VonShefSingle Induction Hob – 2000W Portable Induction Cooker w/LED Touch Display, 3 Hour Timer, 10 Heat Settings 60-240°C, Safety Lock - Black

The unit was well packed and arrived on time. First impressions was that it was larger than expected from appearance in product images but dimensions given are correct. The spacing of the plates does allow a full size wok and a large pan to be used together with both in the centre of their zones; critical for induction. The unit appears well made but does have more visible plastic around the controls and the two glass induction plates; some hobs have a single glass surface. The glass plates have a sight surface pattern which is still easy to clean but also hides finger marks etc. The slight angle and large size of the control panel makes using the controls easy and keeps hands away from the cooking area.The control of the unit I received is very different to some older reports although my unit looks the same and has the same part number as the advert. Independent control by power is between 120W and 2000W or by temperature is between 60 to 240 in 10 steps each. Only the combined power is limited to 2800W and this is done automatically so if you try to set one burner too high the other reduces. This means you can heat a cold pan at 2000W whilst still cooking with 800W on the other pan. A power level of 120W to 300W is enough to gently simmer. I tested the low level cooking with 2 pans one large and one medium with a shallow layer of water and on the lowest settings the temperature kept was around 60 to 70 degrees with a slight burst of temperature as the power pulses ( in common with many appliances power is pulsed on and off rather than proportional) I was able to control the cooking of rice better than on our gas hob.I have not used the hob for high temperature cooking but was able to heat season a wok; burning the oil coating brown. I would expect it would brown meat easily. However, as with all powerful induction hobs care is needed at high temperatures not to over heat if cooking with small amounts of food. Controlling by temperature does seem to have a lag as it is not possible to detect the temperature inside the pan. I find controlling by power better for low temperature cooking eg boiling. For higher temperatures, provided the setting is turned up slowly, control is better by temperature.One function not mentioned in the manual is that each burner can be turned off independently by a second press the control button W or C. It is not possible to turn off a burner by turning the power down to zero as some might expect.

Well bear in mind this is not a long-term review - only my immediate impressions on testing the hob when it arrived very nicely packed and I didn't need to read much of the user guide as it is as others have stated really intuitive if you've had Induction hobs before. I've had two main four burner induction hobs and the early ones were very expensive and needed special venting to avoid overheating. If the burners fail each pair of hobs costs around £300 to replace the high power drivers so having this one for me is a backup to use separately in another room whilst my kitchen is being completely refitted and therefore out of action. This hob is very good and takes several sizes of induction compatible pans. The controls are nicely out of the way of spillages. The fail-safe is well designed and controls dead simple. It heats up pans in very fast time and simmer isn't bad either. I really like the timer but won't need to use it much other than to prevent boiling over if I have to turn my back. All hobs wait until you turn around as you get bored with watching for it to boil over and then a little goblin inside goes "Right lads turbo mode he's not looking" and wham the sauce boils all over the ceramics. Cleaning methods I have always used washing up liquid on a plastic scourer for stubborn marks. Nothing burns on of course as the hob is only hot not red hot. After cleaning marks off I then use a spray glass cleaner and soft cloth to polish it up and it looks like new. Works as it says off a normal 13 amp plug. I think it's going to be quite excellent for the purpose I bought it and what value! Ok it's not a well known make but these days that isn't so important when the quality of stuff on sale at reasonable prices is very good thanks to open competitive marketing.

Heats up the food really quickly and is pretty controllable. Glass top is easy to clean and lots of options available to select temperature (in 20 degree Centigrade increments) or wattage .. plus a timer. I would say the only negative is that the controls feel a bit flimsy and need a good press to operate - but so far I am very impressed. Glad I went for a double hob too as it makes life much easier than trying to do everything on one.

Excellent hob