Hotpoint BE32 User Manual

Instructions for Installation and Use

BE32

Ceramic Hob

Note: Ensure that the hob unit is securely fixed to the worktop

before use.

To the User

You must read the instructions prior to using the appliance and then

retain them for future reference.

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

Using Your Hob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-10

Something Wrong ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Care and Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-13

Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

Retention of this Instruction Book

This Instruction Book must be kept handy for reference as it contains important details on
the safe and proper use of the appliance.

If you sell or pass the appliance to someone else,or move house and leave it behind, make
sure this Book is also provided so the new owner can become familiar with the appliance
and safety warnings.

2

Introduction

Your new hob is guaranteed* and will give lasting service.This guarantee is only
applicable if the appliance has been installed in accordance with the installation
instructions detailed in this booklet.

To help make best use of your cooking
equipment, please read this booklet
carefully.
The hob is designed specifically for
domestic use and responsibility will
not be accepted for use in any other
installation.

When first using the hob ensure that the room is well ventilated (e.g. open a window or use an
extractor fan) and that persons who may be sensitive to the odour avoid any fumes.It is
suggested that any pets be removed from the room until the smell has ceased. This odour is due
to temporary finish on elements.

May we wish you many years of carefree successful cooking.

* The guarantee is subject to the provisions that the appliance:

(a) Has been used solely in accordance with the Users Instruction Book.
(b) Has been properly connected to a suitable supply voltage as stated on the rating

plate attached to this equipment.

(c) Has not been subjected to misuse or accident or been modified or repaired by

any person other than the authorised employee or agent.

(d) Has been correctly installed.

This appliance conforms to the following EEC Directives:

Low Voltage Equipment
73/23/EEC
93/68/EEC

Electromagnetic Compatibility
89/336/EEC
92/31/EEC
93/68/EEC

3

Safety Information

When used properly your appliance is completely safe but as with any electrical product

PLEASE READ THE PRECAUTIONS BELOW BEFORE USING YOUR APPLIANCE.

there are certain precautions that must be observed.

Always

● Remove all packing from the appliance before switching on for the first time.

● Understand the controls prior to using the appliance.

● Turn controls off when not in use.

● Always place pans centrally over the hotplate making sure handles are kept away from the

edge of the hob and cannot become heated by other hotplate/pans.

●

Always take care to avoid heat/steam burns when operating the controls.

● Always turn off the electricity supply at the wall switch and allow the appliance to cool before
cleaning.

● Always keep the appliance clean as a build up of grease or fat from cooking can cause a fire.

●

Always follow the basic principles of food handling and hygiene to prevent the possibility of
bacterial growth.

● Always keep ventilation slots clear of obstructions.

● Always refer servicing to a qualified appliance service engineer.

● Always turn off the appliance at the wall switch should any glass panel (if fitted) crack or

shatter and then DO NOT USE THE APPLIANCE until repaired.

4

Safety Information

Never

● Never leave children unsupervised where a cooking appliance is installed as all surfaces will
be hot during and after its use.

● Never allow anyone to sit or stand on any part of the appliance.

●

Never store items above the appliance that children may attempt to reach.

● Never leave anything on the hob surface when unattended and not in use.

● Never heat up unopened food containers as pressure can build up causing the container to

burst.

● Never store chemicals/food stuffs,pressurised container in or on the appliance, or in cabinets
immediately above or next to the appliance.

● Never place flammable or plastic items on or near the hob.

● Never fill a deep fat frying pan more than 1/3 full of oil, or use a lid.

DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED WHILE COOKING.

● Never use the appliance as a room heater.

● Never dry any items on the hob.

● Never install the appliance next to curtains or other soft furnishings.

● Never use steam cleaners.

Safety Advice In Case Of A Chip-Pan Fire

In the event of a chip pan fire or any other pan fire.

1. TURN OFF THE COOKER APPLIANCE AT THE WALL SWITCH.

2. COVER THE PAN WITH A FIRE BLANKET OR DAMP CLOTH, this will smother the flames and
extinguish the fire.

3.

LEAVE THE PAN TO COOL FOR AT LEAST 60 MINUTES BEFORE
caused by picking up a hot pan and rushing outside with it.

MOVING IT. Injuries are often

NEVER USE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO PUT OUT A PAN FIRE as the force

of the extinguisher is likely to tip the pan over.

Never use water to extinguish oil or fat fires.

5

Choice Of Utensils

Every Electric Hob deserves the right choice of utensils. We recommend for optimum
performance the use of good quality utensils.

Using Your Hob

PANS SHOULD NOT:

Be concave

(bowed in)

Be convex

(bowed out)

Be rimmed

Be deeply ridged

Always ✓

● Use good quality flat-based

cookware on all electric heat
sources.

