OT - I hate my cooktop

beteez

Have had induction 10 years, very easy to clean as burners do not get hot enough to burn anything to the surface. Also very safe with kids around.

theyolksonyou

Well, the new fridge showed up after a month and the stainless is darker than the stove/oven and dishwasher. I'm not a big fan of the glass top stove. Now you've got me wanting induction.  Have a couple of portables that I like. 

No gas here 

Navymom

DoubleEgger said:

I wish I could take some groceries to the showroom and cook some grub before making a decision. 

I went with the Bosch Flexinduction when we redid the kitchen 3 years ago. I really like it. No gas lines where we are and would have been major project to plumb and add for propane. Not sure where you are located but if you are close to a Pirch store they really helped my decision making. We did have to have a higher rated wiring.

Legume

@YukonRon any chance the cooktop you used in Colorado was a newish flat top electric, but not induction?  We've had those in the past and found them to be slow and hard to clean.

YukonRon

Legume said:

@YukonRon any chance the cooktop you used in Colorado was a newish flat top electric, but not induction?  We've had those in the past and found them to be slow and hard to clean.

@Legume
Could be, I am obviously not an expert. It seemed to heat with pulse action, which in my feeble observation skills seemed to indicate it would take a long time for the cooking vessels to get to a temperature high enough to boil.
We had no specific range top cleaner, all they had in the house was a liquid dishwasher detergent, which I had used. The range top seemed to have remnants of some sort of food, on the burner area, cooked on. I tried to clean it off using the coarse side of a scrubbing sponge. I could not remove it.
I told the owner, she said she had tried everything available to clean it, and could not.
I don't know.
Once it got to proper heat, it worked very well.
Just like my gas range better than what I tried in Lyons.
Maybe it was a POS unit, and maybe that is why it was in the cabin. Their outdoor grill sucked too.

DoubleEgger

I think it might have been a regular slicktop @YukonRon

beteez

The HOB will pulse & hum, the burners do not turn red & emit radiant heat like a typical class top range, you can place a paper towel on a burner then place a pot on it & boil water & the towel will not scorch. You can take the pot of boiling water off of the burner & touch the burner with your bare hand.

DoubleEgger

beteez said:

The HOB will pulse & hum, the burners do not turn red & emit radiant heat like a typical class top range, you can place a paper towel on a burner then place a pot on it & boil water & the towel will not scorch. You can take the pot of boiling water off of the burner & touch the burner with your bare hand.

That's all great but how does it cook? 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

DoubleEgger said:

beteez said:

The HOB will pulse & hum, the burners do not turn red & emit radiant heat like a typical class top range, you can place a paper towel on a burner then place a pot on it & boil water & the towel will not scorch. You can take the pot of boiling water off of the burner & touch the burner with your bare hand.

That's all great but how does it cook? 

it's (induction) the best we have ever used by far. We've had them all. Boil water in minutes, turn it off and the water stops boiling instantly. If you are pan searing something on 6 and turn it up to 8, it sizzles Hardey instantly. The control and pan coverage is unreal. 

beteez

Great instantaneous response to control input like gas, gets as hot as gas, does not heat the kitchen up, main complaint I have heard from people who are used to cooking with gas is there is no visual feedback as to how high the temp is other than a number on the panel, no flames to judge by. Also if you are currently using aluminum cookware then you will have to replace it with magnetic cookware. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Legume

That's voodoo right there.  I would run if that was in my kitchen.

nolaegghead

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

SCIENCE IS MAGIC!!!  RUN!! HERESY!!!

thetrim

The induction cookers always intrigue me when I see them on HSN.

nolaegghead

Induction cookers caused testicular cancer for Gold-member.  Just a consideration.

thetrim

I thought it was prostate cancer.  BTW, what happens when you get that?

YukonRon

thetrim said:

I thought it was prostate cancer.  BTW, what happens when you get that?

I think the options are drastic.

DoubleEgger

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

theyolksonyou

DoubleEgger said:

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

Yes

Legume

Under this new plan, if I like my cooktop, can I keep my cooktop?

theyolksonyou

Legume said:

Under this new plan, if I like my cooktop, can I keep my cooktop?

Allegedly

Austin Egghead

Doubleegger, I was going to install induction in the new house we are building but after talking with a friend who is an independant appliance repairman,  I may change my mind and stick with a gas cooktop.  James said that he has replaced a lot of power supplies on the induction cooktop.  He says they don't handle power surges to well.  We will be installing a whole house surge protector in our new house, but still makes me think twice about the induction system..  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

DoubleEgger said:

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

Yes but not as well as a flat one. Contact surface matters. Gas may work better with warped pans but it's not close with a flat induction ready pan. Cast iron and induction are friends

kl8ton

DoubleEgger said:

I wish I could take some groceries to the showroom and cook some grub before making a decision. 

Higher end appliance store should let you.  The one where we bought our wolf let's you test them.  They hold classes on them  too. 

HeavyG

DoubleEgger said:

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

If you have any cast iron pans with the heat rings on the bottom they may be problematic on induction. I would be sure to check the manual for whatever cooktop you are considering to see if they address that.

JRWhitee

Michael, Sub Zero Wolf showroom is across the street from my office on Peachtree, they have demo's in September.

http://www.subzero-wolf.com/locator/sub-zero-and-wolf-showroom-atlanta#/1?month=September

The Cen-Tex Smoker

HeavyG said:

DoubleEgger said:

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

If you have any cast iron pans with the heat rings on the bottom they may be problematic on induction. I would be sure to check the manual for whatever cooktop you are considering to see if they address that.

We have a couple and they do work well on ours. We don't use a lot of CI on the induction but it works well when we do. We have a griddle that we use on 2 burners with no bridge and even that works well. 

DoubleEgger

Austin Egghead said:

Doubleegger, I was going to install induction in the new house we are building but after talking with a friend who is an independant appliance repairman,  I may change my mind and stick with a gas cooktop.  James said that he has replaced a lot of power supplies on the induction cooktop.  He says they don't handle power surges to well.  We will be installing a whole house surge protector in our new house, but still makes me think twice about the induction system..  

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. 

Focker

HeavyG said:

DoubleEgger said:

If you've got a cast iron pan with a slight wobble, will it work on induction? 

If you have any cast iron pans with the heat rings on the bottom they may be problematic on induction. I would be sure to check the manual for whatever cooktop you are considering to see if they address that.

Good points on the vintage iron.
I went with the 30" Bosch up thread for these two reasons, judge heat by flame.  That 18K burner in the middle will get my pasta pot rolling hard, almost as fast as my PIC, and the 12" Griswold screaming hot.  Don't see much of an advantage one way or the other here.  I have a few warped spinners, and heat rings, no issues.  

My rec, do both.  Gas cooktop, PIC for both indoors and out.  I like to fry on the PIC outside, worth it for that alone.  You can get a decent one for around 60 bucks on amazon.

Focker

Another benefit is fire roasting bells and poblanos.  PSB is a good example, burning the skins off so they don't stick around and separate after the braise.  Salsa too.  Pick 'em flat on all sides, roast over burner...cannot tell a difference, other than convenience, between charcoal roasted or gas roasted.  I'm sure @Henapple could though, he's refined.