Induction hob review

[vivienz]

I'm always keeping an eye on induction hobs as this is what I eventually plan to have in our new house.  A really interesting (to me!) article is in the latest issue of Which?

 

They compared a best buy Samsung NZ63J977OEK at £799 with a New World IHF60T at £254.  The Samsung got a score of 80% whilst the New World got 79%.  Barely a gnat's whisker between the two for performance (Which? comment that the Samsung is slightly quicker) but a whopping price differential.  The cheapest current supplier for the New World is Argos.

[SteamyTea]

I pulled my old one apart (was a £20 one from Maplins).  There really is not much to them.  A bit of copper wire in a coil, and temperature sensor, some magic circuitry on a tiny board and, on the one I had, two push buttons and a variable resistor.

[AliG]

That Samsung hob is a virtual flame one. It seems with kitchen appliances that the price ramps up rapidly as they add gimmicky features of dubious benefit.

 

Siemens, Samsung etc have prices differences of 100% between almost identical basic products as they add features. The question I always ask myself is how many of these features would I use, I don't think I've ever used more than 2 or 3 programmes on the oven yet some have dozens.

[ToughButterCup]

14 hours ago, vivienz said:

I'm always keeping an eye on induction hobs as this is what I eventually plan to have in our new house.  A really interesting (to me!) article is in the latest issue of Which?[...]

 

Thanks for the nudge. Its important to keep an eye on whats new because we all need to set budgets; and as you say, they aren't cheap.

[Ferdinand]

14 hours ago, vivienz said:

I'm always keeping an eye on induction hobs as this is what I eventually plan to have in our new house.  A really interesting (to me!) article is in the latest issue of Which?

 

They compared a best buy Samsung NZ63J977OEK at £799 with a New World IHF60T at £254.  The Samsung got a score of 80% whilst the New World got 79%.  Barely a gnat's whisker between the two for performance (Which? comment that the Samsung is slightly quicker) but a whopping price differential.  The cheapest current supplier for the New World is Argos.

 

Good point, but I would counsel slight caution on the interpretation of Which? reviews for the long term, unless it is supported by long-term surveys. Their long-term surveys (particularly for cars) are imo more reliable.

 

I would perhaps put more weight on mass or long-term web reviews, or the reliability of the manufacturer of the gubbins (not the badge), and the availaility of support should I need it.

 

I see that Samsung's model numbers are now as incomprehensible as Neff's. 

 

Ferdinand 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Ferdinand

[AliG]

A good thing to look for is run out models.

 

Our kitchen company sold us Siemens ovens with a £1500 list price for £750 when they were being replaced with a newer model. I'd have bought a much lower spec one otherwise. I'll just have to do without the WiFi of the new ones, because everyone needs a WiFi oven!

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, AliG said:

because everyone needs a WiFi oven!

A reluctant oven can contact JustEat to get you a pizza.  Can't do that on a gas on.

 

[PeterW]

@vivienz did they include any of the Amica brand ones in the test..?? I've been quite impressed with their cost vs quality on a couple of things but no seen their induction offering up close. 

[ToughButterCup]

Folks, truly, why the price differential when there appears to be so little real difference? 

[SteamyTea]

Basic economics.

It is the manufacturers job to maximise profit, the consumers job to minimise it.

 

These are really basic bits of kit, a food blender is more complicated.

It is easy to get sucked in to a few 'special' features.

Mine has a power setting (hardly ever use it), a temperature setting (use it all the time) and a timer (very useful).

[AliG]

I tend to like to buy a basic version of a better known brand as I assume that the quality and reliability will be better. Also they do tend to have better after sales service so that if something does go wrong it is easier to get them fixed and get parts.

 

However, this is where you may in fact just be paying for brand and where the power of the internet might help. As people buy products and review them on line you can get a much better feel for the real life user experience. As @Ferdinand says, Which won't have used these items for a long period of time and that is where you can really tell how good something is. If over time you can find a product where real life buyers are happy with it and it is cheaper than it is a win.

