The 15199 Electric Mini Hob from Russell Hobs is the perfect table top cooking solution if you are actually pressed for space. This electric hob is pretty portable and this means you will have no trouble using it wherever you want (holiday home, camping, etc).

Coming to the brand, Russell Hobbs has been synonymous with style, quality and innovation for well over five decades or so. The fact that it is recognised by 9 out of 10 consumers as a top small appliance manufacturer in the UK is an indication of the strength of the brand. Besides, its numerous product accreditations by leading institutes and several awards speak volume of its value. But will its 15199 Mini Hob deliver in terms of performance, function and value? Let us see what our experts have to say on this electric hob in this rather brief review.

Design Features:

The Russell Hobbs 15199 Electric Mini Hob is made of durable, stainless steel which gives it a  nice, clean finish and is sealed against spillages, protecting against overflows or accidental spills. This freestanding electric hob is built with two hotplates made of ceramic that come in two sizes – large cooking plate (1500 W) and small cooking plate (750 W) for added convenience. These two non-stick hotplates can be independently controlled without any hassle. In terms of size and weight, the electric mini hob is light, compact and highly portable. This hob that retails around £40 online boasts an impressive look and does exactly what it says on the can.

Controls:

Each hot plate has a variable, independent heat control that you can operate with a dial. The controls are marked MIN (off) to MAX. If you need to switch a hot plate on, you should turn its control clockwise from MIN and to switch a hotplate off, you have to turn its control anti-clockwise to MIN. The controls can be turned to the required settings with the lower settings (1-2) for simmering, medium settings (3-4) for rolling boil and the higher settings (5-6) can be used for boiling. However, we found that the control dials are not clearly marked at all and have slightly raised marks on black and black numbers, making it difficult to perceive.

Lights:

This Russell Hobbs 15199 2-plate electric hob comes with its own independent thermostat control which regulates the temperature. Each hotplate is designed with a power on neon indicator light and each light glows when you are heating the hotplate and goes off when the set temperature is attained. The light then cycles on and off as the thermostat operates for maintaining the temperature.

Non-slip Feet:

The base of the electric hob is fitted with non-slip feet which secures the hob in place and gives it more sturdiness. If customer reviews are any indication, the small feet were not that evenly balanced and this means you need to stick additional pieces of plastic discs under one of its feet.

Use the correct type of pan:

Make sure you place the hob on a stable, uniform,  heat resistant work surface of minimum 75cm (30 inches) above the floor level and it is required you have a minimum space clearance of 5cm (2”) all around. Also, heavy pans with a flat bottom give good contact with the hotplates. Use of oversized pans like catering pans or those that cover both hotplates could reduce the working life of the hob by overheating the hob. We also found the outside could get heated up quickly and radiate heat which you can get this around using a heat proof board underneath to provide additional protection to the kitchen worktop.

Easy to Clean:

Cleaning this Russell Hobbs 15199 Stainless Steel electric hob is a doodle, provided you do not leave any spillage to harden and mop it up after each use. When it comes to cleaning the surface, all you need to do is wipe the surface using a damp cloth and if necessary, you can make use of little washing-up liquid without going for harsh solvers or abrasive cleaners.

Manufacturer Guarantee:

The Russell Hobbs 15199 Electric Mini Hob is covered under a manufacturer’s warranty of 1 year against manufacturing defects, starting from the original date of purchase.

Instruction Manual:

An instruction manual is provided alongside the product, should you have any difficulty using the electric hob. The manual gives you some interesting recipes using the hob to get you started. However we recommend you get a recipe book to help you prepare healthy foods for your family.

Verdict:

There are a few things that this electric hob is built short of, primarily the controls including touch control, digital/LED display, timer and other programmable controls. There is no griddle, wok burner and warming plate integrated into the hob and the inclusion of any of these would have been proved pretty useful. There is no lid to gain additional workspace and protect the hob at the same time. Finishing on a positive note, the hot plate of the hob is good and does its job reasonably well and that is good news.

Russell Hobbs 15199 Electric Mini Hob – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer Russell Hobbs
Model Name Russell Hobbs 15199 Electric Mini Hob
Product Code 15199
Number of Burners/Zones 2
Material of body Stainless steel
Material of plate Ceramic
Heat resistant Yes
Sizes Large (1500 W), Small (750 W)
Control settings features Low (1-2), medium (3-4), high (5-6)
Thermostat Control Yes
Power on indicator 1Yes (neon indicator light)
Non-slip feet Yes
Safety cut out Yes
Griddle No
Wok burner No
Warming plate No
Hob lid No
Programmable controls No
Timer No
Touch controls No
Digital/LED display No
Type Freestanding
Variable temperature Yes
Design features Independently controlled hot plates
Variable, independent heat control
Non-stick plates
Dishwasher safe (plates) No
Instruction manual Yes
Guarantee 1 year

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