Browse Forums Kitchen Appliances 1 Nov 17, 2014 1:33 pm I have undertaken a bit of a search on induction cooktops and whilst I have found a few posts on these they are a few years old, and considering technology advances thought I'd create a new topic to see the type of feedback received. For those who have always used gas cooktop and have made the switch to an induction cooktop, what has been your experience with induction? do you regret making the change from gas? If you are an owner of an induction cooktop that you would highly recommend are you able to post the brand & model please. Thank you Re: Induction cooktop feedback please 2Nov 17, 2014 2:08 pm I have always used gas, then moved to electric since gas wasn't available in the area we were renting, then shifted to Induction. We don't have an induction cooktop but we have induction cookers. They are single units and we have two of them. Been using them for 2.5 years now. I love cooking, and do quite bit of cooking. It's way better than electric, it heats up and cooks evenly through out. I have two of these units and love them. Not too costly on my bills either compared to what it cost me to run the electric cook tops. Regarding gas vs induction. There are some things people prefer using just gas for, large woks for example. Having said that, I have pretty much cooked everything you can think of on the induction and never repented it. It never made me miss not having gas. Food temperatures hit really quick when you want to cook. You can control the temperature of what you are cooking precisely. Very easy to clean, no fire hazard or heat build up inside the kitchen (specially if you have a small kitchen). You have to get quality induction cookware though, and you definitely would want good quality non-sticks. I would give my vote for induction systems. Feel free to ask any questions you have. Cheers. Re: Induction cooktop feedback please 4Nov 17, 2014 5:06 pm Thank you shadowarrior, I am quite excited at the prospect of purchasing an induction cooktop and as I am entering into unfamiliar territory, I want to ensure that what we get is best value for money. I have brochures from Miele, ILVE, Bosch and NEFF, I have been through all the specs, and narrowed down to the ones I would be interested in. But..but...but when I go online I almost fall off my chair when I find their prices, as I have inadvertently chosen all the top of the range ones.... Surely there are other brands that would have similar functions to the above at a more affordable price? Would love to hear first hand experience of the brand / model of induction cooktop being used. As on paper it might have all the bells and whistles but practically speaking it may not be the best. Re: Induction cooktop feedback please 5Nov 17, 2014 9:12 pm tradeup Thank you shadowarrior, I am quite excited at the prospect of purchasing an induction cooktop and as I am entering into unfamiliar territory, I want to ensure that what we get is best value for money. I have brochures from Miele, ILVE, Bosch and NEFF, I have been through all the specs, and narrowed down to the ones I would be interested in. But..but...but when I go online I almost fall off my chair when I find their prices, as I have inadvertently chosen all the top of the range ones.... Surely there are other brands that would have similar functions to the above at a more affordable price? Would love to hear first hand experience of the brand / model of induction cooktop being used. As on paper it might have all the bells and whistles but practically speaking it may not be the best. I wouldn't be able to help you out with the local brands, but I can tell you what you will need which will be sufficient for cooking. My unit's max power is 2100W (it's 1900 and then one boost setting which is 2100W). That equals to 270 C cooking temperature. Perfect for boiling something fast (makes rice in 10 minutes) or frying something (stir fry). At that temperature, your food's top crust will get fried pretty quick, you have to stir constantly else it will burn within a second. So for example, sometimes I use it for sliced chicken breast pieces to fry for half a minute and seal the edges, then pick the second lowest setting which is 500W (100 C) for my unit, to slow cook it with the lid covered. Am yet to come across something to cook which needed more than 2100W. Usual cooking temps for me ranges between 120W to 1300W. 120W is pretty much to keep the food hot or heat up the oil. 500W is kind of equal to low, 1000W is around the mid and 1300W-1600W is around the high setting of a traditional 3 point setting electric. Having some pre-sets are good, but I rarely use them, so don't make it a deciding factor for your purchase. I think the only preset I use is Boil (for rice), which sets to highest setting and a sensor turns off as soon as the rice is made within 10 minutes, drain the starch and you have nice fresh non sticky rice This is the model I have for both of them : http://shop.bajajelectricals.com/Bajaj- ... 44-13.aspx Picked them up dirt cheap from India ($45 each and they came along with their set of cooking utensils) and going strong for 2.5 years now. If you have anyone going there, pick one up, or it might be the perfect time to book your holidays Induction units cook quite fast, so didn't feel the need of having more than the two cookers. (Cook a stir fry in one while cooking a meat curry in 2nd), but having said that, I wouldn't mind having another 2 tops to prepare the roti or rice while am cooking my main course. http://www.harveynorman.com.au/kitchen- ... oktop.html looks like a decent unit since it lists the power ratings for each burner. Again, not sure about the brand, just going by specs. I was quite skeptical on how well Induction works for proper cooking, since all the demo shows were about how quickly it boils water. I bought the first one taking a gamble to try it out. Did some proper cooking for the family, was soo impressed, went out and bought the second one next day. Now I can't live without the induction, will never go back to electrics...and I don't really miss gas. It still can't replace my charcoal Weber though. Cheers. Re: Induction cooktop feedback please 6Nov 18, 2014 10:31 pm We have gas and induction, and much prefer induction. Gas is good for the wok burner (there are induction wok cooktops, but you are restricted to their wok), but I find most of them cool in the centre (anyone know how to increase the flame strength of the centre ring with Natural Gas? I've seen quite a few, and the centre ring has poor heat), and heating with gas is not as even. With induction, the handles stay cool (with gas, the handles heat up with the waste heat, which I keep forgetting when I am using gas), you can set a timer for simmering, and the control is very good and precise (0 to 9 in half steps, plus boost), it's fast (with boost at 3600W, 1L of water takes a minute to boil) and easy to clean and keep clean. We have the Siemens which is now 5 years old; at the time, they were not expensive as induction cooktops were being discounted as they were not selling. Don't have any experience with the others, but Bosch, Neff and Siemens will be similar internally (all being part of BSH). They may be expensive up-front, but if they last, the cost of ownership is low. Personally we have used all 4 cooking positions at times, so would go with at least 3, if not 4. 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 10780 As title suggests, looking at using the interlocking Pentablock stacked stone products to replace failing timber retaining… 0 17783 |