 

Of course people like to go onto the internet to complain about things which means that you don't exactly get a representative view of products. Also if you go onto Amazon you will find reviews written by the seller, bad reviews of products because they were delivered on the wrong day even though the product itself was fine and reviews stating that a product someone got yesterday is the best thing ever, when longer term owners say that they all break down.

 

Anyway I would note that on AO.Com the New World has a few positive reviews although there are some similar priced products also well reviewed. I like to look at the worst reviews to see what issues they highlight. For example a well reviewed BEko induction hob appears to split the power between 2 rings if both used at the same time.

[Onoff]

I bought an Electra Elecheib induction hob from Comet as they were going bust. That well known make designed in Israel and made in Turkey. Started at £399...reduced to £199 and then found a 15% off code. So £169.15 all in. Schott Ceran glass etc. Figured for the money we'd take a chance. Fambloodytastic it's been too! 

[Crofter]

You can pick up unbranded induction hobs for well under £200. I'm quite tempted, especially after reading about how apparently simple these devices are.

For the kitchen in the holiday let, I am deliberately going for 'bling' to give a more upmarket feel. It's the exact opposite of what I would do if it was my own house. However I can't stretch to the £350 minimum needed for a NEFF hob, so a blank unbranded one (well it still says Schott Ceran on it) might just do the trick- I reckon people won't notice the lack of a name, but they will notice a cheap name.

I'm probably massively overthinking all of this...

[AliG]

6 minutes ago, Crofter said:

I'm probably massively overthinking all of this...

 

YEs, but I would do the same.

 

I doubt people will notice much more than it is a nice hob and it's too late once they get there.

 

I would consider one with a frame so that some idiot doesn't drop something the edge and break the glass.

 

Guy across the road has been airbnbing his house for a year.

 

It looks to me like he is getting an enormous return on its value, but he just told my wife he will probably sell it as people are destroying it.

 

One thing he noted is that people seem to think towel rails are actually hand holds. Perhaps an idea to anchor them to the walls like they are

Edited September 22, 2017 by AliG

[Crofter]

4 hours ago, AliG said:

 

YEs, but I would do the same.

 

I doubt people will notice much more than it is a nice hob and it's too late once they get there.

 

I would consider one with a frame so that some idiot doesn't drop something the edge and break the glass.

 

Guy across the road has been airbnbing his house for a year.

 

It looks to me like he is getting an enormous return on its value, but he just told my wife he will probably sell it as people are destroying it.

 

One thing he noted is that people seem to think towel rails are actually hand holds. Perhaps an idea to anchor them to the walls like they are

 

Thanks for the headsup on the framed/frameless hob- I wasn't really aware of the difference.

The towel rail is going onto a studwork partition. Prior to plasterboarding, I did put in a layer of 11mm osb with the idea that I could then use hollow-wall fixings. Hmmm, maybe I should have put some big beefy dwangs in there instead...

[ryder72]

All appliances work on the same underlying principle. Yet some go up in flames and other work for 20 years without bother.

 

Like with every consumer product, there is a sweet spot and finding that sweet spot is crucial.

 

As someone from the kitchen/appliances world, my recommendation is to buy basic models of well known brands as it gives you as assurance that corners havent been cut on quality, reasonable customer service and parts availability.

 

For instance most induction hobs use induction loops made by pretty much one supplier. They also make complete hobs for a very top end brand. The super cheap induction hobs are usually chinese circuits which work but may not have the same quality of components and therefore durability. The lower end European brands (Beko etc) then to use older generation technology to keep costs low. While the hobs perform and are reasonable quality, the circuits are not as responsive, efficient or reliable as newer ones. One important factor to consider is the longevity of the brand. If you put in an induction hob in a solid surface worktop, the worktop and kitchen will most likely outlast the hob. If in 10 years the hob needs replacement, will another one using the same cutout be available.

 

Here BSH appliances hve stuck with the same cutouts for 25 years so its a guaranteed fit.

 

My advise for almost all appliances at most budgets is stick with Bosch, Neff or Siemens. Avoid the gimmicky add ons and you have a good solid product. 

[dpmiller]

^ against that, remember than Bosch bought in dishwashers from Merloni a few years back (rebranded Hotpoints) and they didn't quite live up to the German name.

