Induction cooktop... comments?

Wayne Boatwright said:

Magnets won't stick to certain types of stainless steel, either, depending
on the particular alloy. However, graphite is carbon based as is iron.

^^^^^^^^^^
HUH!? Iron is carbon based? Guess someone needs to correct that old
periodic table of the elements then.

Induction cooktops require magnetically "susceptible" material so that
eddy currents can be set up in the material which is what causes
the heat. There is a term for "susceptible" which I can't remember
at the moment, anyway iron is not the only metal that would work,
but the others are not as cheap and easy to come by or would not
work well for other reasons.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 12:01:08p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it ?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

Magnets won't stick to certain types of stainless steel, either,
depending on the particular alloy. However, graphite is carbon based
as is iron.

^^^^^^^^^^
HUH!? Iron is carbon based? Guess someone needs to correct that old
periodic table of the elements then.

You're right, of course. I was thinking of cast iron which is usually an
alloy of iron, carbon, and silica.

Quoted message said:

Induction cooktops require magnetically "susceptible" material so that
eddy currents can be set up in the material which is what causes
the heat. There is a term for "susceptible" which I can't remember
at the moment, anyway iron is not the only metal that would work,
but the others are not as cheap and easy to come by or would not
work well for other reasons.

As far as I've been able to research, aluminum cannot be made to work with
induction cooktops.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

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

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

Magnets won't stick to certain types of stainless steel, either, depending
on the particular alloy. However, graphite is carbon based as is iron.

^^^^^^^^^^
HUH!? Iron is carbon based? Guess someone needs to correct that old
periodic table of the elements then.

Induction cooktops require magnetically "susceptible" material so that
eddy currents can be set up in the material which is what causes
the heat. There is a term for "susceptible" which I can't remember
at the moment, anyway iron is not the only metal that would work,
but the others are not as cheap and easy to come by or would not
work well for other reasons.

For all intents of this discussion iron is the only element that is
magnetic, but there are many metals that can be made suffiently
magnetic with the inclusion of sufficient iron in the alloy. ie. carbon
steels, stainless steels are common. There are many metals that will
work with induction cooking, ie. all alloys containing sufficient iron.
I suppose one could add iron to ceramic but that type of material
would not I don't think be too feasable from an economic
and/utilitarian standpoint. Imagine a cookpot wrought from a
meteorite.

Sheldon

Wayne Boatwright said:

As far as I've been able to research, aluminum cannot be made to work with
induction cooktops.

Actually............ Matsushita/Panasonic has an induction
cooktop that works with a variety of metals, but it is only
available in Japan--at least that was the case when I last
checked. Search for Matsushita + IH + cooking. IH is for
induction heating.

--
Jean B.

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 07:08:02p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Jean B.?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

As far as I've been able to research, aluminum cannot be made to work
with induction cooktops.

Actually............ Matsushita/Panasonic has an induction
cooktop that works with a variety of metals, but it is only
available in Japan--at least that was the case when I last
checked. Search for Matsushita + IH + cooking. IH is for
induction heating.

Thanks, I did take a look, but didn't see where they listed which metals
would work. I'm still skeptical about IH with aluminum, but I suppose
nothing is impossible given the advances in technology.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

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

Wayne Boatwright wrote on 11 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 07:08:02p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Jean B.?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

As far as I've been able to research, aluminum cannot be made to work
with induction cooktops.

Actually............ Matsushita/Panasonic has an induction
cooktop that works with a variety of metals, but it is only
available in Japan--at least that was the case when I last
checked. Search for Matsushita + IH + cooking. IH is for
induction heating.

Thanks, I did take a look, but didn't see where they listed which metals
would work. I'm still skeptical about IH with aluminum, but I suppose
nothing is impossible given the advances in technology.

My little 1 burner induction hot plate works very well with a very even and
fast heat. If I was in the market and had the money I'd go induction.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Fri 11 Nov 2005 07:08:02p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Jean B.?

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

As far as I've been able to research, aluminum cannot be made to work
with induction cooktops.

Actually............ Matsushita/Panasonic has an induction
cooktop that works with a variety of metals, but it is only
available in Japan--at least that was the case when I last
checked. Search for Matsushita + IH + cooking. IH is for
induction heating.

Thanks, I did take a look, but didn't see where they listed which metals
would work. I'm still skeptical about IH with aluminum, but I suppose
nothing is impossible given the advances in technology.

I don't know when it will appear here but assume it will. It
looks like induction cooktops are finally becoming more
available here. I like the induction half of my otherwise
loathesome ceram-top range, but the whole range is feeble, and
I don't like the lack of flexibility in the cooking areas. I
am still pondering the Viking induction cooktop, but since it
is very expensive, I will bide my time for a while and see
what else becomes available. I still wish I had gas--or maybe
not right this second, because a house exploded here a couple
of days ago and now the gas company is out digging holes
everywhere. Folks and businesses still don't have their gas back.

--
Jean B.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Thanks, I did take a look, but didn't see where they listed which metals
would work. I'm still skeptical about IH with aluminum, but I suppose
nothing is impossible given the advances in technology.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*

One can also not help but wonder: what about stainless pots with
aluminium bisquit layer technology in the base.

Then again, I found it's easy looking at the pots - my WMF pressure
cooker clearly states that it will work with induction stoves, so does
my scanpan.

