Don't have a ton of time.. but I have not had any regrets w/ the Bosch 800.. if I do a LONG homebrew session (90+ minutes of boost mode) it will turn off at some point and flash an E(rror) at me.. I just shut it off and restart and it purrs right along.. Brewing beer on these isn't ideal, honestly.. to get a good boil on a giant pot, I do need to use boost mode, and boost mode turns off every 10 minutes.. However, for every other purpose, it has worked beautifully! p.s. I highly recommend getting a speed oven, also.. We went with the GE Advantium over the range version; but any will do...

There are many brands to choose from and which ones you look for will depend on what is important to you. What are your limitations or restrictions? Once you know what matters to you, you can sift through the choices. You may not be familiar with different options so I would encourage you to do a little research on what is available. You may have a limited size or a limited budget but you should have a good selection to choose from. I have a link at the end, of a current post from the Appliance Forum on this very topic. And you can do a search from that forum on all the many induction posts too. Typically the 30" will have four hobs (the round cooking surfaces on the cooktop) and the 36" will have 5. Different brands will have some different configurations of hob sizes and placements. Do you want the largest hob in front or back or side? Do you want more than one large hob? Do you like center front controls or the side? Are you changing your countertop or are working within an existing cutout? Do you cook with predominately large pans or small ones of a combination? Do you currently use a griddle? There are also a few 'zoneless' cooktops that are not limited in the pan or the hob sizes. These are the most expensive option right now but give you more flexibility in the sizes and shapes of the pans you use. It does have a smaller pan Quantity limit however. So a 30" zoneless will have a max of 3 pans instead of the typical 4 hobs and the 36" zoneless will have a max of 4 pans instead of the typical 5 hobs. What size electrical service do you currently have? 40Amp? 50Amp? This is critical to know this. You will either have to stay within your current electrical wiring for of your cooktop or upgrade electrical service (have a new dedicated wire from the cooktop to the breaker panel run). The 30" typically take a 40amp service and a 36", a 50Amp. But there are exceptions. If you had a 30" range or cooktop before and had a 40Amp electrical service and are limited and don't want to upgrade (to the 50Amp) but want a 36", there are one or two available in the 36" 40Amp (but it may be considered to be underpowered as compared side by side to a 36" 50Amp.) But that may be just fine for how and what you cook. Or not. Other areas of differences between manufacturers include cabinet clearances below the cooktop for drawer placement or oven below the cooktop (this varies from about 2" to 12" clearances), hob size and arrangement 1 or 2 larger hobs-largest in the center with mediums / smaller on either side or 2 larger on the ends, several hob sizes (some have 3,4 or 5 sizes and some have 2 or 3), some have a bridge section for longer pans or a griddle (and some say its ok to span 2 separate elements with this and some say no), stainless frame or frameless, black glass or mirror glass, timers that turn off the actual elements or just a kitchen timer, etc. Also most of all of these have electronic controls (with various configurations and can be an important factor in itself), but a few have knob controls. (There is one 36" with knobs and 6 hobs which is made by Viking, who was bought out last year so be sure to check current reviews if that interests you). With induction, you must have the BOTTOM of the pan be magnetic to work. And most pans are smaller at the bottom than they are on the top, so the measurement is taken at the BOTTOM (however most pan manufacturers size their pan from the TOP of the pan). There are many many induction ready pans in all price ranges. The pan sizes work best when matched by their appropriate hob size (except the zoneless) with the sensitivity of the 'pan recognition' varying per manufacturer. A few report a buzzing noise with the pan under certain circumstances. A few report that from the unit and not the pan (usually from a cheaper osculating power control in the unit). The majority have no issues and are very satisfied with their choice and are very happy with it. In addition to the manufacturers tom_nwnj mentioned, there are also Thermador, Electrolux (regular and Icon models), Miele, Bosch (models 800, 500 and I believe a 300 series), Bertazzoni, GE (Profile and Monogram models), Jenn Air (highest tier brand within the Whirlpool /Kitchen Aid lines and models), and probably a few more. Here is a link that might be useful: 'Appliance Forum' Induction Cooktop Reviews

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.

I am also an induction convert from gas. I agree about the control/ease of clean up etc discussed above in other posts. The one element that I really like is that I can cook at low temps equally across all the hobs. My former mid range gas cooktop seemed to always be too hot on the larger burners even at the lowest settings. I am sure if I stepped up to a high end gas cooktop or rangetop I may have been able to solve that issue. I have had the wolf induction cooktop for 2 years and am very pleased with it. Even though it has 9 levels plus boost - the levels are NOT linearly spaced but logarithmic There was a post a couple of years ago that I cannot locate from someone at Wolf/Sub Zero that explained their logic behind the 9 levels. I have found the 9 more than adequate and have never thought - gee if I could just do a "half step". I mainly use levels 1-5 once I have my pan heated. I would certainly contact BlueStar and see how they have calibrated their levels. It does look like a nice layout and a good price point. Cannot speak to the quality or longevity.