Induction Stoves

[brkaus]

I have 8/3 going to the range

If 40A is required for the oven they might have run #6 which is also sufficient for a 50A breaker. If your oven requires 40A it should really be on a 50A breaker not a 40A but I've seen a lot of professional electricians make that mistake... not sure why.

It does suck that there isn't like a dial on the stove to adjust to the circuit size like a HPWC has. If you only have a 30A breaker and are limited to 24A 99% of the time you'd never notice and the 1% of the time you did notice it really wouldn't be that big of a deal.... are you really going to care if it takes another 2 minutes to boil a couple cups of water WHILE you're cooking dinner AND roasting a turkey?

Both my ovens (one single wall, one the range w/ electric oven & gas cooktop) have plate ratings of 30a.

Both are wired on 8/3 romex. Found it all in the attic. One is on a 40a breaker, one is on a 50a breaker - not quite sure which yet.

My kitchen lights are also on 8/3 with the red capped at the breaker. I haven't found where that terminates yet. All my switches are 14/2 from what I remember when I replaced them with smart switches.

I'd really like to fix some of this stuff, starting with upgrading the 200a service (requires new conduit to the transformer and ripping up the exposed aggregate concrete drive to do it). That part in itself is expensive, but I'm afraid it would open a huge can of worms. Did I mention no professionals involved in building this house? And the city apparently doesn't have any real checking during the inspection process.

Again, spec house (due to previous buyer moving due to job change), purchased when it was complete.

Have two sub-panels that are on 6/3 - one on a 50a breaker, one on a 60a breaker. I didn't think 6/3 was supposed to go up to 60a? Or is that continuous - this is all lighting load.

 

[Dave EV]

Have two sub-panels that are on 6/3 - one on a 50a breaker, one on a 60a breaker. I didn't think 6/3 was supposed to go up to 60a? Or is that continuous - this is all lighting load.

Getting off-topic here (maybe time for a dedicated thread?), but NM-B (Romex) 6/3 is good for 55A, which means you can round up and use a 60A breaker. If it's in conduit, it can support 65A, which means 70A breaker. Most houses will use 6GA NM-B/Romex for 50A circuits. It's not uncommon to see 6GA aluminum for these 50A runs, too.

Charts here: Ampacity Charts - Cerrowire

For constant loads like charging your car, you have to derate 20% off the breaker rating.

 

[jerry33]

Getting off-topic here (maybe time for a dedicated thread?), but NM-B (Romex) 6/3 is good for 55A, which means you can round up and use a 60A breaker. If it's in conduit, it can support 65A, which means 70A breaker. Most houses will use 6GA NM-B/Romex for 50A circuits. It's not uncommon to see 6GA aluminum for these 50A runs, too.

Charts here: Ampacity Charts - Cerrowire

For constant loads like charging your car, you have to derate 20% off the breaker rating.

And you have to check the length of the cable run. Longer run needs heavier wire.

 

[SSedan]

I was trying to explain induction cooktops to a friend and he wasn't getting it.

Would comparing warming ferrous metal to how a microwave warms food be a reasonable analogy?

 

[SageBrush]

I was trying to explain induction cooktops to a friend and he wasn't getting it.
Would comparing warming ferrous metal to how a microwave warms food be a reasonable analogy?

Perhaps you should ask your friend what he does understand, and go from there.

A radio, perhaps ?

 

[jerry33]

I was trying to explain induction cooktops to a friend and he wasn't getting it.

Would comparing warming ferrous metal to how a microwave warms food be a reasonable analogy?

Only if he is an engineer. Best way to explain it to most folks is that with induction, the pot is the burner so almost all the energy goes into cooking the food rather than heating the air and the pot. Induction skips a whole step.

 

[nwdiver]

I was trying to explain induction cooktops to a friend and he wasn't getting it.

Would comparing warming ferrous metal to how a microwave warms food be a reasonable analogy?

A picture is worth a thousand words...

 

[Ostrichsak]

Not sure how I stumbled upon this thread but I'm glad I did. My wallet on the other hand....

I've been reading the last few pages and, short of throwing out our existing stove (I love the ovens it has... hate the glass stove top) I think this dual burner Tramontina set (formerly) sold at Costco might be our best option. A few places I can still score a set around retail price and it seems like a great and low-cost way to dip a toe in the induction cooking waters. (pun intended)

The two things holding me back are:

1) the obvious dead end of replacing our current cook top with some Frankenstein version that was made for an induction cook top. Even if I could somehow connect the power source to make it work I'm nearly 100% the controls wouldn't work as they use a different technology to "tell" the burner what to do. Maybe I could find a replacement part from the same manufacturer that has all of the controls on the surface but then I'd still be staring at knobs that were worthless and who wants that? In my heart of hearts I know that the correct way to do this would be to just buy a new stove and CL our existing one but that's not going to be a cheap delta given the presumed value of our decade-old stove even though it was an upgraded model at the time. Certainly would probably be worth it though in the long-run.

