Thinnest induction hob?

Soldato
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I'm getting annoyed with the difficulty of cleaning my hob. It's an old iron plate thing. So I'm looking at an induction hob. Standard 4 zone, 60cm jobbie. Hopefully a drop-in replacement. But there is a knife draw immediately below it. So I need the hob to be very shallow. The countertop is 4cm thick. And I don't want to be heating the knives. What do you recommend?
 
Soldato
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quite a lot of heat to dissipate from the electronics in an induction hob(often have a fan), so a thin form factor will cost more to provide reliability,
I'd place getting fine granularity of heat levels/adjustment, above all, in an induction purchase
 
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I have this one. Measurements page says only need 1.2cm countertop height minimum if installed over a drawer? Mine's over an oven.
 
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I have this one.

Unfortunately it's 0.5cm too deep. I suppose I could fit a frame around it to lift it up.

I've just double checked and lifted it up and I've got the measurements wrong. It's 60cm on the outside, but the hole is 56cm by 49 cm by 4cm deep and there's a wood bar beneath. The current hob is a Prima LPR 852.

x1HLruu.jpg
 
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Digging through the manuals of other hobs, it seems that 6 cm is recommended between the top of induction hobs and items in the drawer beneath. This is not a problem as the wood bar gives the distance.
 
Soldato
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Double check your electrics are up for the job as well before buying - you need the correct size cable and breaker etc to cope with the load. What's the current amp/load rating of your existing hob? Ideally a 6mm cable with a 32a breaker would cover the majority of hobs.

Also be aware when purchasing some inductions have a lower 16-20a rating, because they can't have all 4 rings on full load. I assume that's a potential problem for you, it was for us when we redid our kitchen last year but luckily the existing cable was enough. When the wife's cooking say a Sunday dinner or doing some baking, she needs 3-4 rings at a time.

Some models only allow 1 ring full load, 1 near full load and the other 2 get disabled. I believe it's by design though for people who can't (or struggle to upgrade) because of their existing electrics. We nearly made this mistake without realising until I read some of the reviews on AO mentioning it from previous customers. Definitely do your research though first.
 
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Double check your electrics are up for the job as well before buying

Quite right to check. Yes, it's on a 32A circuit with 6mm cabling.

I've found that Miele do one that's a mere 3 cm thick, the KM7201FR. As with all Miele products, the price is swingeing. I've emailed them about the suitability and the safety.
 
Soldato
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Unfortunately it's 0.5cm too deep. I suppose I could fit a frame around it to lift it up.

I've just double checked and lifted it up and I've got the measurements wrong. It's 60cm on the outside, but the hole is 56cm by 49 cm by 4cm deep and there's a wood bar beneath. The current hob is a Prima LPR 852.

x1HLruu.jpg
Could you cut/notch the bar which I presume is at the front supporting the worktop to allow the hob to fit and thus allow a deeper hob?
 
Soldato
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Fair enough. Just make sure you use the right pots and pans on it :)

Pretty hard to get wrong, as long as they're metal with at least a ferrous base they'll be fine. You obviously can't use glass or ceramic.

Digging through the manuals of other hobs, it seems that 6 cm is recommended between the top of induction hobs and items in the drawer beneath. This is not a problem as the wood bar gives the distance.

My Beko one only requires 5mm of clearance as the fan etc are mounted towards the back, but you do need a board between the hob and the drawer and a ventilation gap in the board so the fan can work effectively.
 
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I've had a reply from Miele. They actually do not recommend any induction hob when there is a drawer with metal items underneath. Oh well. So I guess it's going to have to be a ceramic hob.
 
Associate
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Only a personal opinion, but I swapped out a Glass/Ceramic hob for an Induction one, and would never go back.
If you cook often, and gas is not an option, its the next best thing. But even with gas, cleaning is a pain.
I have an AEG one, and its great. Super quick heat up times, boil over prevention, Link 2 rings together to create one big one (Great for cast iron griddle pan for example).
Mines been in 2 years, used every day, and still looks like new. (I do look after it though)

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09OuIzU.jpg

I know you have the drawer issue, but if you can get a thin one, or perhaps change your drawer layout, IMO it would be well worth the effort.
 
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Soldato
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Which one would you recommend? I was looking at the AEG ones but reviews say that they scratch easily.

I think they all scratch easy enough but use good quality pots/pans and it won’t be too bad. I found the cheaper bottoms on some make a real mess.

AEG is a top brand so can’t go too far wrong there. I have a combined Hotpoint cooker with glass hob so not a separate.

I use some of that slightly abrasive cleaning paste now and again from Astonish and that makes it look like new :)
 
Soldato
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Have a 6 year old belling ceramic (nothing special) inherited with the property - no scratches or deterioration - just use a razer blade/hob-brite and it cleans up fine,
my suspicion is that will eventually drop something on it - like a mug and it will be interesting to see the outcome.

ceramics are really slow to respond though and a lot of residual heat (wasting energy) you can put a pan of porridge on for next days breakfast when you finish dinner and it is 3 parts cooked.


Pretty hard to get wrong, as long as they're metal with at least a ferrous base they'll be fine. You obviously can't use glass or ceramic.
like for ceramic, given the localisation of the heat/magnetic field you need a tri-ply pan with decent heat distribution otherwise you get localised burning,
gas (had had previously) is much more tolerant because the hot gases distribute (&waste) the heat.
 
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