Gas or Ceramic Hob

George_Bray

pattycake wrote: »

I rarely heat water from cold on my ceramic hob. For example, if I am boiling potatoes, I cover them with boiling water from my kettle. I always use my microwave to heat stuff like baked beans or soup. I suppose it is something you get used to and factors such as ease of cleaning outweigh the disadvantages IMHO.

I know what you mean about getting used to things like slow warm-up times but, today I picked up a single hob 2000w induction heater in Lidl for just £29. It heats up water or anything else in half the time of my gas cooker and four times faster than the ceramic hob with traditional elements.

So for my 2 litre test:

Lidl induction heater 7.5 mins
Gas 13 mins
Ceramic hob 20 mins

Becles

I've never noticed such long boiling times on my ceramic hob

George_Bray

Becles wrote: »

I've never noticed such long boiling times on my ceramic hob

What type of heating element does it have?

amtrakuk

Depends how much you use it. Going down the electric route, I would strongly recommend induction hobs. I bought a cheap one on ebay £30ish to try one out and now hooked. The good points I have discovered;

Can set the temp, ie, 100 degrees for boiling and it will stay at boiling.
As the pot/pan heats up rather than sitting on a heating element the surface stays cool.
Lightening fast heatup times.
Can set a timer so you can set and forget - temp at 100 degrees for 20 mins please
They are safe, if the pot/pan overheats it shuts itself off.
As the surface stays cool, spills dont stick, can easily wipe them off.
they are something like 98% efficient, gas is about 50% and electric ring is about 65% efficient.

The only down side is you might need a new set of pans, take a magnet, if it sticks to the pot/pan then it will work on an induction hob.

Tip for induction hobs:

If you're boiling veg or something that might spill, I put a square of kitchen roll between the pot and cooking surface to mop the spills up if/when they happen. No it won't burn as there is no flame or heating element and the surface stays cool. The only heat you get is the heat off the bottom of the pan/pot

amtrakuk

George_Bray wrote: »

I know what you mean about getting used to things like slow warm-up times but, today I picked up a single hob 2000w induction heater in Lidl for just £29. It heats up water or anything else in half the time of my gas cooker and four times faster than the ceramic hob with traditional elements.

So for my 2 litre test:

Lidl induction heater 7.5 mins
Gas 13 mins
Ceramic hob 20 mins

I saw those when I was shopping in Lidl the other day, I wasn't sure how good it was. Might well get one for my brother and sister's krimbo prezzy who have been eyeing up mine lol

amtrakuk

There might be a bit of confusion between ceramic and induction electric hobs. Both look like they have a glass surface but they work in very different ways. To make it easy Ceramic gives off a red glow when in use, induction doesn't light up.

Also I wouldn't use ceramic after a trip to Scotland for a week. After 10 minutes on high the frying pan still hadn't heated up enough to brown some mince. Meanwhile back at home after 2 minutes the mince is hissing in the pan when using my induction hob.

George_Bray

amtrakuk wrote: »

There might be a bit of confusion between ceramic and induction electric hobs. Both look like they have a glass surface but they work in very different ways. To make it easy Ceramic gives off a red glow when in use, induction doesn't light up. Also I wouldn't use ceramic after a trip to Scotland for a week. After 10 minutes on high the frying pan still hadn't heated up enough to brown some mince. Meanwhile back at home after 2 minutes the mince is hissing in the pan when using my induction hob.

I listed some of the main types in previous posts. I think they can ALL be described as ceramic but that's only the icing on the cake (the flat glass like surface). It's what in the engine room below that counts:

1. Traditional electric heating element like mine - very slow
2. Halogen - faster probably but out of fashion now?
3. Induction - lightening fast - spice as fast as gas, even

My Lidl induction heater (single hob) works very well and it's guaranted for 3 years, so I can't really lose, especially at £29.

amtrakuk

George_Bray wrote: »

I listed some of the main types in previous posts. I think they can ALL be described as ceramic but that's only the icing on the cake (the flat glass like surface). It's what in the engine room below that counts:

1. Traditional electric heating element like mine - very slow
2. Halogen - faster probably but out of fashion now?
3. Induction - lightening fast - spice as fast as gas, even

My Lidl induction heater (single hob) works very well and it's guaranted for 3 years, so I can't really lose, especially at £29.

Yeah they had some in the local lidl here in Leeds. Picked one up for my brother for a christmas prezzy last yeah (functional prezzy I know) but he uses it all the time now instead of his electric hob. :beer:

rosekitten

my halogen is much faster than gas
the heat is instant,even on the
other plates I have never had to wait
20 mins for water or anything else to
come to the boil.
Mines 11 years old now and I am thinking
of replacing it with the same cost £199
but have also been looking at an
induction hob £499.

amtrakuk

rosekitten wrote: »

my halogen is much faster than gas
the heat is instant,even on the
other plates I have never had to wait
20 mins for water or anything else to
come to the boil.
Mines 11 years old now and I am thinking
of replacing it with the same cost £199
but have also been looking at an
induction hob £499.

Hi Rose.

Might be worth getting a cheap induction hob off ebay. I think they go for about £30ish.. See how you go with it before you get the cheque book out.
I got introduced to induction after my mates bought a couple of ideal world and were so overjoyed I thought Id try one on ebay. After 2 years Im still using the trial one :j