>>>" have read pretty much everything I can find on this forum about this issue, including a very detailed post from JWVideo (thank you for all the incredible information you share!) from last December full of BTU's and conversions and I still don't feel like I have a clue. I did see the link someone posted to the michaelbluejay.com website with the calculator, which sort of helps, but it's kind of comparing apples to oranges, since it asks you to plug in how much time you spend running your hobs and at what power, but I assume that even if I cook all the same things, I'll run induction for less time than gas because of the increased speed. "Mea culpa. I not only recited the formulas for comparing btu-hr to kWh, but I also sent you to Michael Blue Jay a/k/a "Mr. Electricity." So, first off, don't worry about the btu/kWh stuff when trying to figure operating costs and efficiency. That's really more about horsepower than mileage. Think of induction as a higher mileage car. Doesn't get you there any faster but it costs you less to make the trip. (Okay, induction can get you there faster when you want to bring water to a boil. Otherwise induction is basically just higher mileage.) For using the Blue Jay calculator, he says to calculate induction costs by first using the electrical rates and then knocking 30% off the calculated cost. (There's a note about induction part way down his page that explains this and raves about induction.) I'm also one of the people who has said the operating cost differences are negligible. I do a lot of cooking, both on the stovetop and in the oven. I do home canning. I make cured meats and sausages. I bake bread every few days. I have people over to dinner once a week. I make stuff for events. I live in an area where we produce natural gas and our electricity is 11.5 cents/kWh. What did I find? An induction stove might cost me $10 to $15 more to operate per year than a gas stove. That's what I call negligible. Obviously, this can vary greatly because utility rates vary. My rancher friends get their electricity from a rural co-op that has been socked by deregulation and the rates have been around 35 to 45 cents per kWh. No induction for them. Nor electric water heaters nor electric clothes dryers. Have we cleared up some things for you now? Here is a link that might be useful: Mr. Electricty Calculator for Costing gas vs electric This post was edited by JWVideo on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 13:38

If you mean a single hob cooktop with both gas and induction--NO. But various companies from Wolf, Gaggenau, Viking, etc. make one or two burner induction hobs that you can install next to a 1,2,3, 4, 5, or 6 gas hob. If you don't mind mixing companies, Cooktek makes some very powerful one and two induction units. They make a powerful induction wok hob and also 3,500 watt single and double induction hobs. Plus they would be a third of the price of a Gaggenau single induction hob. There are a number of induction/electric or induction/radient electric hobs. It might be interesting when someone releases a range with induction top and electric true convection oven, although one can buy a separate induction cooktop and install a single built-in oven (gas or electric) beneath it. Greg

I bought a year ago. I was on a budget, but I made the decision to go with induction. At the time, I loved the Thermadore cooktop, but way out of my range, so what I went with was a Frigidaire Induction Range. The whole range was much more budget worthy than separate cooktop and slide in oven, which is what I would have gotten, had that been in my budget. So, a year later, I am very happy with my choice. Bought locally. Cost $1700, which included a couple hundred for 5 yr warranty (I read multiple times on varied forums that this was wise to consider). Great performance, love the technology, still looks like it was just delivered. What I like a lot about this model is it has nobs for burner control, (I LOVE the nobs) not all digital. Works better with my brain! I didn't need a warming oven below the oven. The small warming burner that is an electric burner, I haven't used much, but am tickled to have it when I am cooking for larger crowds. Great convection/conventional oven. Great broiler, the coils cover almost all of the space, not just concentrated in the middle of the oven. I received a small, about 3oz. bottle of cleaner with it and still have 3/4 of it left, because I only use it occasionally when I can't get a smudge up. I use a spray bottle with water and white vinegar. Works like a charm 98.9% of the time. Just like cleaning windows, because that's what it is. Hope this helps someone. I used this forum often when considering induction and really appreciated the reviews. I'd like to add that I liked the Electrolux 30" slide in just as well (they are the same company). What made me choose the Frigidaire was the better online reviews (a bit) of their induction stoves, and the other two things I mentioned above, knobs and no warming oven needed. The Frigidaire was also a couple hundred less at the time, hence, more budget worthy.

