New induction hob issues

[Stoobydoo]

Hi everyone, I have just joined the site having found this thread: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/induction-hob-issues.116298/
As it’s an old, 6 years old, thread, I was advised to start a new one.
Essentially I have exactly the same issue as the original poster. We have just had a new kitchen in and it’s perfect except for the new induction hob. We have a portable 2kw, single ring induction hob which is great. It can boil half a litre of water in 2 minutes. All our pots and pans work well with it.
it works so well that when we were planning the kitchen we thought we’d go for in induction hob. We ended up getting an AEG
IKE85751FB which is rated at 7.34kw and well, it is infuriating to use. It takes over 5 minutes to boil water in the same pots and pans and I’m wondering if it has a fault or not. The pots and pans are all induction hob compatible and as I mentioned, all work very well on the portable hob. I have no idea if the original poster is still about. I’d love to know if they found a resolution.
Stuart

 

[Phil Pascoe]

have you a "boost" feature? Mine will boil a mug of water in less than a minute.

 

[johnb80]

Make sure the single phase link is fitted (assuming youre running single phase). It's stored in the terminal block area (see small red circle) but it's not fitted as standard.

 

[Stoobydoo]

Phil — my timings are with the P boost function. The wee portable would boil a mug in a minute but not the AEG.
Johnb80 - the electrician will be back and will get him to check.

 

[Jacob]

Is it the shape/size of the pot? A little pan might fit exactly where the induction coils are on the portable, but miss them on the larger hob where they will be arranged in wider circle.
You can see where the coils are if you put a very flat based large pan on with a little bit of water. It'll start bubbling over each of the coils. If you only cover half of them you get half the heat.

 

[XTiffy]

We have a Belling range cooker with four plate induction hob, this boils very rapidly. Our belling has one "ring" with a powerful rating (larger ring) and three with lesser rating. All of the rings boil rapidly, depending on the pot (size not shape).
Have a look at the specification as to what each hob is rated at. Seems wrong to me, speed is the delight for me, this replaced a gas range cooker, no contest!

 

[Jacob]

It explains here how the coils may be arranged differently, with different outcomes https://saffroninteriors.co.uk/a-co... of small copper coils,the pan shape and size.

 

[--Tom--]

Some hobs output different power ratings dependent on how many amps they’re fed. Friend had one fitted in a holiday let and without running a new line back to the CU the hob would only run at a lower power and took longer.
Double check the manual and get the spark to check it’s getting the power it needs

 

[XTiffy]

Tom, that would be voltage not amps! I have just checked my Belling manual and three of the pan areas are 1.4KW and one 1.9KW. I have never used the boost control (which apparently "borrows" power from its pair, the LF &LR and RF & RR can be linked, upping the FR gives it 2.3KW). It does also explain that the heated area depends on the size of the pans base and gives minimum pan base size of 150mm for three and 180mm for the front right area. It would be interesting to know what your hob areas are rated at.

 

[Richard_C]

Tom is correct, it's amps, the flow of current. Assume all UK mains appliances are 240 volt. The circuits that feed them have different sized conductors and right back at the distribution board (fuse box) different sized circuit breakers. Typically 5 amp for lighting circuits, maybe 30 amp for hob and oven. 15 for power circuits. All are 240 volt.

A 7Kw hob, all zones on full, needs 30 amps.

It strikes me that power supply, current, is the most likely limiting factor here.

The other possibility is that the pans, although they work, just don't conduct heat well enough. I have one like that, it is non stick coated stainless steel with a mild steel sandwich base but the area if the sandwich bit is smaller than the pan diameter, useful for slow sauces if all the others are in use but no good at all for speed.

A quick thing for anyone thinking about an induction hob and wondering if their pans will work- an ordinary everyday magnet like a fridge magnet. If it sticks to the base it will work, if not then it won't. You can't just judge by material, lots of aluminium, stainless steel and others have a sandwich base to make them compatible.

 

[John Brown]

Tom is correct, it's amps, the flow of current. Assume all UK mains appliances are 240 volt. The circuits that feed them have different sized conductors and right back at the distribution board (fuse box) different sized circuit breakers. Typically 5 amp for lighting circuits, maybe 30 amp for hob and oven. 15 for power circuits. All are 240 volt.

A 7Kw hob, all zones on full, needs 30 amps.

It strikes me that power supply, current, is the most likely limiting factor here.

The other possibility is that the pans, although they work, just don't conduct heat well enough. I have one like that, it is non stick coated stainless steel with a mild steel sandwich base but the area if the sandwich bit is smaller than the pan diameter, useful for slow sauces if all the others are in use but no good at all for speed.

A quick thing for anyone thinking about an induction hob and wondering if their pans will work- an ordinary everyday magnet like a fridge magnet. If it sticks to the base it will work, if not then it won't. You can't just judge by material, lots of aluminium, stainless steel and others have a sandwich base to make them compatible.

So how does the hob "know" the size of the conductors or the rating of the breaker?
I'm not arguing with the principle that an induction hob needs a lot of amps, we have one, and also have a smart meter - I'm arguing with the idea that the hob would operate at lower power because it "knows" how many amps it's being fed. Amps aren't fed, they're drawn.