● Ensure pans have clean, dry
bases before use.

● Ensure pans match size of
heating area.

● Remember good quality pans
retain heat well, so generally
only a low or medium heat is
necessary.

● Ensure pan handles are
positioned safely and away from
heat sources.

● Lift pans, do not drag.

● Use pan lids except when frying.

● Deal with spillage immediately

but with care.

Never ✗

● Use gauze, metal pan diffusers,

asbestos mats and stands e.g.
Wok stands – they can cause
overheating.

● Use utensils with skirts or rims
e.g.buckets and some kettles.

● Use badly dented or distorted
pans.

● Leave an element switched on
when not cooking.

● Cook food directly on the
hotplate.

● Drag or slide utensils across
the hob surface.

● Place large preserving pans or
fish kettles across two
hotplates.

● Place plastic vessels or utensils
on a hot hob.

But essentially Flat

6

✓

● Use the hob as an area for

storage

✗

Always place pans

centrally on the

hotplate

THE BEST COMBINATIONS

This table is a general guide to the types of pan suitable for different types of hobs and
cookers. Remember pans should be good quality,with smooth, flat bases.For any
further information refer to manufacturers’instructions.

Saucepan Types Suitability

Aluminium ✓

Stainless steel with single layer copper base ✓

Stainless steel with sandwich bases of ✓
aluminium and stainless or aluminium and copper.

Enamelled steel ✓

Enamelled Aluminium ✓

Enamelled based cast iron ✓ With Care

Cast Iron ✗

Copper ✗

Toughened glass or ceramic / glass / pottery Not Recommended

Mild steel, Ferro-magnetic or stainless with ✓
a magnetic sandwich base

Using Your Hob

Hob Spillage Notes

1. Always clean up any spillage immediately with a clean cloth or a paper towel to
avoid unnecessary damage to the hob.Extreme care should be taken to avoid
steam burns and hot surfaces when cleaning spillage from the hob.

2. When cooking food that contains sugar (most food) or syrup,use a utensil which is
large enough to prevent boil over or spillage.Sugar spillage will permanently
damage the hob and therefore should be cleaned off with care immediately. If
sugar spillage has occurred, remove it as long as it is still hot with a metal safety
razor scraper.This will avoid any damage.

3. Always ensure that the base of the utensil is dry before placing on the hob.

Extreme caution should be used when cleaning the hot hob!

NEVER LET IT COOL BEFORE REMOVING.

7

Using Your Hob

NEVER allow aluminium foil to be in contact with the hob surface when in use.

Setting the Hotplate

Step 1 Place the saucepan centrally on the required hotplate.
Step 2 Turn the associated hotplate control to the required setting.
Step 3 When you have finished,turn the hotplate control knob to the OFF position O.

DO NOT allow young children near to the cooker when the it is in use as the surfaces get

Guide To Using The Hotplates

Setting

1

1 or 2

3

4 or 5

5 or 6

6

Deep Fat Frying Safely

1. Use a deep pan, large enough to completely cover the appropriate heating area.

2. Never fill the pan more than one third full of oil.

3. Never leave oil or fat unattended during the heating or cooking period.

4. Never try to fry too much food at a time, especially frozen food. This lowers the fat
temperature too much resulting in greasy food.

5. Always dry food thoroughly before frying, then lower it slowly into the hot oil or
fat. Frozen foods in particular will cause the fat to froth and spit if added to quickly.

6. Never heat fat or fry with a lid on the pan.

7. Keep the outside of the pan clean and free of streaks of oil or fat.

extremely hot!

Type Of Food

Melting butter,chocolate,etc.
Heating food gently.
Keeping small amounts of water simmering.
Heating sauces containing egg yolk and butter.
Simmering stews, meat, fish vegetables and fruit.
Heating solid and liquid foods.
Keeping water boiling.
Thawing frozen vegetables.
Making 2-3 egg omelettes.
Cooking food just above simmering.
Maintaining a rolling boil for preserve making.
Sealing meat and fry fish.
Frying potatoes. Boiling water. Deep fat frying
Dissolving sugar for preserve making.

8

Using Your Hob

The hob has four cooking areas which are indicated on the hob glass. There is also an on/off light
which comes on when one or more of the cooking areas are switched on.

The knobs can be rotated in either direction to provide fully variable heat control.
All models also have a hot hob warning light,to indicate when any heating area may be

hot.This illuminates when any control is switched on and remains illuminated for some time after
switching the control off.

Hob Units - Features

The rating plate for all models is situated on the underside of the base panel.