[Onoff]

44 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

^ against that, remember than Bosch bought in dishwashers from Merloni a few years back (rebranded Hotpoints) and they didn't quite live up to the German name.

 

+1 Was this the Spanish crowd they bought? About the time they started branding the cheaper end stuff "Made in EU" rather than "Made in Germany".....'cos it wasn't anymore!

[ryder72]

11 hours ago, dpmiller said:

^ against that, remember than Bosch bought in dishwashers from Merloni a few years back (rebranded Hotpoints) and they didn't quite live up to the German name.

Contract manufacturing is common in this industry especially for low volume products such as vacuum drawers, specialist products such as down drafts or when a certain price point needs achieved when manufacturing it yourself is not viable. This cannot be avoided but I know of no instances where BSH have bought in anything from Hotpoint. Any evidence to support this would be welcome.

 

Today BSH make a number of products in Turkey which is neither Germany nor EU for cost reasons but I don't know if that is relevant. Broadly speaking the products are still reasonably good quality and backed up by the BSH brand name.

 

[dpmiller]

1 hour ago, ryder72 said:

Contract manufacturing is common in this industry especially for low volume products such as vacuum drawers, specialist products such as down drafts or when a certain price point needs achieved when manufacturing it yourself is not viable. This cannot be avoided but I know of no instances where BSH have bought in anything from Hotpoint. Any evidence to support this would be welcome.

 

Today BSH make a number of products in Turkey which is neither Germany nor EU for cost reasons but I don't know if that is relevant. Broadly speaking the products are still reasonably good quality and backed up by the BSH brand name.

 

I'll retract my statement as my memory turns out to be befuddled. Back around ten years ago I was pretty active on Ukwhitegoods- both for personal research and also because I was doing a fair bit with Miele commercial glasswashers at the time. Back then the trade was agog at a tie-in between BSH and Merloni.

 

But I remembered the detail incorrectly, I apologise. Trawling back through postings of the time, Merloni were buying in non-German BSH product and it's quality did no favours for either brand...

[ryder72]

19 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

I'll retract my statement as my memory turns out to be befuddled. Back around ten years ago I was pretty active on Ukwhitegoods- both for personal research and also because I was doing a fair bit with Miele commercial glasswashers at the time. Back then the trade was agog at a tie-in between BSH and Merloni.

 

But I remembered the detail incorrectly, I apologise. Trawling back through postings of the time, Merloni were buying in non-German BSH product and it's quality did no favours for either brand...

 

Thanks. I have been dealing with BSH for longer and I have no recollection of any BSH appliances that had beyond normal quality issues.

 

It may however be the case that both buy in some product from a common factory. As far as I know, the only BSH products bought in now are limited models of extraction, vacuum & warming drawers, coffee makers, some gas hobs, teppanyaki hobs and the base spec microwaves and steam ovens.

[vivienz]

On 9/22/2017 at 07:33, PeterW said:

@vivienz did they include any of the Amica brand ones in the test..?? I've been quite impressed with their cost vs quality on a couple of things but no seen their induction offering up close. 

 

Sorry, Peter, there's no mention of that brand in their induction hob reviews.

 

6 of the top ten (rated at 80% and above) are Bosch, Siemens and Neff.  The other 4 are Ikea, AEG, Gorenje and Samsung.  Of these, Neff have the most and least expensive in the 10, £670 and £349 respectively.  The common flaw of all the induction hobs seems to be poor heat distribution, according to the review.

[Onoff]

2 hours ago, vivienz said:

 

Sorry, Peter, there's no mention of that brand in their induction hob reviews.

 

6 of the top ten (rated at 80% and above) are Bosch, Siemens and Neff.  The other 4 are Ikea, AEG, Gorenje and Samsung.  Of these, Neff have the most and least expensive in the 10, £670 and £349 respectively.  The common flaw of all the induction hobs seems to be poor heat distribution, according to the review.

 

All about Amica:

 

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/about-the-appliance-industry/manufacturer-information/2883-amica-wronki

 

And you can look up here about any other maker:

 

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/about-the-appliance-industry/manufacturer-information/