by ericmark »
Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:24 pm
I am at the moment waiting for one to be fitted for my mother. With only one leg her chance of becoming unstable is increased and although the induction hob is not cold as heat is transferred from the pan it is cooler than any other type of hot plate so will minimize the risk.
We have been warned off touch control as any liquid spills will disable the hot plate until completely dry.
Also all pans need to be magnetic which means glass, aluminum and even some stainless steel will not work but there are hot plates available for special cooking types.
They have a safety feature which when a pan is removed switches off the hot plate and if the pan is only just big enough to cover hot plate then if it becomes non center it can switch off.
But power can be very high with boost available so if not all rings are used even more power can be delivered to those which are in use.
It makes gas seem slow and heat goes to pan not kitchen so much more user friendly.
Power wise it is frighting as much more power can be used than with conventional hot plates and there is a requirement with some makes to fuse of course with semi-conductor fuses which are faster acting than MCB's and with some at 4.4kw per ring need a lot bigger supply than old types and can draw in some cases the full 45 Amp available at the cooker point.
There are warnings about pace makers but my mothers surgeon said for her there was a greater risk from being burnt on a normal stove than the hob affecting her pace maker so she is still going for it.
I note Neef are now using magnetic knobs which do not suffer from splashes but my mate says it does not stop his kids hiding the knobs!
Eric
