# Fitting electric cooker query



## morrisminordriver (11 Nov 2020)

Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob. Does anyone know if the wiring (to the fuse box) that’s worked fine for the ceramic would be adequate for the induction?
Thanks.


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## Ollie78 (11 Nov 2020)

It should be, you can check the rating on the MCB itself and compare it to the spec of the oven. It will likely be a 32amp or 40amp with a nice fat cable.

Note, I am not an electrician, no responsibility taken etc..

Ollie


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## Dee J (11 Nov 2020)

Too many variables. What's your existing setup? Probably 32A mcb and 6sqmm cable (typical cooker point). Some induction stuff needs more, some doesn't. Or maybe you've got 45A / 10sqmm which is sometimes installed for larger cookers.. Few domestic devices use more. Read the spec for the new item - the install details should outline the supply requirements.


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Nov 2020)

Mine runs fine on the original 1970's wiring.

You won't regret the induction hob - they're brilliant. I prefer mine to a gas hob, let alone any other electric one.


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## lurker (11 Nov 2020)

Are you just talking about a separate hob?
I have just installed one.

These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.
Our new separate electric oven is a tad under 12 amps, and I have used a three pin plug with this too.
I had a 40 amp supply (spur) which were needed for old cookers. I wired this to a ganged pair of standard sockets and swapped the 40 amp fuse for a 32 amp. This was easy as I have a new fuse box. Be aware your current pans may not work on induction hob DAMHIKT.


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## porker (11 Nov 2020)

lurker said:


> These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.


Some are low powered and run off a 13A plug and some are higher power and don't. Mine is over 7kW and needs a 32A MCB. As stated above, it all depends.


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Nov 2020)

lurker said:


> Are you just talking about a separate hob?
> I have just installed one.
> 
> These are quite low powered, and come wired with a three pin plug.
> ...



"Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob ..."


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## Sheffield Tony (11 Nov 2020)

Phil Pascoe said:


> Mine runs fine on the original 1970's wiring.
> 
> You won't regret the induction hob - they're brilliant. I prefer mine to a gas hob, let alone any other electric one.


I could probably get a nice warm inner glow just standing next to one by now 

An aside - a neighbour who had to have a pacemaker fitted was told he coudn't use his <1 year old induction hob anymore


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## deema (11 Nov 2020)

If you don’t know the answer to the question you should not be messing with it. Electric isn’t like gas, you can’t smell it, it doesn’t kill you slowly, it doesn’t need the right air / gas mix to catch fire.
Electricity tends to kill instantly, if not using the right rated connection overheat and cause fires. You wouldn’t mess with a gas hob so why mess with electrics?


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## lurker (11 Nov 2020)

Phil Pascoe said:


> "Hi, we are looking to replace our ceramic hob range cooker with one that has an induction hob ..."


Yeah but..... two separate items might not have been considered


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## Rorschach (11 Nov 2020)

If the kW rating of the cookers is the same then you will be fine. 

I would suspect they would be similar as Ceramic hobs draw a big current in use, at least as much as most induction hobs.


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## lurker (11 Nov 2020)

We looked at the pros and cons of 3kw vs 7kw.
The 3 kw you can only run two rings at full wack at once.
Her majesty said that was ok by her.


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## Rorschach (11 Nov 2020)

lurker said:


> We looked at the pros and cons of 3kw vs 7kw.
> The 3 kw you can only run two rings at full wack at once.
> Her majesty said that was ok by her.



I do all of our (stove) cooking on a 2-ring induction hob that runs from a 13A plug. Works fine for us right now.


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## lurker (11 Nov 2020)

Sheffield Tony said:


> I could probably get a nice warm inner glow just standing next to one by now
> 
> An aside - a neighbour who had to have a pacemaker fitted was told he coudn't use his <1 year old induction hob anymore


So the EMC and medical devices directive don’t work then?
It’s a shame because I spent two years serving on the British standards committee that wrote them and harmonised with the EU some 25 years ago.


