2 things - no, I don't think you can effectively use a 9.5 in pan on the 7" hob.

Also, have you actually seen the Elux ovens? I wanted them (but couldn't due to an undercounter issue) but I did see them in person and they are plenty big inside. I don't think anyone would notice the slight difference in size between the Elux and others and boy, are they gorgeous!

I'm sorry I don't have the Bosch, but I have induction, and will never go back to gas which I have had and did love. I have had to use a larger pan on a little smaller hob and it's always worked for me. My cast iron never makes the noise. In fact my other stainless only occasionally until I adjust it a little. I wouldn't be able to tolerate that kinda noise I don't think. I have a GE.

I guess it depends on what you mean by 'effective'. You can put a larger pot on a smaller hob. Just be aware that the heat needs some time to propagate to the edges.

AllClad has had (and probably still does) items like the stock pot that are not magnetic.

My AllClad doesn't make noise. But my Circulon certainly does.

I have the Bosch 500 (which I love, love love). The numbers for the heat settings go from 0 to 10 with half settings in between. I don't find them to be extra hot at all. It's very responsive and they are all useful.

I have Calphalon pans. I've noticed a small amount of noise with a few of them that goes away after a minute or two. The noise certainly wasn't overwhelming or anything I couldn't live with.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for all your tips. This information is very helpful. Yesterday we visited a showroom and saw the Miele 36" and fell in love. A little more money but they have two 9" hobs instead of only one on the Bosch which may make it a better fit for us. I read some negatives about the controls so will try and test one out if possible, but now I'm slightly torn. Sounds like I can't go wrong either way...

No, you cannot go wrong. Miele is wonderful and loved by its users.

I can totally use a 9 inch diameter pot on a 7.5 hob with no negative effects. And my infinite circulon makes no noise. Weedmeister and I have had different experiences.
As someone said, there are ten heat settings with a half in between, such as 7, 7.5, 8,8.5, etc.

I have the basic Bosch, and I love it like a child. I have yet to put a pot on it that made a noise, and yet to put a pot on it that did not work with its pot sensor. Granted, I have not gone to extremes, but an inch of hang-over (or under) had not affected it one whit. Good luck.

Just installed the Bosch 500 a few months ago ( cooked with gas for 30+ years)- I am totally smitten with the induction & will never go back! Have not had any trouble with pan sizes on the available hobs. The size ranges are very versatile & you really don't have to worry unless you regularly cook with pans under 3-4" or mega sized. Whether you go with the Bosch or the Miele- you should be pleased- good luck!

bev, my Bosch 500 will be installed later this week - can't wait!!

It's installed! Looks great, haven't tried it yet. One question, when the power is off, I can see glowing red if I'm standing at the cooktop. What is that?

Also, those of you who have this unit, do you use Windex and a microfiber cloth to clean it?

Sj- you probably see the glowing red when you have an overhead light shining down on the cooktop- that's quite normal- I see that on mine.
I have not used microfiber clothes specifically; really just my ordinary dish clothes or a non abrasive scrubby for sticky spots. In your manual, there are cleaning suggestions- the cooktop cleans very easily!
Enjoy trying it out over the holidays- don't be afraid to get it good & messy cooking beautiful foods!

I have a question about the Bosch - mine is the 30" 500 series. When everyone says how fast water boils, how much water are we talking about? Last night, I put a very large pot on -- probably 7 or 8 qts in a 12-qt. stockpot, on the largest hob. It didn't boil fast at all -- probably took 6 or 7 minutes. Is that because it was so much water? Could it be the particular pot? (the cooktop is working just fine, and it's great, I was just surprised by the time it took to boil, since that's one of the things so often touted about induction).

2 gallons of water is a LOT of water for any range to boil!
If your induction cooktop did it in 6 to 7 minutes thats pretty darn good. Was this on standard or power boost?

Regarding other products you might check The Appliance Adivisor. The have a "Peoples Cooktop Test" for a standard way of checking performance

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooktop Test

jakvis, that's fine if it's "normal". I just had expectations of it boiling in 2 minutes!