2 1

Model No. BE32 240V

Heating Areas:
(1) 1.2kW

(2) 1.8kW
(3) 1.2kW
(4) 1.8kW

230 - 240V ˜ 5.5 - 6.0 kW
50Hz

❍
❍

1

2

❍

3

❍

4

43

9

Using Your Hob

In the unlikely event of a crack (no matter what size) appearing in the ceramic surface

switch of the electricity supply to the appliance IMMEDIATELY and contact your Service

Centre.

DO NOT USE THE APPLIANCE UNTIL IT IS REPAIRED!

Do not leave a hotplate turned on when you are not cooking as this makes it harder to
clean the ceramic surface.Temperature cut-outs are built into the hob elements to
protect them from over heating. After several minutes with the control setting on
FULL the temperature cut-out switches the element OFF and ON continuously. This
protects the hob element against the build-up of excessive heat in the cooking area.

Care should be taken when using any pans on a ceramic surface not to drag and cause

Tip: Only use stainless steel pans with copper or aluminium and copper sandwich bases in

accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The base of the pan and the
hob surface must be cleaned and the hob surface conditioned after every use. If these
recommendations are not followed a thin copper layer will build up on the hob
surface which if not cleaned after each use will result in permanent marking of the
hob surface.

scratching.

Something Wrong ?

Before contacting your Hotpoint Service Centre / Installer, check the following; there may be
nothing wrong with your appliance.

PROBLEM

Nothing works

Hotplates are slow to boil or

will not simmer

Disposal of your product

To minimise the risk of injury to children please dispose of your product carefully and
safely. Remove all doors and lids (where fitted). Remove the mains cable (where fitted)
by cutting off flush with the appliance and always ensure that no plug is left in a
condition where it could be connected to the electricity supply.
To help the environment Local Authority instructions should be followed for the
disposal of you product.

Is the main wall switch to the cooker turned on ?.

If a control is on, the adjacent ‘hob on’lamp will illuminate.

Check that your pans conform with the recommendations

CHECK

detailed in this book.

10

Care And Cleaning

SWITCH OFF THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BEFORE CLEANING.

ENSURE THAT ALL CONTROLS ARE IN THE OFF POSITION.

NEVER USE BIOLOGICAL WASHING POWDER, HARSH ABRASIVE, SCOURING PADS,AEROSOL

CLEANERS OR OVEN CHEMICAL CLEANERS OF ANY KIND.

Cleaning Materials To Avoid

1. Household abrasive powders,e.g.Vim.

2. Oven chemical cleaners, aerosols and oven pads Caustic cleaners such as these will

etch the surface and attack the metal frame.

3. Bath and sink cleaners may mark the surface

The Ceramic Hob

To reduce the amount of cleaning always ensure that the hob and cooking utensils are
clean and dry before use.Regular use of cleaner conditioner is recommended for proper
care and protection of the hob surface. Apply conditioner before using the hob for the
first time. It contains a mild cleaning agent, so that subsequent applications may clean
off soil and apply a protective film at the same time.For stubborn stains or heavy soiling
use any of the following materials,and finish off with conditioner.

1. Cif, non-scratch scouring cream.

2. Liquid Gumption Kitchen Cleanser.

3. Special Powder Cleanser.

Powder Cleanser – Mineral deposits that are present in hard water, and some foods,
may cause ‘discolourations’ that appear in the form of grey or brown stains. The stains
sometimes appear to be in or under the glass surface. If there are some persistent stains
after using any of the other recommended cleaning materials,powder cleanser may be
applied, following the manufacturers instructions. Do not use abrasive cleaners or the
powder cleanser on the painted metal framework.

Cleaner Conditioner – Regular use of the conditioner will make the surface easier to
clean thus ensuring that years of heavy abrasive cleaning do not progressively dull the
surface.
If the hob is scratched through accident or misuse, soil that collects will appear as fine
brown lines; these are not fully removable but can be made less obvious by the daily use
of cleaner conditioner. Cooking performance is in no way affected by scratches on the
surface.
Pans with aluminium bases should be lifted rather than dragged across the hob surface.
This will avoid metal rubbing off the pan onto the glass.Such marks are easily removed
by the powder cleanser provided they are not subsequently baked on for long periods
at high temperatures.

BEFORE SWITCHING ON AGAIN,

Control Knobs – Wipe over the knobs with a soft cloth wrung out in warm soapy water

or mild non - abrasive cleaner.Then, after wiping with a cloth wrung out in clear water,
dry with a soft clean cloth.

Painted Metal Surround Trim_ Wipe over with a cloth wrung out in warm soapy water

only.DO NOT USE ABRASIVES.

Stainless Steel

Wipe with a cloth wrung out in warm soapy water followed by a wipe with a cloth
wrung out in clear water and then dried with a soft clean cloth.

