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Anyone use induction cooktop? Thoughts?


avguytx

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True, but I'm not talking about using little portable induction cooktops here, I'm talking about one that's installed either as a built in cooktop and separate oven or an induction range.  I'm not going to use portable cooktops in a $200k+ house.  

 

As crappy as the reviews are for most all of the built in cooktops and induction ranges, I may rethink this and resort to the typical crappy coil burners or glass top as bad as I hate to.  Failure rates and longevity seem to high.  And maybe nobody here uses a "built in induction cooktop" or induction range in their kitchen short of portables.  I don't really trust most of the "good" reviews online because most seem a little scripted....especially when it says they were gathered from a promotion.  Oh well...

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No.  Hasn't started being built yet.  Next step is excavation and footings so it's a ways out.  There's no gas offered out there unless I have a tank installed and the "HOA" doesn't really think much of doing that.  I could either bury a tank in the back or build something around an above ground and it would be ok.  But not really worried about it too bad.

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14 minutes ago, avguytx said:

No.  Hasn't started being built yet.  Next step is excavation and footings so it's a ways out.  There's no gas offered out there unless I have a tank installed and the "HOA" doesn't really think much of doing that.  I could either bury a tank in the back or build something around an above ground and it would be ok.  But not really worried about it too bad.

Even if you don't have service and decide to go with something electric, have them run a gas line into your kitchen during construction anyways.  The cost is peanuts now as compared to retrofitting in the future and you may want it one day.

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32 minutes ago, avguytx said:

I do agree with that and contemplated that before, too.  Might even do that for a gas setting in fireplace.

It's a shame that you don't have natural gas service where you live.  As the area grows, it might be there one day.  We use it for house heating, stove and oven, water heater and whole house generator.  For some reason my wife insisted on an electric clothes dryer.  She's the one who uses it the most so I wasn't going to argue.

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6 hours ago, avguytx said:

I'm not going to use portable cooktops in a $200k+ house.

You lose me there. As they work as well as any and look just as good, I've no idea why you'd want to throw money at something like that. Of course, do what makes you happy. 

Dave

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1 hour ago, avguytx said:

I agree.  I just called the company that would cover the area and there's no connections anywhere near right now.  

 

The people on our street petitioned the gas company to dig a line (maybe 50 houses) and they installed it and of course passed on the costs to us. It was a 4 incher yellow plastic with $50,000.00 machine to glue the plastic together. They said the glue joint (heat only) is stronger than the plastic line. It was cut by mistake by excavators at least 10 times and repaired. The gas company shuts off the line by digging down to the line before the break about 1/4 mile away then clamps it shut by squeezing it together. Then after the repair the break they un-squeeze the line and everything is cool.  I asked them if the line is damaged when they do the squeezing and they said no problemo.. Amen.

JJK

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39 minutes ago, JJkizak said:

$50,000.00 machine to glue the plastic together.

  We would heat weld them together back in the day.  The tool was no where near that expensive though.  It was a solid block of metal with a heating element inside.  One end was male and the other female.  You'd install the plastic pipe ends on the respective sides and heat them up.  The surfaces touching the machine would eventually become semi molten and at that point you'd remove them from the machine and mate the 2 pieces together.  They'd never come apart after it cooled.  The pipe we used at the time was orange I believe but I'm sure that there's been changes to the material and joining processes over the years.  This was back in the mid 80's or so.

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Sorry....would have responded sooner....but,  been unable.

 

I have an induction range, not just the top like I understand you want.

 

https://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/-[KSIB900ESS]-5792596/KSIB900ESS/

 

I don't have gas as an option and liked the idea of the induction, so got it.

 

With my comments restricted to this unit only...here are some quibbles I (or my wife) has.

 

1.  Don't really care for the location of the touch controls.  There have been times where something has been turned on, if only maybe the timer.

2.  You can lock the controls but that's another step you have to go through (and we now do it so our cat can't walk & mess it up)

3.  The stove portion has a heat sensor telling you when something hot is sitting on the stove (stove at this point would be turned off as you are done with it)  This sensor causes the stove to beep.....and beep.....and beep..... incessantly, never stopping until the heat goes down to a certain level.  It's VERY annoying as you can't seem to be able to defeat it (as best we can tell).  My way around it is if I set something hot on the stove (causing it to beep) I'll now just put a hot pad between said item and stove, problem solved.

4.  It will beep sometimes if you set something across the touch pad (as best I can tell, it's happened so infrequently that I haven't yet found a conclusive culprit)  So, if you lay something like a COLD piece of aluminum foil....  or maybe a COLD (cold meaning, room temperature) cookie sheet...  it seems SOMETHING in there knows "something" is sitting on the pad and again, will beep incessantly at you, driving you nuts.

5.  This specific unit has a stainless steel trim kit to "beautify" the edge where it meets the counter.  Our prior Kitchenaid had a built in flange on the unit itself....this decorative stainless steel is flimsy as hell and not worth the money spent....I took it back and refunded it.  I suspect (but admit I don't know) that it will be a problem in later years....only thing holding it on is a piece of adhesive strip.

