Halogen hobs old hat?

[nobeone]

Our existing free standing cooker has 3 ceramic and 1 halogen zones. The halogen works well for us and is the most used by far. I have been looking for a hob to fit built in to a new kitchen we are having fitted but new ceramic hobs no longer seem to have halogen as an option. Is this because ceramic hobs have got as good as halogen in terms of speed of heating and controllability? Is halogen just old hat?

Your help in understanding this would be much apprecaited…

Thanks!

[don]

Re: Halogen hobs old hat?

Hi nobeone

The efficiency nowadays of ceramic rings is by far better than they used to be. When I get asked about halogen hobs, I ask customers “are you prepared to wait for a couple of seconds while the elements heats or cools” invariably the answer is yes no probs. No need for halogen in that case and should a ceramic element fail it is cheaper to replace as well.

another reason that halogen is getting less could be down to the reintroduction of induction hobs, they are more energy efficient than halogen and quicker too. You may need to invest in some new saucepans as for induction they need to have magnetic bottoms. Also they do need to be fitted correctly with plenty of ventilation.

This thread from a little while ago may help Induction V Halogen may help you decide.

If you decide halogen is for you I should be able to come up with a couple of options for you.

Whatever you decide go for a brand name you have heard of for back up later on should it be required.

HTH

Don

[Phidom]

Re: Halogen hobs old hat?

Halogen may look impressive when it instantly lights up but I did experiments with my old Tricity Princess that showed the halogen ring was hardly any faster to boil a given volume of cold water than the large ceramic one. I have ended up back with the good old spiral rings but you don’t get much choice of cookers with those these days and I don’t suppose you can buy a spiral ring hob.

[nobeone]

Thanks for the advice, so that is why there are few halogen hobs on the market now!

Phidom: while I do not doubt your test on your old Tricity I have to say the halogen on my old aeg seems much faster than the ceramic zones that surround it…but then I have not bothered to do anything so scientific as a test so perhaps you are correct! Either way, I shall give up my hunt for a halogen hob. Ta.

Don: Exeter, sunny, today? Are you joking? Perhaps the few miles south made more difference than I think – near south molton it was sunny spells at best ;).

When you say induction hobs must be well fitted with adequate ventilation, does that mean above a built under double oven is out then, or does it mean I must be careful to ensure I meet the clearance between oven and hob etc in the manual? A quick look at an Electrolux induction hob suggests it will be OK in a 38mm work top as long as it is clear of the top of the oven and there is a 5mm ventilation gap between the top of the oven housing and the work top…

I note that my sister-in-law has an induction hob over a built under single oven that has failed several times…perhaps because of lack of adherance to the clearance required.

[don]

nobeone wrote:
Don: Exeter, sunny, today? Are you joking? Perhaps the few miles south made more difference than I think – near south molton it was sunny spells at best ;).

Fairly good all day 😀 , I even managed to cut both lawns late in the afternoon.

nobeone wrote:

When you say induction hobs must be well fitted with adequate ventilation, does that mean above a built under double oven is out then, or does it mean I must be careful to ensure I meet the clearance between oven and hob etc in the manual? A quick look at an Electrolux induction hob suggests it will be OK in a 38mm work top as long as it is clear of the top of the oven and there is a 5mm ventilation gap between the top of the oven housing and the work top…

To ensure adequate airflow for the cooling fans to function, we recommend that the top four inches of the carcass rear panel is cut away.

HTH

Don

[nobeone]

Don, thanks for the advice.

[Author]

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