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## Sheffield Tony (11 Nov 2020)

That's what he was told at the hospital. It may be excess caution, but I'd be nervous to chance it too. It could also be that like a great many products, not all hobs on the market actually meet EMC standards.


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## lurker (11 Nov 2020)

Sheffield Tony said:


> That's what he was told at the hospital. It may be excess caution, but I'd be nervous to chance it too. It could also be that like a great many products, not all hobs on the market actually meet EMC standards.


Illegal to place on the market if they don’t meet standards.
But who out there is policing this(I could rant at length,), so you are most likely correct.

I have looked at nhs website since I posted and they advise 600mm between the hob and the pacemaker. Which seeing as there is a plate between you and the innards sounds over cautious to me. Unless ........... the person is very short and their chest is near level with the hob top. Or the hob is not grounded. Which I suppose these generic warnings need to consider.


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## morrisminordriver (11 Nov 2020)

deema said:


> If you don’t know the answer to the question you should not be messing with it. Electric isn’t like gas, you can’t smell it, it doesn’t kill you slowly, it doesn’t need the right air / gas mix to catch fire.
> Electricity tends to kill instantly, if not using the right rated connection overheat and cause fires. You wouldn’t mess with a gas hob so why mess with electrics?


I’m not doing anything to the electrics myself, just trying to get an idea if we need to get an upgrade of the existing cooker feed before getting a new induction range cooker.


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## morrisminordriver (11 Nov 2020)

Thanks got all of your replies, it’s very helpful. I will try to find out the Kw rating of our existing and had proposed cooker. We’ll get it professionally installed.


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## Ozzy Osborne (12 Nov 2020)

As you are changing the characteristics of the installed circuit and the Induction hob will be in what is known as a special location (kitchen), you should have it installed by a competent registered electrician. Some Induction Hobs give off a magnetic field, hence the posts above reference pacemakers, some cannot be fitted to a circuit which are protected by RCDs for the same reason and will trip regularly. Always best to get a professional opinion where electricity is concerned, saving money may not necessarily save lives.


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## Just4Fun (12 Nov 2020)

I understand that different spec products may be offered in different markets so this might not apply in the UK, and I don't know much about electrickery anyway, so take this with a pinch of salt ...

I have had at least three 4-ring induction hobs in our kitchen - they don't seem to be the most reliable of devices. All of them have had 2 wiring options, so that they could run on single-phase or 3-phase supplies. Our first one was installed at the same time as we renewed the kitchen, so we had a 3-phase supply installed for it and I assume the replacements were also wired that way. Since 3-phase is unusual in UK kitchens I guess you will be using single phase. (How) will that change the performance of the hob? I don't know.

I also have a couple of single-ring induction hobs I bought from Ikea. I bought them as a stop-gap when one of the kitchen hobs failed. Since replacing the kitchen hob I only use the Ikea jobbies when cooking outside. They are single-phase and wired up with a conventional plug. They work fine, and were cheap, but of course don't have the capacity of the 4-ring hob in the kitchen.

Overall I like induction hobs, but they have not been reliable.


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## MikeJhn (12 Nov 2020)

Our Neff induction hob is eleven years old and has never failed us, it is on two phase's of a three phase supply, third phase supplies the oven, this may have a bearing on its reliability.


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## DBT85 (12 Nov 2020)

Our 900mm wide Neff induction has been going strong for 4 years now, no option for 3 phase supply though. So few houses here have it.

Wouldn't swap induction hob for any other options. Easy to clean, easy to use.

While my electrician wire the house up, he did not do the final run to the hob or the oven and nor was he interested in what type of hob was being fitted, short of its max loads.


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## Phil Pascoe (12 Nov 2020)

Our five year old Zanussi cooker with induction hob started showing a fault code, so as fortunately we have insurance on it I reported it and when the chap came he replaced the circuitry on all four rings, not just the one that failed with new stuff which is more reliable. I wouldn't change back, even for gas.


