which is safer, and is not directly related to the IR radiated to the pot.

Induction is a great concept and works really well when you have the right kind of pots. It is fast because the heat is generated in the pot where it is needed. But that does not mean it is efficient. The distance between the coil and the pot is where the losses are, and even a little but of warp makes it worse. Not that you will notice it in the performance, rather it will be hidden in your power bill.

Traditional coils heat are heating elements and have thermal mass, solid plates have even more thermal mass.

It depends on you, what will you be happy with, and the best is try it out. If it is more important to spend the money on something else that will make you happy, then do that. If you do lots of cooking, then spend the money there.

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#1186640 1-Dec-2014 21:19

is it illegal now to install gas stove onto 9kg bottles? (pardon my ignorance)

timmmay

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#1186643 1-Dec-2014 21:22

Thanks all, I'll definitely try it out. Advice is very useful but you can't beat trying it yourself.

Handle9

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#1186647 1-Dec-2014 21:28

joker97: is it illegal now to install gas stove onto 9kg bottles? (pardon my ignorance)

No it is legal but my understanding is it needs to be done by a registered gas fitter, as with any gas work.

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#1186657 1-Dec-2014 21:50

sweet! (don't want to spend 10k just to get a new hob)

Aredwood

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#1186667 1-Dec-2014 22:52

Handle9:
joker97: is it illegal now to install gas stove onto 9kg bottles? (pardon my ignorance)

No it is legal but my understanding is it needs to be done by a registered gas fitter, as with any gas work.

Also there are so many rules around installing bottles in cupboards. That in effect you are not allowed to do so. They need to be outside. But they don't need any protection from the weather.

Niel

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#1186715 2-Dec-2014 06:28

There are a lot of rules around gas, just like electricity, but this is taking this thread off topic. Could be useful/insightful if someone wants to start a new topic on gas.

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Horseychick

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#1187025 2-Dec-2014 12:48

Early last year I went from ceramic cooktop to induction. The one thing I hated about the ceramic is that once something has burned onto it it was almost impossible to ever get it off. So the cooktop never looked clean after a couple of 'accidents'. Having OCD tendencies it really annoyed me.

My induction hob has all the benefits already mentioned and still looks pristine. I cooked prawns in white wine sauce on the weekend and the pan got knocked by my husband so a fair bit of the cream sauce spattered across the top. A quick wipe with a damp cloth even across the 2 other rings that were in use meant nothing burned. If I'd been using my ceramic top then the cream sauce would have burned on one of the other rings that was in use. Then I would have had to wait for it to cool down before I could try and get it off.

Maybe my housekeeping skills are not as good as others

but my ceramic hob never seemed to be pristine whilst my induction hob looks the same as the day it was installed.

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