Induction cooktop... comments?

Rick Mintz said:

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

I don't have one myself but a former co-worker used to bring in things that his
wife had baked and they were fabulous. She attributed the great results to her
convection oven.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dave Smith said:

Rick Mintz said:

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric
range?

I don't have one myself but a former co-worker used to bring in things that
his
wife had baked and they were fabulous. She attributed the great results to
her
convection oven.

Not the same thing....... ;-)
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-[censored]." -Jack Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dave Smith said:

Rick Mintz said:

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any
comments as to how well they work and the results vs. a
conventional gas or electric range?

I don't have one myself but a former co-worker used to bring in
things that his wife had baked and they were fabulous. She attributed
the great results to her convection oven.

Convection and induction are different animals.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-7-05 with the first story
about our trip to San Francisco for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Rick, if you don't get satisfaction here, mosey on over to
alt.cooking-chat and ping Harry Demidavicius. ISTR that he and Sam have
an induction range and love it. Tell him I sent you. "-)
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-7-05 with the first story
about our trip to San Francisco for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend.

In <[email hidden]>, on 11/08/05

at 03:27 PM said:

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as
to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric
range?

My mother had one of these and I had the opportunity of cooking on it.

She had to buy new pans because the ones she had (aluminum with teflon)
would not work with the induction system. Something to consider. The
usable pans weighed more than her old ones (a potetial problem if someone
is elderly or has arthritis in the hands).

One burner burned out three times. At first, the company could replace
single induction units, but that manufacturer then switched to two-unit
modules meaning that if one burned out, you had to replace a perfectly
good unit.

Something to check out.

I do not remember the brand.

Advantages - fast, cooler surface.

jim

--
-----------------------------------------------------------
[email hidden]
-----------------------------------------------------------

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

I have been cooking on induction for over 7 years now. It's a dream:
As reactive and powerful as gas, as great for simmering as
electricity, safer than both, and cleaning it is a breeze (because as
the cooktop itself never gets really very hot, stuff doesn't burn on
it). I have stopped using water baths (I even do stuff like zabaglione
directly), and I would never go back.
The only disadvantadge is having to replace your pots. Take a fridge
magnet and see if it sticks to the bottom of your pots and pans. If it
does, you can keep it, otherwise you have to replace it.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Dave Smith said:

Rick Mintz said:

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

I don't have one myself but a former co-worker used to bring in things that his
wife had baked and they were fabulous.

She BAKED with an induction stove? I think not.

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Why? Let me know when you put your copper pots in the yard sale!

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

There is just SOMETHING about coming home and having the kitchen
warmed and the smell of a pot roast in the oven anywhere from mid
November to sometime in March.

I have never worried about heating up the kitchen.

George said:

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction heater works by inducing eddy
currents in the pan bottom, any material that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the induction field won't couple
well to a thin pan bottom.

On Thu 10 Nov 2005 08:10:56a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments
as to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or
electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the
induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

Wrong.

"There is one caveat regarding induction cooking: you must use a
magnetically sensitive pot or pan. Specifically, any cast iron or porcelain
over iron pan or magnetic stainless steel cookware will work. All the
popular aluminum or copper-clad cookware is incompatible with induction
technology."

Or, read for yourself from a manufacturer...

http://www.divainduction.com/articles.php?id=2

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Larry LaMere said:

George said:

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction heater works by inducing eddy
currents in the pan bottom, any material that conducts electricity will work.

Not rewrite necessary, the energy is coupled by the principle of
electromagnetic induction and the pan is basically acting as a shorted
turn of a transformer. It must be made of a magnetic (usually implies
iron based) material.

Quoted message said:

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the induction field won't couple
well to a thin pan bottom.

Ward Abbott said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

There is just SOMETHING about coming home and having the kitchen
warmed and the smell of a pot roast in the oven anywhere from mid
November to sometime in March.

I have never worried about heating up the kitchen.

Agree, there is nothing like a house filled with nice smells because of
something cooking in the oven but we are talking cooktops.

In <[email hidden]>, on 11/10/05

at 10:10 AM said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Rick Mintz said:

Hi.

I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments as to
how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or electric range?

Thanks,

Rick

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Quoted message said:

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

Quoted message said:

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the
induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

What I remember is the manufacturer said the pans had to be magnetic. If
conducting electricity were all it took, you could use the stuff they make
sparkplug wires from.

jim

--
-----------------------------------------------------------
[email hidden]
-----------------------------------------------------------

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Thu 10 Nov 2005 08:10:56a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Rick Mintz wrote:
> Hi.
>
> I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments
> as to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or
> electric range?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rick
>

Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
because only the base of the pot or pan is heated

Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the
induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

Wrong.

"There is one caveat regarding induction cooking: you must use a
magnetically sensitive pot or pan. Specifically, any cast iron or porcelain
over iron pan or magnetic stainless steel cookware will work. All the
popular aluminum or copper-clad cookware is incompatible with induction
technology."

