[macrojack]

I was unsure whether this topic belongs in Home Improvement or Culinary Circle. Chose to put it here where it would more likely be seen by cooks.
I have an ordinary Whirlpool gas range which I bought new 15 years ago. It works as well as it did when we bought it. My reason for considering a change has to do with my gradual transition to an all electric home and an interest in the technology. The reason for this post is to solicit comments from AC members concerning any experience or knowledge you can share on the subject of induction cooking appliances. I'm aware of the ferrous cookware issue and do not see that as a cause for hesitation. What else should I know?
I would be particularly interested in any information about choosing brand. My space is 30 inches wide.

[ACHiPo]

I finally got a Wolf cooktop when we remodeled our kitchen 2 years ago after wanting one for 30 years.  While I like it better than any cooktop I've had, it's not as fast as I'd hoped, and it's a pain to keep clean.  The next cooktop I get will be an induction.  The thought of covering the cooktop with paper when sauteeing or frying is really appealling, as is the speed and control.

[jk@home]

We have been in the process of building and remodeling our kitchen for a few years now...may be done some day in the far future if I ever get serious and get a contractor in there.

Anyway, was interested in going induction, my wife had never really tuned in to it on the home improvement TV shows (which she is addicted to). So I bought her one of those small portable units, that plugs into the wall. Just as an experiment. It worked great, we ended up putting it on the 5th wheel RV for camping trips. Every time she uses it, she confirms to herself and I that induction is the way she wants to go in the new kitchen at home. On a builders standpoint, just make sure you have enough juice (power ampere circuit rating) for the installation. Should be no problem with your existing electric range. 

You could always buy a portable, just to give it a whirl, like we did.

[macrojack]

I finally got a Wolf cooktop when we remodeled our kitchen 2 years ago after wanting one for 30 years.  While I like it better than any cooktop I've had, it's not as fast as I'd hoped, and it's a pain to keep clean.  The next cooktop I get will be an induction.  The thought of covering the cooktop with paper when sauteeing or frying is really appealling, as is the speed and control.

We're on the same page. At our house we are producing 2 megawatts more electricity annually than we're using and I figured it would be good to use some of that instead of gas that I have to buy. Combined with the reasons you mentioned, it seems like a good idea.
I started this thread to see if anyone would offer reasons for me to reconsider. I have reservations about scrapping a perfectly good gas range that has been very reliable for an unknown but likely improvement. Also wonder if the induction models will get better and cheaper over time. As of now, that seems questionable as I get the impression few are selling.

[Folsom]

I have one. Does it clean easy? Ya I suppose so, if you use the special sponge that's required with the cleaning stuff you use. You cannot use a scotch bright on them.

*They stay hot for a long time.
*They take awhile to heat up, but they're about twice as fast as old electric models. WAY easier to cook with.

I live where it gets cold in the winter so gas is a must in the house but electricity costs vastly too much money to heat a place. It's irresponsible bad. So it makes since to have gas for the top. It's not expensive. And I prefer gas range, they're much better for a real cook that needs to time popping seeds in oil and such.

[Syrah]

JK just said exactly what I was going to say.  Research the portable ones.  They are pretty cheap and a good way to figure out if induction is your thing.

Worst case scenario, you have an extra portable burner which can come in handy.  I have a portable induction burner and I'm definitely moving to induction when it's time to replace my stove.  Now I use it with my pressure fryer for frying outdoors, because it hits the right temp spot on every time and, well, it's pressure frying, so not having an open flame around is my preference.

I have glass ceramic electric cooktops in my kitchen now, not induction.  They are easy for cleaning like induction, but they do maintain their heat after you've turned them off and they don't have the power of gas or good induction burners - when I do a boil water contest anyway.

Unilke Fulsom, I do not find that induction stays hot.  I find the opposite.  Mine is gas-like in its ability to cut the heat fast.  The glass ceramic electric in my kitchen is bad for retaining the temp.

The reason I prefer induction to gas is the same reason cited by Ferran Adria, control and predictability.  The heat control numbers on induction are very predictable and repeatable.  And, really unlike gas, induction can go low, low down.  If you're making a delicate sauce or slow cooked scrambled eggs, it's tough to beat induction.

Get a portable one plop it on your kitchen counter.  See how you like it.  If you don't, you've got a good outdoor cooking, tailgating backup.

