There is so little information about this misbehavior or design failure on the internet, that i was close to buying one of these flex induction hobs myself. good thing there is this video, that will save a lot of people a ton of money. Thanks!
Thanks a ton for making this video. There's a dearth of serious consumer reports on induction cooktops. Most sites seem to take the vendors entirely and uncritically at their word, and only report on superficial features without paying attention to the "inner values" which are far more important (e.g. coil shape).
Great review highlighting a serious flaw. It's almost impossible to find any good reviews of various flex zone inductions hobs. At least we now know how Bosch' perform.
I've stayed at a 3 or 4 airbnbs over the last 3 years with induction cooktops and every time they were inconsistent and spotty to cook with. Spotty heating elements and vast differences in power (sauces won't simmer at 6 and then boil over at 7). Not to mention the on-and-off cycling. You could throw money at heavier cookware but that only masks the real problems. And who wants to lug around a 5kilo pan to fry an egg! Now I'm remodeling my kitchen and was considering this cooktop because all the positive videos out there. I was doubting my own experience. But this video from an actual real person reiterated what I found for myself. I bet in a few years there will be a hell of a lot more complaints about induction.
Thanks a mill for this review. All the sales people just waste our time on appearance and paper specifications, but what really matters is exactly this kind feedback.
Hi do you have heating problems only on the right side or does induction also work on the left? Have you contacted the service, maybe it is a defective product? I think to buy myself the same, but after watching your video I don't know if it's worth it?!?!
Thank you for this video. I was looking at this model for exactly same reasons as you- the impressive claimed heating zones. Saved me a lot of stress and $$$. Sadly gas is not permitted in my building so back to the drawing board for an electric solution with even heating for carbon steel pans.
Had the same problem with Electrolux "flexizones". Absolutely crap. Got our money back eventually. Are there any brands that make these flexible cookin zones that actually work and heat up the entire pan?
Thanks very much for this. We were planning to install this unit in our new house, but now I'm afraid we must go "back to the drawing board." We are very careful to select top-quality, induction-rated pans, and we STILL have this experience with induction tops. It's not just Bosch. Worse yet, it's often unpredictable which sub-portion of the cooking zone the "burner" will activate.
Hi, I would be really grateful if you could contact me if that is in any way possible. We have just had one of these installed, and all of my pans (Le Creuset/salter/barbantia/kitchen aid) do exactly this. I have had a bosch engineer out today, who says it is a problem with (all!!) the pans and the hob is fine. He also said it was how they are designed to work, with rectangular heat pads underneath - hence our pans boil/fry with lines of intense heat across them and don't cook at all on the edges. Any help on how you got Bosch to engage with this would be very gratefully received. Currently feels like we have been sold an expensive lie.
While I feel your frustration and appreciate your video, I suspect it's not actually a design fault. Because if you look at any induction cooking elements, fundamentally it's a round coil of wire. I think it's more of Bosch's fault in using straight lines and misled people into thinking it's a rectangle cooking area. A lot of other products just use a cross in the center of the area, or even a circle which would be more accurate. Another thing is that the coil heating element is never as big as the entire rectangle. Induction does work better if your pan has good heat transfer capability. So while the element heats the center of the pan, the pan itself needs to work on spreading the heat across the entire pan. This is different from gas or ceramic cooktops. In your experiment of the 3 small square pans, while it looks very uneven, the heating area actually looks about right based on how induction works - imagine a circle between the 1st and 3rd lines, centered on the 2nd line. Again, I blame Bosch for the misleading lines. Under the hood I think it's still 4 heating elements like any other cooktop. You can probably see the coils thru the glass with a torch. And with 4 round coils, there's no way to get even heating across the rectangle areas. I hope you have found a good cooktop and no longer frustrated. Have a good day.
Hi, I would be really grateful if you could contact me if that is in any way possible. We have just had one of these installed, and all of my pans (Le Creuset/salter/barbantia/kitchen aid) do exactly this. I have had a bosch engineer out today, who says it is a problem with (all!!) the pans and the hob is fine. He also said it was how they are designed to work, with rectangular heat pads underneath - hence our pans boil/fry with lines of intense heat across them and don't cook at all on the edges. Any help on how you got Bosch to engage with this would be very gratefully received. Currently feels like we have been sold an expensive lie.
