Also look into induction cook tops and possible problems for pacemakers.

dcarch

I have a hard time buying that, dcarch. If someone says the magnetic waves cause cancer, then who knows. It would take many years to study, people would argue about external influences, etc. Kind of like the cell phone thing. But pace makers? Either they work properly or they don't, right? Doesn't sound to me like it would take much of a study to put one next to a cooktop and see if it keeps working properly. Induction has been around since what, the early 80's or so? Seems to me someone would have come up with something conclusive by now if there was a problem.

Have you tried posting this question at the appliance forum? The members there were a huge help to me when I had to purchase all new appliances when we built our home.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliances forum

whoops nevermind. If I had not been so hasty and read your message properly, I would have seen that you're already familiar with that forum. So sorry.

I consider myself a "real" cook and we have induction. I LOVE IT!! I cook more than I ever did before and find it much easier and more fun than fighting that old range.

We came off a builder grade gas range when we did our upgrade and I find the induction to be incredibly fast (I can get an 8 qt pot of water from room temp to a roiling boil in 12 minutes - used to take 50 minutes).

It also has a lot of control. Remove the pot from the heat... with induction you just turn the cooktop off and the heat source is gone. The surface of the cooktop stays hot from the residual heat of the pan but the heat source is off.

I no longer use a double boiler for melting chocolate - I can do it right in a pot on the stove and it never burns.

Mine has timers on each hob. I used to make rice in the microwave as it almost invariably burnt on the stove. Now I put it in a pot, set a timer and can cook everything else without worrying about the rice. And it's perfect every time.

My middle hob is unbelievably powerful. It's like a commercial gas burner. We wok cook on it frequently. When I saute or fry, I lay open paper grocery bags over the cooktop and under the pan, cook my meal and just throw away the bags. Minimum cleanup.

For what it's worth the magnetic field extends no more than 1/2 an inch above the surface so I doubt it would give you cancer and it certainly doesn't interfere with any pacemakers that I know of that have come close to my high powered middle hob while it's been at full power.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you have.

BTW we have a de Dietrich 5 hob burner. I can't believe I can't remember the model #. We purchased from Blue Ridge Salon in NC, we're in IL, and I can highly recommend them. They were fantastic to work with and replaced the first cooktop that had an issue with no problem. We've never had any issues with this one.

You also need to make sure your electric wiring can handle it. Some induction cooktops require a dedicated 60A circuit.

I did not say that induction oven would cause problems. Just suggesting that it is an issue that is related to induction oven that you should look into, if you are considering one.

Induction magnetic field will heat up any iron (ferrous), stainless steel and magnetic material in its vicinity. Because it is an alternating magnetic field, it will also de-magnetize any magnet around it.

I am curious whether there is any such material inside a pacemaker. I certainly would not want to try to find out. In general, almost all motorized devices have magnetic materials in them.

I also think that the magnetic field extends more than ½" from the cook top. Probably 24" or more. They recommend do not cook more than ½" inch away; I think they mean you will not get a lot of heat if your cookware is farther than that.

If you are handy with electronics, it is easy to measure how far the magnetic field goes with a multi-meter and a coil.

dcarch

They are now making induction ranges as well--induction for the cooking surface (smooth top, like a regular smooth top radiant range) and a convection or conventional oven.

GE, Samsung and Kenmore are making them--ranging from $1800-2600.

I have been experimenting with a small induction 'hot plate' and like the technology enough that when i do my kitchen redo in the next year or so it definitely will have induction.

One thing you may want to consider is the timer function on the hobs; some makers make them as 'kitchen timers' (i.e., a buzzer goes off after the programmed time) and others are 'shutoff timers' (the power goes off when the time elapses). Those shutoff timers tend to be on the more expensive cooktops.

For a fairly objective review of what's out there, follow the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: induction site

Before you decide on an induction range, hire an electrician first to check out your electrical situation. Most likely you will need to spend quite a lot of money to bring power to install the range.

dcarch

I'm glad for any information I can get on this subject also because I have bought a single induction "hot plate" to try before I switched to all induction or gas. I have not tried it yet. Thanks for the good info loves2cook4six.

Beverly

I agree. Thank you so much for so much help so quickly.
I am having the service person come on Monday and see what it cost to fix my relatively young JennAir smooth electric cooktop once again.

I want gas or induction if I change. I really like the idea of induction. I am going to look into our electrical circuits and then likely will need advice.

Special thanks to loves2cook4six. Can you tell us where you bought your cooktop? I see most of the de Dietrich being sold in the UK?

Thanks again!

Adele

I love mine! I've had it for just about 4 years and I would never go back.

Regarding electrical circuits, I had an older coil cooktop and needed no upgrade when installing my Sears Kenmore induction unit four years ago.

