Changing gas hob for induction. Good move?

E D

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Yes, we’re considering moving away from cooking on gas.

Would you recommend we do?

What sort of technical preparations does it need to have an induction hob installed?

We already have an electric oven (that needs replacing too) below our current gas hob.

We’re looking at this one from John Lewis.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-jlbiih615-induction-hob-black/p3190115

Any thoughts, experiences more than welcome! :)

Featured Answer

Carolina

4 years ago

I've switched from gas to induction two years ago and I think I'm the only person in the world who prefers a gas hob. But hey ho... advantages of induction: quick, sleek look. Disadvantages: noisy (sometimes the pans make a high pitched noise), I don't find them that easy to clean and you see every little mark on them.

And I prefer just to see the flame, see whether it's high or low and just turn a knob and see what happens to the flame. I find induction an endless guessing game. But as I said: I think I'm the only one who doesn't really like induction.

You might need new pans. If you have a magnet, test it on your current pans. If it sticks, the pans will work on induction. A pan with a slightly hollow or bowed bottom won't work well either.

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Comments (24)

Sonia
4 years ago
I have a ceramic hob, but once it gives up the ghost I will replace it with an induction hob. I have read up a lot already about them for the future swop over! One of the best things is the ease of cleaning a glass hob compared to a gas one. A quick wipe with some Hob Brite, rinse it off and you‘re done. You will need an electric connection for it so need an electrician, unless John Lewis provide that service? I think induction works with magnets, so to check which of your pans will suit just check if a magnet sticks, if it does they will be fine. When you come to change the oven, make sure it is Pyrolytic so it cleans itself - life’s too short to clean an oven! You will hopefully get more comments from people who actually have one, rather than want one!
E D thanked Sonia
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PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
You are not alone Carolina! I once bought a property that had an induction hob fitted and absolutely hated it, and subsequently replaced it. :-)

I enjoy my cooking and for me there is no substitute for control when it comes to using gas.

I also hated it when there were spills as cleaning the induction hob was a pain and there always seemed to be a ghost of previous spills, etc.
E D thanked Brandler London
Carolina
4 years ago
Oh Brandler, it's such a relief to know I'm not the only one! I could hug you :-) The only thing I like about it is the incorporated downdraft and how quickly it brings a large pot of water to boiling point.
PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
lol Carolina... and I would gladly accept! If I need to boil a pan of water very quickly with gas, then I boil the kettle and fill the pan! :-)
Daisy England
4 years ago
I’m on my second induction hob and would never ever have anything else. Sleek in design, quick to clean and cheaper than gas to run. What’s not to like?

My first was an AEG, the current one Bosch and I preferred the first one. I’d say they last 8-10 years (which mine did). I preferred my AEG because each individual ring had boosters. On this Bosch I can only have one booster on at a time which was rather misleading in the wording when I purchased it.

My next will definitely be an AEG and they have some lovely dual pan designs available.

ED, that’s John Lewis own I presume? I wonder who makes them on their behalf. The price is good as is the guarantee. Get it. Make sure you have saucepans that are magnetic on the bottom as this is how it cooks. You can put a £5 note on the ring and it won’t burn. It cooks and heats by the magnetic in the bottom of the saucepan. Safety there too if you have small children.

I cannot recommend them enough.
E D thanked Daisy England
Ribena Drinker
4 years ago
It's worth speaking to an electrician before you swap over as induction hobs (and your oven) is (as I understand it) probably better on it's own 30amp fused cable rather than hooking it up to the ring main.

I don't understand all the technical bits (I preferred pottery lessons to physics lessons!!!!), but I do know our electrician put in a new, separate cable for the two ovens and the induction hob when we had the kitchen re-done. So perhaps it's something you may need to look into.

On the practicality side, I think induction hobs are great and as responsive as gas generally, but they do take a little getting used to, if you've had gas previously. One thing I do find is I lean on the touch controls at the front of the hob and find that I've either switched something off or on or child locked the flammin' thing. (eyeroll)
E D thanked Ribena Drinker
Daisy England
4 years ago
Oh yes Ribena I’ve done the child lock in error, eekkkk. Had to find the manual to find out how to turn it off.
obobble
4 years ago
I’m with Carolina and Brandler. Gas for me too, particularly as we seem to be prone to power outages. Granted the gas doesn’t self light in that case, but we always have matches handy for lightning candles anyway.
E D thanked obobble
Daisy England
4 years ago
I‘m informed by an elder that we reason why a lot of people had gas hobs and electric ovens was so that in the event of a power cut you had something to cook on.

Thankfully we dont seem to suffer from that problem (at least in my area and fingers crossed now that I’ve said that) these days.
Gabby Wong
4 years ago
I must say I grew up with gas and hated moving to electric, however am super looking forward to getting induction in the new kitchen!

We're getting this one https://www.pauldavieskitchensandappliances.co.uk/cooking-appliances/hobs/electric-hobs/aeg-ike84441fb-80cm-maxisense-induction-hob.html Ticks a lot of the boxes I had and am quite optimistic!

It arrived today, but won't be fitted for a month or 2... so time will tell!
Hilary Wilde
4 years ago
That looks really great ED. I moved from gas to induction 2 years ago and love it. It simmers on a really low heat and also is very responsive in controlling the heat. The only thing I don't like in mine is the size of the rings, can't use a couple of really big pots I have. However it looks like that one has the zones which is much better and I would definitely go for next time.
E D thanked Hilary Wilde
Gabby Wong
4 years ago
Oooo Looks great E D (JL website broke last night and couldn't actually see it)

The only word of caution I would have is what Hilary just eluded to...

