Portable induction stove tops

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JustJoel

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No Wave has been flooding tv with ads for its induction cook top. (I know, I typed “stove top in the subject line.) It looks pretty cool actually, but the price is inhibitive (although you do get a second one FREE! Just pay separate S&H.). I did find one on Amazon for $70. I like the Nu Wave because of its precise temp control, and lowest and highest temps. But I’m kinda clueless here.

Any opinions on whether this is worth even $70, let alone $120?

PS
I really like cooking at the table. Not only flambé, Asian “hot pots” too. And Korean BBQ. And Mongolian BBQ. And breakfast.
 
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We have 2. Maybe you should try a search since this subject has been previously discussed.
 
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We have 2. Maybe you should try a search since this subject has been previously discussed.
Perhaps you can point to the discussions. I searched earlier today, as I also have an interest. All I could find was a thread from 2012. I searched for "portable induction".
 
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Not all induction burners are equal. Some work faster than others. So be sure to check out the performances before buying strictly on price.
 
Hmm, I'm not so sure if asking previously answered questions is a bad thing.

Not only does technology change, but so does people's now more expienced opinion changes as well. About verything.

Who doesn't want the latest and greatest review of something.

I've thought about buying one or two induction cookers recently since we love Korean tabletop style cooking every now and again, but I'm also about to buy a new gas grill that will not have a side burner, so outdoor cooking will be slightly limited unless I get some kind of electric burner.

Tertiarily speaking, the search function here sucketh royally.
 
Hmm, I'm not so sure if asking previously answered questions is a bad thing.

Not only does technology change, but so does people's now more expienced opinion changes as well. About verything.

Who doesn't want the latest and greatest review of something.

I've thought about buying one or two induction cookers recently since we love Korean tabletop style cooking every now and again, but I'm also about to buy a new gas grill that will not have a side burner, so outdoor cooking will be slightly limited unless I get some kind of electric burner.

Tertiarily speaking, the search function here sucketh royally.

I'm faced with the same thing Bucky. I adore the mega searing burner on our new gas grill, but I do miss my old side burner for a pot of beans or whatever. I also was thinking about an electric induction burner on the other side wing but I'm not sure I'd want an electric cord out there to trip over. The ideal would be a sleek and stable propane burner on the other side wing to hook up to the main tank. Still looking for something like that.

Thanks for bringing up the subject Joel. I've been around here a long time and if the subject came up before I wasn't interested at the time. I am now.
 
Hmm, I'm not so sure if asking previously answered questions is a bad thing.

Not only does technology change, but so does people's now more expienced opinion changes as well. About verything.

Who doesn't want the latest and greatest review of something.

I've thought about buying one or two induction cookers recently since we love Korean tabletop style cooking every now and again, but I'm also about to buy a new gas grill that will not have a side burner, so outdoor cooking will be slightly limited unless I get some kind of electric burner.

Tertiarily speaking, the search function here sucketh royally.

BT, the search function on every forum is... um... not great. It is not just DC. You end up with a whole lot of posts and threads to go through that may, or may not answer your question. But, then again, seeing someone complain about someone asking a previously answered question makes me want to ask a previously answered question. :angel:

BTW, I looked at this thread because I am also interested in possibly buying one of those portable induction cookers to replace the butane one I currently use for cooking on my patio. I'm glad I didn't ask about it, since it was previously answered. Boy, would I be embarrassed. :rolleyes:

CD
 
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Google induction cooktops, check Consumer Reports reviews + dates of their articles. Go to your public library and you can go directly to the monthly issue(s) identified. Not as complicated as it sounds as I write this.

Unless you / anyone reading this is a subscriber, then you're in like flint.
 
Medtran - search for induction burners and tell me what you find.

Jennyema - search for Nu Wave and tell me what you find.

Whiskadoodle - I subscribe to Consumer Reports, and they do not have reviews for portable induction burners.

You can Google "Portable Induction Cooktop Reviews", and you will find a lot of reviews, but they are from questionable sources (no Consumer Reports, ATK, etc.).

I can't find a discussion of this on DC. Can those who say there is provide a link?
 
Whatever guys, it just irks me when some people apparently can't be bothered to do even the most cursory search for answers before asking. It's like your child asking how to spell something. Do you give them the answer or take the opportunity to teach them how to find it themselves? Kind of like give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he eats forever. Case in point, see the Chris Kimball/ATK thread. That's certainly not a recent happening and it was discussed here for days if not weeks when it happened. Besides the fact that it's all over the net.

So, with that said, I'll give our experience since we've had them now for a while. We have the Titanium Nu-Waves and love them. They heat up super fast, get really hot, like 575 degrees. They also cool down nearly as fast. Also, they don't put out heat in your kitchen like conventional burners do, which is really nice in the summer, especially here. I like the fact you can control the heat within 5 degrees so you can get that perfect cooking temperature. They can be used as warmer burners since they go as low as 100 degrees. You can also change wattage (600, 900, 1800), say during a long cook if you want to save energy.

The only thing I don't like is that we have several pans we can't use with them because the pans are made of a non-magnetic material. You can buy plates to put in between the burners and the pans that will make them work, but, that plate puts out heat like a conventional burner so kind of defeats 1 of the main positives for us.

Just don't drop them. The cooktop shatters easily and even if only cracked you aren't supposed to use it. We ended up with the 2 Titaniums because Craig had gotten me one for Christmas (at my request) a couple of years ago. We used it a couple of times and then I accidentally dropped it while cleaning. We liked it so much that we ended up going with the 2 for 1 Nu-Wave deal because that was the best price I found to get 2, even with the outrageous S and H they charge.