2) A few negative reviews on this particular double burner induction model. It seems as though some of the things I'm seeing popping up are:

*Adjustments: not granular enough adjustments with each one being roughly 30 degrees Fahrenheit which makes for one setting just below boiling and the next one up well above. Reviews state this makes it difficult to maintain a gentle boil w/o going full-tilt rolling. The option between those two is not boiling and violently boiling which sounds like a bad time considering how often you need the temperature right between those.

* Loud: The cooling fans and induction technology make for a loud addition to the kitchen. I realize that induction tends to make more noise but some seem to think this is quite a bit louder than they expected even for induction.

*Power: being 120-volt single-phase some claim that the time-to-boil really isn't that much different than a standard electric cook top with this particular model. They say that the larger 240v 40/50A versions do much better and bring water to a boil in a minute or two but this lesser powered version brings a performance level (time-to-boil that is) on par with traditional 240v electric glass cooktops.

I realize there's more advantages to this technology than just time-to-boil but it's a large reason why I'm considering it. Can those that have this Tramontina 80101/506DS specifically speak to these potential shortcomings and others I may have overlooked?

I know there's people in this thread who have this so I'm hoping to solicit some first-hand input on the costco dual burner set specifically.

 

[nwdiver]

I know there's people in this thread who have this so I'm hoping to solicit some first-hand input on the costco dual burner set specifically.

The Tramontina 8 piece? There's like 5 or 6 on this thread that just got one It's sold out online... did you find one in a store?

I've only used it a few times but it seems really nice. I mostly got it because it came with induction ready cookware. All my pots are Aluminum.

It boiled 2 cups of water in ~2.5 minutes and the temperature control seemed very good.

 

[Ostrichsak]

The Tramontina 8 piece? There's like 5 or 6 on this thread that just got one It's sold out online... did you find one in a store?

I've only used it a few times but it seems really nice. I mostly got it because it came with induction ready cookware. All my pots are Aluminum.

It boiled 2 cups of water in ~2.5 minutes and the temperature control seemed very good.

That's the one. Read my post that I shamelessly quoted to see if you can speak to my concerns with your first hand experience.

 

[nwdiver]

That's the one. Read my post that I shamelessly quoted to see if you can speak to my concerns with your first hand experience.

Ah... sorry... missed that...

Not sure about your first concern... some of the induction cooktops aren't too bad. I was just looking at hardwired 240v one on amazon for <$200.

With regards to the reviews the controls are a little better than my resistance electric but probably not as fine as gas or a high end induction cooktop, I was able to simmer very easily which I always struggle to do with my electric range, it does have fans that run continuously when cooking but I wasn't really put off by them. I really think it's more than powerful enough. It can't boil water in 90 seconds like some of hardwired 240v ranges but 2.5 minutes is plenty fast for me. I only used mine for a day before loaning it out. I'll let you know if I hear anything... hopefully someone else will respond.

 

[SimoRAV]

My additional thoughts on the 14/50 socket route:
Since there are many cheap sockets out there and threads on EVSE installations; I'm thinking the socket should be eliminated and the range hardwired in because bad connections in a plug socket is not good. Of course, self install may not be an option for some people depending on local code and your abilities.

 

[SimoRAV]

Don't get the old Thermador with the burner simmer controller either. Gas burner that turns off and on and attempts to relight. Not good when the logic doesn't work out in its favor.

I bet most of the controls are made by the same set of folks.

That is probably true. Manufacturing is driven by the swear phrase, "The Bottom Line". Once accounting is relaced with real resource accounting, the paper money bit in the middle will be irrelevant and people will watch their foot prints??!!!
The inertia of manufacturing should be overcome with modern advances in engineering design tools. rapid product development is not outside the realms of possibility!

 

[SimoRAV]

What actual pans work with induction 'burners'?

 

[jerry33]

What actual pans work with induction 'burners'?

Any pan that a magnet will stick to the bottom of will work.

 

[jerry33]

My additional thoughts on the 14/50 socket route:
Since there are many cheap sockets out there and threads on EVSE installations; I'm thinking the socket should be eliminated and the range hardwired in because bad connections in a plug socket is not good. Of course, self install may not be an option for some people depending on local code and your abilities.

The range or cooktop is plugged in once during it's lifetime (maybe as many as 3-4 times if service is needed). The EV comparison isn't relevant because of that.

 

[nwdiver]

The range or cooktop is plugged in once during it's lifetime (maybe as many as 3-4 times if service is needed). The EV comparison isn't relevant because of that.

Also if you're pulling >20A for several hours.... you're probably not cooking food....

 

[brkaus]

Anyone have a recommendation for a 120v countertop model? Would like to try induction - and we have central propane that keeps going out so need a backup.

The Costco deal is long gone.

 

[willow_hiller]

Anyone have a recommendation for a 120v countertop model? Would like to try induction - and we have central propane that keeps going out so need a backup.

The Costco deal is long gone.

I've been eyeing a cheap model from IKEA just to give induction a try: TILLREDA Portable induction cooktop, white - IKEA

Came 2nd place in the Wirecutter reviews: The Best Portable Induction Cooktop

 

[nwdiver]

Anyone have a recommendation for a 120v countertop model? Would like to try induction - and we have central propane that keeps going out so need a backup.

The Costco deal is long gone.

Amazon makes a single 'burner' model. I've never used it but it has good reviews.