Author Topic: Induction hobs - power output  (Read 3387 times)

Woofage

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Induction hobs - power output
« on: 18 September, 2019, 11:08:03 pm »
Just researching what to go for and there seem to be 3 ratings:
1. 13A - just plugs into the mains. Don't want one of these (not enough grunt).
2. 20A / 4.6kW
3. 32A / 7.4kW

The nice Neff one we've seen is 20A. The 32A version is a bit too spendy. Can anyone supply some real world experience of a 4.6kW hob? Is there enough grunt to fry something at a high temp on one ring whilst boiling a pan of water on another (without having to wait ages)? Sorry if these seem trivial questions but I've always used gas!

PS: there will be a separate circuits for the hob and ovens so the supplies are sorted.
Pen Pusher

Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #1 on: 19 September, 2019, 01:00:50 pm »
The hob I have (Zanussi) is split into two pairs of "rings".  You can't use full power on both rings at the same time, what happens is one will cycle - i.e. put both at 9, one will cycle between say 3 and 9 every few seconds.  But you can use two rings at full power on separate pairs.

So I can use a "P" setting (a boosted power) on one ring to stir-fry, and still bring to the boil on a ring on the other pair.

Sorry I don't know the rating, it's a free-standing slot-in on a 32A spur.

It's as fast, if not faster than gas, and controllable too. Only real annoyance is any water on the touch controls cuts the power to all the rings. A quick wipe dry and alls well though.
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Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #2 on: 19 September, 2019, 02:07:43 pm »
We have a free standing cooker with 6 rings, two ovens and a warmer. You can run the 4 induction rings, the two halogen and the two ovens full blast along with the plate warmer all at the same time and we do (Christmas day usually). Its on on 32 amp lead and circuit but I dont know the actual current draw.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #3 on: 19 September, 2019, 07:28:09 pm »
S-I-L has a 4 ring hob which I was surprised to find that it is powered from a 13 A plug. I can't remember the ratings for the rings, but I think that they were about 2 x 2kW + 2 x 1.5 kW. Anyhow, we've not had any reports of there being a problem and I asked her if she noticed any limitation when using it, which she didn't.

Ours 4 ring hob is rated at 7.4 kW total and the recommended supply is 25 A, which gives 6 kW,  but apparently the diversity factor in  EN 60335-2-6 says that is all that is needed. We've got a 32 A breaker feeding it, and we have no idea how much it actually uses.

Based on S-I-L's experience, and the diversity factor on ours, I doubt if a 4.6 kW would be a limit in practice.

Also, I notices that Neff are charging less and £100 extra for the 7.4 kW, as far as I can tell. https://www.neff-home.com/uk/productlist/hobs/induction-hobs?sortAttribute=RETAIL_PRICE&sortDirection=ASCENDING&pageNumber=1

edit:- Many of the low ratings for the 13 A Neff cooker seem to be a result of the power limit. https://www.neff-home.com/uk/productlist/hobs/induction-hobs/T36FB41X0G#/Tabs=section-reviews/. In spite of the majority of good reviews, and S-I-L's experience, I wouldn't get a really low power one like that. (Although I do like the idea of a setting that allows running from a 13 A plug which could be used to bodge a supply if the cooker feed is broken / not yet fitted)
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Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #4 on: 20 September, 2019, 10:49:20 am »
The hob I have (Zanussi) is split into two pairs of "rings".  You can't use full power on both rings at the same time, what happens is one will cycle - i.e. put both at 9, one will cycle between say 3 and 9 every few seconds.  But you can use two rings at full power on separate pairs.

So I can use a "P" setting (a boosted power) on one ring to stir-fry, and still bring to the boil on a ring on the other pair.

Sorry I don't know the rating, it's a free-standing slot-in on a 32A spur.

It's as fast, if not faster than gas, and controllable too. Only real annoyance is any water on the touch controls cuts the power to all the rings. A quick wipe dry and alls well though.

^^^sounds a very similar arrangement to my Rangemaster, albeit Quisling Towers has a dirty great 5 ring/double oven affair with the hob split into two zones, one of 3 rings and the other of two.  As above, you can't stick two rings on the same circuit on full blat, but when you got to "P" (nuclear!) setting it brings stuff to the boil so quick that you can swiftly turn it down and fry away to your heart's content.  We had to have a mahoosive new cable back to the consumer unit to handle the potential for having two ovens and 5 rings going at the same time :o

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Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #5 on: 20 September, 2019, 11:09:48 am »
I've been very impressed with the performance of the induction hobs I've used and have found they exceed that of gas. They will bring a pan of water to boiling quicker, while the ability to deliver intense heat and then to cut it immediately gives excellent control for frying. I've used two. The first was a wired-in hob with touch controls. I used it for two weeks in a holiday rental. The second appliance was an induction hotplate with a rotary nob to turn the heat up or down. The latter was rated at just 2kW but its performance exceeded that of a gas burner. So I expect a 4.6kW appliance would deliver heat at least as quickly as gas (since 2kW for induction frying exceeds a gas burner, and that leaves 2.6kW available for boiling which is approximately the power of an electric kettle).

Something else you might want to consider is the type of control interface. The touch control unit in the holiday rental was not easy to use, needing a long press on the unlock key, followed by a press on the + key to increase the power, or a press on the - key to decrease it. To locate each of these 'keys', you had to look at them - you couldn't locate them by touch because they were just an area of the glass top. After a fortnight, I still wasn't used to it and had pans of pasta boiling over because I didn't work the controls in time. By contrast the induction hotplate had a knob, like a gas burner (i.e. you locate it by touch and turn it while watching the food). A better control design.

If I were planning a kitchen today, I might choose domino hobs: one induction domino, one ceramic domino. Induction would be used for intense heat (for frying); ceramic for simmering or keeping warm and for non-ferrous pans. When not in use, the ceramic could be used for cooling a hot pan. I'd put space between the dominos to allow for pan handles.

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Induction hobs - power output
« Reply #6 on: 04 November, 2019, 03:16:48 pm »
Update: bought the mode spendy one, 'cos why not? Hopefully get it fitted soon (ovens already in  8)) so I'll feed back.
Pen Pusher