I plan to do something similar.

I have a portable Viking induction burner that I have been using whilel my DH is repairing my older Jade/Dynasty range. And I have found it pretty satisfactory for most uses, though it doesn't replace my higher-BTU burners for other things. (FWIW my range is older so it doesn't top out as high as the Culinarian, anyway.)

I wouldn't get an induction plate just to be able to boil water faster, but there are somethings that it does much better than any gas burner I've ever used: for instance, it can cook something at very steady low, low, temp which is important for my because I do some dairying (pasteurization, cheese, fermented dairy, etc.) I do have a simmer burner on the gas range, but because it is an actual flame I find it's better for doing relatively short, very low heat, projects, But where I want to keep something at say, precisely 140F for a longish time, the induction is much is easier to manage, with no risk of a flame, or much variation in temp. I would NEVER leave the house, or sleep, with any gas burner lit, but I could easily run an quick errand to the barn or nap with induction going under a bain marie, at low temp - or a pot of stock. I don't have a slow cooker appliance, but the induction is even better because I find I can keep something within a very tight actual temp range, with very little variation, for hours.

My induction burner is a portable model, but I didn't find a really remarkable difference between my time-to-boil for cold water. Perhaps a more powerful 200v, built-in, induction coil would be different. But my range did/does a fine job getting to boil at full crank.

You will also need to make sure you have induction-capable pans: cast iron that is perfectly flat on the bottom (no little ring/ridge); magnetic stainless steel ( i.e. All-Clad, Tramontina Triply from Walmart.com, etc.); enamel on cast iron like Le Creuset - or its copycats - again, with no little ring around the base; although I haven't tried them, I see that the popular brands of higher-end cookware (Emeril, Calphalon, Martha S) have "induction ready lines; and some of the fancier carbon steel ones will work as well. What won't: glass like my beloved Pyrex double boiler; Corningware-type ceramics; copper; aluminum and thinner or non-magnetic steel like Revere Ware. Niether my heavy Dansk Dutch ovens nor my stainless restaurant stock pots work on induction.

I like having the induction capacity but wouldn't want to have only induction. I get frequent power outages here and my gas range works perfectly fine during the events. OTOH, we are installing a fair amount of grid-tied photovoltaic panels this year so I prefer to use as much of my own clean-generated power with the induction as possible. Fortunately my dairy projects are mostly day-light jobs when the panels are feeding me free power.

I believe there is one high-end range with both induction and gas (Lacanche) from France, but orderable in the US I am pretty sure. I looked at it when I was getting frustrtaed at the repair-pace on my Jade range. I wasn't wild about it the Lacanche's layout but I think that's because I do some very uncommon cooking tasks and it didn;t work for them. You might find it bit the bill for you. Comes in yummy colors, too.

Lacanche stoves are not inexpensiive, but neither are the brands you mentioned like Blue Star.

If you do go with induction and need new pots I can vouch for the Tramontina Triplay sold at WalMart.com. I have many pieces of older All-Clad but when we switched to induction I needed an odd pot or two where I had been using lass, ceramic or copper. The Tramontina Triply at WalMart is a fraction of the price of AllClad and I can find no functional difference - indeed they even look nearly identical. I've been using mine for a couple of years now. It would take a lot to get me to send $200-300 on an AllClad pot again when I can buy a similar one for $40-80.

Anyway, although I like induction, there are still somethings where I like to cook with gas so I'm not giving it up, yet.

I am still debatig whether ot not to make room for the induction burner under my hood or not. Goind back and firth on it. Although I move it and use it mostly in my dairy area (not near range) I can foresee also having it near the range for some jobs. If it lives in a place beside the range, and under the hood, I'd also be planning ahead in case I wanted at some later date to add a built-in induction domino.

HTH,

L.

Hop over to the appliances forum, there are a lot of gas/induction threads over there. If you still have questions after reading a bit, they'll help you out!

We went with all induction even though DH REALLY wanted gas. He's completely thrilled with the induction now. And now that we're having a heat wave he is glad we don't have gas or coils putting out extra heat!

That is really helpful! I also can't decide how important high BTUs really are. Except for boiling water and the occasional wok (very rare for me) it seems less useful than the low simmer feature of Induction. Do you think the countertop units are as good as the built-in ones?
Thank you!!!

If you can get induction, then gas is a redundancy unless you experience a lot of power outages or want to roast peppers directly on the cooktop. Even then, I wouldn't choose gas. We use the outdoor grill or a hotplate powered by the generator during power outages and roast peppers in the oven under the broiler. Induction can do everything else that you think you want to do with gas, but with less heat added to your home and easier cleanup. Having both is a silly and superfluous.

