Lids use to have vents. Can you apply that logic to the pot lid?
Knowing the risk prior to buying and being told how (easy it is) to prevent the problem should be enough.
Making the Switch to Induction - Tips For Newbies
- Thread starter Shutterbug57
- Start date
Lids use to have vents. Can you apply that logic to the pot lid?
Knowing the risk prior to buying and being told how (easy it is) to prevent the problem should be enough.
Next time it happens, try a blow dryer, or pour some really hot water on it--should heat up the air under the lid, causing it to expand and release pressure (just be ready to pick it up as soon as it releases, because it'll quickly cool and suction again if you don't).
Short of texturing the glass surface or putting holes in the surface (which would be really hard to clean, so less people would buy them), I don't see how they could possibly prevent this from happening. Even with a metal surface it'd happen, just it'd be even harder to remove the lid due to the metal's flexibility, and the metal would absorb more heat from the pan (making it less efficient).
Sure, it's a design flaw, but it's not unpreventable, and I don't see anyone suggesting design fixes that everyone'd be happy with...
Short of texturing the glass surface or putting holes in the surface (which would be really hard to clean, so less people would buy them), I don't see how they could possibly prevent this from happening. Even with a metal surface it'd happen, just it'd be even harder to remove the lid due to the metal's flexibility, and the metal would absorb more heat from the pan (making it less efficient).
Sure, it's a design flaw, but it's not unpreventable, and I don't see anyone suggesting design fixes that everyone'd be happy with...
Look, if you've got a wood burning furnace/stove/water heater in the corner of your kitchen and it was built as a modern age invention of the 18th Century I'm happy to concur - do dumb things with flammables on the surface and you earn what you reap.
This is engineering and design ergonomics of the 21st Century. The fact they've built a frangible ceramic glass composite which does a wonderful job of making a 1/100th of an inch ( or better) flatness across the four square foot surface demonstrates two simple engineering FAILS.
1) not anticipating shattering dynamics in a scenario of 'normal kitchen actions for a nominal family's use'. If they'd used a product which was non-shat or created a mold with 1/10th inch engineered raised grid structures, hydro-bonding would not be an issue in 95% of the daily use cases encountered.
2) Corning is on it's third or fourth generation of "Gorilla glass"... I mean, come on! This is a problem Corning HAS to make hay on because this is What They USED to Do!
So, for me, FAIL 1: didn't anticipate, FAIL 2, didn't learn from consumer operational experience, and sadly Fail 3: It's going to take a very sad mother/father who have a child injured by these lazy engineering groups and profit at any cost-cut-measure companies to litigate without 'out of court settlement & binding gag orders imposed by the bench' to get the manufacturers off their collective butts. Then Consumers' Union will start a campaign and voila, easy changes made, problem solved - why didn't we think of this sooner?
No! We DON'T have to live with it.
I changed out my glass cook topped electric range when the corner started shattering leaving sharp razor edges because of differential stresses across the operating surfaces in normal daily operation. I COULD NOT leave it there to be a hazard for people I love and care for. The odd thing is? A sealed gas cook surface having cast iron grates with electric idiot lights and a safety cut-off valve is SAFER. (As long as I don't put said towel on hot surface...)
This is engineering and design ergonomics of the 21st Century. The fact they've built a frangible ceramic glass composite which does a wonderful job of making a 1/100th of an inch ( or better) flatness across the four square foot surface demonstrates two simple engineering FAILS.
1) not anticipating shattering dynamics in a scenario of 'normal kitchen actions for a nominal family's use'. If they'd used a product which was non-shat or created a mold with 1/10th inch engineered raised grid structures, hydro-bonding would not be an issue in 95% of the daily use cases encountered.
2) Corning is on it's third or fourth generation of "Gorilla glass"... I mean, come on! This is a problem Corning HAS to make hay on because this is What They USED to Do!
So, for me, FAIL 1: didn't anticipate, FAIL 2, didn't learn from consumer operational experience, and sadly Fail 3: It's going to take a very sad mother/father who have a child injured by these lazy engineering groups and profit at any cost-cut-measure companies to litigate without 'out of court settlement & binding gag orders imposed by the bench' to get the manufacturers off their collective butts. Then Consumers' Union will start a campaign and voila, easy changes made, problem solved - why didn't we think of this sooner?
