Oh, heavens, I had forgotten about that 1985 computer room smell. Anyhoo, no my Waring portable 1800W induction hob doesn't give off retro odors. What brand is the one you are trying?

If you want an olfactory reminder of those data centers, then get yourself Precision Nu-Wave single burner. That's what I borrowed from a friend. :-)

I guess I really need to find someone with an actual induction range for me to try.

I know that smell.

I have had 2 induction cooktops and neither stank. One was a 1983ish Kenmore and the other a 2011ish Windcrest.

I've got two of the nuwaves and use them daily. I've never noticed any smell or loud fan noise.

Like fori, my experience with induction goes back to that early 1980s Kenmore range. I never encountered the "electronics" smell with that range nor with any of the portable induction cookers, ranges and built-in cooktops I've used since then.

If you can't find a friend with an induction range to try out, you might have better luck finding a cooktop to demo, maybe at a kitchen design store. (I live in a very rural state but a kitchen design store in the nearest big town has a 36" Thermador cooktop hooked up. Maybe you can find something similar near you?)

As for noise levels with ranges and built-in cooktops, have you seen the video made by longtime GW-poster Gary Dodge? He made a youtube video to show noise levels (like none) with his Electrolux induction cooktop. The link is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gary Dodge's video

Day 2 of induction single burner trial: Pancakes in regular cast iron pan.

On the plus side, the noxious smell was likely from the enameled cast iron I was using (le crueset). There was no noticeable smell with the pan this morning.

However, I think I've figured out that I want to go with a propane line/dual fuel range. I think its more about cooking style. I cook intuitively and the fact that it took me half the batch of pancakes to finally figure out that it needed to be at exactly 410 degrees with the batter and pan perfectly centered in order to turn out consistent pancakes quickly was all way too exacting and stressful for me.

I like the primitiveness of fire.

However, I do see the usefulness of investing in one high quality single induction burner for recipes that require an exact temp. Candy, frying, certain frostings etc. I particularly like to cook my meats sous vide and I think it would work nicely for that. It could replace my crock pot which is a jack of all trades and master of none. Nothing is wow worthy out of that, except the convenience.

I really love this forum. Thanks for the help!

removed.

This post was edited by weedmeister on Sun, Sep 28, 14 at 21:09

The description of that metallic smell took me back to when I was an intern running computation models on a Cray. For me that smell was accompanied by a vague vibrating sensation along with the sensation of my nose hairs standing on end. Very weird. I imagine it would be a very strange experience to have at home!

I think quality induction cooktops will not generate significant odor, either upon initial use or extended use. My Kenmore (Electrolux clone) didn't. With a range, odor can be expected from the ovens during burn in.

Induction hobs generally directly heat an annular area of the pan bottom, so pans with sufficient thickness to spread the heat well will be necessary for cooking foods that can't distribute heat evenly (as liquids usually will). Pancakes would naturally be difficult with annular heating, and I recall an electric griddle made long ago that had two coil heaters embedded in the base that had the same issue. So it is not purely an induction problem.

There are two options that I see.

A layered pan bottom, with magnetic stainless steel (e.g., 400 series) on the bottom or located just above some other bottom material such as aluminum to generate heat from the field, a conductive layer of aluminum or copper to spread the heat, and an inside layer of 300 series stainless steel for stain resistance. The field lines will heat an annular area of the 400 SS and this will be spread by the thick thermally conductive layer.

Thick cast iron. In this case the rate of heat input has to be controlled to assure relatively even heating at the top surface of the pan. This will require some wait time for thermal stability before actually cooking pancakes.

kas

To my knowledge, no one uses temperature to set their induction cooktop hob. We use power level, or something from 0 to 10 with perhaps half-steps. Those with knobs use rotational position just like a gas cooktop.

Now, if I was doing something where temperature was critical, I'd stick a thermometer into the pot and use that, just like I would with gas.

>>> "To my knowledge, no one uses temperature to set their induction cooktop hob." That's so if you have a built-in cooktop or full size range. Different story with the portable induction cooktops. Many of the portables do offer temp settings.

Practically speaking, these temp settings seem to function as intermediate steps between the integer power settings. By way of example, my Max Burton 6200 has ten whole number power settings and 10 temp settings. Power setting 2 is too low for properly maintaining pressure at the second ring of my pressure cooker. Power setting 3 is a little too high to do so (it heats the pot too much and pushes the pressure higher so that the PC is venting). Switching to the unit's temp scale and using the 250F setting winds up being just right. On a built-in cooktop or range, I'd pick 2.5.

Although the MB6200 does not have a "2.5 setting," it's 250F temp setting does seem to approximate it. So, in that sense, we do use the temp settings.

>>>"Now, if I was doing something where temperature was critical, I'd stick a thermometer into the pot and use that, just like I would with gas. Agreed.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 19:48

I have an Aroma single induction burner. No smell and no loud fan noise.

It does get an error message E6 that says that it's too hot and it starts beeping. This only happens when I use my cast iron skillets. The heat settings are from 1-6, no temperature settings.

yes I smell something like what you describe and I'm concerned that it may be ozone.