Why would you save aluminum pans anyway or glass for that matter; they don't work on the induction. How did I check to see if my pans worked on my induction? I placed them on the cooktop, turned it on, and waited to see if the pan got hot or the unit turned off. I'm pretty sure the electronics didn't fry. Guess I was lucky. THey don't call them "sales men" for nothing. Just my opinion of course.

When ever I put my one aluminum saute pan on my Cooktek, it just looked at me funny. No burnouts or anything. It has a sensor to detect the pan which the aluminum wont activate. I believe most all the newer units have this.

He obviously was mixing up his experiences here with the unsafe design practices permitted on his home planet. Or perhaps testing your knowledge of induction to see if you were a good prospect for a bait and switcheroo to some "great deal" high commission old style stuff.

Research continues on designing induction systems that will work efficiently with non magnetic metals like aluminum but the prospects are slim that anything cost effective will ever appear outside of special industrial applications.

A symbol lights up on my induction cooktop if I try to use a pan that is unsuitable. I only had one pan that was not suitable and when I mistakenly put it on the cooktop, the symbol lit up and then I remembered that was the pan that wouldn't work. I've never heard anything about "frying the electronics" due to using a pan that doesn't work on induction. (Since then I donated the pan because I basically have no use for it.)

Sounds like the salesman was full of it. I was looking for a cheap small fridge for the laundry room otherwise I would not have stopped in that particular store. This is the place that sold me a Frigidaire and then delivered out an Amana and was surprised when I didn't want the unit.

When I told the salesman I had never heard of the problem with the pans, he said "They aren't going to tell you that" and my response was "If this was happening, the people on the message board I visit would be screaming about it".

I do live out near the middle of nowhere, SD. They sort of count on customers not wanting to make the extra effort to find it cheaper somewhere else.

Cathy

any pan that has a magnetic bottom will work. and if by chance you do not have any magnetic cookware you can get a induction adaptor plate from $45 to $80 depending on the manufacturer. then you can use your aluminum pans or heat tempered pirex cookware until you have the money to replace your old pans.

I'm on my second induction cooktop, the first dating to the early 80s with no safety features. And no--aluminum won't do diddly to your induction cooktop, nor will your cooktop do diddly to it. Might beep at it, though.

Does anyone know where to find an "induction adaptor plate" that will allow non-ferrous pots work on an induction cooktop? I've searched and searched and have only found one, but it appears to be available only in the UK.

Thanks.
Ellen

Ellen, do a search on Amazon.com. They sell two there. Put in "induction disk" in the search box. They are not cheap though.

Even my el-cheapo Sunpentown induction cooktops don't have an issue if you throw an aluminum pan on them -- they don't see any usable pan on top of them and refuse to power up until they're replaced with something that's compatible. No smoke, damage, or any other problems.