Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Aug 11, 2009 9:51 am We are planning the new kitchen and are thinking of going with the induction cooktop. We have always used gas and love it - so I am starting to think the sales woman did a good job at convincing me to buy a more expensive item..... Has anyone changed from gas to induction? Are you glad you did change or do you wish you had stuck with gas? I know induction is superfast and safe for the kids, and I am not worried about needing the special pots etc as most of ours will work on induction anyway. It's more about having the control of gas. Also - every cooking show, the chefs all use gas cooktops.... Cheers Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 2Aug 11, 2009 12:34 pm I currently use gas and the new house will have induction. I like the idea of high effeciency, quick heating and safety. I also assume it will allow me to set the heat to a very low value (a feture I liked when I previosly had a standard electric cooktop). I really hate gas cookers when they're set on low; the slightest breeze blows them out and you only know this when the place smells like gas (or a smoker eneters the house ) About the only thing that I can think of that gas wins on is pancakes and woks. For pancakes I hear you can get paper to prevent scratching and for wok I think I'll buy a separate electric one. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 3Aug 11, 2009 12:45 pm I did the opposite, went from induction to gas and am loving it. I found I could never get the electric one low enough to just simmer, I had to watch everything or it would burn. I am finding I have much more control over gas and, that extra low simmer is great, I haven't had a breeze blow it out yet though Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 4Aug 11, 2009 12:55 pm Cooking with Gas is an expression for a reason I've never had a gas jet blow out on the lowest setting before 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 5Aug 12, 2009 3:02 pm Just my 5c worth. Went to visit mother dear today an found it really strange that there was no tv or radio going. Turns out that western power had turned off the power for 3 hrs for line maintenance or something or other. Ma offers me a cuppa coffee and when I accept she puts the kettle on the gas stove and we both have a cuppa. Yum, me love my caffeine. Dunno if there is a moral to this but i reckon it's better to hedge your bets in terms of practicality. If the power goes off due to supply reliability (which is slated to happen in every state in our wonderful country in the future) then you also go hungry. Think it would be unusual to have both power and gas off at the same time. Anyway , that's my inane view on it. Cheers Roger Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 6Aug 12, 2009 5:18 pm whattodo We are planning the new kitchen and are thinking of going with the induction cooktop. We have always used gas and love it - so I am starting to think the sales woman did a good job at convincing me to buy a more expensive item..... Has anyone changed from gas to induction? Are you glad you did change or do you wish you had stuck with gas? I know induction is superfast and safe for the kids, and I am not worried about needing the special pots etc as most of ours will work on induction anyway. It's more about having the control of gas. Also - every cooking show, the chefs all use gas cooktops.... Cheers I am building in the country and there will be no mains gas. The only thing I would need gas (bottled) for is a cooktop so an induction cooktop is a real option. It sounds pretty good. A lot of people who have them love them and I've seen a lot of people who have never used them say gas is best. From what I've read the induction cooktops react very quickly and is easy to control but I have never used them. My biggest concern is getting new cookware. I love my Anolon pots but they would have to go to my poor relations and I'd have get some new non stick gear. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 7Aug 12, 2009 5:52 pm shackonthehill Ma offers me a cuppa coffee and when I accept she puts the kettle on the gas stove and we both have a cuppa. Yum, me love my caffeine. LOL! There's always takeaway or what's in the pantry to eat - but not being able to make a coffee - that could be life or death! Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 8Aug 12, 2009 9:23 pm whattodo It's more about having the control of gas. Also - every cooking show, the chefs all use gas cooktops.... Cheers Try watching 'The Cook and the Chef' on ABC TV. They use a Miele induction cooktop. We are tired of using the low quality gas stove in our rental and are so looking forward to our induction stove. I am also looking forward to the ease of cleaning. No more burned on food. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 9Aug 12, 2009 9:25 pm SuH I did the opposite, went from induction to gas and am loving it. I found I could never get the electric one low enough to just simmer, I had to watch everything or it would burn. I am finding I have much more control over gas and, that extra low simmer is great, I haven't had a breeze blow it out yet though Is it possible that your stove wasn't an induction stove? One of the benefits of an induction stove is that it is far better than gas for low temperatures. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 10Aug 13, 2009 9:55 am having used electric/ceramic, gas and induction my vote goes for induction. I could melt, not burn, chocolate directly on the stove without having to stick it over a pot of boiling water. I am convinced it boiled my water faster than my gas stove did and was far easier to clean (all touch buttons). There is a difference between the different brands/models/prices and it pays to pay more and get higher capacity cooker with teh go very low option. Most pans work on induction so probably no need to change them. Jack Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 11Aug 13, 2009 10:15 am There is not a lot in it between gas or induction re control - most modern gas burners can be controlled to have low output and if you can't then you can always get a heat diffuser re energy saving - induction uses less energy but gas is cheaper than electricity. The cost savings almost cancel each other out. A wok burner going at full bore for an hour wouldn't use more than an $1 worth of gas (at simmer it would use 5 cents/hr). re flame out - most burners now have auto-reignition if it the flame gets extinguished. Causes of flame out are due to errant breezes. These should be eliminated anyway because it affects range hood efficiency. re ease of cleaning - induction are mounted on Ceran glasstops. They are easy to wipe down but it is possible for them to permanently scorch, stain or scratch if you aren't careful. re cookware selection - it does restrict your options if you have existing copper, aluminium or glass re safety - although induction only heats the saucepan, the saucepan can still conduct the heat to both the cooktop and inquisitive fingers. re air pollution - there is less heat pollution and no real issues with air pollution with using induction which is a consideration in cramped areas with limited exhaust capability. Induction probably will be the way of the future because eventually we will run out of natural gas (but not in this generation). They are suitable for a range of situations, can be manufactured to commercial outputs e.g. 5-7kW and offer true flexibility in cooking performance. The biggest problem at the moment is cost. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 12Aug 21, 2009 2:28 pm Dymonite69, may I add a couple of points to your list? Induction heats large quantities much faster than gas. Induction requires higher current wiring than would already be installed, necessitating calling in an electrician to wire from the distribution board to the stove. Induction has the benefit that the temperature sensor can switch off the current if the temperature goes dangerously high, resulting in lower fire danger. I once dumped a house plant into a frypan with oil in it that had overheated and ignited. My house mate told me off for wrecking her plant, but it did put the fire out! That relationship ended not long after we were caught in a rip together. I managed to catch a wave back into the shore and left her to fend for herself. I don't think she ever forgave me, however, she was the one with medals for winning swimming competitions, and I still am I terrible swimmer. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 13Aug 21, 2009 2:40 pm i have never burnt a pasta in my life before but i just did it last week with the gas cooktop. before this, i had always use electric cooktop. sorry i can't talk you into the induction cooktop part, except that i wish i can afford it... but yes, cooking with gas. I burnt my spaghetti pasta while trying to boil it. I think the fire caught wind and it touched the top end of the spaghetti string on the top side of the pot and VOILA fire. it got bigger and bigger and the fire alarm went off... luckily though no damage done. But seriously i'm scared of blowing wind now when i cook with gas. i woudl definitely go with induction if only for safety. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 14Aug 21, 2009 5:09 pm We are currently (If we can stay still for 1 minute) looking at the Miele Induction cooktop (medium one) with a gas wok option next to it. Doing this adds to cost though. * Are we there yet ? Demolition has come and gone ! yippeeee..hang on that was months ago !! come on Mr Builder, dig a hole at least Finaly ! Hole Dug ! well done darren 20/06/2010. Slab is down ! Framing is complete 20/10/2010 we are progressing like a snail on heat - excited and determined but very very slow Steveo Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 15Aug 21, 2009 10:26 pm I made up my mind today when I was making coffee. I looked at the stove top espresso coffee pot and worked out it probably wouldn't be any good on an induction cook top. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 16Aug 21, 2009 11:18 pm Fiffaro Induction heats large quantities much faster than gas. Doesn't that depend on the output of either? My mum has a portable 60MJ/hr 'Rambo' multi-ring LPG wok burner that would knock the socks of any domestic cook-top available. Like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Or you could get this at 131 MJ/hr: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ One estimation is 1 kW induction cooktop = 7.5MJ/hr gas cooktop. Most domestic units go up to 2.2 kW for induction which is about 16.4 MJ gas. I have seen commercial induction at around 7 kW advertised in Hong Kong specific for wok cooking. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 17Aug 22, 2009 1:37 am Wow, those look awesome, dymonite69! For most of us, we will be using somewhat more staid appliances. Smeg SNZ34 - is rated at 14.11 MJ/h for its most powerful burner Miele 5997 has two zones rated at 3.7 kW (= 27.75 MJ/h using your suggestion for a conversion factor) You might like to check out http://www.hkeca.org/Chinese/html/t_pap ... 2007_3.pdf which includes some pictures of 20 kW induction cookers. Now, with the conversion factor you quote, that would be equivalent to 150 MJ/h. The 'Rambo' is not in the same league! (But I'm sure you can locate more powerful gas cookers, too.) If I've calculated correctly, this article arrives at a conversion factor of 18 MJ/h per kW, so that 20 kW induction cookers would be equivalent to 360 MJ/h. Don't let your mum read this, dymonite69, or you might be pressed into importing a new stove for her. Seriously, reviews such as we see in Choice, report that domestic induction cooktops are significantly faster at heating than domestic gas cooktops. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 18Aug 22, 2009 11:21 am Fiffaro Miele 5997 has two zones rated at 3.7 kW (= 27.75 MJ/h using your suggestion for a conversion factor) You might like to check out http://www.hkeca.org/Chinese/html/t_pap ... 2007_3.pdf which includes some pictures of 20 kW induction cookers. If I've calculated correctly, this article arrives at a conversion factor of 18 MJ/h per kW, so that 20 kW induction cookers would be equivalent to 360 MJ/h. Don't let your mum read this, dymonite69, or you might be pressed into importing a new stove for her. Could be. The biggest complaint of most domestic cooktops is the lack of real heat for wok cooking. Once you upgrade you reach another problem. You need a rangehood to match it. It is like a nuclear arms race. I note the impressive Miele RRP was $4799. Rambo could be all yours for a mere $300. My mum parks it next to the BBQ outside for serious cooking. I made the mistake of treating it like a domestic cooktop and nearly set my eyebrows on fire. I suspect the inefficiency of gas gets worse the higher the output. More of it spills out the sides of the wok. I read something from the gas corp that you don't get significantly more performance beyond 60MJ. I think this is why high output wok induction is popular in Hong Kong. You get less heat pollution using it in your 4x4 foot kitchen and your rangehood might be able to cope better. Re: Gas or Induction Cooktop 19Aug 22, 2009 9:54 pm Yes, price is a drawback . If only more people were interested in purchasing induction in Australia, the price would surely drop to more reasonable levels. $300 for the Rambo! Cheaper then using Thermite! Perhaps I should have had a gas feed into the kitchen after all. Best of both worlds would have been good. Pfiff Finally making progress again, with a clothesline (yippee) and some much needed little things being attended to over the holidays. 40 C on New Year's eve? We love our a/c! My daughter and son in law are about to start building, they are having a 600mm induction cook top and 900mm oven. It's personal preferance 5 10866 4 10822 I want to build a decking to the drawn shape outlined in black. The problem is how close can I build to the gas hot water unit? Will I be able to build around it and be… 0 20228 |