I'll second jakvis's point: 6 - 7 minutes to boil 8 quarts of water is excellent, A big Induction burner will not instantly boil 6 to 8 quarts of water, but is likely to be nearly twice as fast as the burners on most other stoves, For comparison, using 6quarts of water ion my NXR's 15K-btu gas burners normally takes a bit over 14 minutes. Took more like 18-20 minutes on the 12k-btu burner on my former stove, a GE dual fuel. Back in the late 90's, I ran tests with a 2500 watt coil burner and got times of between 11 and 12 minutes, IIRC.

Anybody else remember a long thread here from a decade or so back (maybe 2001 or 2002) where a pretty fair number of us were reporting time to boil on various stoves/cooktops using a variety of stockpot brands?

SJ, It will boil water in 60 seconds but there is a relationship to the amount of water and how fast it will boil.

1 quart of water will boil faster than 2 quarts, and 2 quarts will boil faster than 4 quarts.
It's a matter of transfering heat to mass. The larger the mass the longer it takes to heat.

FWIW, having individual count-down timers, as the Bosch does, is great (used it for the syrup for my apple pie).

Just curious, the instructions say you shouldn't use an ammonia based glass cleaner, but everyone says they use windex and a microfiber cloth to clean the cooktop, and that's what works!

Consider this configuration : I had installed a two burner gaggenau gas next to the induction. This way I can still use my beloved copper pans on the gas but still use the super fast, super easy to clean induction for 95% of all cooking tasks. BTW, 1:1 alcohol water solution is my go to cleaner on the induction. Leaves no streaks

sjhockey: Most kitchen appliances say to not use ammonia based cleaners because of the potential for streaks and the fact that most people use bleach in the kitchen.

bleach and ammonia do mix well... if you want to kill something/one with the resulting gas. Otherwise not so much good comes from it. Much better to use something else to clean the cooktop with and save ammonia for really cooked on stuff where you seal a pan or grate in a plastic bag and add a tablespoon or so of ammonia and let it sit for a few hours.

(though realistically combing small amounts residual ammonia and bleach wouldn't make enough to really do much to anyone. That would really be if you dumped the two together to make a "cleaning solution". Better safe than sorry from the manufacturer's point of view though.)

Oh and one question for Pat: That 1:1 alcohol solution, does that mean one glass of wine/beer/other alcohol solution for the chef and one part "have someone else clean this" for someone else? Just curious, as that sounds like an ideal solution to me.

Oh and one question for Pat: That 1:1 alcohol solution, does that mean one glass of wine/beer/other alcohol solution for the chef and one part "have someone else clean this" for someone else? Just curious, as that sounds like an ideal solution to me.

:-)

I don't use bleach in the kitchen! Anyway, I now have the Windex all-purpose with vinegar, and the cream cleaner someone else recommended (I can't remember the name off-hand, but it's not a common one), and together they work great. Windex for everyday, cooktop cleaner when it needs more "effort" and/or once a week.

I'm going 1:4 - one drink while I watch the kids clean up! :-)

Did you get the Miele? What made you love it so much vs. the Bosch?

I love the idea of the count-down. I"m a distracted cook (see the 1:4 ratio above) and that could save me - do both have that?

Still haven't made the purchase, but I liked the larger hobs on Miele and the layout was better. Mostly an aesthetic choice. We'll be testing out the MIele on Monday.

@soilenthusiast - aesthetic choice is important if budget permits. That's why we chose the brand we have. The Miele is a very pretty cooktop.

what do you think about Bosh's dishwashers ?

Here is a link that might be useful: lave-vaisselle

Sorry to hijack, can someone tell me if the timer on the hobs shut down the power or just gives you a reminder and then you have to come and shut it off. Thx

Yes; when the individual burner timers are set- it will beep, then shut that burner off. If you are using other burners, they will keep going; or if each is set to a different time- they will be shut off accordingly. It works beautifully!

Thanks bev! Just what I wanted to hear.

It is one of the best features of the Bosch induction cooktops!

calling sjhockeyfan. Are you using 'boost' now to attain a boil? You had a question about 7 minutes to attain a boil but you didn't mention the boost feature?

I'm here! And I still love love love my Bosch induction. I think my expectations about water boiling were simply ridiculous :-). It boils water (and yes I use boost) way way faster than any other cooktop I've ever had. I love the individual timers, I love the precision, and I love the direct select power. I have nothing bad to say about it (or about induction in general - if and when I move, electrical capacity to support an induction cooktop will be top of my "want list". )

Ditto- I'm still smiling every time I'm standing over that Bosch 500 cooktop!