I presumed that with the bridging function you'd be able to have one large circular pot that would then heat anywhere within that space... the AEG one I just got, although it has an area that you can bridge, the pan has to cover the centre of both places, and also can't extend past the edges of that zone so would have to be oblong/oval more in shape I think to the sides which is slightly annoying.

Maybe try and double check? It wasn't clear from anything I read online (even reviews), and only realised when I was looking in the user manual. (Although may not be an issue depending on your pans)
E D thanked Gabby Wong
J
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I went from gas to induction a while back. Since then have had 2 induction hobs, 2 gas and now sadly a plain electric hob while we moved and renovated.
I think gas is best for woks (and BBQs) and induction for everything else.
My dessert cafe uses 2 cheap IKEA portable induction units. We melt chocolate directly in the pan on its lowest setting. Simmer huge pots full of condensed milk tins for hours to make dulce de leches. And crank it up high for sugar syrup bases for marshmallows and so on.
I find induction easy to clean with quick heat adjustment, it cools quickly and has a wide heat range.

As with any hob just make sure it suits the way and what you like to cook and your pans. Check your cookwear not only that they will attract a magnet but they will fit on the hob. Check you have room around the pan to access the controls. You'd think that would be a given in the design but some have awkward placement and you might find while your favorite large cast iron pot holds the magnet (thus suitable for induction) but hangs over the control panel. Best piece of advice I recieved was to bring your pans into the store display and check the hob layout.

Good luck with it E D
E D thanked J
tamp75
4 years ago
We have an induction hob & it’s great. Safe, quick & easy to clean. We have a white one & it’s very easy to keep clean. Have used black ones in holiday homes & they do seem to show up more greasy marks.
E D thanked tamp75
PRO
Schmidt Dorking
4 years ago
To be honest having an induction or a gas depends a lot on the person and your cooking style.

Induction is definitely easier to clean and maintain and it heats up much quicker. It is also safer for homes with children since you won't burn, there is just residual heat from the pots. But, it is not advisable for people who have pacemakers because of the magnetism. And in terms of cooking, it is probably not the best for Asian foods, since you need the woks to have the heat from fire, or if you are doing chapatis, etc. Another things, is that you need to change all your pots and pans for special ones, iron pots are fine. Personally, I find it easier to clean but it doesn't make rice the same way, there is a slight difference in the final result, so for me it is great but I find foods cooked on fire get a better taste (that is just my personal opinion). Still I prefer the convenience of an induction hob.

And for the installation, you'll need your electrician to install it for you. Contact the electrician before buying to check what sort of electric works you'll need, and what hob feed is better for your kitchen.

Good luck
E D thanked Schmidt Dorking
E D
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thanks all for your helpful responses.

My my wife and daughter are the main cooks in our home (I know, very stereotypical, but then again, I am the tidy one! Hehe).

They both love their Asian and other exotic (my wife hates that word because it’s not foreign for her :) ) style cooking so lots of stir frying etc.

And I love it too! ;-)

This means we (well, not me really...) decided to stay with gas, at least in the main home.
Daisy England
4 years ago
I do wok cooking on my induction with no problem.
Gabby Wong
4 years ago
Could always go for a dual fuel hob E D! Best of both worlds? Or is it just the problems of both and more expensive perhaps!
Mary Brady-Maguire
3 years ago
Carolina & Brandler London, sounds like this is me!! I've always used gas, cook a lot and have occasional electrical outages. I'm about to change my hob and every retailer seems to promote induction!! Conscious that this fuel will be phased out in homes but I don't think it's considered as a big offender (sic)! I'm anxious about control, which is so easy with gas. I use many large pots, most of which have passed the magnetic test, so will they fit on the sections...as mentioned above...measuring tape...!!
Has anyone experience of using ceramic gas hobs. "Which" mentions they are slower to heat!?! May need to investigate further.
Thank you for all your comments here...think I'll stick with gas tho'.
Daisy England
3 years ago
Mary, there’s no comparison between ceramic and induction. Completely different in terms of cost, efficiency and speed.

I‘m on my second induction hob. Would never use anything else. Quick to boost up, energy saving and so quick to wipe over to clean.

I’m sure AEG do an induction hob that has areas that can be split and attached to other pan positions so you get a larger cooking area. Obviously these features will all be taken into account within the retail price. There may be other manufacturers who also offer it. My first induction hob was an AEG and I currently have a Bosch but when this goes bang I’ll be going back to an AEG one.
Carolina
3 years ago
I can combine cooking zones so it takes larger pans too. Never use it. But I can't use two decent sized pans sitting behind each other, because the front one will cover the controls of the hob. Another thing to add to the list of: things that you don't realise when choosing expensive stuff for your home ;-)

I had a freestanding big Smeg gas stove before this, controls at the front of the stove, not top, so I never realised it was something that needed to be thought about. But our country, and definitely our province, is trying to get off the gas grid, so induction it had to be. Anyway... it is quick, I'll give you that. And it looks good. And the downdraft is fabulous.
Mary Brady-Maguire
3 years ago
Daisy and Carolina, thank you for this info. The location of controls, for me, will be something I need to look at carefully!! I have a shallow 30cm/12in saucepan that is thee most used item in my home...normally place it on the wok ring...hob decision will also based around that one!!;) Meeting with supplier on next week and bring support (hubbie!) as I do think retailers push what they think you should have!!
Thank you all again...xx
PRO
Morley Stove Company Ltd
3 years ago
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Changing gas hob for induction. Good move?

Carolina

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Changing gas hob for induction. Good move?

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