Induction Stoves

[SSedan]

I haven't looked into it but I feel many things are cautioned for pregnant women based on an abundance of caution with zero evidence it could be harmful.
That is not to say it is safe. I just think there are a lot of things that aren't well studied and then given warnings based on no delinerate evidence of safety.

 

[nwdiver]

Wish I went with induction when I did the kitchen. It would have cost double than the electric I went with, but I regret it. I got scared when I saw the warnings about pregnant women not to be near them.

Induction ranges are ridiculously expensive for some reason but the cooktops are reasonable. A friend of mine got a 4 burner from Ikea for ~$600.

The EMF stuff is complete nonsense. Think about it.... if EMF had ANY biological effect an EFMRI would be lethal. A EFMRI is ~1.5 Tesla while an induction stove is < 20 micro-Teslas so a MRI is ~75,000x stronger.

Maybe a good way to think of radiation is that it can biological influences in two ways... like a bullet or like a weight. X-Rays, Gamma and to a lesser extent UV are like tiny bullets. It's all probabilistic. I single photon has enough energy to damage DNA you're just rolling the dice. Lower energy radiation, anything less than UV simply lacks the energy to break chemical bonds. The only way for it to have an effect is by shear force of numbers like a microwave oven.... through heat.

 

[JPP]

Yep



Tramontina 8-Piece Double Hob Induction Cooking System – Tri-Ply Base SS Cookware

I just ordered one like yesterday and it is shipping. Today the item is not even listed on the Costco site.

 

[nwdiver]

I just ordered one like yesterday and it is shipping. Today the item is not even listed on the Costco site.

I guess we got ours just in time. It's a crazy deal... the cookware alone is worth ~$130.

 

[SageBrush]

I just ordered one like yesterday and it is shipping. Today the item is not even listed on the Costco site.

I guess we got ours just in time. It's a crazy deal... the cookware alone is worth ~$130.

I found it on Amazon for ~ $200

I looked at my electric range yesterday and realized that the ceramic cooktop is just bolted on top. If not already, I will not be surprised to see a market for drop-in induction replacements.

 

[iPlug]

Wanted to clear up a misconception some might have who are not particularly familiar with induction cooking. A couple of weeks ago I was discussing induction with a colleague and he was concerned about all the new "heavy cast iron" cookware he would have to buy.

For those not familiar, although the cookware base does have to be ferromagnetic, the cookware does not have to be cast iron nor heavy. In our case we have no cast iron cookware and ours is no heavier than the stuff we had before. Most stainless steel pots/pans work and just a thin layer of sandwiched ferromagnetic material in the base will also do.

When shopping for cookware outside of a set that might come with an induction cooktop, just make sure the item specifies it is induction compatible. Single pots/pans will either outright say so and/or have a symbol for induction compatibility on the base similar to this:

 

[Merrill]

Just has to be metal, we do not use all cast iron and some of our All Clad pots and pans work. As long as a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pot or pan it will work.

 

[SageBrush]

As long as a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pot or pan it will work.

I've wondered about that. No doubt that a magnet that does not stick tells you to set that pan aside, but does a successful magnet test tell you that the pan will work as well as one made for induction cooking ?

Is there such as thing as a crappy induction pan ? I'm inclined to think so since I think of the pan as a capture for the magnetic field, but I really do not know for sure whether a magnet test implies efficient magnetic field capture.

 

[Merrill]

I've wondered about that. No doubt that a magnet that does not stick tells you to set that pan aside, but does a successful magnet test tell you that the pan will work as well as one made for induction cooking ?

Is there such as thing as a crappy induction pan ? I'm inclined to think so since I think of the pan as a capture for the magnetic field, but I really do not know for sure whether a magnet test implies efficient magnetic field capture.

Good point, so far ever pan that a magnet sticks to has worked.

 

[SageBrush]

Good point, so far ever pan that a magnet sticks to has worked.

I don't have any doubt they will 'work,' I'm wondering about the lower limit of how well they work.

