Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Dec 31, 2009 10:33 pm Hi Everyone! What started with a simple desire for a dishwasher (seriously, who builds houses without provision for a dishwasher these days?? The house is less than 10 years old!!) has morphed into a full blown renovation of our kitchen/dining area! We will be ripping out the kitchen and completley replacing it, pulling up carpet and tiles and installing solid wood floors and replacing a sliding door! We have been looking at appliances, and my ex-chef hubby & I are seriously considering a move from gas (which we have now) to an induction cooktop, because they are safer and look fab, and are so easy to clean. I'm just wondering how many of you have made the move before, and what were your experiences? What brands did you go for and why? Also what considerations are there? For example I know I will need power there, and I guess get the gas connection cut off somehow? Also I read somewhere on another topic that you can't have pot drawers underneath induction cooktops - is this true and why? Also for the cookwear, is the magnet test the best way to know? Any ideas on the best non stick stuff to use? I think my scanpans will get donated to the poor cousins! Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 2Jan 01, 2010 12:02 pm Hi That sounds like us! What as a new dishwasher after our old one died turned into a new kitchen, new laundry, new tiles, new appliances in kitchen and laundry, new tiles and new furniture for rumpus and family room and new planatation shutters! Damn expensive dishwasher! We also moved from gas to induction and I was a little nervouse about it. My main concern was that we did a lot of wok cooking, so we ended up compromising and bought the Smeg induction cooktop with the induction wok burner in it (the wok burner is basically a bowl shape in the cooktop where the wok fits and allows more surface area to be in contact with the induction part). We do have drawers directly underneath it. I have 4 drawers all around the kitchen, so the top one is shallow for cutlery etc and then a medium sized one and 2 larger ones. Under the wok side I can still fit cling, foil etc and the other drawer has all my spices in it. I do though think it depends on the model, as the guys who did our kitchen said at first we would need a deflector and we wouldn't be able to have a drawer, but the Smeg is all enclosed. What sold us was that the Smeg was quiet, it was the size we wanted, it had the wok part and you could have more than one burner on the extra power setting. It is super easy to clean, although you do have to wipe it with a wet cloth and buff it with a dry one if you don't want smears on it. We bought the new scanpan induction saucepans (we had the old scanpans before as well) and have found them to be great. When it is installed they clamp off the gas fitting and install a new electric cable run. Make sure though you have this included in your kitchen costs as it is quite expensive (I think around $500). I am so pleased with the cooktop. It is MUCH easier to keep clean than a gas one and it is much faster as well. I would never go back to gas! Hope that helps! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 3Jan 01, 2010 3:10 pm Hi Liz! Thanks for your reply. I wonder how many other renovations are born from dishwashers!! I'm glad to hear that you are happy with your new cooktop. We saw your wok cooktop on display yesterday, and thought it looked great! We don't do a lot of wok cooking, though, so I'm not sure if we will go with that one. We also have a wok burner on our BBQ so I figured if we need to we can always use that if we need to. I'm def loving the ease of cleaning bit, and I also think they look better than gas, our kitchen will be completely opened up so I'm wanting very clean lines. I like your 4 drawers different sizes, rather than three different or four equal sized drawers. I don't want the drawers to be too deep! I will have to talk to our kitchen designer about that. Do you have standard 900 high benches? We have an electrician in the family, so luckily getting new lines put in will only be materials cost.. Was it just a normal line they put in? Most cooktops I've seen require a 240v source, but I've heard that some need special power? or does it just need to be on its own line or something? I'll also need to research about the deflecter bit to make sure we pick one that also can have drawers! Happy New Year! Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 4Jan 01, 2010 7:21 pm Hi We are getting an electrolux induction cooktop - we went with this brand mainly because of price. I wanted to keep the price of it under $2000 - it has 4 zones, all with power boost, and the slide function to increase/decrease heat. It seemed to do all the same things as the more expensive ones. It also has bevelled edges - I'm hoping that makes it less likely to chip the edge. I am yet to buy some saucepans to work on it - would you beleive I had one frypan that works on it! Our supplier is working on a set to go with the cooktop. Our kitchen doesn't go in until Feb so I haven't actually used it yet. Can I ask about going with smeg because it was quiet? - do they make noise when they are on? Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 5Jan 01, 2010 8:24 pm Hello Induction is definetly the way to go. We put an induction cooktop in our last house (we did a full blown renovation on our kitchen then 12 months later we sold and subsequently we are now building). We bought a Blanco 3 zone induction cooktop - the best!! I will definetly be going induction in this new house too. I personally think it is more efficient and better than gas and way better than electric but that is just my opinion (I have had all three cooktops in various houses). We were told if you are unsure if your cookware is induction compatible, then just put a magnet on the base of your cookware, if it sticks then it is suitable to use on your induction cooktop. It really does take the time out of cooking and I found it to be super fast - I could make Bechemel sauce in less than 3 minutes - no word of a lie!! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 6Jan 02, 2010 9:35 am Hi Leni Our benches are 960 high with a 40 mm top and only a 100mm kickplate. I knew I didn't want drawers that were too deep as that would mean things would get piled on top of each other which sort of defeated the point of the drawers! I knew I wanted a shallow drawer at the top and a deep one at the bottom, but to work out my exact sizes I pretty much pulled everything out of my cupboards and measured them all. You do though need to ask the kitchen builder what is the maximum amount you will need to take off for the drawer runners. So for example, if you want a drawer front 200mm high and he says to take off 50mm for the runners, then that leaves you clearance of 150mm inside. Our kitchen guy was fantastic. Because I wanted to get the maximum space I could for each drawer he manually drilled the holes for all our drawer runners rather than using the standard template to make sure we weren't wasting any space - all 22 of them! I don't know the exact details of the electric connection to the cooktop, but I do know it was a heavy duty line and the electrician said it was as thick in diameter as at least a 10cent piece. Impatient - make sure you get to hear the cooktop you are buying whilst it is being used, particularly on a relly low setting. Some of them on low made a really loud, annoying clicking noise. Ours sometimes makes a bit of a noise if it is on really high and there is a little bit of water on the base of the pan, but otherwise it is pretty quite. It definitely doesn't make the noise that some do on the low setting. It might not bother some people, but it would drive me crazy hearing a constant clicking for an hour or so if you are slow cooking something. It might have something to do with the saucepans too, so maybe buy them first and take them with you to be sure. Liz Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 8Jan 02, 2010 2:59 pm Impatient it has 4 zones... It also has bevelled edges - I'm hoping that makes it less likely to chip the edge. Concerning chipping, bevelled edges are exactly the type that is more likely to chip because they are so thin at the edges. I have only ever seen chips on bevelled-edge cooktops, and almost all I have seen on display have chips on the edges. The two induction brands that rate highest are Miele and Bosch. One of my friends recently bought a counter-top induction hotplate. He doesn't bother to use his gas stove any more. However his two complaints are that it doesn't have a low enough power on "1" and that the steps between settings are too big. The advantage of the Bosch is that they have half settings, making a total of 17 power settings instead of the 9 or 10 that most brands have. If I can get a decent discount I'm planning on getting the Bosch. On the other hand I've seen several 4-zone induction cooktop brands for under $1,000 (although undoubtedly made in China). Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 9Jan 03, 2010 10:20 am cyberman If I can get a decent discount I'm planning on getting the Bosch. On the other hand I've seen several 4-zone induction cooktop brands for under $1,000 (although undoubtedly made in China). We are also looking at the bosch, it looks great, and we liked the display/controls. I wonder how noisy it is? What are the ones under $1000? I've seen a few in the around $1500 category (Lofra/Beaumatic (exact same cooktop) and Samsung), and then the more well known brands all seem to be $2500 +. Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 10Jan 03, 2010 4:08 pm Off the top of my head Omega is generally available at $999. Some brands at big Hardly Normals at 999. Westinghouse around $1300. Bosch is top quality and very quiet from my previous experiences of dishwashers and ovens. Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 11Jan 03, 2010 5:33 pm We decided to go for induction instead of gas after a demo. . . can't wait to have that wipe-clean surface instead of having to scrub at cast-iron things for hours. We got a super-bargain. . . just happened to look on Grays Online and picked up an ex-demo 900mm De Dietrich induction cooktop for about $850 (worth $4400 original retail price). . . woohoo! Also got two pyroclean ovens, a microwave that looks like a mini-oven, rangehood, warming drawer. . . the whole lot cost only $4500 and was worth about $15000 full retail. We would have otherwise been looking at much cheaper appliances. I can't wait to use everything. Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 12Jan 03, 2010 5:38 pm Personally I didn't like the bosch cooktop because of the stainless steel edge - one more place for gunk to build up/get caught on. My current cooktop has a stainless steel edge and it is a bugger to keep clean. i like the streamline look of just cooktop. If you need new saucepans to cook with as your others won't work find a cook top that is giving away a set of saucepans with it! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 13Jan 03, 2010 5:55 pm Yeah! I agree! Ours doesn't have the silver edging (I don't think it does!) The dirt should be easy enough to get out though with a scrubbing brush, as long as you clean it regularly. Over the weekend I bought a set of 5 Raco stainless steel saucepans from Big W, they look like pretty good quality and were reduced from $250 to $150. Also they've got 50% off the circulon range at David Jones. . . picked up a couple of non-stick frypans from there too. Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 14Jan 04, 2010 11:50 am The $9.95 IKEA wok works on induction - and has a great flat base. When we had our SMEG demo before purchasing our appliances - that was the wok they used! And that was one of my main concerns. Cheers! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 15Jan 18, 2010 12:20 am Hubby is still deciding between induction and gas for our reno. He is an ex chef, and quite vigorous when he cooks, moving pans back and forth, etc, but he is worried this will scratch/chip/damage the surface of the induciton. Is this something to be concerned about? Thanks! Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 16Jan 18, 2010 12:23 pm Hi Leni, Can't help you on the scratching bit as we are not using ours yet. Renos haven't even started - yet I've bought the kithen appliances! Are you considering a certain brand? We chose SMEG and I know Miele also do it - where if you are considering purchasing, they holds pre-purchase demonstrations where you attend for a few hours and they cook with various ovens, cooktops etc to show all the various functions. There is no charge for these and you ahve no obligation to then purchase. In Adelaide, the distributor holds them every fortnight and when I was there, there were people who had their kitchen installed and where there for some cooking tips on how to use the appliances and people like me who were thinking of purchasing (from all various stores that sell SMEG across Adelaide). It totally changed my decision in what to buy - so worth the time to attend. So even if you are not thinking of SMEG - I would go to somewhere like Harvey Norman, get them to show you their appliances and find out the details of where they hold the demonstrations and go along and get some advice on induction. Even better - it's great fun and yummy food!!! Cheers! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 18Jan 18, 2010 5:13 pm We rocked up to the Smeg showroom out Botany way 2 Saturdays in a row. We probably spent 3 hours there each time. They let us use the equipment, try different settings etc as well as doing cooking themselves. The fact that we could play with them ourselves helped us decide what to buy in the end. It was well worth the trips! Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 19Jan 19, 2010 12:54 am Thanks for your replies, everyone! We did go over to a friends' where he cooked dinner for us all, but was a bit timid about cooking they way he normally does lest he destroy thier miele! Will research demos where they will let us try in WA. I know a few places do demonstrations but I wonder if they are hands on? Recently moved to a 60's home in need of some improvement! http://s797.photobucket.com/user/leenii ... ch%20House Old house: http://s797.photobucket.com/albums/yy25 ... loo/House/ Re: Change from Gas to Induction Cooktop 20Feb 18, 2010 8:41 pm Just thought i'd give an update - used my Electrolux induction cooktop tonight for the first time - sooooo fast. i was boiling some potatoes and they came to the boil in no time at all. I was heating up a frypan to cook rissoles, and it previously took ages, I nearly had a fire in my new kitchen, the oil started smoking - I wasn't used to how quick it heated up! It made a slight clicking noise when it first started up, but I think it was just the saucepan heating up - the noise didn't last for long. There really wasn't any other noticeable or annoying noise. The bevelled edges seem fine - not too thin, compared to the the rest. So far so good. I love the clean lines, no knobs, so easy to keep clean. I can recommend to anyone! 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 12092 Hi, you've probably already resolved this, however, Commbank will probably pay the funds to you after you send evidence the work is done regardless the change in the quotes. 1 35595 5 10579 |