Induction burner


 
R

Rita Y

TVWBB Emerald Member
I'm thinking that a portable induction burner might be a good addition to my cooking arsenal.

A Fagor seems to be getting good reviews, is 1300 watts, and looks sleek and compact, easy to store, and will run on household current.

I also see a Viking induction burner, 1800 watts, bulkier, $500.

And may more. Here's Amazon's induction burner page:

http://tinyurl.com/5ngxyh

Anyone have one? Would you recommend it? I have some magnetic stainless steel cookware but most is not (purchased long before induction came out). I could open a Le Creuset store, though.

Brand recommendations?
Functions that you like?
Pros and cons?

Thanks,
Rita
 
Rita, could you fill me in on induction burners? I have a cooktop in my house that looks similar to this (smooth glass, glowing elements) but I don't use magnetic cookware with it.
 
J, here is a site that can tell you more than you want to know about induction cooktops or portable units. If a magnet will stick to the bottom of your cookware, they should work on an induction burner or cooktop.

http://theinductionsite.com/how-induction-works.shtml

I'm thinking of buying a portable unit and was told that a unit of 1600 watts is the largest a household outlet would handle. I still need to check that. And do I need one with that high wattage? It would be nice to have a burner that I could plug in outdoors or for an extra burner when needed in the kitchen. It would be handy too, on a buffet. People who have them seem to love them. I understand that people take them on camping trips too.

Rita
 
This line:

And that is no drawback in absolute terms, for it includes the best kinds of cookware in the world--every top line is full of cookware of all sizes and shapes suitable for use on induction cookers (and virtually all of the lines will boast of it, because induction is so popular with discerning cooks).

is utter nonsense. I am not at all a fan of induction cooktops (and know no 'discerning cooks' that are) but the portable burner idea I like. I do not have one (one of these days in all likelihood) but several people I cook for do. It is convenient. I use them more for reheating or for finishing than for actual cooking. IIrc, the only times I've ever really cooked using one is deep-frying.

Can't really help with specific recommendations, unfortunately.
 
here is a site that can tell you more than you want to know about induction cooktops or portable units.
Click to expand...

Interesting read, I certainly dont have induction, its most likely halogen. What ever I have, its a pain to work with, as it takes a looong time to heat and cool. can't complain though, it was new when I bought the house.

back to the question at hand. it does seem like a neat gadget. typically if I'm cooking on the road and outside I'll use a coleman propane stove. but since most contests have power, this might be nice and could be used as a table warmer too. I wonder if they genuinely work like they say, something about ANYTHING with magnets makes me skeptical.
 
as it takes a looong time to heat and cool. can't complain though, it was new when I bought the house.
Click to expand...

j biesinger,

I am assuming you have a glass top range. Have you confirmed that your pans are flat on the bottom? If not, they take forever to heat up.

Ray
 
I'm thinking of buying a portable unit and was told that a unit of 1600 watts is the largest a household outlet would handle. I still need to check that.
Click to expand...

Rita,

That's about the only part of this post I could help with. What you are really interested in finding out would be amps. Take a look at the unit and see if it's 115 VAC (Volts of Alternating Current) or 120 VAC. Take and divide the total watts by 115 or 120. So:

1600/115=13.9 amps
1600/120=13.3 amps

A typical household outlet connected to the breaker is rated for 15 AMPS (and the wiring attached to it and throughout your house), but that is TOTAL current on that line. So you need to be aware of other things that may be on the same breaker/circuit. You should not safely go over 15AMPS total on the whole line (and the breaker should trip off if you do).

Many kitchens and bathrooms have 20AMP breakers/outlets/wiring.

And the thing to remember (say for comps use like jb mentioned), any kind of extension cord is going to add a lot of resistance, which means you will draw more watts which equals more amps, so always use the shortest length possible with the heaviest gage wire.

Todd
 
Todd, many thanks for that information! Our house was built in 1957 and the wiring hasn't been updated. Hopefully it will be soon as I'm going to update my kitchen in the near, hopefully very near, future.

Rita
 
No problems. 1957 is better than my 1968 house. Why? Because your wiring is going to all be copper. A lot of mine is Aluminum, which does not conduct electricity as efficiently and as such heats up quicker, more resistance, etc. They (the US) only manufactored it for a few years when copper was in short supply...lucky me.

Just assume 15AMPS then, and don't use an outlet that the fridge, elec. stove, micro, etc is plugged into (or if you have to, make sure those are turned off and don't kick on, and then kick your breaker).

Todd
 
I know what you mean. My toaster oven and microwave battle it out when I have a synapse lapse and turn them both on at the same time.
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Rita
 
Very nice, Dann. How many heat settings does it have and are they by degrees or by low-medium-high? I can't quite make it out from the photo.

Rita
 
It's kind of low medium high. Actually numbered from 1-10 with a timer that goes to about 2 1/2 hours.

I believe the range is 140-390 degrees

Lost the owners manual (well, it's around here somewhere) so can't give too many more particulars. It's very nice for indoor use. If you were looking for something for outdoor, we use a combination. Sometimes we tote a coleman propane camp stove, more often I just use a little butane burner called a thunder range. (see here http://srikacha.blogspot.com/2007/07/thunder-range-ho.html)

There is an asian supermarket called H-Mart here in the Chicago area that carries them for about 15 dollars. Fine little units, only downside is no wind breaks built in.
 
Originally posted by j biesinger:


I wonder if they genuinely work like they say, something about ANYTHING with magnets makes me skeptical.
Click to expand...


You have no electric motors in your house? No speakers in your tv? No electric starter on your car? No ................and the list could go on forever.
 
Dann and Russell, the BergHoff looks like it might be a good unit for me. Two important questions:

1) When you put a large (12-inch) skillet on the burner, have you checked to see if it heats the skillet evenly all the way to the edge or is the hot spot concentrated in a 4- or 5-inch center area of the skillet?

I have a 10- or 15-year-old Sunpentown induction burner (it says 1300w) that I got on a closeout at Harry's Farmers Market. The buttons are on the vertical front and are hard to see, much less to use. It has a 7-inch square drawn on the top cooking surface, but when I put a 12-inch skillet with some water in it on the top at high heat, all the bubbles are in the center, in about a 4-inch diameter circle. I tried browning a layer of oiled potato slices and came up with a similar heat pattern. Does yours do the same?

2) How do you like the lowest setting for a very light simmer or a keep-warm setting?

I'd appreciate your input,
Rita
 
I didn't read all the post so my guess is I'll be repeating something.

Induction cook tops are very easy to use. However the cookware you use must be made of a ferris (sp) metal, IE - a magnet must stick to it. No aluminum or copper cookware. Induction heats faster than even gas burners. Induction burners heat does not heat the cooktop, it the cookware is self heats, the cooktop stays cool. Though there will be a little heat transfer to the cooktop from the cookware. As a matter fact you can but a pot of water on an induction cooktop, bring water to boil, remove pot and place hand on cooktop burner. Also turn the burner on with nothing on it and it will not heat, it stays cool. One other limitation of induction cooktops aside from cookware needing to be ferris your cookware needs to be flat, not warped.
 
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