Don't have an induction cook top but do use a slow cooker all the time. With a slow cooker you can leave the house for many hours and it will be safe. I can't imagine a pot on a burner being left unattended.

Slow cookers are cheap, keep it. The hassle of getting the pot in the sweet zone is not worth the effort. You will find the one temp setting will not be hot enough while the next setting will be too hot. The temp of the pot will move up or down requiring you to be the human thermostat - not a fun job over a many hour slow cook.

You shouldn't have any trouble keeping a very consistent low temp on induction however, as pointed out above, a slow cooker is cheap and can be safely left alone for hours. I'd keep it.

I would tend to disagree about reaching and holding subtle temperatures with induction. A nice cast iron Dutch oven such as Staub or Lodge brought to temp then cut down to the lowest setting will indeed cook much like a crock pot. But I do agree I would not leave home with a hob on, even though most induction tops do have timers on the hobs. If you are home most of the time when you cook, I think you would be pleased slow cooking on induction. That said, I do still use my crock pot occasionally.

I have used induction for years, and do not believe it replaces a slow cooker. I'm not sure how induction would be any safer than radiant or gas left on low. The idea sounds dangerous to me

I think it's possible but you'd have to play around with it quite a bit and be home for the first few times you did it. I agree that I'd have a hard time leaving a "burner" on unattended. Even though it's not really a burner and has no chance of catching anything on fire if it fell near it especially since even the pot would be at such a low temp. I just know I'd be uncomfortable all day thinking about it! Actually pugged in appliances can be dangerous too. I had an electrician tell me I should unplug all my appliances when not using them. Yeah, that's happening. But if you feel like scaring yourself read this:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/03/appliance-fires-is-your-home-safe/index.htm

Thanks, all!

I'm just curious (really). Why is it okay to leave a slow cooker on all day, but not leave an induction cooktop on all day?

Yon can leave an induction on, the problem there is no thermostat to turn it off when things get too hot, so things could boil over/burn/etc.

I guess they're all different. Mine turns off in both of those cases. If it detects a boil over or excessively high heat shuts off. My elderly mother let a pot boil dry and the cooktop shut itself off.

Mine does too Christina.

dito Christina. I'm right there with you "elderly mother". Been there and done that and my cooktop shut off.

Ditto... to add to the choir. I was thinking the same thing as sjhockley. I am not sure why it would be an increased risk?

I'm curious about this too. Because I do leave a slow cooker on but I wouldn't leave an induction burner on, but I have absolutely no rationale for this. A range does require more voltage than a regular outlet, right? Does that really make any difference?

Personally, I wouldn't get rid of my slow cooker because it often goes with me to friends' houses for meals that we share together. An induction cooktop can't do that. ; )

Honestly, I doubt I'd leave either one. I had a slow cooker nearly start a fire in my house. I was home and it blew the circuit breakers (short in the power cord.) I unplug toasters, coffee pots and all other small appliances as soon and I've finished using them. A coffee pot was the cause of a house fire that totally destroyed the home of a friend of my parents. I think an induction cooktop is as safe as can be, as are slow cookers, I just prefer to be home when either is in use!

I have an older stand alone induction burner and mine cycles on and off to achieve the lowest temperature. Even with my Le Creuset cast iron, it doesn't create as even of a heat as a slow cooker. With a thick stew without much liquid, I can see it alternating between boiling in the middle and then not. A Dutch Oven in the oven is a better approximation of a slow cooker.

When I was in the market for a warming drawer, there were a couple of brands of warming drawers that you could set at 250 to slow cook.

THese are all 7 year old comments. All are opinions with no facts or statistics quoted. Does anyone have a valid, supported suggestion?

i am the original poster and have been cooking with my Bosch range with induction cooktop for five years now. Absolutely love it and happy to answer questions.