Induction hob woes

E17saver · 9 October 2019 at 4:21PM

Hi all

My wife and I bought an induction hob a year ago and quite frankly we've been utterly unimpressed. Whilst it's great at heating one thing at a time, it can barely cope with two and you can forget about doing three things simultaneously.

I emailed the manufacturer Blomberg to ask if this was normal as we're hosting Christmas this year and couldn't dream of doing so with the current hob. This was their reply:

'The model number provided is a plug and play which means it runs at a low amp, so what your saying is normal. Apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.'

I'm quite frankly staggered! They willingly sell a hob that you can barely use two rings of simultaneously.

Do I have any rights a year down the line? We have a five year warranty but does this count as a 'fault' if the manufacturer freely admits that it's 'normal'??

Any advice for a truly baffled Blomberg customer gratefully appreciated.

neilmcl · 9 October 2019 at 4:37PM

As it's not faulty then you do not have any rights to return it. I'm afraid you should've done more research when buying where you would've found out that as this is a plug in version it will never be as powerful as others.

MarcTJTD · 9 October 2019 at 4:51PM

I'm afraid that you won't be able to make a claim on the grounds that the appliance is faulty. It sounds like it's working as intended.

You might have a case to go back to the retailer if you feel that you've been mis-sold the appliance and wouldn't have purchased it if you'd known that it was subject to such a limitation.

It's your word against theirs but if you're lucky you may be able to convince them to offer you a discount on the purchase of a new wired induction hob. They're not expensive these days.

E17saver · 9 October 2019 at 5:48PM

Thanks for the input. Forgive my technical ignorance but is it possible to get a device hardwired if it previously came with a plug?

General_Applause · 9 October 2019 at 5:54PM

I suspect that you cannot simply 'hardwire' your hob into a higher ampage circuit.

suki1964 · 9 October 2019 at 6:00PM

Whilst I understand your frustration that your hob isn't working to your expectations, I have a plug in hob and I cook with it daily without a bother.

Yes only one zone will go full blast, if I switch another zone on, it drops down but tbh, who fast boils four pans at once? Even at less power, it still boils pretty fast, as fast as any electric hob I have had

Carrot007 · 9 October 2019 at 6:03PM

General_Applause wrote: »

I suspect that you cannot simply 'hardwire' your hob into a higher ampage circuit.

Well technically they can. It's not going to draw any more amperage though!

Just sounds like a cheap version.

Can't have induction myself anyway as OH has a ICD.

Prefer gas anyway.

Belenus · 9 October 2019 at 6:17PM

E17saver wrote: »

... as we're hosting Christmas this year and couldn't dream of doing so with the current hob.

You could consider buying one or two gas camping stoves to use over Christmas to supplement the hob.

We have one, similar to this, that we keep in the garage and use very occasionally. We paid about £10 for it from Robert Dyas many years ago. Try eBay or Amazon etc for more options.

They are very useful if you ever have a power cut and want to make tea or coffee or heat up soup etc.

FreeBear · 9 October 2019 at 6:32PM

E17saver wrote: »

My wife and I bought an induction hob a year ago and quite frankly we've been utterly unimpressed. Whilst it's great at heating one thing at a time, it can barely cope with two and you can forget about doing three things simultaneously.

I emailed the manufacturer Blomberg to ask if this was normal

This one by any chance ?
https://www.blomberguk.com/appliances/integrated-appliances/hobs/min54307n-60cm-touch-control-induction-hob-product

Looking at the specs, the heating zones are rated at between 1.4KW & 1.6KW and in boost mode. 3KW - That is right on the limit for a 13A plug when running two zones, or just one in boost mode. A plug & play is a really poor design for an appliance that one would expect to use four zones simultaneously.

For comparison, I have cheap induction hob from B&Q (own brand Cooke & Lewis) that I got half price. Hard wired in, and rated for full power on all four heating zones. Whilst it lacks the 15 or so steps in power that more expensive brands/models have, I am quite pleased with it.

neilmcl · 9 October 2019 at 7:54PM

E17saver wrote: »

Thanks for the input. Forgive my technical ignorance but is it possible to get a device hardwired if it previously came with a plug?

That won't make any difference for you. The hob is underpowered, hence why it has a 13A plug, you simply can't change that.

neilmcl · 9 October 2019 at 7:57PM

If you want to increase your hob capacity you could get one or more of these induction hobs from Lakeland - https://www.lakeland.co.uk/17883/Lakeland-Smart-Touch-Induction-Hob

They are very good and lot of professional chefs swear by them.

Either that or upgrade your hob to a decent hard-wired, full powered one but you will have to make sure you have a separate fused spur in your kitchen for this.

Induction hob woes

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