I chose induction because I didn't want to run a propane line and I was intrigued by the technology. I read a lot on the Appliance forum and went with the Kenmore because at that time, it was the only induction cooktop easily available in the US. I have absolutely no regrets. It has the control of gas; I can bring something to boil and turn it down to a very low simmer without playing all the tricks I used to do with the coils (lifting the pot up to let the coils cool down, etc.). It has perfect, even heating, so I can get a lot of power or just enough to keep foods warm. There's no worry about flames and their heat. No worry about setting towels on fire. If there isn't a pot on the burner, there's no heat. I could go on & on...

My unit is not as feature packed as other brands, but I have no complaints. I consider myself a "real" cook, and it delivers the heat required to do all kinds of cooking. I'm so spoiled now that if I ever had to move, I know installing an induction unit would be a top priority.

Before we remodeled I used to have a coil cooktop & I had my heart set on gas for years, but when I saw the induction demonstrated at the appliance showroom, I was hooked.

I've been cooking with induction for 4 months and I have no regrets. I'm enjoying the benefits of induction mentioned by loves2cook4six and shambo. And, as arley mentioned, there are now several induction ranges available if you're not interested in a separate cooktop and oven.

Is there an nearby appliance showroom where you can see a demonstration or try cooking on an induction unit? Then you can experience the benefits first-hand.

(I have the 5 hob Miele, but there are many other companies that make induction - Diva, Dietrich, Kenmore, Viking, etc.)

Good luck!!

I had cooked with gas so many years and went kicking and screaming to an all electric house. Now I can say that I really love my GE Induction cook top. It took some time to get use to what settings to cook everything at since there is no visual cues and there was a couple of pans that broke my heart to get rid off but those were the only issues that I experienced in the change.

I love doing the paper towel demo of heating up a pan of water with a paper towel under it. It really gets people going.

Has anyone who uses induction cooktops found any reasonably priced cookware to use on them? What I've founds is extremely pricy.

Beverly, I had an induction range installed 3 months ago. I purchased Emeril's cookware that is made by All Clad. Hummm....don't like it. We paid $119 (huge discount for a product that was being replaced.) Cooked stuff doesn't want to get off the inside surface of the pans. So, about a month ago, I purchased a Berndes skillet from Tuesday Morning. Much higher quality. If you go to Amazon you will find that sets of Berndes for a reasonable price.

We just got back from a week in St. Louis. Now I need to go to one or both of our restaurant supply stores in town to get an 8" nonstick egg skillet. This will be our only nonstick.

I absolutely love our induction range (although I still my miss my extensive Cuisinart collection. I visited them in St. Louis. They looked fine.) My husband also loves that range! Induction is fast, controllable, and clean. I live on an island in Fl, and we can only have propane, not natural gas. Induction is light-years ahead of gas and I'm glad we purchased it! I'm using far fewer numbers of pans and I'm still searching for a couple. But as the number of induction ranges/cooktops grows, the availability of cookware will increase also. I hope.

Similar to Beachlily's experience with Tuesday Morning, I've purchased several stainless steel pieces at TJ Maxx. I've also found some good quality pieces at Marshall's & Ross. Target has some non-stick skillets from KitchenAid too. I prefer to buy individual pieces that I use a lot rather than a set.

For quite a while I always carried a magnet with me in my purse. So whatever store I was in, I'd head to the pots & pans section to see what pieces might work on my induction unit. I built up my pieces little by little. I was fortunate in that several of the non-stick pots I purchased years ago through a local supermarket's special offer were made in Spain and were already induction capable.

I second the choices of TJ Maxx and Tuesday Morning. Recently, a got a couple of Channtel pieces that I really like at Tuesday Morning. I also got a 12" saute pan at BB&B for $39 before coupon.

There is also Induction Interface Disk you can buy, which will allow you to still use your non-induction cookware to cook on an imnduction cook top.

dcarch

The only non-stick items I have found that can be used on an induction cooktop are Farberware Millenium line. Otherwise I have a collection of inexpensive Sitram pans from Costco, a couple of pieces from Target, and an expensive Kuhn pressure cooker.

After loads of research and agonizing, we got an induction cooktop two years ago. I love love love it. It's amazingly fast and so easy to clean. I've never used anything more than a microfiber cloth and water on it. Regarding cookware, I too carry around a little magnet to see if a pot or pan can be used with it. I 3rd or 4th the recommendation to hang out at TJ Maxx or Marshalls, and I noticed that Ikea has cookware that they advertise as being OK for induction, but I've don't have any of those.
Bon appetit!

I'm off to purchase a magnet and hang out in recommended stores. TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Tuesday Mornings are the places I usually shop anyway. Just wish we had a Homegoods here.