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[Limpy]

Arrgghhhh - The grill on our cooker has died, and the top oven's none too good either.

So - we were going to Currys anyway..........
I just wanted a straightforward replacement - OH saw an induction beastie  and was smitten. 

My problem with the object of OH's desires is that the door needs to be closed when grilling (thinks - that's baking not grilling).

So ladies my pressing two questions are;
1 - Induction hobs really that much better?
2 - There any induction cookers with grills that work with the door open?

Any help would be much welcome - our broadband is down to 160 kbps so the internet isn't really an option for getting useful information

[honeybun]

We had an induction hob on our last holiday. It was a touch pad type thing. It was very efficient but I found the touch button difficult to use. Difficult to judge in a week though. The grill worked just fine with the door closed. If it's just the top elements that heat then it's a grill.
I much prefer a gas hob, although it's a ceramic hob I have just now. Gas is so much more controllable especially if you like to stir fry.

I once spent a small fortune on a combined oven/grill. It had so many programmes. I did not use most of them....it had a pizza oven and a slow cooking oven and cost as much as a small car. Hubby was never done fixing it.

From that experience I would suggest thinking what kind of cooking you do and whether you need a bells and whistles one.

Induction needs special saucepans which are also expensive.
Unless your hubby does the majority of the cooking then the choice should be yours. It's the one thing that I get to decide on my own with no input from anyone as the kitchen is my domain.


Honeyb
X

[Limpy]

Thanks Honeyb - We'll see.
He keeps muttering how nice the touch pad screen thing looks..........
I think I'll need to say something like - I don't think that's a good idea, or if that doesn't work, NO   

[CLKD]

Stick with what you know! the more gadgets the more to go wrong 

We have an all-in-1 cooker with 1 halogen hob, the 3 others are something else - 1 cools down when the pot begins to boil.  Our grill/top oven has to be kept open whilst making toast/crumpets and closed if baking.  The bottom oven is a airy thingy and is used for storage as well as cooking with. 

Have a look on-line? I would love an eye-level grill with separate hob and separate oven, again at eye-level though that makes it hard to lift hot pans etc. in and out of.  Microwaves 'do it all' these days! apparently  . 

What do you cook most of?  DH uses the top for most of his dishes, occasionally we put a roast into the oven [where else  ] and he makes his porridge in the microwave.

[Limpy]

Where do I cook most - hmm - it varies.
But  quite often it's main fan oven, grill (within top oven) and a hob ot two.
Or, separate microwave, grill, and hobs.
Grill gets used quite a bit.

[CLKD]

fan oven - that's the technical term 

[bramble]

I have an induction hob. Great for cleaning but I do find it quite hot ie. I need a much lower setting for simmering than I think. Great for cleaning though. And very sleek looking. I have a separate oven unit with top oven/grill and fan oven. Door needs to be open to grill - close the door and the grill switches off - safety feature.

Bramble

[Limpy]

Thanks Bramble

[Dancinggirl]

I miss having a gas hob - when we lived in London I loved my gas cooker and hob. We don't have gas in our village where we live now so I have an induction hob and though it takes a bit of getting used to I wouldn't go back to the other types of electric hobs for the world.  It boils things quickly like gas and is quite controllable and, as previously said, it is soooo easy to clean.  I have a NEFF - I researched and this make came up as the most reliable.
I would definitely recommend an induction hob but get a good make.  I have an eye level double oven (Beko) and it grills with the door open fine!!!
DG x

[Scampi]

I think the pans for an induction hob must be a magnetic metal (that's how they work) - get a magnet and see if it sticks to the base of your current pans ... if it doesn't you will need to replace them with (expensive) suitable pans if you go with the induction hob. 

[Dancinggirl]

Yes, you do need the right pans of induction. They can be a bit more expensive but you can get some good deals online.  When I got my induction hob all my saucepans were so old it was good to invest in another set.  I think I paid £60 for a set of 3 in different sizes online.
DG x

[littleminnie]

We had gas jobs for about 20 years. The we got an induction hob and we loved it. Now on our 2nd one. Would never go back to a gas one now. They are as controllable as gas, much easier to clean and look more streamlined in your kitchen.
Also have a fancy oven and grill, you get used to keeping the door closed when grilling.

[bramble]

I previously had a gas hob until a couple of years ago I got up and found one of the cats had managed to turn it on during the night. Fortunately(?) it had lit but the whole house was toasting hot that morning. No idea how long it had been on - hours I think. That scared the living daylights out of me so I immediately got an induction hob. It won't come on unless there is a pan sitting on the ring. Much safer. But I never leave pans on the hob overnight! Only problem is if you have a power cut - at least with a gas hob you can boil some water for a coffee!

Bramble

[CLKD]

I thought even a gas hob would be electrically activated 

Buying a new cooker meant we could get rid of those awful Le Crueset pans 

[Scampi]

My cooker is dual-fuel (4-burner gas hob, plus 2 electric rings, electric grill and electric fan oven) - the gas ignition is electric, but the gas on the hob will still work if the electric is off ... it just needs an alternative source of ignition (eg - match!).