Is it induction or just electric? If it's merely the electric type that heats the glass to 750* to heat a pan, well, I'd budget for replacing it before move-in with induction. Bosch or Miele. Contact their Tech Support on weight limits. Your canner weight plus 48lbs. for water.

There is an induction cooktop there now, but was planning on replacing it with a regular electric cooktop. I have a lot of pots & pans, plus my Presto canner, that would not work on an induction cooktop. Curious, why would you recommend induction over electric for canning?

I'd stay with the induction and save money. More efficient (direct heat transfer). You can get a metal shop to fabricate for you an induction-friendly metal disk so you can use any cookware (the induction will heat the disk which in turn heats the cookware). However, you lose the instant heating/off heat advantage.

If it's a Miele CS1212 Combiset top, I'll gladly take if off your hands!

When you asked about "stand alone glass cooktops," my first thought was that you were asking about portable hotplate cookers and that it is not in the cards to replace the smoothtop radiant electric cooktop if or when you buy the house. But, I see from the posts made while I was typing that you already have an induction cooktop.

The caveat on induction, though, is as good as it might be for water bath canning, it won't work with any of the larger pressure canners like your 23 quart Presto. That's because all the big pressure canners are aluminum and induction only works with ferro-magnetic metals. Last time I checked, the biggest induction capable pressure cookers (not even pressure canners) were a 10 liter Fagor and a 12 liter Kuhn Rikon, about half the capacity of your Presto.

Now, there is a lot that can be and has been said here in past threads about canning on radiant electric stoves here over the decades. Have you already googled "canning on radiant electric smoothtop?" (Or maybe you stopped looking because the first things that turn up are a a ton of threads like "OMG, it is not possible." "OMG, yes it is." " No its not." "Yes it is." Well you must be poisoning your family because ..... " "Well that is a bunch of hooey" and etc. etc. )

All I can say is keep trying and you'll eventually find threads where folks actually know what they are talking about, some of which will be from ag extension sites.

From the last time I researched this about a decade ago, it seemed that you'll need to check out the specific brand and model number of each cooktop model you are considering to find out if you will or won't be able use it for canning. Some radiant smoothtop cooktops have issues and some do not.

The issues start with the weight issue which you already know about. Check out the user guide/owner's manual online and see if there are limitations or recommendations in it. If the subject is not mentioned in the manual, try calling the maker's customer support or tech support line.

Second, on radiant smoothtop burners, the biggest issues that I've seen is that large diameter canning kettles and pressure canners might not ever come to much of a boil on some smoothtops. This was a frequently reported problem a decade and something ago. The specific instance I recall was a neighbor who couldn't get a kettle to boil on her new smoothtop range but it worked fine on another neighbor's smoothtop. IIRC, the difference was that the second range had a 12" diameter power burner where the first stove's largest burner as only 8" or 9" in diameter. The problem (at least with the stoves where I've seen it) seemed to be that heat reflected from the larger diameter base confused the under-the-glass sensors used for regulating the heat levels. The sensors were "seeing" more heat than was actually there and so dialed back on the heating. The solution to this mystery was found here in a thread I can no longer locate, which was in a canning preservation forum that seems to have been reorganized out of existence. Anyway, the problem seems to persist with some models of stoves and cooktops. If your prospective new house's cooktop has a larger diameter big burner -- say 11 or 12 inch diameter --- this will be less likely to be of concern.

Third, do your canning pots have ruler flat bases? Not likely a problem with the heavy base of your Presto but some lighter canning kettles have rippled bases (old fashioned Graniteware comes to mind) and others have bases that may be warped or concave. These can wind up with insufficient contact contact to reach boiling temperatures on a smoothtop but are fine on gas burners and electric coil-burners.

Thanks, but I don't want an induction cooktop at all. I have a lot of valuable, high-quality cookware that won't work on it. I am going to replace it. I've used electric stove glass cooktops for canning in the past, so i know they will work.

My real question was weather a stand alone electric cooktop can be used for canning. Can they take the weight? Has anyone used one for canning?

See attached pic for example of setup. Can I use this for canning?

Check the manufactures instruction manual. It should tell you if you can do canning on it or not.

My Jenn Air owners manual (left here by the PO, I did not buy the stove) says a pressure canner may be used on it as long as it doesn't exceed the burner outline by 1". And my vintage weighs-a ton Mirro 22 qt fits the size guidelines. What the book doesn't address though is the weight of the 22 qt canner double stacked full and that worries me.

Another problem I see with the smooth glass topped stove is the way the burners fluctuate heat - it's not consistent. My SIL who has more money to spend on replacement appliances should the need arise has canned tuna on her glass top. All American canner with weight and gauge. We've watched that gauge go up, down, up down while processing making us hold our breaths as the pressure dropped almost to the danger zone over and over....the fluctuating heat is a built in safety mechanism for the stove top that mine has too. Put just a large pot of water on one and you'll see the burner glow ebb and flow at pans edges during the cooking times.

I don't can on my Jenn Air. Smooth top combination convection oven with downdraft and while I don't love the stove, replacement cost for new is about $3000. I can over gas in my open garage doorway. Extra effort required but I do know how to control the process over an open flame not hot glass....

The GE Profile CEP90302NSS readiant cooktop is very well-regarded by owners and its use for home canning is specifically mentioned in the Use and Care Manual. No maximum cookware weight is specified.

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