Induction hob

[AE-NMidlands]

Last post on induction hobs. Just get one!
Absolutely effortless and insanely parsimonious. Can't quite believe what it does for literally a handful of Watts.

... as long as you have got pans for them! Otherwise it's abandon your existing cookware and buy new, with the inevitable carbon footprint. We have 2 or 3 useable out of a dozen or so.
I might try one, but there are a lot of things stopping me, not least no generation here yet!
A

[Joeboy]

Last post on induction hobs. Just get one!
Absolutely effortless and insanely parsimonious. Can't quite believe what it does for literally a handful of Watts.

... as long as you have got pans for them! Otherwise it's abandon your existing cookware and buy new, with the inevitable carbon footprint. We have 2 or 3 useable out of a dozen or so.
I might try one, but there are a lot of things stopping me, not least no generation here yet!
A

True, yet we found we had a few units that crossed over and today I bought an induction capable Frying pan for £14. I genuinely thought it would be dearer to get into this. Total cost to date...£19.
The bit that really impressed me is that we can cook effectively for a coupleafew hundred Watts. Well worth a punt! All the other cooking gear is good for the woodstove, electric elements and finally if all else fails..gas.

[Joeboy]

AE, are you planning some PV?

[AE-NMidlands]

AE, are you planning some PV?

I am, lots, but I can't get a sensible quote, even though I do recognise I missed the boat and will have to pay the price for it.

We held off because a couple of our roof aspects will need replacing before long, but I should have bitten the bullet anyway even if it had to be taken off and reinstated later.
The firms I approached didn't want to do Pylontechs and didn't seem to be very open-minded to any ideas other than theirs. I think they have more work on than they really need. Funny, that!
I'm beginning to consider DIY and then scrape around to find a sparky for certification.
A

[Joeboy]

AE, are you planning some PV?

I am, lots, but I can't get a sensible quote, even though I do recognise I missed the boat and will have to pay the price for it.

We held off because a couple of our roof aspects will need replacing before long, but I should have bitten the bullet anyway even if it had to be taken off and reinstated later.
The firms I approached didn't want to do Pylontechs and didn't seem to be very open-minded to any ideas other than theirs. I think they have more work on than they really need. Funny, that!
I'm beginning to consider DIY and then scrape around to find a sparky for certification.
A

For my first foray into solar I used a Leeds based mob called first4solar. I initially thought they read as a bit 80's double glazing sales but truth is the system they installed has been rock solid, they did a remote survey, worked with me on the spec and apart ftom a glitch in battery install which was eventually traced to a faulty DC lead built in Aberdeen were very good indeed. Worth a bell or email?
In addition, they annihilated the couple of Aberdeen quotes I could get both in price and professionalism.

[Oliver90owner]

I'll be interested to see your results Nowty. I did my wee test as i read two claims online that an induction hob could beat a kettle for boiling water. I have no idea of the age of this hob and maybe tech has moved on. Nonetheless, the kettle fairly skelped the induction hob in that test. In saying that i'd look daft trying to make veg soup in the kettle!

The results are in and there was someone who I cannot remember or even the thread, who recently said the kettle wins hands down and I think they are correct. However you cant cook in a kettle.

I was surprised how poorly the induction hob fared but it could be with my cookware, they are aluminium with a composite steel base, maybe not as good as having an all steel pan. Also the pan did not fully cover the active heating area.

Similar deal as Joeboy, 500ml of cold tap water heating test.

Gas hob, pan 3/4 full on medium size burner – 6 min 10 sec, 0.019m3 gas or 0.21 kWh
Same pan on 2kW induction hob – 5 min 20 sec, 0.18 kWh
Full glass jug 1.6kW microwave – 5 min 10 secs, 0.14 kWh
2kW glass kettle – 1 min 50 secs, 0.061 kWh

And just for fun and nostalgia (for folk of st elsewhere), a picture of the same kettle boiling 1000ml of water after 15 mins directly connected to 2 x 335w solar panels. Don't do this at home folks, DC and all that.

That is much like I would expect, although the volumes are the same, the microwave is unlikely to boil the full depth of the vessel (ours most certainly heats unevenly - I need to stir a mug of milky drink part way through, or the liquid will boil over if run in one go).

We now need to convert these energy usages to £p. Gas comes out streets ahead for most consumers who use grid leccy - unless they heat their water in the middle of the night on Octopus Go tariff.

I like the DC test.

If your 2kW induction hob was working properly, at the rated heat output, it should have used more than the energy measured. - they are not 100% efficient at converting leccy to thermal.

500ml of water (from 15 to 100 Celsius) would need 0.05kWh of energy. A small amount extra for the heat capacity of the pan/jug and there will be heat losses dependent on the time the heating process takes

One could use a couple, or however many, vacuum tubes put out in the sunshine for the same test.

[billi]

Well , for me the change of an old fashioned el. Cooker hob to an induction one was a stunning result in nearly no time i can place my spaghetti now in boiling water , reduce the heat super fast to not overcook those and , cause its only a flat surface a no brainer to clean .

True i underestimated the fact that some pots do not work .... so at my first cooking sessions , i had to help myself and placed the stainless pot in an cast iron pan ....

[Bugtownboy]

Just a note, Lidl have three SS pans with glass lids. 5,2.5 & 1.5 litre, suitable for induction hobs. £39.99.

Haven’t seen them so no impression of quality.

[Stinsy]

I use IKEA pots on my induction hobs. The rivets aren't up to much but the pots are cheap...

[Mr Gus]

Hi billi.
As per previous induction thread, my recommendations for decent yet well priced induction capable pan, is Ikea if you are within reasonable distance of one, light, solid & good imho.

If after a cheap saucepan set that is induction compatible this set is £12 here https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/annons-5-p ... -90207402/
"ANNONS"
5-piece cookware set, glass/stainless steel ..which whilst basic, hopefully translates to a good price in Germany.
(of course there are non-stick also but at a far higher price) ..these ones are a little basic but do-able.

Of course I would also recommend the instantpot for long days out & hearty fare on a simple delay timer, & good spaghetti, ..the unit has a very good heatsink, my preference is the stainless steel inner pot over the non stick, it cleans more easily on the steam function.

if you wish to displace your oven in terms of energy, then it should be considered (produces a good whole chicken) ..the latest versions are also available with a lid to swap over to an air fryer too! ..whilst I cannot justify a third one, the thought of cooking simple egg fried rice & air frying some crispy pork to finish it off would be a dream for us (not much pork, lots of rice, basic, reduced meat consumption ..all good)

Very frugal energy consumption, which has long outgrown the term "fad product"