Or, read for yourself from a manufacturer...

http://www.divainduction.com/articles.php?id=2

Interesting, since I used to work in a plant where we used induction heaters to heat graphite to
temperatures of over 1200 degrees Centigrade. Trust me, a magnet wont stick to graphite.

Larry LaMere said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Thu 10 Nov 2005 08:10:56a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>
wrote:

>Rick Mintz wrote:
>> Hi.
>>
>> I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any comments
>> as to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional gas or
>> electric range?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Rick
>>
>
>Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as much
>because only the base of the pot or pan is heated
>
>Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since the
induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

Wrong.

"There is one caveat regarding induction cooking: you must use a
magnetically sensitive pot or pan. Specifically, any cast iron or porcelain
over iron pan or magnetic stainless steel cookware will work. All the
popular aluminum or copper-clad cookware is incompatible with induction
technology."

Or, read for yourself from a manufacturer...

http://www.divainduction.com/articles.php?id=2

Interesting, since I used to work in a plant where we used induction heaters to heat graphite to
temperatures of over 1200 degrees Centigrade. Trust me, a magnet wont stick to graphite.

Trust me, a magnet won't stick to vegetable soup either.

Trust me, graphite can be made quite hot by inducing an electric
current.

M-W

graphite
: a soft black lustrous form of carbon that conducts electricity and
is used in lead pencils and electrolytic anodes, as a lubricant, and as
a moderator in nuclear reactors

induction
: the process by which an electrical conductor becomes electrified
when near a charged body, by which a magnetizable body becomes
magnetized when in a magnetic field or in the magnetic flux set up by a
magnetomotive force, or by which an electromotive force is produced in
a circuit by varying the magnetic field linked with the circuit
---

Sheldon

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 08:05:57a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On 10 Nov 2005 17:12:13 +0100, Wayne Boatwright <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

On Thu 10 Nov 2005 08:10:56a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>
wrote:

>Rick Mintz wrote:
>> Hi.
>>
>> I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any
>> comments as to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional
>> gas or electric range?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Rick
>>
>
>Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as
>much because only the base of the pot or pan is heated
>
>Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since
the induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

Wrong.

"There is one caveat regarding induction cooking: you must use a
magnetically sensitive pot or pan. Specifically, any cast iron or
porcelain over iron pan or magnetic stainless steel cookware will work.
All the popular aluminum or copper-clad cookware is incompatible with
induction technology."

Or, read for yourself from a manufacturer...

http://www.divainduction.com/articles.php?id=2

Interesting, since I used to work in a plant where we used induction
heaters to heat graphite to temperatures of over 1200 degrees
Centigrade. Trust me, a magnet wont stick to graphite.

Magnets won't stick to certain types of stainless steel, either, depending
on the particular alloy. However, graphite is carbon based as is iron.
Aluminum is not, and I don't know of any aluminum alloys that contain
carbon based materials that would allow it to work. The induction heaters
used in the plant where you worked may also have been a very different
design than the cooktops. Every induction cooktop I have ever read about
specifies cookware as described above.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 08:05:57a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On 10 Nov 2005 17:12:13 +0100, Wayne Boatwright <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

On Thu 10 Nov 2005 08:10:56a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Larry
LaMere?

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:48:37 -0500, George <[email hidden]>
wrote:

>Rick Mintz wrote:
>> Hi.
>>
>> I am considering the installation of an induction stove. Any
>> comments as to how well they work and the results vs. a conventional
>> gas or electric range?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Rick
>>
>
>Good points: heats quickly, doesn't heat up the surrounding area as
>much because only the base of the pot or pan is heated
>
>Bad point: requires pots/pans that are magnetic.

Not unless somebody re-wrote the laws of physics. Since the induction
heater works by inducing eddy currents in the pan bottom, any material
that conducts electricity will work.

What will have more effect is the thickness of the pan bottom since
the induction field won't couple well to a thin pan bottom.

Wrong.

"There is one caveat regarding induction cooking: you must use a
magnetically sensitive pot or pan. Specifically, any cast iron or
porcelain over iron pan or magnetic stainless steel cookware will work.
All the popular aluminum or copper-clad cookware is incompatible with
induction technology."

Or, read for yourself from a manufacturer...

http://www.divainduction.com/articles.php?id=2

Interesting, since I used to work in a plant where we used induction
heaters to heat graphite to temperatures of over 1200 degrees
Centigrade. Trust me, a magnet wont stick to graphite.

Magnets won't stick to certain types of stainless steel, either, depending
on the particular alloy. However, graphite is carbon based as is iron.
Aluminum is not, and I don't know of any aluminum alloys that contain
carbon based materials that would allow it to work. The induction heaters
used in the plant where you worked may also have been a very different
design than the cooktops. Every induction cooktop I have ever read about
specifies cookware as described above.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!