Maybe the trick is to use a crappy magnet. If that sticks then induction will be excellent ?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

When we first switched to induction, we found that none of our pots and pans worked since they were mostly aluminum. For the first week, we used the pan that came with a stand-alone induction burner that we had previously purchased. We bought a nice Calphalon set that specifically mentioned it was induction compatible. We've added a few more pans since then but we typically shop online so there's no way to test with a magnet. We just look for the induction icon that @iPlug mentioned above. It took forever but we were able to find a nice double burner induction compatible griddle. Fortunately a lot more cookware is induction compatible these days and websites usually mention whether or not the item will work with induction ranges. This wasn't always the case.

 

[Redbrick]

I looked into induction once but realize it wouldn't suite my requirements. 100,000btus, and the ability to flip..

 

[jerry33]

I looked into induction once but realize it wouldn't suite my requirements. 100,000btus, and the ability to flip..

I flip on mine just fine. And the BTU difference is that a lot of the flame BTU difference just goes to heat the kitchen.

 

[SageBrush]

I looked again at our whirlpool range. Although I did not take it apart I am convinced that the electric cooktop is attached on top of the convection oven, albeit with an integrated control panel. I was able to find a Whirlpool 'induction range' which appears to have the identical oven to mine, but with an induction cooktop on top. The induction element controls are in the cooktop rather than the control panel that sits above the cooktop and to the back. That control panel only controls the oven.

So I am reasonably confident that I can salvage my oven and just swap out the cooktop. The induction range has unfortunately been discontinued (I think due to electronics reliability) so I'll wait for an updated model to hit the market and hope the 'spare part' is priced reasonably.

 

[iPlug]

I looked into induction once but realize it wouldn't suite my requirements. 100,000btus, and the ability to flip..

The BTU rating means little without some important context.

Roughly half the heat of natural gas (NG) cooktops is lost to the environment before it heats the cookware. Our induction cooktop gets at least as hot on it's maximum setting as the natural gas it replaced. So roughly what ever induction number you see, double that to get an idea of how it compares to NG.

See earlier in this thread about flat bottom woks if that is a concern. We flip stuff just fine in our regular pans.

 

[nwdiver]

The BTU rating means little without some important context.

Yeah; I've watched a lot of reviews of induction from professional chefs and they all agree induction (with the correct cookware) heats faster. A LOT faster.

 

[brkaus]

We LOVE cast iron pans. Guess we need to get induction! I did look at a beautiful thermador electric oven with 1/2 gas 1/2 induction cook top the other day. Rather just buy a new car

 

[iPlug]

Yeah; I've watched a lot of reviews of induction from professional chefs and they all agree induction (with the correct cookware) heats faster. A LOT faster.

Glad you posted that, was thinking of posting my own. In the video it was a decisive winner with its meager 120 V power going head-to-head with a build-in full power NG unit.

A fairer comparison would be with a 240 V build in which absolutely destroys NG:

Ours has 5 heating elements:
2 x 6” - 2,000 W
2 x 8" - 3,200 W
1 x 10” - 3,800 W

Just boiled 2 cups of cold water on one of the 8" - 3,200 W elements. It is clearly boiling at 55 sec and rolling boil at 1:15 min.

 

[nwdiver]

Just boiled 2 cups of cold water on one of the 8" - 3,200 W elements. It is clearly boiling at 55 sec and rolling boil at 1:15 min.

WOW... that's faster than my JetBoil.

What brand do you have?

 

[iPlug]

WOW... that's faster than my JetBoil.

What brand do you have?

Frigidaire Model #FFIC3626TB
Frigidaire 36 in. Induction Cooktop in Black with 5 Elements-FFIC3626TB - The Home Depot

Specs:
https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/f3/f3af8a9b-4867-43b1-8cd6-52c2619be757.pdf

Unfortunately at the moment, still double the price we paid.

They conservatively illustrate:

Nice how the picture conveys all that heat being wasted to the periphery with NG and electric (resistance).