6.  As I have a number of cast iron skillets (and received an entire line of Induction ready Kitchenaid cookware with my purchase) I DO really enjoy using it.  Works great.  If water is boiling and you turn burner off (or just down) the water will stop boiling "right NOW" as though you pulled it off the heat.

 

As an experiment when it first arrived, I took an approximate 10" skillet and filled it 25% with water.  Put on burner and put on high.  Little tiny bubbles started showing in moments.  Water was boiling before sides of skillet were even WARM, they were still room temperature cold to the touch.  Really showed how the induction system "grabbed" the bottom of the skillet and heated it up "right now".

 

In my case, the oven in this thing is the largest I've ever had.  Downside of the oven (which I realize you don't really care about) is it takes forever to heat up!!

 

This will sound stupid but something I really LIKE about the oven....well, two things....

 

First, it has two lights inside!  That's pretty nice since it lights things up more evenly.

 

The middle rack is on bearings and can be rolled in/out at a whim to put something on it, check something...without having to reach between two hot racks (to grab a potato for example)

 

While buying mine, the guy at the dealer said he thought induction stoves will start to be more common.  Seems they are more efficient with their energy use and I guess, they can charge more (??!)

 

Oh, did I say that I like that I have TWO lights inside my oven!!!

 

 

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2 hours ago, CECAA850 said:

  We would heat weld them together back in the day.  The tool was no where near that expensive though.  It was a solid block of metal with a heating element inside.  One end was male and the other female.  You'd install the plastic pipe ends on the respective sides and heat them up.  The surfaces touching the machine would eventually become semi molten and at that point you'd remove them from the machine and mate the 2 pieces together.  They'd never come apart after it cooled.  The pipe we used at the time was orange I believe but I'm sure that there's been changes to the material and joining processes over the years.  This was back in the mid 80's or so.

 

The machine I witnessed clamped and  ground each line surface flat to .001" of an inch accuracy then heated and pressed them together to obtain a small bead on the outside. If the bead was not a certain size they would do it again.

JJK

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22 minutes ago, JJkizak said:

 

The machine I witnessed clamped and  ground each line surface flat to .001" of an inch accuracy then heated and pressed them together to obtain a small bead on the outside. If the bead was not a certain size they would do it again.

JJK

Ours was just plastic pipe and a plastic coupling.

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On 4/23/2018 at 1:11 PM, avguytx said:

going to an induction cooktop

Got a 36" KitchenAid induction one about 10 years ago when I redid my kitchen and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Almost as fast as gas but no "MESS!" Still looks brand new. Best appliance I ever bought! Guests are amazed when I put a kitchen towel between to top and the pan and it works flawlessly :D  Yeah; you have to get the correct pans, but you replace those often enough anyhow :( 

Go for it ... you'll love it!

Cheers, Emile :D 

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18 hours ago, Coytee said:

Sorry....would have responded sooner....but,  been unable.

 

 

Coytee, thanks for all that information....that was exactly what I was looking to hear.  I appreciate it.  I'm sure those beeps could drive a person crazy and I read quite a few reviews where they talked about that.  Maybe the Frigidaire I'm looking at won't beep so much.  haha.  I did a chat session earlier today with Frigidaire about why there are so minimal dealers for their Professional series induction cooktops and they really didn't have a great answer.  But, they said that Lowes will be able to do a special fax in order for  either the 30 or 36" cooktop I'm looking at so that's good.  They also said they would be producing more of  these as the demand is starting to rise for them.

 

This is the one I'm looking at.  I'm kind of partial to knobs versus push button stuff.

 

https://www.frigidaire.com/Kitchen-Appliances/Cooktops/Induction-Cooktops/FPIC3677RF/

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My list of "must haves" on any induction cooktop. Since they are all cheap to make and these cost almost nothing it's a matter of appearance and application, IMHO. 

 

20 temp range by number

140-500 degrees by degrees.

Timed cook

"Like to have" in my next one is reduce to 140 for warming after timed cook. 

These things are a lot like Class D amps...anything over 60 bucks or so per burner is excessive.

Dave

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  • 4 months later...
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On 4/23/2018 at 12:11 PM, avguytx said:

I'm tired of messing with the glass cooktops and the typical electric elements and thinking about going to an induction cooktop.  Any of you guys (or gals) use them that can post your thoughts both positive and negative?  If you use one, what brand is it and how long have you owned it?  There are a lot of models out there and I've been researching since we'll have to be purchasing these once we make it to the point of the inside work we'll finish out with.  I like the Frigidaire FPIC3677RF Professional 36" cooktop as I like the knobs better than push button so far and better than their Gallery series.  But, no one really carries it so it's special order only.

If you don't have the gas/propane option, there is nothing better than induction.

 

There is some switching out of cookware involved, but once that is sorted out you will never go back, and you don't have to worry about hot surfaces like with convential glass top.

 

Travis

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