Daven, I'm a convert, too! No, it's not a 220V, but I figure that 1.8KW is about the size of the smallest burner on a "full size" cooktop, so it's a fair trial of the technology. And it beats the living daylights out of ANY burner on my 11 year old Jennair smoothtop electric range, even the 'biggest' one. Can't wait for the remodel now. I like that it's so quiet, too. You can hear the fan, but it's not at all loud. Cj

I did the same thing, but for a test run I let price be my guide. I got Mr. Induction on discount with free shipping from Amazon. If you go cheap like that, as Pecanpie said, be aware that you're just testing the method of delivery, not the power. It didn't take much to convince me, though for other reasons I'm also installing a two burner gas unit. For testing I did a lot of more delicate cooking. People always talk about the speed to boil, which is important if you boil every day (pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal). But the whizbang boil is where the power comes in. Instead, for seeing if you like it, try making eggs, pancakes (you'll need a flat bottom pan, not a flip over griddle/grill with raised edges), chops, etc. The most important to me was a roux based sauce. That takes the most finicky control of what I make, especially a particular cheese sauce with wine. It has to be just right so that it binds and doesn't separate again. What I learned from that is that I want more control levels than Mr. Induction. Most cooktops nowadays have 17 (even the Miele which only tells you it has nine). Mr. Induction has 9 levels. It works. Just takes a lot of back and forth adjustment on the sauce and eggs. Good luck with your experiments!

You convinced me, at least, to try a portable induction burner. I just ordered a (returned or carton damaged) Max Burton 6000 for $67 and a (returned or carton-damaged) Max Burton stove top smoker for $19. With no tax and no shipping (Thanks to Amazon Prime), that is less than $90 for both! And I can try them both out on the deck this summer when it's too hot to cook inside anyway. Are you guys familiar with Amazon's Warehouse Deals? I think this is where Amazon sells items returned or with minor damage to container and/or item. Some great buys here, but, as my husband says, ''You gotta kiss a lotta frogs before you get a prince,''--or, in this case, search frequently to find a goodie. My fav so far was a new Pillivuyt 3 1/2 quart lion's head soup tureen for $32 delivered. Usually sells for $150 or so, plus tax and delivery. Sandra Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon's Warehouse Deals

From personal experience, I can say that Cooktek makes excellent portable induction units. It might be the kind of thing that judo_and_peppers should consider for daily use in the hot sauce business but, unfortunately for BarryV, the 120v Cooktek models are way more expensive than even the "pricey" Vollrath model he looked at. The Vollrath 59500 is in the $450 range, the least expensive Cooktek (Heritage MC1800) runs $700 to $800. Other knob-controlled models/brands that I know of are Eurodib C16Y ($100 at sites like Sears.com but only 1600 watts) Sunpentown (1800 watt/120v model runs about $370, and reviews on vendor sites and at Chowhound and eGullett) and Avantco (roughly $130 at webstarauntstore.com; I think there are reviews on Amazon, but I have no first hand experience with it.) Regarding the suggestion for getting a 240v/2500 watt unit: a much more versatile burner but there has be a second 240v outlet for this to work. That is pretty rare in apartments. Some other considerations: 1. Pan sizing (Part 1) -- the measurements that matter for induction hobs are the bases of the pans. When we talk about a 12" frypan, we're talking about the diameter across the top where the sides have flared out from the base. The pan bases are more like 9" which means they should be fine on a 10.25" burner. If it is really a 10" burner. 2. Pan sizing (part 2). That 10.5" burner probably isn't more than 7 or 8 inches in diameter and somebody else's 9" burner is (like all of the less expensive 1800 watt portable induction units) probably more like 6 inches in diameter. (That's the size of the boil pattern you will see with the heat on 10/high.) No big deal for boiling most liquids but maybe a concern if stir frying in 12" fry pans. 3. Pan sizing (Part 3): I understand that your dad is downsizing from a 60" Viking, but how many big pans will he be taking with him? Is he going to be cooking for others or mostly just for himself? 4. Pan sizing (Part 4): If your dad wants to use oversize pots, there is no more problem plonking a big kettle on an induction burner than on any other electric burner. Actually, there may be less than he might experience with that radiant smoothtop electric that is already in the apartment -- very large pans can mess with the heat-control sensors and not come to a boil on some smoothtops. OTOH, a friend of mine had no trouble using my Max Burton 6200 portable induction burner with a nearly full 13-inch canning kettle when making beer. (Check out brewer forums for more info.) Just be aware that some of the less expensive models may not be up to carrying a lot of weight. With your dad downsizing to an apartment, maybe this is not a consideration, though? 5. Noises: does your dad have hearing aids? Some hearing aids seem to unpleasantly amplify noise from induction cooktops. There is both cooling fan noise and pan noise to consider. The portable induction units make a fair bit of fan noise and some, such as my MB 6200, can produce a lot of pan noise, as well. This problem is much worse with the portable induction units than the induction ranges and cooktops I've used. I haven't had to resort to hearing aids, myself (yet), but a friend of mine who does wear them tells me that the fan noise gets amplified a lot as does the whistling/ringing/buzzing noises that pans seem to make when heating up on the MB. He finds this distracting and uncomfortable. This does not happen to everybody, but definitely is something to check out in this process. 6. Speed to boil and adjustablity: Portable 1800 watt/120v induction units will have the near-instant adjustability that your dad will have had with gas. Be aware, though, that speed to heat/boil with an 1800 watt induction hob won't be noticeably faster than using the big (2500 watt?) burner on that smoothtop electric electric stove.