No! We DON'T have to live with it.
I changed out my glass cook topped electric range when the corner started shattering leaving sharp razor edges because of differential stresses across the operating surfaces in normal daily operation. I COULD NOT leave it there to be a hazard for people I love and care for. The odd thing is? A sealed gas cook surface having cast iron grates with electric idiot lights and a safety cut-off valve is SAFER. (As long as I don't put said towel on hot surface...)
All come down to user error (or being in a hurry).
No design flaw or issues with the stove. I have been using an induction for the year+, never had that issue, but then again I have not put the lid down like that. Even before an induction, I put the down upside down to prevent condensation dripping on the counter/stove etc.
After reading this and a few other stories, the entire family has been advised.....no pot lids on stovetop or upside down if necessary
Does anyone have suggestions on how to boil water on an induction hotplate?
I know, it sounds simple ... but right now, all I have that will work is an enameled 3.5 quart LeCreuset dutch oven. All of my other cast-iron pieces are uncoated, so they would not be suitable for boiling water. The dutch oven is severe over-kill when all I need is about 12oz of hot water to make instant coffee or something like that.
I was looking yesterday at cast-iron tea kettles, but at the $130 price point they are out of reach for something I might use once or twice a month.
I live alone and cook for one, so the max size I need is about 1.5 quart. I could probably get by with a lot less.
I do have a 1-quart whistling tea kettle that is induction-ready, but it is very old and very dirty and I would rather just get something new.
Any suggestions?
I know, it sounds simple ... but right now, all I have that will work is an enameled 3.5 quart LeCreuset dutch oven. All of my other cast-iron pieces are uncoated, so they would not be suitable for boiling water. The dutch oven is severe over-kill when all I need is about 12oz of hot water to make instant coffee or something like that.
I was looking yesterday at cast-iron tea kettles, but at the $130 price point they are out of reach for something I might use once or twice a month.
I live alone and cook for one, so the max size I need is about 1.5 quart. I could probably get by with a lot less.
I do have a 1-quart whistling tea kettle that is induction-ready, but it is very old and very dirty and I would rather just get something new.
Any suggestions?
For that purpose I would use an electric kettle instead.
Hmmmm ... actually, that's not a bad idea.
An electric kettle would probably take up just as much space as a regular kettle. I could keep hot water ready all the time even when I'm using the I-plate for other things. An electric kettle would probably be faster, too.
I'll look into this ... in the meantime, if anybody else has suggestions, keep 'em coming.
[MENTION=76230]Pepin[/MENTION], Sir, even if you are THE Jacques Pepin you can not read the statement from the man to whom the event occurred and say you'd expect a built in counter top cooking surface to be this fragile. To say he is disappointed in not only "his mistake of the moment" but also how foolish he now feels having spent a couple thousand dollars on a device the manufacturer is literally saying " well, it was a glass surface, what did you expect?"
This rather sounds like the customer service representative didn't believe him, and doesn't care that their first job is Customer Service. This sounds as if the manufacturer has never done this particular fail test - ever. This sounds like a reason to contact Consumer's Union and report the incident in complete detail so they can add it to a data base and collate if this is more than just one or two breaks per year type of thing... because to me this is a sleeper that needs to be taken from buyer beware to full disclosure; or better, solved with better design and manufacturing practices.
But hell, it's not me, I don't have this problem. And some people say speaking out for someone else is just butting in... So, that's my two coppers worth, I'm done with it.
Thanks for your input [MENTION=90896]Merle[/MENTION] much appreciated, it added good value to the discussion.
I think Pepin is a head shaver...so that doesn't work.
+1, might mention it to the BBB too, along with any follow-up you may have with the manufacturer.
[MENTION=90896]Merle[/MENTION] not sure the manufacturing process for gorilla glass allows for that sort of surface, but that is a good idea. Keep in mind that gorilla glass, while very hard, is rather fragile (just due to the nature of it). You have to consider what adding that sort of texture would do to the integrity of the glass, and manufacturing yields.
Do they even use gorilla glass for range-tops, though? Or were you suggesting that they should start using it? I thought it was just a standard ceramic glass...
