Induction hob operation.

Alderbank

fenwick458 said:

Bendy_House said:

Any knowledge of silicone mats to use on them to prevent scratching? (My wife is a very messy cook, a lot more so than me...)

Cheers.

don't worry about scratching them, you won't be able to. 

I think they are like mobile phone screens - it depends very much on the type of glass used. Certainly some cheaper models do scratch. Pricier ones perhaps less so.

Paper works really well and is a bonus for messy cooks. Any paper, even cheap kitchen roll, is fine.

I've just tried a silicone mat which I use for rolling pastry and that works fine, at least for boiling water. Silicone mats are considered safe up to 220C so they would not survive accidental overheating or high temperature frying.
You can buy lots of different silicone mats especially made to put under pans on induction hobs. Look on Amazon.

I was an instant convert to induction from gas. I love them. A possible caveat is that they can be unsafe for a small number of people fitted with certain kinds of heart pacemakers.

daivid

My AEG induction hob was scratched within a week or two, by pans that hadn't been cleaned thoroughly enough from use on gas and by the thermometer jack for the oven getting drawn across the hob. Upsetting at the time but superficial and no problem for the 5 years since.

Bendy_House

daivid said:

My AEG induction hob was scratched within a week or two, by pans that hadn't been cleaned thoroughly enough from use on gas and by the thermometer jack for the oven getting drawn across the hob. Upsetting at the time but superficial and no problem for the 5 years since.

That's what it comes down to. If the pan bottoms are clean, there will be no issue. But if there's a bit of grit on there, it could well scratch, regardless of the type of glass (Schott seems well regarded?)

What's the 'thermometer jack', and how did that scratch it?

daivid

Bendy_House said:

daivid said:

My AEG induction hob was scratched within a week or two, by pans that hadn't been cleaned thoroughly enough from use on gas and by the thermometer jack for the oven getting drawn across the hob. Upsetting at the time but superficial and no problem for the 5 years since.

That's what it comes down to. If the pan bottoms are clean, there will be no issue. But if there's a bit of grit on there, it could well scratch, regardless of the type of glass (Schott seems well regarded?)

What's the 'thermometer jack', and how did that scratch it?

Yes, lesson learnt on the pans.

My oven has a cook to internal temperature feature for roasting meat. The thermometer jack is exactly like the larger size headphone jacks and plugs into the socket in the oven. The temperature probe is connected to the jack short length of insulated cable. The first time I used it I didn't give thought to the jack trailing from the roasting tray, as I set the tray down at the back of the hob the tip of the jack was pulled across making a small scratch. Nowhere near enough to bother me now but when it was a brand new cooker inma brand new kitchen it smarted!

Bendy_House

daivid said:

Bendy_House said:

daivid said:

My AEG induction hob was scratched within a week or two, by pans that hadn't been cleaned thoroughly enough from use on gas and by the thermometer jack for the oven getting drawn across the hob. Upsetting at the time but superficial and no problem for the 5 years since.

That's what it comes down to. If the pan bottoms are clean, there will be no issue. But if there's a bit of grit on there, it could well scratch, regardless of the type of glass (Schott seems well regarded?)

What's the 'thermometer jack', and how did that scratch it?

Yes, lesson learnt on the pans.

My oven has a cook to internal temperature feature for roasting meat. The thermometer jack is exactly like the larger size headphone jacks and plugs into the socket in the oven. The temperature probe is connected to the jack short length of insulated cable. The first time I used it I didn't give thought to the jack trailing from the roasting tray, as I set the tray down at the back of the hob the tip of the jack was pulled across making a small scratch. Nowhere near enough to bother me now but when it was a brand new cooker inma brand new kitchen it smarted!

Blimey! It was scratched by just a jack plug being pulled across it! Weird.

theonlywayisup

Our Miele induction was fitted in 2004 and is still going strong.  The controls are within the glass, so it's a flat glass cooking sheet with nothing to clean.  It isn't scratched but has been well used, including teaching a young child from early boiling egg stages to full blown meals over the years.

We have a Siemens which was fitted in a holiday cottage at a similar time, it is a work-horse and still looks A1.  Again, it has controls within the glass.  No scratches, no grime. Still looks good. 

You don't need special pans and the very best are stainless steel (no colouring on the outside) or cast iron.  We have a central wok 'element' and it works amazingly well. It is all in the pan, not the hob.  We have a huge tri-ply stainless sauté pan that gets used almost every day, it gets as hot up the sides as it does on the base. 

Buy the best you can afford.  I don't see myself changing ours anytime soon.  Yes it was expensive to purchase, but that was 2004.  

Bendy_House

I understand it needs to be a magnet grade of SS, unless with a built-in indie base.

I used to think all SS was magnetic, but some are not.

Are yours Schott glass, I wonder? Is that genuinely better? 

shiraz99

Bendy_House said:

I understand it needs to be a magnet grade of SS, unless with a built-in indie base.

I used to think all SS was magnetic, but some are not.

Are yours Schott glass, I wonder? Is that genuinely better? 

All induction/ceramic hobs will scratch to some extent over the years, maybe not deep scratches but you will get micro scratches on the surface. I've had mine for over 10 years and whilst it's still looks good you can see fines scratches on the surfaces most used, and yes it uses Schott glass.

daivid

Bendy_House said:

daivid said:

Bendy_House said:

daivid said:

My AEG induction hob was scratched within a week or two, by pans that hadn't been cleaned thoroughly enough from use on gas and by the thermometer jack for the oven getting drawn across the hob. Upsetting at the time but superficial and no problem for the 5 years since.

That's what it comes down to. If the pan bottoms are clean, there will be no issue. But if there's a bit of grit on there, it could well scratch, regardless of the type of glass (Schott seems well regarded?)

What's the 'thermometer jack', and how did that scratch it?

Yes, lesson learnt on the pans.

My oven has a cook to internal temperature feature for roasting meat. The thermometer jack is exactly like the larger size headphone jacks and plugs into the socket in the oven. The temperature probe is connected to the jack short length of insulated cable. The first time I used it I didn't give thought to the jack trailing from the roasting tray, as I set the tray down at the back of the hob the tip of the jack was pulled across making a small scratch. Nowhere near enough to bother me now but when it was a brand new cooker inma brand new kitchen it smarted!

Blimey! It was scratched by just a jack plug being pulled across it! Weird.

Yes, the scratching was audible too 😖 I don't know if the jack being hot was a factor.  The resulting scratch was not deep and was short, I see it every time I clean the hob but I suspect anyone else would have to have a good look to find it, same with the scratches from the pans. I think serious mistreatment/ repeating of mistakes would be required to cause any real harm.