difference between types of gas hob?

pigeonpie

I'm replacing a 13 year old brushed steel de Dietrich 4 ring gas hob.
It has black ring covers, enamel stands and knobs, which offsets the steel look and works in the black granite worktop.

I'm a bit confused as to the best material for a gas hob as there seem other options to stainless brushed steel these days.
I need it to look good, perform very well and reliably, be easy to clean, have as long a warranty as possible and to be from a co that has good CS when things go wrong.
I am definitely thinking German!

Is there any difference in quality between a Bosch and a Siemens? They look v similar and they're made in the same factory I think?
Ideally the knobs should be on the right like my current one.
What are the main differences between the black ones and the stainless steel ones? I live in a hard water area so am conscious of that when cleaning. Also I hate hobs that small saucepans fall off!

thanks for any help for confused shopper

cattie

Yes, Bosch, Neff & Siemens are all under the same umbrella company of BSH. In terms of what's best from the 3 brands it tends to be a case of Bosch cheaper than Neff, Neff cheaper than Siemens & Siemens top of the class.

For the past few years I've gone for Neff appliances, which have been brushed stainless steel. But I've always paid particular attention to the pan grids as I like them to be enamelled as they are much easier to clean & keep looking good & I don't like the grids to be overly full of pan supports for the very same reason, but to be able to support even a small saucepan well. Like you I also have a preference for my knobs to be on the right.

Having recently moved & had a complete kitchen refit, I went to a lot of trouble to try to source exactly the same hobb as I'd bought for my last house.

My sister has a black oven & hob, thought not from BSH range & complains that it was one of her less than perfect choices as she finds it more difficult to keep clean than her previous SS one.

BSH products tend to come with a 2yr guarantee & the one & only time I've ever needed to call them out ( recently as my new oven suddenly started making a noise) a service engineer was booked in for a couple of days later & although when he came he needed to order a new part when he identified what the problem was, he was careful to arrange the new appointment for the exact day & approx time that was suitable for me.

The other thing I appreciated was BSH texting me the day before engineers visit to remind me he was due to call, then another text again the following day reminding me the approx time to expect him.

scottishblondie

I have a black glass Bosch hob. It looks gorgeous and its great in use, but it is a pain to keep it looking clean as the glass picks up a lot of marks. So if you're looking for easy to clean, I'd stick to stainless steel!

pigeonpie

I may have to go with Bosch as Siemens are short on models with knobs to the right and carpenter says front knobs will throw out the spacing on the hood - has to be equidistant (sp) from kitchen wall units....I'd just chosen a Siemens one too with front knobs as it was s/steel but with a black glass front so looked smarter.
The 60-70cm chimney hoods look pretty much the same; my guess is still all pretty ineffective and very noisy, but I have to have a decent one as the geniuses who put the fire alarm detectors in this flat put one very near the stove! I want to get the same make as the hob. Had no idea they were so expensive!

Yorkie1

pigeonpie wrote: »

I may have to go with Bosch as Siemens are short on models with knobs to the right and carpenter says front knobs will throw out the spacing on the hood - has to be equidistant (sp) from kitchen wall units....I'd just chosen a Siemens one too with front knobs as it was s/steel but with a black glass front so looked smarter.
The 60-70cm chimney hoods look pretty much the same; my guess is still all pretty ineffective and very noisy, but I have to have a decent one as the geniuses who put the fire alarm detectors in this flat put one very near the stove! I want to get the same make as the hob. Had no idea they were so expensive!

Just thinking about this point - off topic rather - have you looked into whether it is lawful and feasible to replace the smoke detector with a heat detector?

pigeonpie

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Just thinking about this point - off topic rather - have you looked into whether it is lawful and feasible to replace the smoke detector with a heat detector?

Not sure if that's possible as it's all on the communal fire alarm?
Anyhow I did find a suitable (well hope so !) Siemens hob and chimney hood last night and got a price match on them. Still horrible price though.