I was not commenting on the post to whom this happened, but to your assumption that this was a design flaw.
I do not agree that it is a flaw. If you read the instructions/owners manual, it cautions the owner on this issue
“To avoid damage to the cooktop, do not leave a hot lid on the
cooktop. As the cooktop cools, air can become trapped
between the lid and the cooktop, and the ceramic glass could
break when the lid is removed.”
I am sorry that someone had their cooktop break, it is an unfortunate incident; but not a design flaw.
Yes, you are right that some Service Representatives are not the best at dealing with people; but again I did not comment on them.
[FONT="] [/FONT]
Yes, it breaking is an unfortunate incident. The fact that it can break in that way is a flaw in the design. It may have been a foreseen flaw, one that had been noticed and mentioned, but that doesn't make it any less of a flaw. If it were perfect (flawless) it would not break in that way and lids would not get stuck on the surface, you would not have to clean it, it'd be 100% efficient, etc.. Unfortunately, nothing's perfect and everything has flaws, some we have to live with, others we can fix, and some we may find a solution for in the future. Even diamonds have flaws, and some consider those more valuable than "flawless" diamonds, depending on the flaw. They aren't always bad things, just something you need to be careful of.
- Thread starter
- #95
Well, $530 and a week later, problem fixed. I watched the process, if I ever have to fix it again, I hope not, I can do it.
They are OK for home cooks who don't do a lot of "advanced" cooking at home. Easy maintenance, easy cleanup and heats up fairly quickly. My parents remodeled their kitchen and they went with induction. It makes for a clean and modern looking kitchen and suits their cooking lifestyle. However, for cooking enthusiasts and pros, they still have the disadvantage of electric stovetops. That is, you can't tell visually how strong your heat is, can't make infinitely minute changes in heat level visually as well as not being able to make instant changes to heat levels.
For me, as a chef, gas is king and even with gas, industrial kitchen equipment is the king of kings due to the high BTU levels needed for serious cooking. This may come off as sounding snobbish or arrogant, but isn't meant to be so.
In my kitchen, I use industrial gas stovetops (6 burner, flat top, grill) with double full sized convection ovens as well as having a built-in 2 burner induction stovetop for times I'm just heating things up or cooking where it doesn't involve me needing to change heat levels instantly or the flexibility of cooking with flame (i.e. boiling water for pastas, boiled eggs, simple blanching of veggies, soups, etc...). Induction is convenient but still plays a distant second fiddle to gas.
For me, as a chef, gas is king and even with gas, industrial kitchen equipment is the king of kings due to the high BTU levels needed for serious cooking. This may come off as sounding snobbish or arrogant, but isn't meant to be so.
In my kitchen, I use industrial gas stovetops (6 burner, flat top, grill) with double full sized convection ovens as well as having a built-in 2 burner induction stovetop for times I'm just heating things up or cooking where it doesn't involve me needing to change heat levels instantly or the flexibility of cooking with flame (i.e. boiling water for pastas, boiled eggs, simple blanching of veggies, soups, etc...). Induction is convenient but still plays a distant second fiddle to gas.
Not a cheap fix, but cheaper then a new stove. Glad you got it figured out and hope to never have to try it myself.
If ours ever breaks, expect a PM
It is true that you have no flame to see, and judge by. When first switching to induction it will take a while to get used to the new heat levels and corresponding numbers.
You can make instant heat changes very easily, just adjust the setting number. It will change instantly. Only residual heat will be that in the food and cooking pot. Holds low settings very well, for long term simmering.
Induction works very nicely for me, boiling, sautéing, blanching, making omelets, poached eggs, sauces, stews, soups etc. It does take getting used to.
Biggest difference is not being able to lift the pan when cooking (coating the bottom with melting butter for example), or else being quick with it.
In theory, heat levels will change instantly. In practice not so much due to the flat cooktop surface carrying residual heat carried over from the pot and pan when lowering the temperature. From my experience, cookware responds much quicker to the changes made on gas tops vs induction tops.
I think, when the time comes, I will be buying gas. Plus, I like cast iron, and I know I will screw the top up in no time flat.
Similar threads