11

Installation

WARNING - THIS APPLIANCE MUST BE EARTHED

All Hotpoint hobs are suitable for installation over any Hotpoint Build-in or Build-Under
Ovens.

voltage supply. This is stated on the rating plate,which is situated on the under side of the base
panel. The appliance must be connected by a contractor/engineer such as one who is registered
with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC). A suitable
double-pole control unit with a minimum rating of 30A and a minimum contact clearance of 3mm
should be used. This should be fitted adjacent to the cooker in accordance with the latest IEE
regulations. Where a hob is fitted adjacent to an oven, a 45 amp Double Pole control switch should
be used to feed both units via separate suitably rated cables.

The power supply cable should conform to B.S.6004 with a conductor size of 4.0mm
unit should be easily accessible in the event of an emergency. This appliance conforms to
B.S.EN55014 regarding suppression of radio and television interference. The hob should be
connected to the supply in such a way that it can easily be isolated for cleaning and servicing.The
control unit should be positioned to the side of the hob and be readily accessible in case of an
emergency.

If the hob is installed above an oven unit, the installer should also refer to the oven installation
instructions in case any other mains cable is recommended for the hob.

Place the hob face down taking care not to damage the controls or hob surface. Access to the
mains terminals is gained by removing the rear access cover. The mains cable must pass through
the cable clamp adjacent to the terminal block. Sufficient cable should be used to allow the hob
to be pulled out for servicing. Replace the screws and tighten.

Always check that the cable does not come into contact with the hob base. This can be achieved
by routing the hob cable and securing it either to the cabinet side or rear wall in such a way that
it cannot touch any part of the base. Always ensure that the cable between the hob and main
switch is free from twists or kinks throughout its length.

Your hob should have been checked to ensure that the voltage corresponds with your

2

.The control

SITING THE HOB

The hob is designed to fit into worktop and base unit(s) with a cutout as shown in Fig.1. Any
obstruction such as supports or side panels must be removed to allow 50mm minimum depth
below the worktop cutout. Any overhead surface of combustible material must not be closer than
650mm. Adjacent vertical walls or kitchen furniture must not be closer than 100mm to the edge
of the cutout.Walls or other kitchen furniture closer than 100mm to the aperture edge should be
protected by heat resistant materials (e.g.ceramic tiles). Surfaces to be avoided in close are bare or
painted wood,plastic tiles and other wall covering likely to burn or stain. If a cooker hood is to be
installed refer to the manufacturer’s instructions regarding fixing heights.

Note:

Due to many different types of installation,a mains cable is not supplied with

this product.The installer will fit the correct type and length of cable.

12

Installation

FITTING THE HOB

Unpack the hob from the carton.
Remove the bag containing the sealing tape,fixing brackets and screws.
Fit the sealing tape around the edge of the cut-out in the worktop.
Lower the hob into the worktop ensuring the mains lead is fed into the base unit and is not
trapped under the flanges.
Fix the hob to the worktop using the fixing brackets and screws (see Fig 2) ensuring that the
insulating pads are fitted between the brackets and the worktop (see fig 2).The brackets can either
be hooked into the base panel slots or used to form a bridge between the panel and the worktop.
Brackets fitted in the corners can either be fitted across to the sides,front or back of the worktop.
NB Do not over tighten the hob clamps as distortion of the hob may occur.
Connect the hob to the electrical supply (see INSTALLATION).
Ensure that the hob is functioning correctly prior to use. Instruct the user in the operation of the
hob.

Fig. 1

IMPORTANT
Minimum unobstructed depth

50mm

Front edge
of worktop

Fig. 2

30mm
worktop

560mm

490mm

Worktop thickness
Preferred 30-40mm
19mm minimum
recommended

FIXING CLAMP

Outside base of hob

40mm
worktop

Inside base of hob

Note: Do not over tighten the hob clamps as distortion of the hob may occur.

50mm

13

Key Contacts

Service

Hotpoint has the largest appliance manufacturer’s service team in Europe,

trained specialists directly employed by us to ensure your complete

confidence.

Repair Service

UK: 08709 066 066

Republic of Ireland: 1850 302 200

You will be asked for the following information:-

Name, address and postcode.

Telephone number

Model / Serial number of the appliance

Clear and concise details of the query or fault

Place and Date of purchase

(Please keep the receipt as evidence will be required when the engineer calls).

Extended Warranty

To join: UK 08709 088 088

Republic of Ireland: 1850 502 200

Genuine Parts & Accessories

Mail Order Hotline

UK: 08709 077 077

Republic of Ireland: [phone]

For further product information

All Hotpoint Services are offered as an extra benefit and do not affect your statutory rights.

General Domestic Appliances Limited, Morley Way, Peterborough, PE2 9JB

PRINTED BY SIMLEX .FOUR ASHES,WOLVERHAMPTON. August 2002 Part No.4266200010-02

08701 50 60 70