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## Jester129 (13 Nov 2020)

We inherited a 4 ring induction hob when we moved in Dec '18. Wife loves it, but you can't put both rings on one side on 'boost' at the same time. still great to use and my wife wouldn't go back to gas. It's staying when we get a new kitchen next month.


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## Phil Pascoe (13 Nov 2020)

Same as my cooker. How often do you need "boost" on two rings, though, let alone three or four?


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## AJB Temple (13 Nov 2020)

I have an Interest in a pro kitchen as part of a commercial facility (not getting much use these days sadly) and like many serious pro kitchens it uses 3 phase. It has Athanor induction hobs which are much more powerful than domestic ones and seriously impressive. I don't have three phase at home unfortunately (though plan to install it if and when I build the new workshop close to a 3 phase farm transformer, so have installed Gaggenau single zone hob (ie no rings). That has quite a hefty power drawer and required its own 32amp supply similar to a big oven. Yet to use it as the kitchen is still not finished.


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## DBT85 (13 Nov 2020)

Just have to remember to use 2 rings on different sides. I use boost on from time to time to get 2 pots of water up to temp for veg or whatever.


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## AJB Temple (13 Nov 2020)

DBT85 said:


> Just have to remember to use 2 dings on different sides. I use boost on from time to time to get 2 pots of water up to temp for veg or whatever.


Get a quoker or similar. Really good for anyone who cooks a lot. Instant boiling water all the time.


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## DBT85 (13 Nov 2020)

AJB Temple said:


> Get a quoker or similar. Really good for anyone who cooks a lot. Instant boiling water all the time.


And a mere £1150 as a starting price!

I don't evne use soda stream bottles in my soda stream as it's so expensive!


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## Phil Pascoe (13 Nov 2020)

DBT85 said:


> Just have to remember to use 2 rings on different sides. I use boost on from time to time to get 2 pots of water up to temp for veg or whatever.


Try putting your water on while you're peeling the veg. Easy.


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## DBT85 (13 Nov 2020)

Phil Pascoe said:


> Try putting your water on while you're peeling the veg. Easy.


We prep a bit ahead often. Spuds will be peeled and sitting in water for maybe an hour before we cook as an example. Much of the veg leaps out of the freezer.

Typically the veg is the fastest thing to cook anyway, so once the oven, pan or grill is going its easy enough to get the water boiled ready for some veggy action. I'm also fortunate enough (to have designed the kitchen this way) to have a 900mm wide hob with 5 zones, so we can easily have 2 on boost and 2 more just doing something at normal settings if we need to and still have room.

I did want to inset the hob into the worktop to have it flush but bottled it at the time. Maybe one day soon. Would make the wife very happy as stuff getting under the edge is one of her bugbears. Fortunately apart from a 200mm radius on one corner of that stretch of worktop and the hole I had to cut for the hob, there are no joins or anything to do so if I did balls it up it's not the worst thing in the world.


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## AJB Temple (13 Nov 2020)

Yes. Price is a bit of a factor. It was not anywhere near that expensive for me as the alternative was running a hot water supply a long way across the house from the boiler and fitting a recirculation pumped system to stop it taking ages for hot water to reach the furthest point. Because it is a pressure system that required a plumber install and the quote was £2k plus Vat. It was cheaper to buy and fit two Quookers and a better solution. I am now a convert. 

It's cheaper than running a kettle (they say) and only needs about 90 years to achieve payback


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## Phil Pascoe (13 Nov 2020)

Hell! A 90 year payback? That's quicker than a solar panel.


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## Rorschach (13 Nov 2020)

I boil the kettle generally when I want water for cooking. It's quicker than our hob and I don't need to watch it. If I need more than the kettle can handle I start some going in the saucepan while the kettle boils. 
Kettle is the most efficient way to boil water in a kitchen, over 90% efficient if it's a high kW one.