They are really great for fondue and hot pots since they are portable and can be put on the table. That's really what we got the first 1 for but then ended up really liking it for every day cooking.
 
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I am very interested in Induction cook tops and like the idea of opening up the discussion again. +1 on the sucky search function, unless you have all day to open up a 1000 posts. I would like to have one to use during holiday cooking and when I need 2 large burners that my glass top electric does not have.
Not to detract the OP question but Kayelle - I had the same dilemma when I purchased my grill. As I really use my side burner for lots of cooking, especially in the summer to keep from heating up the house, cooking greens to keep the smell out of the house. If you search Amazon there are many propane portable burners that are reasonable. I opted to buy the grill with the side burner, and glad I did.
 
Looking at the reviews from those with unknown credentials (e.g. who is magneticcooky.com ?), it appears that Duxtop, Burton, and Nu Wave seem to get good reviews. A lot of negative comments about Nu Wave as a company, though. Wirecutter is a NYT company, so I would tend to give them a little more credibility than some other sites.

It seems that cooling fan noise is an issue with some of the units, and also a high pitched whine from clad cookware is also mentioned.

I'm interested in a portable induction cooktop for a few reasons:

1 - Allow more accurate control of my stovetop pressure cooker. I eyeball the flame to maintain pressure without getting too hot, but I don't always guess right, particularly on longer cooking cycles. I gather that an induction burner will heat up the cooker faster than the gas flame.

2 - Allow better control for long simmers. It's not that easy to control a low simmer with my gas cooktop. I was considering a flame tamer, but the highly rated Kuhn Rikon costs about as much as a cheap induction burner.

3 - Cook without heating up the kitchen so much. We don't need to run the AC very often, but I hate the thought of generating heat on the stove and then running the AC to offset it. I could plug in the induction burner outside during the warmer months. Note: today is Earth Day.

Any information about noise and temperature control would be appreciated.

GG - the Nu Wave search returns threads on ovens, not cooktops.
 
Tenspeed, I gave you the info about temperature control on the Nu-Waves. They have low,medium low, medium, etc. up to sear buttons, and then +/- pads to set your temperature perfectly. The last time I deep fried, I didn't use a thermometer, just set the temperature 15 degrees (I think, might have been 10) higher than what was called for in the directions and things fried perfectly.

As for noise, you can definitely hear them running, but it's not loud enough to cause any annoyance whatsoever, and actually kind of disappears into the background with normal kitchen sounds and talking. We haven't had any whining noise with any of the cookware we have used that includes stainless, including All-Clad if that's what you are referring to, enameled cast iron, and whatever those pans are that are copper colored inside and come with some of the Nu-Waves and that you can also buy separately.

I haven't looked at reviews in a good while obviously, but I do know that I ended up picking the Nu-Wave based on reviews and features. You might try Amazon Verified Purchaser's reviews that you can pick in the sort box.
 
Whatever guys, it just irks me when some people apparently can't be bothered to do even the most cursory search for answers before asking. It's like your child asking how to spell something. Do you give them the answer or take the opportunity to teach them how to find it themselves? Kind of like give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish, he eats forever. Case in point, see the Chris Kimball/ATK thread. That's certainly not a recent happening and it was discussed here for days if not weeks when it happened. Besides the fact that it's all over the net.

So, with that said, I'll give our experience since we've had them now for a while. We have the Titanium Nu-Waves and love them. They heat up super fast, get really hot, like 575 degrees. They also cool down nearly as fast. Also, they don't put out heat in your kitchen like conventional burners do, which is really nice in the summer, especially here. I like the fact you can control the heat within 5 degrees so you can get that perfect cooking temperature. They can be used as warmer burners since they go as low as 100 degrees. You can also change wattage (600, 900, 1800), say during a long cook if you want to save energy.

The only thing I don't like is that we have several pans we can't use with them because the pans are made of a non-magnetic material. You can buy plates to put in between the burners and the pans that will make them work, but, that plate puts out heat like a conventional burner so kind of defeats 1 of the main positives for us.

Just don't drop them. The cooktop shatters easily and even if only cracked you aren't supposed to use it. We ended up with the 2 Titaniums because Craig had gotten me one for Christmas (at my request) a couple of years ago. We used it a couple of times and then I accidentally dropped it while cleaning. We liked it so much that we ended up going with the 2 for 1 Nu-Wave deal because that was the best price I found to get 2, even with the outrageous S and H they charge.

They are really great for fondue and hot pots since they are portable and can be put on the table. That's really what we got the first 1 for but then ended up really liking it for every day cooking.
I’ve been on the butt end of your rebukes about not searching before. Not only have you chided me for not searching the forums, I’ve gotten a hand slap from you for not searching google, too.

I think you’re just a generally grumpy person. If I see a question on these forums that I think is bothersome, or the answer is obvious, I just don’t answer it. That’s all. No need to tell the other person why.

And frankly, I’m always thrilled to come across a question that I can answer with confidence, regardless of whether the question’s been asked before or not. With your vast knowledge of things culinary, I would think you’d be proud and eager to share that knowledge!

People come to this forum for conversation as well as to have their questions answered. How many threads here go on for hundreds of posts that were generated by a single question? I can’t talk to a search engine!

And it seems, that in regard to this particular question, that there a few people, at least, who are happy I asked the question and revisited this topic.

If you’re as knowledgeable with English as you are with cooking, maybe you’d prefer Twitter. They’ve got a whole platoon of grammar and spelling police, who just revel in pointing out other people’s mistakes. Whatever. Just stop picking on us poor, uneducated slobs who just wanna make a better meal!
 
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