[srb]

Unilke Fulsom, I do not find that induction stays hot.  I find the opposite.  Mine is gas-like in its ability to cut the heat fast.  .... The heat control numbers on induction are very predictable and repeatable.  And, really unlike gas, induction can go low, low down.  If you're making a delicate sauce or slow cooked scrambled eggs, it's tough to beat induction.

If that's the case, it looks like induction would work for me.  The only other reason for gas for me would be to open flame roast chilies, and that could be done on a portable butane or propane single burner when needed.

My Calphalon aluminum nonstick would need to be replaced, but if what I'm reading is correct, my All-Clad aluminum core stainless would work well?

Steve

[jk@home]

  Unilke Fulsom, I do not find that induction stays hot.  I find the opposite.  Mine is gas-like in its ability to cut the heat fast.  The glass ceramic electric in my kitchen is bad for retaining the temp.

That's been our experience with the portable unit also, maybe the large ones are different? It's perfect for the RV. If we are at Camp Hatteras in the summer, and it is 90+ outside, when one uses the gas stove top in the rig, vents and fans need to be turned on, windows opened for safety. And with the marginal A/C that the RV has, it would be no time the rig would be hot and humid as heck on the inside. With the induction, no exhaust fan is needed.

I would bet with an induction stovetop in a home's kitchen, less ventilation would be needed also.

To check if your pots will work, grab a magnet to see if they are magnetic (iron based).

[Syrah]

Most European brands work with induction, since it's becoming fairly common there.  And of course, good old American cast iron.  But the cost to replace a good set of non-induction compliant cookware is something to consider in making the changeover.  I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely not getting anything new that is not induction compatible. 

Like anything new, it takes a bit of getting used to - you feel no heat coming from the burner and you get a strange fan noise.  It's tough to "trust" at first since you can't feel the burner heat, until you realize that you just destroyed what's in the pan.  Huh, it does work. 

Even my glass top electric range that has digital numbers for the alleged temperature, is pretty hit and miss in terms of what temperature it actually makes the bottom of the cookware.  With induction, you can write down the number and how long you cooked it, and when you get it right you can repeat it.  Stick a timer in your pocket and listen to you sound system.

[ACHiPo]

*They stay hot for a long time.
*They take awhile to heat up, but they're about twice as fast as old electric models. WAY easier to cook with.

I live where it gets cold in the winter so gas is a must in the house but electricity costs vastly too much money to heat a place. It's irresponsible bad. So it

Folsom,
Are you sure you have an induction top?  It sounds more like an IR radiant model? The ones I've seen never get hot, and boil water faster than gas.

AC

[Armaegis]

One thing I don't like with induction is that the effectiveness of the heating changes depending on your pots. If you've got a matching set, no problemo. If you've got a mishmash of pots and pans from various sources, consistency will be trickier.

[sts9fan]

Inductions never get hot just warm from the pan which gets hot. I have one that came with my house. They boil water super fast and have decent control. Not 100% I would buy one but they are not bad. I could see having one with gas also.

[Guy 13]

For 20 years, here on planet Vietnam,
I've been cooking with a gas range
and I find that controlling the heat is not easy
and even with the smallest ring,
the heat is spread more outside the pot.
Not very efficient I would say.
Electric stove to me is better,
but one day I will try induction,
because I think is more efficient,
but not sure about controlling the heat.
I few years back,
I did try one of those single burner induction portable stove
and liked it.
Here on planet Vietnam,
they sell those (Unknow, to me, make) for as low as 45 USD.

Guy 13

[RPM123]

My wife and I are big fans of induction ranges, having used one (GE) for the last several years. More energy efficient than gas (which has a lot of heat loss) and very easy to control temperature. We have an array of pots and pans that are induction compatible and some seem to heat up quicker than others depending on the amount of ferrous material, I am guessing. The only downsides is that there can be some noise during heating from the electromagnets and if the power goes out they will not operate, yet gas will continue to work. Also, you need compatible cookware to work properly, so there is an investment needed for new pots and pans. (If a magnet sticks to it, it will work.) However, there are induction adapters, so you may use non-ferrous cookware. https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ainduction%20adapter

[Guy 13]

Has mentionned by RPM123,
during electric shortage, gas stove still keep heating.
However, you have to keep the window(s) open
to evacuate the products of combustion,
which is not a problem on planet Vietnam,
because it's so hot.