artemis-ma: No manufacturer currently sells a six burner induction range in the North American market. Your mentions of "breaking the bank" etc, make me suspect that you want to stay below $2k as the price. Fortunately, going above $2k is unlikely to yield an induction range that will give more for your stated intentions. If you want a five-induction-burner unit, you have to buy a 5-burner, 36" cooktop and install a wall oven beneath it (or elsewhere in the kitchen if you have the room). To have six induction burners, AFAIK, you would have to get a 30" (4-burner) cooktop and a second, two burner unit (often called "a domino"). The power connections for these are more complicated, too. (A single oven will require a 20 amp 240v connection and the the cooktops will usualy require a 40amp 240v connection, so some rewiring might be needed if you went this route. Most induction ranges require a 40amp 240v circuit, but a few require 50 amp circuits.) If you can work with revamping the 240v wiring, then you might want to consider the new GE and Bosch 36" induction burners with their "bridging" capablities. Silken1 has (I think) the previous PHS GE PHS925 slide-in model. This had a couple of very long and mostly very positive threads, here, which will support the points that Silken made. I think Patricia has the successor model, the PHS 920 which has equally positive reviews here. Personally, if I were shopping for an induction range right now, I might be more inclined to the freestanding version, the PHB920, because there is a bit more room on the cooktop and (thus) a bit more room for canning. From my perspective, the major differences between the previous "925" versions and the current "920" versions are (a) styling and (b) the ovens in 920 versions have more (and better) options and a full-power third ("true") convection element. The left front burner on the GE ranges is 11" diameter and both right side burners are 8" diameter with sufficient power to be quite usable for a canning kettle. (Consider that folks have been canning for decades with kettles on 8" diameter 2500 watt coil burners.) Samsung's sub-$2k freestanding induction ranges (NE597NOPBSR and NE595NOPBSR) have interesting features (and sometimes just plain weird ones) but there are very few reviews here. Most have been positive. Samsung also has a reputation for poor warranty and post-sale support. I would skip the Whirlpool induction ranges. That includes Maytag and the older Kitchenaid induction models. The newest Whirlpool models from Jenn Air, and Kitchenaid are very expensive. Whirlpool's induction burners all seem to have only 10 settings which many find too crude, especially if you want to run pressure cookers or long, slow simmers. The zone arrangements are odd and the big burners are mostly in the back. There seem to be more reports of problems with them, too. The last time I checked, the manuals discouraged using these stoves for canning. The are some less expensive freestanding induction ranges from Frigidaire/Electrolux/Kenmore. The best versions of Frigidaire models, in my opinion, is the Kenmore 95073 and the relatively new Frigidaire slide-in (which often seems discounted to the $1500 to $1600 range, which is (by far) the least expensive induction slide-in.) Some folks like these because they have rotary dial type control interfaces (i.e., knobs) for the burner controls. The Kenmore has a 10" diameter large burner on the right front and an 8" burner on the left which (as with the GE models) should be good for canning. The use and care manuals specifically discuss canning. So does the Frigidaire slide-in. There is an Electrolux IQ version of the freestanding range, EI30IF40LS, with some trade-offs. The two right side burners are 7" in diameter, so somewhat smaller. They are bridgeable/linkable into one big, rectangular burner but it is not clear how well that would work for canning. The Elux also has more heat levels at the low end of the burner heat setting scal giving finer control for simmering type cooking. It uses all touchpad controls on the backsplash. As for canning -- induction-capable water bath canners are readily available and inexpensive if your current kettles are not induction capable. Pressure-canners are a different matter. Basically, for domestic use, all of the readily available large-capacity pressure-canners (Presto 16 qt and 24 quart, All-American 16 to 40 quart models) are aluminum and are not induction capable. (Fill them with water and filled jars, a stainless steel pressure unit would be too heavy to lift.) If you can work with smaller quantities for pressure canners, Fagor has several that can handle 4 quart jars at a time and the biggest Kuhn Rikon (12 quart capacity) will hold 5 quart jars at a time for pressure canning. (Costco.com has a Fagor "Rapida" 10-quart PC with a canning kit for $99).