Gas vs Induction cookers

[microsquid]

Hi everyone,
I've searched back as best I can to get the skinny on induction cookers, but all the info seems to be around hobs.
At the moment we have a 4yr old Zanussi standalone gas cooker with 4 burners, grill and oven. We have recently had an attic conversion and my dream kitchen was on the wait list. However it seems that the cooker is getting steadily more temperamental. The burners would occasionally shut off but up until recently the gas would stop automatically if there was no flame. [And the flame would not fail if you held the button in for 20s when starting] At the weekend though we had an oven shut the flame off and keep sending out gas - bit scary.
Add to this that the big front burner no longer lights from the ignition (not a deal breaker) and the small rear burner no longer has gas coming out it's turning into a catalogue of failures - and with gas you really don't want to take a chance.
We are on the mains gas line and use gas for heating. Ideally at a future date I would like to have a gas or induction hob and an eye-level electric double oven.
If I get an expensive induction cooker now I won't be able to remodel the kitchen for quite some time but we can't take the risk of a faulty cooker. I admit the main attraction of the induction cooker is the smooth lines and gadgety-ness
We even had the existing cooker repaired in early 2014 because we had an overflow on the counter top (overflowing deep fat fryer had been placed under extraction fan) - which cost €200. But it's gotten worse since, and the original seller is no longer in business (repair guy is).
Usually we wait until our appliances are completely dead before replacing, don't think I really have that option this time.
So moan over, on to the questions.
Has anyone a recommendation of a good gas cooker (600mm wide to fit between units)?
Has anyone a recommendation of an induction cooker (same size)?
Anyone seen any bargains in the Jan sales down Munster way? Is it worth going North?
Anyone any other pearls of wisdom?

 

[Leo]

You could get a 60cm kitchen carcass unit to go where your current gas cooker is and get built-in induction hob and electric cooker to go in it? That way you can incorporate those into the future kitchen re-model without throwing too much money away.

 

[flowerman]

Please be aware that if you go for an induction hob then you will also need to change all your pots and pans to induction friendly pots and pans.This can be quite a few extra quid that you may not have thought about.
Personally I would go for a new gas hob and an electric oven below sat into a new kitchen carcass,this way if the power goes off you still have gas to cook hot food and boil water,and vice versa with regards the gas going off.Best of both worlds.

 

[dub_nerd]

To me there is no contest -- induction is as adjustable as gas (i.e. instant), cleaner than any other electric (only pots get hot, so spills can be simply wiped), safer than any other option (no naked flame or even high temperature elements, pots/pans automatically detected), faster than any other option (3kW power boost). The only cooking limitation I've ever encountered is stir-frying -- induction woks aren't great -- but a suitable deep cylindrical pan pretty much overcomes this. Induction hobs are also cheaper now than they used to be. I've been using them since they first became generally available about 15 years ago. They are still expensive compared to a gas hob, and there is the issue of having to use iron cookware, but to me they are well worth it. Would never consider anything else. I've bought three, and haven't had one break down yet either.

 

[suzie]

To me there is no contest -- induction is as adjustable as gas (i.e. instant), cleaner than any other electric (only pots get hot, so spills can be simply wiped), safer than any other option (no naked flame or even high temperature elements, pots/pans automatically detected), faster than any other option (3kW power boost). The only cooking limitation I've ever encountered is stir-frying -- induction woks aren't great -- but a suitable deep cylindrical pan pretty much overcomes this. Induction hobs are also cheaper now than they used to be. I've been using them since they first became generally available about 15 years ago. They are still expensive compared to a gas hob, and there is the issue of having to use iron cookware, but to me they are well worth it. Would never consider anything else. I've bought three, and haven't had one break down yet either.

Out of interest, was there a particular brand you purchased/followed? I agree with the above excepted we've had problems with our AEG hob...maybe we were just unlucky..

Thanks
S.

 

[mro]

We recently moved and left behind an induction hob and it is the thing i miss most. I now have a ceramic hob and the slowness of it drives me crazy. Anyway we had an Electrolux hob and never had a problem with it, 6 1/2 years when we left the house. I loved the clean lines and the easiness of it to clean and the speed of adjustment.

You may need new pots just check if a magnet sticks to the bottom and if it does they will work with induction.

 

[dub_nerd]

Out of interest, was there a particular brand you purchased/followed? I agree with the above excepted we've had problems with our AEG hob...maybe we were just unlucky..

Thanks
S.

Have forgotten what the first one was, different house more than ten years ago. The last two were Neff, one of them ten years old last year and still going strong. Neff was supposed to be a good "name" but the salesman admitted they came out of the same factory as a couple of other cheaper brands, can't remember which, so you were paying a premium for the logo. The second Neff was two years ago and cost not much more than half the previous one.