We've encountered this same phenomenon with ALL induction burners/cooktops we've tried: you only get "action" on *part* of the cooking area. AND it's unpredictable which zone is going to work!
I hardly ever comment on TH-cam, but I can't let this one slide: are you serious? Like others have mentioned: your pans are crap. Try to understand the principle of induction heating before saying things like "a limitation of the hob". At 4:30 you're seriously trying to make a point with a couple of tinny raclette set pans? Please remove this ridiculous video and invest in some proper FERROMAGNETIC (look it up) pans of sufficient quality (means: enough mass, not tinny rubbish you're showing here, and no that stainless pan looks fishy to me too, it probably doesn't have ferromagnetic layers, like good quality stainless pans like DeMeyere, DeBuyer or Iittala do). Edit: I see you and others in your household have commented that you have quality pans. I don't buy it, I'm sorry. And what are you trying to point out with those raclette set pans then? Are you saying those are quality pans with sufficient ferromagnetic mass to be used on an induction hob?
The poor performance you show at the 2 minute mark looks a lot like what is described here: th-cam.com/video/zXV5HJzwnCs/w-d-xo.html i.e. seems to be your pan.
@@monicabijok4686 Was the conclusion a "malfunction" or did they just want to refund the money because the product is too bad to charge customers money for? I have a quite expensive Siemens flexzone induction cooptop also - same story. Next time I will bring a pan and a glass of water (maybe even my IR camera) to check any cooktop I would like to buy. Quite disappointed with this product from Siemens/Bosch.
You obviously have a low-quality frying pan, with a high-quality frying pan with a bottom thickness of 1 cm, everything works perfectly. If you shoot a video, you need to indicate the brand of dishes, otherwise the review is bad.
no, we weren't, we'd been sucsessfully cooking on induction for almost 15 years before we bought this hob, the pans are actually very high quality! (yes i live in this house too)
First, check that you are using pan compatible with induction (should be specially marked by manufacturer) and bottom of the pan are no less than 1 cm in thickness. Second, check that the bottom of the pan is no less than 13 cm in diameter (bottom of less than 13 cm in diameter is not guaranteed to work). Third, check that you choose right settings. And finally if nothing still work correctly - read the instruction)
Hi Ergo. All our pans are induction compatible. We've been using induction for about 15 years. We just wanted to treat ourselves to a fancy hob because cooking is a hobby we love. I'm now back to the old ikea hob and appreciate its simplicity!
Actually the hob in the video will cook with pans less than 13cm. It’s in the specs. You put it in the flexizone in the right place. You can read the specifications on Bosch website. All manufacturers show what can be used pan size. Some don’t have it in the user manual but in a separate specs sheet, AEG do that I believe. Bosch I think have it in the user manual. That’s the beauty of the model in the video, smaller pans can be used as well as supposedly 24cm pans.
too bad you aren't using Le creuset or cast iron to compare so you would INSTANTLY understand why it doesn't work. You are using pans that are frank crap and barely suitable for even using flame.
There is so little information about this misbehavior or design failure on the internet, that i was close to buying one of these flex induction hobs myself. good thing there is this video, that will save a lot of people a ton of money. Thanks!
same here! This is really annoying about those induction hobs
Thanks a ton for making this video. There's a dearth of serious consumer reports on induction cooktops. Most sites seem to take the vendors entirely and uncritically at their word, and only report on superficial features without paying attention to the "inner values" which are far more important (e.g. coil shape).
Great review highlighting a serious flaw. It's almost impossible to find any good reviews of various flex zone inductions hobs. At least we now know how Bosch' perform.
I've stayed at a 3 or 4 airbnbs over the last 3 years with induction cooktops and every time they were inconsistent and spotty to cook with. Spotty heating elements and vast differences in power (sauces won't simmer at 6 and then boil over at 7). Not to mention the on-and-off cycling. You could throw money at heavier cookware but that only masks the real problems. And who wants to lug around a 5kilo pan to fry an egg! Now I'm remodeling my kitchen and was considering this cooktop because all the positive videos out there. I was doubting my own experience. But this video from an actual real person reiterated what I found for myself. I bet in a few years there will be a hell of a lot more complaints about induction.
