After having such a horrible experience with the Kenmore electric range, I am afraid to try Kenmore again. Still have some extended warrranty left which will transfer to the Samsung. I have had great luck with my other Samsung appliances, so I hope I do with the range also. My husband laughed at me when I told him that the appearance of the Kenmore just left me cold, but when he saw it, he felt the same way. Blah. Can't put my finger on why. gscience chick, after baking I usually leave my oven door cracked open in the winter anyway for the heat boost to the kitchen. My son uses Circulon Infinite pans on his induction and really likes them. (Interesting to get cooking advice from my son!) In browsing the net, Circulon has a 25% off sale this month as well as deep discounts on the Infinite (looks like Symmetry will be replacing it). I found an 11 inch skillet for roughly $18 and a twin pack 10 and 12 skillet for $36 (Symmetry), etc. Then on the potsandpans.com website I was able to find the 3qt saucepan for a really good price. I have a few pots and pans that I can use from before (I hope). Two of them have 8 3/4" bases - hope I can use them . . . I love my Calphalon Contemporary saucepans and hate to lose them, but I see that they are coming out with a Contemporary IH line (induction friendly) - in Australia, but not here yet. Maybe soon . . .? Guess my life is kind of dull when I can get so excited about a new range! Any hints and suggestions will be appreciated!

chac_mool: I get your point and agree with you for day to day cooking. I may not have explained my point as clearly as it might have been explained. I have cooked on some older model induction stoves and cooktops before but never thought to test out this particular thing which is not about getting max power from all four burners but, rather, about simply using all four burners with largish pots. Maybe my question sounded like some of the questions we have seen here where somebody wants to ask about running all four burners wide open. Say, running four woks or four massive pots of pasta! I did not mean to ask a "max power" question. What I am trying to get is a sense of is the stove's ability to handle four largish pans at one time. A typical example for me would be having couple of stockpots simmering on the back burners while I run two largish frying pans on the two front burners. This is something I do numbers of times per year when I am cooking for largish events that I host. I recognize that using smallish saucepans on the small back burners would be preferrable for the best efficiency, but sometimes i just need to use four large pans. For the suggestion on "reversing the diagonal," northcarolina's Samsung FTQ range has been replaced by the NE697 & 695 in Samsung's line up of induction ranges. The new ones are the models available to me. The new models have more conventional burner layouts than the FTQ models. Northcarolina: I forgot that the FTQ's large burer is that large. Thanks for taking the time to run the other tests. Glad to hear the stove is working so well for you. The "hassle free" 30 day-return policy is something that Best Buy initiated earlier this year for all products including appliances. It sounds like the message is clearly understood at your local store. At mine, it seems that there may be a need for education becuase I was given three three different stories: (a) the policy is hassle free returns, period; (b) induction stoves can be a problem because it is easy to scratch them in use or hauling and that can mean the store won't take it back; and (c) the induction stoves are all special order items -- they only have a floor model in the store and the actual purchase has to be ordered from a regional warehouse --- and the policy does not apply to special orders. Its probably a good thing that I'm taking my time about this.

Mary, I'm very happy with my 11" cuprinox style fry pan. But like you, I've spent time reading all the cookware articles. If there is one pan in your arsenal that you want to be thick and heavy, it would be the frying pan, (at least for some cooking). I think the Demeyere Atlantis skillet would be a great choice because it is lighter,(than copper or iron) but still thick and would never warp at high heat-thanks to the stainless. Good cookware will sometimes make up for a less than perfect heat source. I have a powerful gas range with nice big star shaped burners, so I don't really need the thickest pan. But if you were to sear a steak with a weak burner, you would like a nice thick pan to hold more heat - once you preheat it. Otherwise, the meat would 'suck' the heat out of the thiner pan, before the burner could catch up and supply enough heat to get it hot again. I remember you saying you weren't sure on what you were cooking with, but wanted a good fry pan that's not too heavy. I think the Demeyere would be a good choice, I don't own it but I've seen the fry pan and it looks good.- should be easy to clean and is induction capable. I like the inside silvernox finish as well. Price is tough to swallow, but I saw one on sale that was the floor sample at a Sur La Table store...- so if you look long enough? What do I think about the All Clad copper core stuff? It is bomb proof, and I'm really impressed with it. It's not induction capable, and it's not particularly light (because of the copper). Total thickness at the edge, even with all those plies is not very thick. My guess is that the Demeyere Atlantis would do better as a fry pan, even without the copper, because the aluminum is so thick, - while remaining fairly light. Sure copper heats a little faster.. but the race isn't always won by the fastest and fry pans are one item that thickness and therefore heat capacity is just as important.

I agree that the older cast iron pieces (Griswold and Wagner) are nicer than the Lodge pieces, especially because of the smooth surface you mentioned. I have a couple of Griswold, at least one Wagner, a bunch of other old (smooth) non-name cast iron skillets. However, I have found that as far as functionality is concerned, once they are properly seasoned Lodge pans work just about as well as the Griswold and Wagner pans, despite the much rougher surface on the Lodge pans. I prefer the smooth pans, but the difference is mainly asthetic. By the way, an angle grinder can be used to smooth the surfaces of cast iron pans. I did it on a cheap ($5) griddle from Harbor Freight and is worked fine.