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## nickr (14 Nov 2020)

Hi All I love to hear about kitchen fittings, my wife always says "what if we have a power cut when we're doing the dinner, we have to keep gas".
I do try to say that induction is more efficient than a gas hob. DBT85 what Neff hob do you have, we have to do a back to the brickwork new kitchen soon and I need all the information I can get.


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## DBT85 (14 Nov 2020)

nickr said:


> Hi All I love to hear about kitchen fittings, my wife always says "what if we have a power cut when we're doing the dinner, we have to keep gas".
> I do try to say that induction is more efficient than a gas hob. DBT85 what Neff hob do you have, we have to do a back to the brickwork new kitchen soon and I need all the information I can get.


It isn't this one, but its as close as I can find from their current lineup.









T59FT50X0 Induction hob | NEFF GB
 

T59FT50X0 Induction hob | NEFF GB




www.neff-home.com





Magnetic knob that you use to set which area to adjust. It just pops off and lives on the cooker hood when not in use. No need to remove it at all though really. Not sure it adds anything other than some semblance of tactile control as you're turning a knob rather than just pushing a touch sensitive pad to change a setting.

900 wide, 2 zones on either side with a larger one in the centre. The outer ones can be paired to make one long one. We paid about £800 and it came with a set of nice pots.

My kitchen is just about the only one I have been in where I can cook and not crack my nut on the extractor hood. Most put them at the minimum safe distance which is conveniently at forehead height! It's also a decent hood that not obnoxiously loud but actually does extract. Ducted outside in 150mm. It has stainless grills on it which catch much of the ick and they just go in the dishwasher.

As for having to keep gas around. Have a bbq if the power goes out. Meanwhile enjoy an easy to clean, easy to use, easy to control cooking life for the other 364.99 days of the year.

Because the glass itself isn't directly heated stuff doesn't burn on nearly as easily, you can wipe it down mid cook with a damp cloth or kitchen towel. No cast iron bits to faff around with, no bits of dinner left all around the burners that are just extra work to clean.

I think I mentioned them earlier too but I can highly recommend DIY Kitchens. They don't (at least didn't?) have a design tool or installers, but the units come pre built (not with cams), are solid and they do a host of door styles and when we ordered at least would do it all in any F&B colour you wanted if you paid the extra. 

We ended up with 1x tall oven unit, 2x tall pull out wire larder units, 1 sink cupboard, 2x 5 drawer 1m units, 2x 3 drawer 1000 units, 1x 2 drawer 1000 unit, 1x 5 drawer 500mm unit, 1x 900mm wide bridge unit (between larders) and 4x tall wall cuboards, all the boards, fillers, cornice etc all painted a nice blue (I forget the name) and the price was frankly very very good considering that worked out to be 25 soft close full extension drawers! Oak worktops from worktop express. About 18 months later I added another 2x 1m wide regular cupboards and while they obviously can't guarantee the colour match, it matched perfectly.

Pay the extra for 2 man delivery. The units are heavy and large and if they drop one it's their problem, not yours.


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## loftyhermes (14 Nov 2020)

nickr said:


> Hi All I love to hear about kitchen fittings, my wife always says "what if we have a power cut when we're doing the dinner, we have to keep gas".


My wife is the same, always had a gas cooker but with the AEG cooker we've just had I found out it needs electricity for it to work. The safety devices need electric to work. No electric no cooking, which didn't go down too well with her.


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## Rorschach (14 Nov 2020)

Power cuts are so rare for us I don't worry about it.


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## nickr (14 Nov 2020)

Thanks for all the info DBT85, sounds like you have a very nice kitchen.


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## DBT85 (14 Nov 2020)

nickr said:


> Thanks for all the info DBT85, sounds like you have a very nice kitchen.


I could write a post longer than that with the things I still havn't finished, put right or neatend up. Only been 4 years  99% of people would look at it and think its perfect though so yeah, its nice. Very fortunate!


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