Oven capacity
It is the volume of the oven provided in the stove. It s the maximum volume of products that can be placed in it without compromising work efficiency. Accordingly, a
larger oven is useful for large volumes of cooking; on the other hand, such a capacity will significantly affect the price and dimensions of the stove.
If you buy a regular household stove with 4 burners and do not plan to cook a lot in the oven, you can not pay much attention to this parameter. The capacity of the oven is usually enough for most simple tasks like cooking a pie or baking chicken. But for more serious tasks, a larger oven may be required. Detailed recommendations on volumes can be found in special sources.
If there is an additional chamber (see below), this paragraph usually indicates only the volume of the main oven.
Hob material
— Enamel.
Enamel coating is inexpensive and relatively easy to clean. In addition, enamel can have different colours, which allows you to give the stoves an original appearance (although the most popular is still the classic white colour). On the other hand, cracks, chips and scratches may appear on such a surface. As a result, such a coating is typical for relatively inexpensive boards.
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Stainless steel. Steel hobs are highly durable and attractive. But, it will take a lot of effort to keep such a stove clean: even slight dirt is noticeable on a steel surface (especially polished). And it is more difficult to clean them than enamel. In addition, such surfaces are somewhat more expensive than enamelled ones, and there are, in fact, two design options for them - matte and polished.
- Glass-ceramic. A material is found predominantly in electric stoves; rarely used in gas models, mainly for aesthetic reasons. The main advantages of
glass ceramic are resistance to heat and high permeability to heat and electromagnetic radiation.
Schott Ceram and
EuroKera, manufacturers of this very glass-ceramic, which manufacturers of household appliances install in their models, were especially successful in this. It allows electric burners (regardless of type) to be placed directly under such a surface. The re
...sult is a flat top with no protrusions, making cleaning easier and providing a neat appearance. The main disadvantages of this material are high cost and sensitivity to impacts.
- Tempered glass. A material similar to the glass-ceramics described above: the glass surfaces have an attractive appearance, usually with a glossy finish. Another common feature is the ease of cleaning: most of the contaminants are easily removed. However, this material is not as strong as glass-ceramic: it is much more sensitive to impacts and tolerates heat much worse, which makes it poorly suited for installation above burners. As a result, tempered glass is used mainly in gas stoves, where the burners are located above the work surface and tempered glass heats up relatively weakly. Another category of stoves with such a surface is electric models with induction hobs, where the dishes and not the surface are mainly heated (see below for more details).
— Plastic. Working surface made of special heat-resistant plastic. A rather specific option is found mainly among portable single-burner electric stoves with induction heaters (see below). There are several reasons for this. One of them is that, despite the heat resistance, even fairly advanced plastic does not tolerate heating on gas or a classic electric burner. But with an induction burner, this material works without problems, especially since it is well permeable to electromagnetic radiation. Plastic is cheaper than tempered glass or glass-ceramic, and it also weighs less - the latter is important for a stove that is planned to be moved frequently from place to place. At the same time, all these advantages cannot be called critical. As a result, this option, even in its niche, has not received much popularity.Burner grates
It is the material from which the burner grates of the stove are made. This parameter is relevant only for gas burners — electric hobs do not have grates.
— Steel grates. The most common type of grates is steel grates coated with a special heat-resistant enamel. They are quite practical, reliable, have a relatively small weight and neat appearance, and at the same time are inexpensive, due to which they are often found in entry-level and middle-level models. The main disadvantage
of steel grates can be called the difficulty in cleaning from adhering contaminants — too intensive cleaning can damage the enamel. In addition, they are less durable than cast iron ones, and under heavy dishes containers, they can deform — as a result, the dishes will not stand stably on the stove, and the grate will most likely have to be replaced.
— Cast iron grates.
Cast iron grates is much heavier than steel ones. Moreover, they often look more massive and rough. On the other hand, they are more reliable, durable and stable, can cope even with heavy weights and keep their working shape much longer. In addition, cast iron is easier to clean: although dirt comes off worse than enamel, in extreme situations it is quite possible to use abrasive products without fear of damaging the surface.
Auto ignition
The type of auto-ignition provided in the stove.
Auto-ignition systems are used only for gas burners and ovens. They work based on an electric spark, from which the gas ignites, and greatly simplifies the ignition of the stove, eliminating the need for matches, lighters and other sources of fire. Auto ignition can be provided
for a hob(hob),
for an oven, or both. In all these cases, it is assumed that the ignition is activated automatically when the knob is turned. There is also another option for electric ignition — a special button. Such systems are somewhat simpler and cheaper, while they usually cover all gas heaters available in the stove (therefore, the location is not indicated for push-button electric ignition).
Anyway, the stove requires mains for this function to work.
Display
A display on the stove control panel. Usually, it is a very simple one-colour display : 3-4 digits plus a few additional characters (for example, a thermometer icon and a clock icon). However, even on such a display, almost all important information related to the stove operation can be displayed: heating temperature, clock, timer settings, and other relevant data. Thus, the display significantly simplifies the management of the stove and makes it more convenient.
For technical reasons, this function is mainly used in electric stoves; there are also gas models with displays, but they are extremely few.
