Many developers are not involved in gas supplying to residential buildings. And in other places gasification still has not reached. But even if the gas is quite affordable, many people prefer to buy a plate that works on electricity, because they are more modern and multifunctional. We'll figure out how to choose an electric stove with the most suitable qualities.

On what parameters to pay attention when buying a plate

Like all other types of household appliances, electric cookers have both undeniable advantages and some drawbacks. Which of the many platters to choose depends on your needs and possibilities. The main thing is to choose the balance of pros and cons in the optimal ratio.

Dimensions

There are many options, from compact hobs to stand-alone devices of solid size. Cooking surfaces can be built-in, or simply self-contained units of household appliances.

If you do not need an oven, the hob can be an ideal solution for any kitchen, including cottages. The oven can be bought separately, and it is convenient to place it in the kitchen.

Hobs:

• compactness;
• a variety of types of heating elements, including the most advanced developments;
• a wide range of prices.

Cons may be associated with the characteristics of individual models, and the category as a whole they are not observed.

Standard sizes

A full-size slab can be chosen as a stand-alone slab, or built into a kitchen set. The height of all instruments, as a rule, is 85 cm. Most models are equipped with adjustable legs.

Depth is usually from 50 to 60 cm, and width - from 50 cm to 1 m. The more solid the dimensions, the more convenient it is to use plate, except when your kitchen in a small apartment is comparable in size with the surface dimensions plates.

When deciding which electrical stove to choose, do not forget about safety. The plate should stand at a distance from the sink, from where often splashed water splashes. The towel rack should also be territorially separated, as well as the refrigerator.

Before choosing any model, remove its size and draw a plan for your kitchen, making sure that all dimensions are met correctly. Note also the opening distance of the oven door.

Surface material

To make the top of the plate, metal or glass-ceramic is used. The metal surface can be either enameled or made of stainless steel.

It is easier to care for glass-ceramic surfaces: almost nothing burns to them, they are easy to clean and look very beautiful. To the enameled or stainless surface, contaminants stick to much stronger, and are more difficult to clean. The use of abrasive products leaves scratches.

But glass ceramics also has some drawbacks. In particular, it does not tolerate a sharp temperature drop - it can crack. A crack may also appear due to a point impact: for example, you drop a knife or a pan cover on the surface. Cracked surface can not be used, and repairs can result in decent costs.

For cooking on the glass ceramic surface you will need utensils with a very even bottom: correctly, when the bottom is adjacent to the hob by the whole area, it does not swing due to unevenness of the bottom. Some types of plates generally require special quality dishes. And on the stove with enamel or stainless surface you can use any accustomed dishes.

There is one more aspect, especially relevant for those who like to put food ready, and most to go to a TV or a computer. If you run away from milk, porridge or boiled meat on a regular enamel or steel surface, you will, of course, have to tinker, washing the traces of escape.

But if such an annoying trouble occurs on the glass ceramic surface, then you probably will have to wash the floor around the slab too. The ideal smoothness of the surface and minimal edges (or their total absence) do not prevent the escape of the boiled food and its flow from the plate to the floor.

But glass ceramics offers more options in terms of the use of different heating elements.

Video: how to choose the right electric stove

Heating elements: what to cook on

On plates with an enamel or steel surface, as a rule, two types of heating elements are used: a spiral and "pancakes". The heating disk in the form of cast-iron pancakes is slightly more convenient than a spiral heating element. It is not so easily polluted, and can be of several modifications: normal, automatic, and rapidly heating. On the automatic, there is usually a white labeling circle, on the fast warming - red. The automatic heater switches off when the cookware is heated to the boiling point so that the liquid does not escape.

Both the open spiral and the disk are heated for a long time and cool down rather slowly. This makes it impossible to accurately and correctly regulate the heating of the dishes.

In terms of economy, these types of heating elements are also far from being champions: they expend a lot of energy, and not too rationally. But the cost of such obsolete plates is the lowest, so they are still very demanded models.

The glass ceramic surface offers more modern and practical solutions:

• a hidden metallic spiral;
• Hi-Light, in which the heating is carried out by a metal band laid by an accordion;
• halogen element;
• induction surfaces.

Burners with a metal spiral are also not able to quickly change the temperature, but they heat up faster than cast iron pancakes.

The Hi-Light burners are heated almost instantly (no more than 5 seconds), they are easily regulated by the degree of heating, almost in the same way as gas burners. True, they spend 50% more electricity.

The halogen heating element also heats up and adjusts very well.

Induction plates generally operate in a different way. Instead of heating your own surface, and then transferring the heat energy to the bottom of the dishes, the induction cooker heats the bottom itself.

Under the heating zone (burner) are induction elements that generate an electromagnetic field, under the influence of which the bottom of the cookware is heated. But for this, the bottom must be magnetic. That is, copper, aluminum, glassware will remain cold. As it becomes clear, if you buy such a progressive novelty as an induction cooker, you will have to acquire another set of suitable dishes.

Induction cookers are more expensive than others, but they are much more economical and safe. Another point: almost all products of this type belong to the category of cooking surfaces, most to embedded models. Separately standing induction cookers on the market are practically non-existent.

Burners

On plates with open spirals and heating discs, there are usually two types of burners, differing in diameter.

Glass-ceramic surfaces offer much more convenient options. In addition to the burners of different diameters, you can use oval heating zones, as well as change the diameter in accordance with the diameter of the bottom of the used dishes. For this, the heating zones are located under the surface in concentric circles. You can include the configurations you need as needed.

Convenient additions include sensors that control the boiling-off of the liquid and automatically turn off the heat if the dishes empty. The residual heat indicator will help determine the degree of cooling of the burner. In other models, special sensors turn off the power supply if you remove the dishes from the surface.

Oven

If you are staying on a full-size stove with an oven, you need to understand what kind of oven you are going to cook.

Ovens can be with one, two or more heating elements, as well as with a convection device. Convection provides a uniform heating of the dish from all sides and its best roasting. There are models with a grill of different designs. As a rule, manufacturers offer different designs that are in different price categories.

When choosing a plate in a store, do not ignore such moments as:

• the adjacency of the oven door;
• Retractable structural elements for the installation of gratings;
• lighting inside the oven;
• special cooking modes (defrosting, reheating, browning, etc.).

It is also important to find out how to clean the oven. With the pyrolysis method, the oven is heated to 500 ° C, and all the dirt is simply burned out. The energy is spent on it quite a lot. The catalytic method is more economical. The walls of the oven are covered with a special composition that breaks down fats right during cooking.

We advise you to read: how to choose an oven

Plate construction options

Some firms develop interesting models that can interest consumers with non-standard requirements. For example, a compact version of a plate with an oven, comparable in size with a microwave oven. Such a baby can be easily moved if necessary, take it for summer at the dacha.

For small kitchens, the most caring manufacturers have developed household appliances combining three functions: a cooking surface, an oven and a small dishwasher.

Safety precautions

• For any type of electric cooker, a special power cable of a large cross section is required. Induction cookers require three-phase power.
• Whatever your stove is, even the safest induction can not be left unattended.
• When installing, the plate body must be grounded.
• Do not allow small children near the operating plate. The absence of visible flame sometimes leads to the fact that the baby touches the hot surface and can get a serious injury. Even at the induction cooker, the surface of the burner heats up to 100 ° C, and the other plates are heated to hundreds of degrees.

Read also: how to choose a gas cooker