It's time to update the appliances in the kitchen, or did the old plate fail? It's time to figure out how to choose a hob from dozens of options. If you come to the store without having your own idea of ​​what you want to buy, you will be sold a model that is more profitable for the store. It is better to sort out the matter in advance and have a more or less formed opinion in order to make your choice correctly and reasonably, and not to buy the first panel that came across.

The choice of the hob is influenced by several basic parameters, and the external design among them is in the last place. The main criteria on which the right choice of home appliances is based is practicality, durability, economy. From these points of view, it is worth considering the whole variety of models.

Determine with the power source

The hob can only work from two power sources. This is gas (balloon or off the main line), and electricity. In houses of new construction, only power is very often available. In the old gasified buildings, you can vary the choice. Which cooking surface is better, electric or gas, it is definitely impossible to answer.

The gas model is more economical, and the electric one is safer. When cooking on gas, you can easily adjust the intensity of heating, but the dishes still heat up unevenly.

If you select an electrical panel, it will be more difficult to adjust the heating than on a gas panel. But this defect is inherent only in cheap models, and on more expensive the adjustment is almost as easy as on a gas stove.

For cooking on the gas hob you can use any fireproof cookware. The electrical panel is another matter. For effective heat transfer, the bottom of the dish should be flat.

For effective and expensive induction cookers in general you will have to acquire a set of utensils with specific qualities: it must be metal with a thick bottom. The best dishes for induction cookers are steel and cast iron.

Manufacturers offer compromise solutions: combined panels. On them, 2 or 3 burners operate on gas, and 1 or 2 burners are electric. And you can connect the combined model to both the gas cylinder and the highway.

We estimate the surface material

The most usual and inexpensive surface is enameled. It can easily be cleaned from splashes of fat and runaway milk, but it is easy to scratch at the same time. The enamelled surface can be on both the gas and electric panels. In the latter case, it is most likely that there will be a budget electric model with cast iron pancakes. Enamel can be of different colors, from white to completely black.

More beautifully look and more expensive are models of tempered glass. Glass is well cleaned, but requires careful handling because of its fragility. Stainless steel surface is durable and practical.

On most modern models, the surface is made of glass ceramics. This material has an excellent heat transfer provided that the day of the dishes is closely adhered to the surface.

The glass ceramic electric hob is strong enough, but it can still crack if you drop heavy dishes on it. It is easy to wash. But if you boil milk or porridge from the saucepan, then on a smooth, level surface it can spread out far and wide, drain onto the floor and contaminate the control unit along the way.

Convenience of the control unit

There are two types of hobs: independent and dependent. The dependent ones are installed directly on the upper part of the oven, since they do not have their own control unit. All knobs and knobs in this case are located on the front surface of the oven. It is most appropriate in this case to choose an embedded model of the same manufacturer as the oven, in order to avoid problems with the connection.

On the independent hob, the knobs and control indicators are their own. They can be on both the side and the upper side. On expensive models, the control is carried out by sensor sensors, at cheaper there are the usual rotary knobs.

Design of burners or heating zones

If you intend to choose a gas hob, give preference to a model with good burners in the form of two or three concentric circles. They are called "double" or "triple crown".

Making a choice in favor of an electric hob, it is worth paying attention to models with different diameters of heating zones. This allows the use of electricity as efficiently as possible.

If you decide to choose the most modern and promising induction hob, then the most convenient of them are models with an induction bridge. This function allows you to use almost the entire surface to heat dishes. The wider the bottom - the larger the heating area.

The optimum number of burners and dimensions

Here everything depends on your needs. In the range of shops there are models with different number of burners, from one to six. For an ordinary family of 2-5 people, there are 4 standard hotplates.

For a small family or one person preparing food in a small kitchen, you can choose a hob with one or two burners. Its width will be only about 30 cm, height - from, to 10 cm.

The device with 3 burners can be a width of 45, 52 or 60 cm. 4-burner models have a width of 60 to 116 cm. In the latter variant, the burners are arranged in one row. Variants with 5 or 6 burners can be from 60 to 87 cm in width.

The layout of the burners on the surface can be very different, and how to choose a hob by this criterion is up to you. It all depends on habits. The main thing that you need to pay attention to is that the control knobs do not interfere with placing large-diameter dishes on the burners.

When buying an electric stove, do not forget to carry a special large wiring to it. Induction plates require a three-phase line.

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