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Making the Switch to Induction - Tips For Newbies

If the power goes out for a few hours, or a gas line is ruptured and we can't cook dinner, is it really that big of a deal? I have plenty of stuff in my pantry that can be eaten without elaborate preparation. I'm sure you do, too. So what if we need to eat cold cereal for dinner? What's the problem if breakfast consists of leftovers from yesterday's lunch?

Going without power for brief periods is a nuisance and an inconvenience, but it also reminds us of how good we have things now.
 
If the power goes out for a few hours, or a gas line is ruptured and we can't cook dinner, is it really that big of a deal? I have plenty of stuff in my pantry that can be eaten without elaborate preparation. I'm sure you do, too. So what if we need to eat cold cereal for dinner? What's the problem if breakfast consists of leftovers from yesterday's lunch?

Going without power for brief periods is a nuisance and an inconvenience, but it also reminds us of how good we have things now.

No argument there.
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
For those who are interested in how fast the burners come on and off on the induction cooktop, I put together a 4 minute video that shows how fast 1 quart of water boils on a 2,500 watt burner and, more to the point, how responsive the cooking process is to changes in the burner setting. For those who just want to get to the responsive part of the video, go to about 3:35 and start from there. You will see me let the water come to a full boil, turn the burner off, then back on, then off again. I apologize for the quality of my videography, but the video conveys the info I was looking to share.


I've never been so excited to watch a video of water boiling in my life :w00t:

Thanks for posting, that was pretty cool.

Yes I watched the whole video too. And I'm not getting one. Yet.
 
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Well, we have had the induction cooktop now for 1 month. In most respects, I have been thrilled with its performance. There is one caveat that I have for those looking at induction. Square pans, like a square grill pan do not work on round induction burners. They will either overhang the burner by more than the allowed distance or completely fit on the burner, which is a problem.

When I put a Lodge 10.5" square grill pan on the 11" burner, the corners of the square just about touch the circle of the burner. The pan will get an overheat error. After many conversations with KitchenAid and several levels of customer service including an engineer, I understand why. The magnetic field is laid out in circles, similar to the configuration of an old coil burner. When you put a square pan on the burner, the circles that are partially covered don't know whether to work or shut off. This is not a problem with a circular pan, like the Lodge 10.25" round grill pan. This is not a deal killer by any stretch, but it was pretty frustrating for me until we finally figured it out.
 
I never thought about a square pan foo barring up the burner function.

Once you think about it it does make sense
 

Intrigued

Bigfoot & Bagel aficionado.
Thanks for the update!

I have a freestanding induction range due to be delivered next Monday. It has a bridge setting for the two elements on the left for using an included griddle or other large cookware, though it does say that the cookware must be large enough to cover both 7" induction zones. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works.



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Got our stove installed, been using it a week or so now, LOVE it. Same layout as above buy where the Spanning is, there is a Simmer. Maybe that works as spanning, I haven't checked. But really, we don't use a griddle on the stove anyway as I grill it outside when needed.

All digital so there is no guessing temps or settings, notified when oven has reached temp and shows exact temp the whole time, timers for everything. Stove heats up ultra fast with our DeBuyer pans and easy to clean.

We did the boiling water test and were able to have our hands directly beside the pan and it was like touching the counter. Our top has one large element, two medium, one small and one simmer. Haven't tied the simmer element yet or to see if we can use a pan larger then then element. I know you can use a smaller pan on a larger element.

This is a very safe cooking method. The glass gets hot after you take the own off, but I can still place my hand on it and not get burned...but it is very hot. Nothing around the element even gets warm. It notifies of hot elements, even ones that haven't been on but you place a hot pit on. It shuts off when you remove the pot or don't put a pot on.

Because of the lip on the front and built it fan on the back and size of the burners, it's a tight squeeze to get two Large pots on with a small, but it worked. We don't often have three pits on the stove but did the other day. That is the only negative so far.

Warming drawer came in handy for crepes and sausages the other day as crepes take a while to make enough for four.

A complaint of two online about the tops on induction being too hot and only having to use level three to cook a grilled cheese, but I don't see the issue....then use three to cook it. You don't have to cook everything at full blast just because it can go that high.
 

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Well, we have had the cooktop in for just about a year. I have been very pleased with its performance, but today, its durability came into serious question.

I was was steaming asparagus in a pasta pot. When the asparagus was done, I put the lid down on the cooktop while I took the asparagus out. When I went to lift the lid, it was stuck, vapor locked to the cooktop. I decided to slide it to the edge and when I tried to move it, the glass broke, in several directions. The cracks run from edge to edge in all four directions.

Kitchenaid is calling it user error and says the cooktops are not designed to put lids on. They refuse to repair it under warranty. I have a call into the repair shop the appliance store recommends, but I don't expect to hear from them til Monday. Depending on the cost, I will either repair it or switch to gas which is what I was looking for last year.

I do have to say, I really like the responsiveness, ease of cleaning and general safety of the induction, but if I can't put a lid down on it, or if I have to remember that it has to overhang the edge, it is not as user friendly as I would like.
 
[MENTION=63399]Shutterbug57[/MENTION]

We have gotten the dreaded "stuck lid" a few times and done the slide off.

It is difficult to not put the lid on the stovetop, but we are trying our best.

Sorry to hear they aren't covering it under warranty. I'll be extra sure to remind everyone NOT to do it, for fear of breakage.
 
Wow! That's just twisted. I'm sorry for your loss and especially the design flaw Kitchenaid isn't owning. Up until then it seemed everything was going as desired.
 
BTW, if anybody wants to try Induction without going whole-hog into a range, you can get a really nice countertop unit for under $100.
http://www.amazon.com/Burton-6200-1...id=1423636231&sr=8-1&keywords=max+burton+6200

Max Burton makes several other models, but this one has a stainless steel frame which is nice to have, because sooner or later, your pan is going to slip off to the side and melt a plastic frame. That's what happened with my Fagor, although the damage is purely cosmetic.

They also have accesories like a ferrous disk with handle that you can use when you want to heat up an aluminum pan or other non-induction compatible piece of cookware.

If I ever have to replace the Fagor I have now, this Max Burton 6200 is what I will get.

Just FYI, I have a DUXTOP 8300ST. While I love how quickly it brings things to boil, the power settings are a bit course. Boiling is easy, but (maybe due to the cheap cookware I have--currently a 1.5Qt SS saucepan with an aluminum base is all that I can use on it, my 12" lodge skillet being too large) simmering or frying is tedious or out of the question, because on power setting 1 or 2 the coils are off for so long that the pan cools enough to almost completely stop simmering, and on 3 it's too hot. On the temperature settings, 210F is too cold to simmer (in my pot, at least), and the next setting up (250F, I believe) brings anything to a rolling boil.

...maybe I should've gotten a Max Burton. :/

VerbaVolant said:
I always rest the lids upside down, regardless of the surface.
+1, or I balance the lid on the handle of the pot I'm using, which is conveniently though not purposefully sized.
 
The citations simply demonstrate the problem here, and our tendencies to accept less than ideal product. Or as a recent Verizon television campaign says "Better matters."
What is the design flaw? I guess they could use unbreakable glass tops and charge 20x more, but then no one would use them.

Yes it sucks that it happens, but it may just be one of those things we have to live with. If I have a gas stove and throw my dish towel on it and it catches dire, is that the stoves fault?
 
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