Induction Cooktops in 2024

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networkn

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#317520 23-Oct-2024 12:29

With the demise of our 90cm 5 burner Smeg Gas Cooktop we are considering a switch to induction or induction + gas combination.

I am told we will need 30amp power to cover it's electricity draw, and would require us to replace 6 of our 9 items of cookware, which is super annoying.

Getting a combination gives us two advantages, one being we have heat when the power is out, and the second being that we wouldn't need to replace our fry pans and Wok.

I'm keen to hear from anyone who has made the switch, if you have combination in particular, and what things you wish you knew, or gotchas you underestimated.

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#3300473 23-Oct-2024 12:33

Some pots that are "compatible" are crap on it as they are aluminium with a ferrous insert in them to make them work. They are noisy as they are used and the insert and the pan will come apart and then the pan will warp badly.

Richard rich.ms

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#3300480 23-Oct-2024 13:05

Highly recommend Induction

We made the switch a few years ago when we remodelled our kitchen. We were v pro gas for cooking but the hob needed a downdraft due to the location on our island bench . Saw a friends downdraft after a few months with a gas hob and it was munted from the flames and heat so made the jump to induction.

Would never go back.

Its so easy to keep clean. We are careful when cooking on it and the surface still looks new after 5 years.

Near instant heat to boil or sear.

Can double up quartiles on the hob to heat larger pans.

We bought fancy fry pans from Stevens $$$ but they were rubbish. We now use kmart fry pans for the last 3 years. Heavy base, metal hanlde so ok for oven and pretty durable.

The outside of the pans stay a lot cleaner than using gas. So does the downdraft. Gas leaves big soot marks on my friends one.

Most pans are induction ready these days. Even the cheap masterchef ones from the New world promos work on ours.

If you want gas as a backup for power cuts spend $50 on a camping stove and keep in the garage. We are in west auckland and have one or 2 power cuts a year.

KrazyKid

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#3300493 23-Oct-2024 14:01

Moved to induction this year. Love it. Seems as resposive as gas.
Expect to have to do rewiring to the circut as will need 32A (cost us $1000 incl GST including 2 new powerpoints, and we couild use the existing switchboard fuse).

We changed our pots - brought scanpan which are great - wife loves them.
Brisco sales are your friend for sacnpan.
But most pots now say induction compatable.

I did read a recommentation to make sure you induction has at least 15 power levels - we brought a Bosch unit which has 18 levels - very happy with the fine control and the super fast boil option (boost setting).
I am not sure how much difference there is between various brands, surely the induction technoloogy is the same and basic.
But we are Bosch fans and slowly changing all our appliances to Bosch it seems :)

lxsw20

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#3300497 23-Oct-2024 14:07

F&P do a low current induction cooktop now, good for if you're replacing an old ceramic cook top. As you're replacing gas it probably won't make much difference to just run a 32A cable for the cooktop.

timmmay

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#3300532 23-Oct-2024 15:26

We have a four induction hob stove, induction is great, I wouldn't have anything else. We have a 16A circuit and it works fine. The electrician said if the fuse blows he'd upgrade the circuit but it hasn't in the 5 odd years we've had the stove.

I wouldn't bother with gas combo. I recall them being more of a pain to clean, when we had them years ago.

Jvipers2

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#3300534 23-Oct-2024 15:29

If you cook mainly in a wok, then stay with gas...

Else, induction is amazing...except the fact electricity prices are sky high today...

billgates

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#3300587 23-Oct-2024 15:56

We have an Electrolux 90cm induction cooktop connected to both phases at home on 2 pole 40A MCB. It can use up to 11kW at its max power settings. We also have a flat bottom wok that works great with it. We did had to switch to stainless steel pots and pans and a cast iron griddle but love the heat control. Also its so much cooler standing around the induction cooktop compared to gas hobs and safe with both our young kids trying to turn it ON with no pots or pans on top sitting.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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pih

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#3300602 23-Oct-2024 17:01

Moved to induction this year. Went with a low/medium-end 4-burner standalone oven/hob combo from Belling. While there are a few minor design annoyances (only 9 power levels, consolidated controls, gaps that food gets stuck in), I have to say I love, love, love the induction cooktop. All the same reasons as above.

I too have found that many (most?) recent pots and pans are induction capable, and the cheap KMart ones are just fine. The noise is something that you have to get used to, it's certainly louder than other types but our kitchen tends to be a noisy place while cooking anyway so the extra noise quickly gets lost.

Check the power draw of the unit you're buying. They vary from modest (you could get away with 16A if you're careful) right up to extreme (you'll definitely want a >50A circuit if you're going to fire up everything on a large 90cm cooktop).

Combo looks expensive, but if you use the wok extensively it may well be the best option. The wok won't work well (at all?) on induction.

johno1234

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#3300606 23-Oct-2024 17:13

In addition to the comments above: Some cool new stuff now from various manufacturers including:

Flexible zones - you put whatever shape pan or pot you want anywhere on the surface and it just works out the zone and allows you to set its power

Modular connected cooktops that can control the rangehood from the cooktop's controls.

Cooktops with built-in down draft extractor fans.

mattwnz

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#3300609 23-Oct-2024 17:22

timmmay:

We have a four induction hob stove, induction is great, I wouldn't have anything else. We have a 16A circuit and it works fine. The electrician said if the fuse blows he'd upgrade the circuit but it hasn't in the 5 odd years we've had the stove.

I wouldn't bother with gas combo. I recall them being more of a pain to clean, when we had them years ago.

Some induction hobs such as Miele, will turn the hob power down if you have multiple hobs on at the same time and the are all set on high and drawing too much power. It does this on a 32A circuit too. That is one thing I don't like about induction. But I guess it would do the same thing with normal electric, but you probably don't notice it. But coming from gas, I didn't find that problem with gas.

networkn

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#3300614 23-Oct-2024 17:51

If I get a combination Gas and Induction, do I require a gasfitter and sparky to install it?

Is there a reliable and simple way to determine what circuits of what amperage and cabling I have at the moment or do I need a sparky for that as well?

Are Ilve and Asko OK brands these days?

The F&P we have been quoted seems OK, though I don't love F&P as a brand, our Oven has been really good. Our previous washer and dryer sucked but that was many years ago.

timmmay

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#3300615 23-Oct-2024 17:52

It would be quite rare to have multiple induction rings on high at the same time. You might turn them on high for a minute or two to preheat, but on high too long and the food will burn. Unless it's water, then it will evaporate.

mdav056

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#3300715 23-Oct-2024 21:33

When we were having our kitchen redone, I bought a single-element el cheapo plug-in induction unit for cooking downstairs. We were so impressed with it that we changed our new cooktop to a Bosch induction. 2 years now, and it is still absolutely fantastic. Never going back!

gml

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#3300744 23-Oct-2024 22:25

Keeping gas for power cuts is making a decision based on an outlier.

Induction woks don't seem to be a thing, it's the only thing I haven't found since we went induction.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

networkn

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#3300745 23-Oct-2024 22:31

There are multiple reasons to keep Gas. We have a Wok that we use a lot, not to mention some other cookware that isn't induction friendly we would avoid needing to replace. The cost of replacing that, is probably 2/3 the cost difference not to mention the power outage thing. The F&P we are looking at has everything we want/need and is relatively inexpensive relative to other models with the same functionality, the major downside being it only has 9 power settings, but, well, that's life I guess.

We will go and see what's up over the weekend, but fairly extensive online research indicates options are limited.

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