Making the Right Choices When Looking for Your Hob

There is a wide range of hobs available in a variety of styles, colours and sizes with differing functionality. To ensure you make an informed purchase the most important features are outlined below.

Your first choice will be either to buy an electric hob or gas hob.

Electric Hobs
Electric hobs have been traditionally slower to heat up than gas but the latest electric and induction models are amazingly responsive.

· Induction – Made of glass with magnetic coils these plates only heat up when a pan is placed on them. Only cast-iron pans can be used on induction plates

· Solid plate - Generally slower to heat than induction plates but those containing a red dot are slightly faster

· Halogen zones - These respond immediately the hob is switched on and cool considerably quicker than other styles

· Quick-light zones - This method is considerably quicker than solid plates and also heats up the glass quicker than halogen zones

Gas Hobs
Gas hobs give instant and controllable heat. If you don’t have mains supplied gas look for models that come with LPG convertor kits as standard.

· Safety - Flame failure is a useful gas hob feature. Its sensors detect when no heat is being generated and will automatically switch off the gas flow.

· Ignition type - There are two ignition types:
Automatic - As soon as gas is switched on the burners light automatically
Integral - Burners are lit by pushing an ignition button or through the use of a control knob

General Tips

· Surface type - Gas and electric hobs will either have enamel or stainless steel. Ceramic surfaces tend to be used for electric hobs only. Electric and induction hobs are general the easiest to clean as they don’t have fiddly pan rests to deal with

· Number of plates - The standard number of plates for both electric and gas hobs is four. There are hobs though, which can have the number of plates ranging from one to six. The Range style of hobs are very popular at the moment, featuring five rings, with the central ring being a wok burner

· Colour - Hobs with enamel surfaces are available in a variety of colours. Ceramic hobs have a black surface but their frames are available in a wide selection of colours. Stainless steel surfaces may be brushed which offers an alternative effect

· Control panel – If you have young children then look for hobs which have the control panel at the side of the hob rather than the front. This keeps the knobs out of the reach of inquisitive fingers
There are a considerable number of hobs on the market so make sure that you identify the features and functionality that you consider most important early on. This will help you vastly reduce your shopping time.

Electric Cookers,
Integrated Dishwasher