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Hotpoint Style GF640
by hanmillie
Moving into our new place the year before last it was clear that the kitchen was very dated if not getting dilapidated. This meant we had a dilemma, finding a new kitchen style that we could both agree on plus replacing all the old and somewhat hazardous appliances. Upon settling on a new kitchen style we headed to our local home store ... to select our appliances with the view in mind that we both wanted appliances to suit our busy lives, look modern and sleek and most importantly did not look too run of the mill in design.
It was with this thought that we both settled on the Hotpoint GF640 hob, which although standard in size had a somewhat unusual grill design.
------The Hob------
The Hotpoint GF640 hob is a gas hob which comes in two colour ways those being either stainless steel or black. These colour ways are good for providing flexibility to your kitchen design. Unlike the picture shown on the Dooyoo website, the stainless steel option is completely silver in colour and this extends to the colour of the knobs whilst the black option is completely black. The fact that it is a gas hob means that the ring burners produce a blue flame when the gas knobs are turned on.
This hob is standard in size and its measurements are 59cm wide by 51cm deep; this means that is suits an opening in the worktop of around 56cm by 48cm if the edges are filled in with a touch of sealant after fitting. The size is adequate in my opinion for an average sized household as it can adequately store a large frying pan, large saucepan and two smaller saucepans at the same time.
The hob features an ignition which is electronic and therefore requires plugging into the mains upon installation. In addition the hob is FSD compliant meaning that when the flame goes out the gas supply stops and is therefore very safety conscious.
This hob is manufactured by Hotpoint, and this was an important factor for us being that we have had Hotpoint appliances in the past and found them to be of good quality and lasting design.
------The Burners------
This hob features four ring burners. The largest of the four located on the right, which also serves as a Wok burner features a small black ring encircled by a much larger black hoop. This ring produces a good amount of heat when the gas is on and is therefore perfectly suited to instant cooking or cooking on the rush. However it is worth noting that the flame on this ring can get a tad enthusiastic at times and using this ring it is therefore recommended that you keep an eye on the contents as burning can be likely.
The second largest of the four rings can be found on the left hand side of the hob and again this is quite a good sized ring which produces a good sized flame. The two smaller rings are at the front and back of the hob, perfect for locating those smaller and less timely saucepans which require gentle cooking.
------Appearance------
I have the stainless steel silver option which means that I have a silver hob and knobs which are topped with three black grills. The knobs are located at the front of the hob to allow for easy use and are in my opinion slightly better than dials located to the side of the hob. The knobs I assume are plastic in material and are sprayed a silver finish. This means that they do look slightly cheap in contrast to the rest of the hob and are likely to scratch easily. The knobs have a simple black illustration in front of each one to show the user which burner they are party to.
The black grills on top of the hob are what make the hob look a little more different than some of its competitors. These are curved in design and lap around each other with one being on the left of the hob, one in the centre and one to the right. On the base of each of these grills are a couple of rubber feet which ensure that the hob does not get scratched. As is standard with many hobs, these grills feature four prongs over each burner which serve as a balancing platform for the saucepans when cooking.
In my opinion, the look of this hob is modern and sleek and fits into our now modern kitchen. However, the stainless steel design does mean that is does pick up marks easily on the surface and so as a result in our house it gets cleaned every few days.
------Price and Availability------
We bought our hob as part of an appliances pack from our local Homebase which included a hob, oven and extractor fan. This meant that we got a few pounds off the stand alone price. However, this hob can currently be purchased in Homebase in either the black of silver colour way for £199.99.
When compared to other hobs on the market this is not the cheapest product available, however this is in my opinion redeemed by the unusual design of the hob and the fact that it is made by Hotpoint who are a renowned appliance manufacturer.
------Hotpoint Guarantee------
This product is provided with a 5 year parts and one year labour guarantee which in my opinion speaks of the quality of the hob. It can also be insured using the Hotpoint plan for a couple of pounds a month upon expiry of the labour guarantee, which is good should the hob fail.
------Installation------
As this is a gas hob we did employ the services of a corgi registered gas company to connect up the new hob and disconnect the old. I would recommend doing this as it only costs around £30-£40 and ensures peace of mind. The hob can then be installed simply by slotting the appliance into the existing or new hole in the worktop and fastened into the hole using a thin line of sealant. Being that the ignition is electric you should check prior to installation that there is an existing electric socket near to the hob to enable it to be plugged in and we had to have one installed for this purpose.
The beauty of having a free standing hob is that you can chose whether to have it located over the existing oven or simply moved to a new location within the kitchen such as an island area.
------Use------
To use this hob simply select the burner required and then allocate it to the correct knob using the simple illustration. The knobs act as both the gas control and the ignition and therefore there is no separate ignition switch on this hob. Push down on the knob and turn in a clockwise direction to ignite the flame and to turn on the gas. The knob will make a clicking sound to let you know that the ignition is working.
The great thing about these knobs when using the hob is that they will only omit gas and the ignition when pushed down and will therefore not be activated when simply turned without pushing. This is great as a safety feature particularly for small hands.
To increase or decrease the amount of flame simply turn the knobs clockwise or anticlockwise and finally fully anti-clockwise to turn the gas off.
------Cleaning------
I must admit, I do have quite a tidy house and therefore as stated earlier do clean my hob quite often. This is relatively easy to do by simply removing the three black grills and wiping across the steel surface. It is also possible to remove the burners themselves to get underneath them and this is brilliant for all those irritating spills. The grills can then be soaked and put back onto the hob when dry.
One of my few criticisms of this hob, which might I add would apply to any stainless steel design, is that the steel is very hard to clean without leaving streaks across the metal. This is usually resolved with a good amount of polishing or by simply applying a steel suited cleaning polish.
------My Experience and Summary------
I must admit to having quite a limited experience of hobs; however this one has served our household very well over the last 18 months with daily use and has been a reliable aid in all of my cooking attempts.
The quality of the hob has remained intact throughout the time I have had it, despite the odd scratch to the knobs and therefore still looks as good as it did when I first bought it. The hob is easy to use and is safe, a good thing when you have a kitchen full of people plus the hob looks great on my kitchen work space and is therefore an asset to my kitchen. This hob has also been very reliable and I have had no problems with the ignition or gas not working to any of the burners.
As a result of the above factors I would recommend this hob for both homes where there are only a couple of people living and in houses where a family or group of students live. I would therefore give this appliance five stars out of five for design, practicality and use.
Thanks for reading!
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