That thing looks dangerous!! There is a video on there with a flame that looks like its a couple feet high.

Consider an induction wok burner. Miele and cooktek have them. The capability of the dedicated wok burners exceed most gas range burners. Since you are in the planning stage, you can plan for this cooktop now.
The tool you posted looks very dangerous.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooktek induction drop in wok burner.

@malba2366
Thanks for the reply. It does look scary in the flame, but the inventor mentioned one is supposed to put the wok on before lighting the stove. I also remembered seeing somewhere that he says the production version will be less high but slightly wider

@homepro01
Thanks for the info on induction wok burner. I have considered it but as an avid wokker that toss and flip all the time and looking forward to the burning of vapourized oil, it does not really work fo rme

You can also get a dedicated gas wok burner. I think Wolf and some other companies make them.

I have a single Miele Wok burner. I have not installed it yet. I also have a 30" induction cooktop. Looking forward to installing these before Christmas. I will tell you, the Miele is 28k but and I expect the cooktek to vaporize oil faster. If you get a chance, search on YouTube for induction wok cooking. You will see videos from restaurants in Hong Kong that have gone to induction. The issue of flipping is discussed. The woks are so fast that the you don't get a chance to flip the wok.
Good luck!

This post was edited by homepro01 on Wed, Nov 26, 14 at 9:57

I have a 36" RNB bluestar. I wok on it all the time. It works great. To achieve maximum wok hei flavor, I do have to make sure to get it blazing hot (maybe three to five minutes on full blast) and cook things in batches. But that's kinda how wok cooking is done anyway.

If you're near enough to any showrooms with live models, you can ask them to do a live cook.

Given enough thermal mass (an issue if one flips the wok and doesn't have the physique of Popeye) and heat influx rate, why does the wok temperature need to significantly exceed the carmelization temperature of the food, which I thought was in the 400F regime?

The 30k BTU/hr equivalent capability of the Cooktek will not likely match the 100k BTU/hr capability of a restaurant wok burner. The Cooktek will carmelize food if the quantity is not excessive. However, depending on amount of oil and other factors, the temperature across the bottom of the supplied wok is not as uniform as one might like, as the actual heating zone is annular and directly heats a few inches above the very lowest part of the wok.

Or to put it another way, the results can be as desired using induction but the cooking approach to getting there may require some variation in technique.

kas

I tested the CC and it was over 650 degrees in the middle of the wok in 1 mins. I did not want to let it go any further due to fear of taking the patina of my trusted 16" wok.

One would imagine if i left it for longer it would simply glow red...

Kaseki,
"The 30k BTU/hr equivalent capability of the Cooktek will not likely match the 100k BTU/hr capability of a restaurant wok burner."

Regarding this statement, you don't think even with the efficiency gains from Induction versus gas they would be closer in real life performance? Just a question I don't have a real life experience to say either way.

Thanks!

I was curious so I checked my Bluestar, 717* on the bottom of the wok, with a 739* reading a bit higher up the sides, where I think the carbon steel is a bit thinner...

Thanks for everyoneâÂÂs reply
@weissman @homepro01
May be I should provide more info on my budget. I am looking to spend about $2000 (absolute max $2500 if I can get something like RNB, Dacor, ARP, CC at this price) So separate wok burner is kind of out of the question. I will have a separate thread soon looking for recommendation for a range that suits my need but I will try to keep this thread to wok temperature comparison. It would be great if you can provide temperature of wok at those separate hob as well.
@gtadross
Would you mind measuring the temperature in your wok? I know it is blazing hot but just want to compare with what the gadget can achieve
@kaseki
I agree with you but the max temperature measurement is more of a indirect comparison on the recovery of temperature at the bottom of wok after ingredient is added.
@trevor
Thanks for the measurement. I can understand how a great patina is worth more than gold lol
@ctycdm
Thanks for measuring. Is it a 15k/18k/22k burner you are using? Is that temperature the max you can get?

@ strikeraj, that was on a 22k burner with the grate removed, so the wok sits down in the flame.
For drill, I checked one of my 95 year old Griswold cast iron skillets on top of the grate, and got a 698* reading. I really only gave them both a couple minutes, as Trevor says, not worth risking all those years of accumulated seasoning just to check the temp :)
I'm sure you'll be happy with any of the open burner ranges for woking or searing...

Homepro01:

My understanding of induction hob to gas burner equivalence in the case of the Cooktek is that the 30k BTU/hr estimate already takes into account the efficiency of coupling typical gas burner heat output to pans. There is more on this at the Induction Site. For various reasons the cooking-equivalence conversion factor is likely to be a soft value, and not just a conversion of watts to BTU/hr. (3500 W 11.9k BTU/hr, well under 30k BTU/hr.)

kas

Thanks Kaseki. That makes sense.
Strikeraj,
Thanks for clarifying the budget. I will report back on wok cooking on the induction cooktop.
Good luck!