Thanks a mill for this review. All the sales people just waste our time on appearance and paper specifications, but what really matters is exactly this kind feedback.
Thank you. You saved me from making an expensive mistake.
I had an induction hob a long time ago, and I wondered if I needed much much heavier pans to even out the heat. Sad to see this is still an issue.
Hi do you have heating problems only on the right side or does induction also work on the left? Have you contacted the service, maybe it is a defective product? I think to buy myself the same, but after watching your video I don't know if it's worth it?!?!
Thank you for this video. I was looking at this model for exactly same reasons as you- the impressive claimed heating zones. Saved me a lot of stress and $$$. Sadly gas is not permitted in my building so back to the drawing board for an electric solution with even heating for carbon steel pans.
Had the same problem with Electrolux "flexizones". Absolutely crap. Got our money back eventually. Are there any brands that make these flexible cookin zones that actually work and heat up the entire pan?
If you find one, please tell all of us! Thanks in advance.
Thanks very much for this. We were planning to install this unit in our new house, but now I'm afraid we must go "back to the drawing board." We are very careful to select top-quality, induction-rated pans, and we STILL have this experience with induction tops. It's not just Bosch. Worse yet, it's often unpredictable which sub-portion of the cooking zone the "burner" will activate.
Very helpful! Thanks for doing a video on this subject 👍
I was looking to buy this model but now I'm looking for something else...
Absolutely not worth it. We put our old ikea induction hob back and I love it. It's simple, but works a dream!
Yep. Us, too.
what happened with your small claims court appeal?
Спасибо за ваше видео, я чуть было не заказал на завтра такую плиту! Теперь однозначно склоняюсь к покупке стандартной плиты с 4 кругами
I wonder if Miele and/or Gaggenau are any better?
Hi, I would be really grateful if you could contact me if that is in any way possible. We have just had one of these installed, and all of my pans (Le Creuset/salter/barbantia/kitchen aid) do exactly this. I have had a bosch engineer out today, who says it is a problem with (all!!) the pans and the hob is fine. He also said it was how they are designed to work, with rectangular heat pads underneath - hence our pans boil/fry with lines of intense heat across them and don't cook at all on the edges. Any help on how you got Bosch to engage with this would be very gratefully received. Currently feels like we have been sold an expensive lie.
Здравствуйте.
Это особенность варочной панели или неисправность?
While I feel your frustration and appreciate your video, I suspect it's not actually a design fault.
Because if you look at any induction cooking elements, fundamentally it's a round coil of wire. I think it's more of Bosch's fault in using straight lines and misled people into thinking it's a rectangle cooking area. A lot of other products just use a cross in the center of the area, or even a circle which would be more accurate.
Another thing is that the coil heating element is never as big as the entire rectangle. Induction does work better if your pan has good heat transfer capability. So while the element heats the center of the pan, the pan itself needs to work on spreading the heat across the entire pan. This is different from gas or ceramic cooktops. In your experiment of the 3 small square pans, while it looks very uneven, the heating area actually looks about right based on how induction works - imagine a circle between the 1st and 3rd lines, centered on the 2nd line.
Again, I blame Bosch for the misleading lines. Under the hood I think it's still 4 heating elements like any other cooktop. You can probably see the coils thru the glass with a torch. And with 4 round coils, there's no way to get even heating across the rectangle areas.
I hope you have found a good cooktop and no longer frustrated. Have a good day.
Thank you for the video. Was just about to order the smaller version.❤️🙏
Any updates?
I was going to buy it! Thanks from Italy !!!! Smack Smack!
I have the same problem. Are there any solutions?
Hi, did you find a solution to this. I also have the same problem.
Great review, be interesting to see what Bosch said about this
Hi David, we did end up getting our money back. When the second engineer from Bosch came out, I filmed the hob in action with him present...
@@monicabijok4686 what did he say, is it a design flaw or a malfunctioning product?
@@Rudx007I am hoping for an answer to your question. Since they were refunded, I assume it was a design flaw.