[Russell Dawkins]

We got an Electrolux 30" slide in to go on our kitchen island about 3 years ago as part of a renovation. We mostly love it and visiting cooking fiend types go gaga over it and want one for themselves. Heating is quick and even and control is instantaneous, like gas, but more finely controllable. Control at very low temperatures is excellent, with fine gradations of heat available. A good feature of this stove is the warming oven on the bottom can get hot enough to serve as a second cooking oven, and we sometimes use it that way for smaller things. No need to heat up double the volume when it's not  necessary.
The control surface is all touch screen and works faultlessly so far and is very quick and pleasant to operate, but it makes me nervous having that kind of high tech. I don't look forward to trying to source an obscure mother board in 20 years when a simpler stove would still be working. We'll see. Not ready for the disposable stove concept!

By the way, some non-ferrous metals work. We have a coffee maker of an old fashioned type, made in Italy, apparently of stainless and bakelite. Magnets will not stick to it at all, yet it works fine on the stove. For pots, instead of the usual 'biscuit' on the bottom I recommend induction compatible tri-ply—at least with an aluminum core, and even better with a copper core. We were talked out of copper. I wish we hadn't been.

A couple of caveats, though.

1. We had to go to a heavier gauge wiring from the main breaker panel to the stove to comply with the manufacturer's requirements, and in our case that was not easy. It had to be done, though. The highest setting is 'Pb' which stands for power boil. If you put two pots on the same side and try to set them both to Pb, one will reduce its temperature setting, as if there is not enough power available to provide that much juice to two elements (on the same side, at least) at the same time.

2. For some reason, the oven is very slow coming up to temperature, like around 19 minutes to get to 425º from cold!

[Folsom]

Folsom,
Are you sure you have an induction top?  It sounds more like an IR radiant model? The ones I've seen never get hot, and boil water faster than gas.

AC

Oh I think you're right. It looks like one. I didn't know why it got hot. I think it's annoying. And cleaning it is silly.

The turbo boil is super fast however.

[ctviggen]

Most European brands work with induction, since it's becoming fairly common there.  And of course, good old American cast iron.  But the cost to replace a good set of non-induction compliant cookware is something to consider in making the changeover.  I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely not getting anything new that is not induction compatible. 

Like anything new, it takes a bit of getting used to - you feel no heat coming from the burner and you get a strange fan noise.  It's tough to "trust" at first since you can't feel the burner heat, until you realize that you just destroyed what's in the pan.  Huh, it does work. 

Even my glass top electric range that has digital numbers for the alleged temperature, is pretty hit and miss in terms of what temperature it actually makes the bottom of the cookware.  With induction, you can write down the number and how long you cooked it, and when you get it right you can repeat it.  Stick a timer in your pocket and listen to you sound system.

We are also thinking of upgrading to induction, although the cost of replacing a lot of our All-Clad pots gives us pause (many of our pots have an exterior coating on them).  In our former home, we put in a new oven/cooktop combination that had ceramic and resistance elements, and it had a turbo boil that worked really quickly.  The gas cooktop we have in this house is horrible -- takes a long time to heat water. We would also need to run the electric to there, which could be relatively pricey (although I could do it, too), especially as we're running out of circuits.  We likely have to upgrade our panel system, which could get very pricey very quickly.

As for the extra electric, have you thought about an electric car, like the Chevy Volt (electric/hybrid)?  You could use the extra power to go about 51 electric miles before the gas motor kicks in. 

[macrojack]

We are also thinking of upgrading to induction, although the cost of replacing a lot of our All-Clad pots gives us pause (many of our pots have an exterior coating on them).  In our former home, we put in a new oven/cooktop combination that had ceramic and resistance elements, and it had a turbo boil that worked really quickly.  The gas cooktop we have in this house is horrible -- takes a long time to heat water. We would also need to run the electric to there, which could be relatively pricey (although I could do it, too), especially as we're running out of circuits.  We likely have to upgrade our panel system, which could get very pricey very quickly.

As for the extra electric, have you thought about an electric car, like the Chevy Volt (electric/hybrid)?  You could use the extra power to go about 51 electric miles before the gas motor kicks in.

I drove a Chevy Volt and a Nissan LEAF with that very thought in mind. Since I have a 2006 Prius with 111,000 miles on it and I only drive about 4000 miles/year, it wouldn't provide me with much cost reduction on fuel and would actually cost more for registration/owner tax than I spend on fuel now. I do more cooking than I do driving nowadays.
All of this is part of my new hobby - cost reduction. I'm retired and my wife has begun zeroing in the her chance in a few more years. I'd like to discuss this and I think it is appropriate consideration for a great number of members so I'm going to start a separate thread where we can put our heads together on that very topic.