I’ve got an induction hob, and yesterday, I bought a small frying pan. It doesn’t seem to work on most of the zones on the hob, with the exception of the largest. Is there a metal type ring that you can put under the pan so that the hob can ‘find’ it.
What make is your frying pan? I ask because I have one set of pans that will only work on the zones that are slightly smaller, yet another set will work on every zone.
What you could do is move a small magnet across the diameter of the underside to see where it will adhere. If it does across the whole width then it is a good pan, otherwise it is less than that. The solution of placing an intermediate object onto the hob to heat up the pan involves basically converting back to a conventional cooker and letting the hot object become the truly hot hot plate. Would that not be a bit pointless ? Is the pan worth it ?
If the pan was only magnetic in the middle it would work on the smaller zones - if it is magnetic only on the outer of the pan I don't think it would work at all.
I would take it back to Ikea. I have Tesco own brand 'Go Cook' pans and they work fantastically well on my induction hob.
Yes, the whole bottom, and the bottom needs to be totally flat, not bobbled or ridged. The first set of induction pans - Tefal - I bought went straight back because they weren't magnetic.
The second set were expensive Judge pans and they performed very badly.
Like Tilly, I use a fridge magnet if hunting for a pan. We bought an induction hob about a year ago and found that most of our pans would not work on it, so I cleaned them up and gave them to the local charity which houses the homeless. They were very grateful and later let me know that the pans had gone to help set up an elderly couple who had been evicted through no fault of their own. So don't mourn your old pans - enjoy the new ones. :) (I admit I was annoyed at the extra expense at the time.)
I was given the gift of three different sized pans and a frying pan from the company who fitted our kitchen. They are lovely Italian ones the make is IIttala. I have had them for eight years and they look as good as new.
I got a couple of saucepans and a frying pan with the hob, when I bought it. They're a pricey German make, but I think I'll bite the bullet and get some more, as they are very good.