I think what happens is that you just won't get the portable out to boil water.

We lived for about 6 months without the kitchen. Our el-cheapo portable induction was a life saver and I thought I would use it to boil water and cook stuff in summer. I have yet to get it out of the drawer where it lives (18 months so far).

I did get an outdoor stove with two 30k btu burners that I am really liking and using a lot - even in this heat wave. I like cooking outside. Somehow, its ok to tote all the food outside but to get the induction gizmo out of a drawer.

I have no experience with the Capital, but the burner designs resemble each other somewhat. I am not claiming equivalence in any way but a lot of heat, straight up from a lot of small jets.

I never turn it all the way up, even to boil water - it sounds like a jet engine when I do that. At medium, its more than twice as fast as the POC range in my kitchen at doing anything.

If I got to re-choose with money as no object, I think I would get a induction top and a solid plate or Teppanyaki style griddle - those would cover about 90% of my cooktop needs.

Small funny story - I didn't realize that it was even possible to get a pan hot enough to spontaneously ignite oil - but guess what, I can! lmao. Also, my cutting board that fits over the prep sink just fits over a burner :)

I echo what liriodendron wrote about the benefits of induction cooking. We have a gas cooktop as well as a two-hob induction cooktop. I decided to take the plunge with induction when I found a Diva unit on eBay for a song. We live in a neighborhood where the power goes out frequently (in fact, it's been off since Friday here in the DC metro area), so I wanted to have a gas cooktop in order to be able to feed the troops no matter what. Still, every time I use the induction cooktop, I tell my husband how much I love it. I tend to make soups, stews, beans, chili, and the like, so it's wonderful, as liriodendron noted, to be able to put a big pot on simmer and go about my business, including running an errand or two. I originally thought that the Diva was a redundant appliance, but, now, I couldn't be happier that I made that choice as part of our remodel. You should consider how and what you cook and whether or not two such cooktops would make sense as part of your set-up. Good luck.

I love my induction cooktop. Not only does it boil water in 90 seconds or less, but I can melt chocolate without a double boiler and I can keep cream soups warm on the stove without boiling them. It's great. Did some some learning as it was a change from electric and/or gas. It did take new pots. But I'm very happy. For power failures, we have a side burner on our gas grill and we have a generator which keeps our hot shot and our microwave going.

I always thought I would put in a gas stove when we remodeled the kitchen, I had electric. After much study, we put in a 36" Electrolux Icon induction cooktop and after 1 1/2 yrs I love it.

My wall oven is an Electrolux Icon and I can't say enough good about it. The refrigerator is Samsung FD with the deli drawer, love that too. I have had no problems with any of my appliances.

Annie,

I've seen that claim about boiling water in 90 secs before, but I always wonder: how much water and how cold is it to begin with. And what's the wattage on the unit?

My water is very cool (we get it from a spring under our house, so it's usually 45-55 degrees F depending on the season) and I rarely boil water in a quantity less than a quart or two and generally much more (pasta, potatoes, corn, etc.). And the induction unit certainly takes much more than "90 seconds" to boil that!

I suppose if I were to boil a cup or two of water that might be correct, but who does that?

L.

My husband is one of those that routinely boils a few cups of water. He bought a French Press coffee pot and found that he could boil the water (on the induction cooktop) and make coffee faster than the drip pot. I don't drink it so he has a small drip unit. He says the coffee is so much better made that way. I like it as the Press is much prettier sitting out on the counter than his little black drip pot.

A 110 unit won't give you the power of a 220 unit, but if you do like me and install a 220 outlet in your kitchen then you can get a more powerful portable unit. I use that for a radiant hotplate.

Here in SD, we seem to have more problems with power going out in the winter, so then I cook on my wood stove. I've got enough outside type cookers for if the power is out when it's warm enough to be outside.

The only huge drawback with induction for me is I can't use my big aluminum pressure canners on it. So for that reason alone, I'd put in a gas hob in my kitchen if gas was available. Didn't feel it was worth the cost to install a propane tank just for that.

If I ever move to where I've got natural gas available, I'll have both induction and gas in my kitchen, but the induction will be the main, and the gas for the special purpose stuff.

I'm having the same issue. I was actually all set to get the lacanche but the US distributor doesn't offer the induction option. She said its not U/L rated and while I'm sure I could self import, I'm really not sure how or how I would convert a European range to American voltage. I'm very disappointed that what I want exists in this world and I can't have it :(

My kitchen was planned with the Sully 1800 in mind which means I have a huge wall space to now fill. I'm thinking of getting 2 ranges, one induction and one gas.