Hi, I would be really grateful if you could contact me if that is in any way possible. We have just had one of these installed, and all of my pans (Le Creuset/salter/barbantia/kitchen aid) do exactly this. I have had a bosch engineer out today, who says it is a problem with (all!!) the pans and the hob is fine. He also said it was how they are designed to work, with rectangular heat pads underneath - hence our pans boil/fry with lines of intense heat across them and don't cook at all on the edges. Any help on how you got Bosch to engage with this would be very gratefully received. Currently feels like we have been sold an expensive lie.
Was this a problem with that one hob you had, surely can’t be a world wide problem else Bosch would have had to recall the product.
We've encountered this same phenomenon with ALL induction burners/cooktops we've tried: you only get "action" on *part* of the cooking area. AND it's unpredictable which zone is going to work!
@@skillsonian our AEG induction hob seems ok. Wonder if we’ll encounter it at some point? 🤔
Thanks for review!
I hardly ever comment on TH-cam, but I can't let this one slide: are you serious? Like others have mentioned: your pans are crap. Try to understand the principle of induction heating before saying things like "a limitation of the hob". At 4:30 you're seriously trying to make a point with a couple of tinny raclette set pans? Please remove this ridiculous video and invest in some proper FERROMAGNETIC (look it up) pans of sufficient quality (means: enough mass, not tinny rubbish you're showing here, and no that stainless pan looks fishy to me too, it probably doesn't have ferromagnetic layers, like good quality stainless pans like DeMeyere, DeBuyer or Iittala do). Edit: I see you and others in your household have commented that you have quality pans. I don't buy it, I'm sorry. And what are you trying to point out with those raclette set pans then? Are you saying those are quality pans with sufficient ferromagnetic mass to be used on an induction hob?
The poor performance you show at the 2 minute mark looks a lot like what is described here: th-cam.com/video/zXV5HJzwnCs/w-d-xo.html
i.e. seems to be your pan.
order canceled thx 2 u👍
How have you got on?
Hi Chris, we did manage to get a refund in the end, after filming the hob during a second Bosch engineer visit!
@@monicabijok4686 ´Hi Monica, what hob do you use today? Any recommendation?
@@monicabijok4686 Was the conclusion a "malfunction" or did they just want to refund the money because the product is too bad to charge customers money for?
I have a quite expensive Siemens flexzone induction cooptop also - same story.
Next time I will bring a pan and a glass of water (maybe even my IR camera) to check any cooktop I would like to buy. Quite disappointed with this product from Siemens/Bosch.
Clearly a fault.
Very informative and useful. Thank you for posting it.
قناتك روعة ابداع وتستحق المتابعة ومشاهدة كاملة انا في بيتك الجميل ربي يوفقك ومن نجاح الى نجاح
You obviously have a low-quality frying pan, with a high-quality frying pan with a bottom thickness of 1 cm, everything works perfectly. If you shoot a video, you need to indicate the brand of dishes, otherwise the review is bad.
you're using the wrong pans for Induction which is why you're having the issue.
no, we weren't, we'd been sucsessfully cooking on induction for almost 15 years before we bought this hob, the pans are actually very high quality! (yes i live in this house too)
First, check that you are using pan compatible with induction (should be specially marked by manufacturer) and bottom of the pan are no less than 1 cm in thickness.
Second, check that the bottom of the pan is no less than 13 cm in diameter (bottom of less than 13 cm in diameter is not guaranteed to work).
Third, check that you choose right settings.
And finally if nothing still work correctly - read the instruction)
Hi Ergo. All our pans are induction compatible. We've been using induction for about 15 years. We just wanted to treat ourselves to a fancy hob because cooking is a hobby we love. I'm now back to the old ikea hob and appreciate its simplicity!
@Ergo your reasoning is insufficient because it leaves no room for a crap product.
Actually the hob in the video will cook with pans less than 13cm. It’s in the specs. You put it in the flexizone in the right place. You can read the specifications on Bosch website. All manufacturers show what can be used pan size. Some don’t have it in the user manual but in a separate specs sheet, AEG do that I believe. Bosch I think have it in the user manual. That’s the beauty of the model in the video, smaller pans can be used as well as supposedly 24cm pans.
Pan with a bottom at least 1 cm in thickness??? Really? Please give a make and model (any one) that has this specification.
too bad you aren't using Le creuset or cast iron to compare so you would INSTANTLY understand why it doesn't work. You are using pans that are frank crap and barely suitable for even using flame.
Thanks for the review!