The other thing that I am scratching my head about w.r.t. induction
stoves is EMF pollution. There's been alot of concern about EMF from
powerlines, monitors, electric trains et cetera. Now, I imagine that an
induction cooktop would actually throw out some pretty powerful EMF?!?

-Peter

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Quoted message said:

My little 1 burner induction hot plate works very well with a very even
and
fast heat. If I was in the market and had the money I'd go induction.

I've never seen anything like a one-burner induction hot plate.

http://foodservice.chef2chef.net/restaurant-supplies-equipment/restaurant-equipment/Induction_Hot_Plates/Hot_Plate_Portable_Induction_120v__VOL69500.htm
Whut!!! $549?
This looks like half the price of a stove! Is this what you are speaking of?
Thanks.
Dee Dee

Dee Randall wrote on 12 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My little 1 burner induction hot plate works very well with a very
even and
fast heat. If I was in the market and had the money I'd go
induction.

I've never seen anything like a one-burner induction hot plate.

http://foodservice.chef2chef.net/restaurant-supplies-equipment/restaura
nt-equipment/Induction_Hot_Plates/Hot_Plate_Portable_Induction_120v__VO
L69500.htm Whut!!! $549?
This looks like half the price of a stove! Is this what you are
speaking of? Thanks.
Dee Dee

No my unit was IIRC either 129 or 159 Dollars...Other than price and
manufacturer they look about the same except mine is black and has rounded
corners.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

"Mr Libido Incognito" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall wrote on 12 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My little 1 burner induction hot plate works very well with a very
even and
fast heat. If I was in the market and had the money I'd go
induction.

I've never seen anything like a one-burner induction hot plate.

http://foodservice.chef2chef.net/restaurant-supplies-equipment/restaura
nt-equipment/Induction_Hot_Plates/Hot_Plate_Portable_Induction_120v__VO
L69500.htm Whut!!! $549?
This looks like half the price of a stove! Is this what you are
speaking of? Thanks.
Dee Dee

No my unit was IIRC either 129 or 159 Dollars...Other than price and
manufacturer they look about the same except mine is black and has rounded
corners.

Thanks,
DH says we would have to rewire! I suppose that is true for all induction
units/stoves?
Dee Dee

Dee Randall wrote on 12 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

"Mr Libido Incognito" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall wrote on 12 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

>
> My little 1 burner induction hot plate works very well with a
> very even and
> fast heat. If I was in the market and had the money I'd go
> induction.
>

I've never seen anything like a one-burner induction hot plate.

http://foodservice.chef2chef.net/restaurant-supplies-equipment/resta
ura
nt-equipment/Induction_Hot_Plates/Hot_Plate_Portable_Induction_120v_
_VO L69500.htm Whut!!! $549?
This looks like half the price of a stove! Is this what you are
speaking of? Thanks.
Dee Dee

No my unit was IIRC either 129 or 159 Dollars...Other than price and
manufacturer they look about the same except mine is black and has
rounded corners.

Thanks,
DH says we would have to rewire! I suppose that is true for all
induction units/stoves?
Dee Dee

Mine uses 120 V AC North American Standard Household Current. I use it
outside mostly...in conjunction with my BBQ/grill.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

Peter Huebner wrote on 11 Nov 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

The other thing that I am scratching my head about w.r.t. induction
stoves is EMF pollution. There's been alot of concern about EMF from
powerlines, monitors, electric trains et cetera. Now, I imagine that an
induction cooktop would actually throw out some pretty powerful EMF?!?

-Peter

The extremely fast fluxuating magnetic field (which is how it cooks) is
very limited in size and strength...My puter is less than 10 feet,3 meters
from where I have used my induction hot plate in my kitchen (there is a
wall in the way) and the field had no effect on the Hard drive or monitor
display.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

The extremely fast fluxuating magnetic field (which is how it cooks) is
very limited in size and strength...My puter is less than 10 feet,3 meters
from where I have used my induction hot plate in my kitchen (there is a
wall in the way) and the field had no effect on the Hard drive or monitor
display.

Ah, that's really good to know 'for future reference'.

I have been playing with the thought ... but in this house we need a
freestanding kitchen stove and all the induction tops sold here at the
mo' are built-in benchtop units anyhow. That's what stopped me from
pursuing it any further when we bought the current stove 5 years ago.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

Thanks for all the information.

I wondered about induction cooktops. They sounded fantastic until I
read all the information posted here.

I'd have to throw out most of my cookware. (All favorites; I only keep
stuff that works well). I could keep my old cast-iron stuff but would
have to get rid of the modern, (expensive, heavy, gourmet), non-stick
pots & pans that make cooking and clean-up much easier.

The cost : $500 for a hotplate to $4000 for full size range to buy plus
unreliability and high repair costs? It'll be thrown out long before
it pays for itself.

My 25+ year-old electric range that was here when I bought the house
is still going strong. When it dies, I'll buy another.

Based upon available information, unless you have money to burn, I'd
forget it.

Thanks all.

Peter Huebner said:

The other thing that I am scratching my head about w.r.t. induction
stoves is EMF pollution. There's been alot of concern about EMF from
powerlines, monitors, electric trains et cetera. Now, I imagine that an
induction cooktop would actually throw out some pretty powerful EMF?!?

Magnetic induction is different from EMF. It is a related but
much more localized effect. Some old railroad communications systems
used induction instead of radio waves because it remained very close
to the tracks and did not interfere with other radio stations, etc.
It's the effect of a magnetic field.

Sorry I can't explain it better, but it's been 30 years since
I studied this stuff.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.