Gas Hobs Buying Guide

Built-in hobs (sometimes also referred to as integrated hobs) fit in to your kitchen work top and provide you with multiple cooking zones (also known as burners) so you can cook different food products at the same time with individually controlled temperature settings.

Most gas hobs have four burners but, for a little extra money and space permitting, you can get hobs with 5 or 6 burners or even a dedicated wok cradle and burner. Two major benefits of a gas hob over an electric hob is that you get instant heat and, currently, gas is a cheaper fuel.

Fuel Type

Gas hobs either run off natural gas through your gas mains supply or some can be converted, through the use of a conversion kit, to run off LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) bottled gas. This would be beneficial for those homes that do not have a mains gas supply or caravan / static home owners.

Hob Size

The “standard” hob size is 60cm wide and these will be suitable for most kitchens. However, for those with larger kitchens, hobs can also come in 70cm, 80cm and even 90cm width variations. The benefit of purchasing a wider hob is that they general offer additional cooking zones and there is more space to work with.

Pan Supports

Pan supports typically come in two main variants; enamel or cast iron. Cast iron supports are extremely heavy and durable but they should not be cleaned in the dishwasher. Enamel supports are cheaper to manufacturer so are cheaper to purchase and they also tend to be dishwasher safe.

Flame Supervision Device ("FSD")

FSD is a key safety feature which automatically cuts off the gas supply to the hob should the flame be extinguished for any reason during use.