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2littlefishies

Induction- Top Stays Hot, no?

2LittleFishies
11 years ago

We just got the Thermador mirrored induction. Loving it so far : )

My husband and I were curious b/c I remember demos where the guy boiled water and then removed pot and put hand on burner to say it wasn't hot (or overly hot). Ours seem to be hot and the light stays lit a while to show the surface is hot.

This isn't a big deal, but do these get Less Hot than a regular electric cooktop?
Also, just wondering about the demos we've seen.

Comments (15)

  • GreenDesigns
    11 years ago

    The only way that the top gets warm is through the contact with the pan. The induction only heats the pan. It doesn't heat the top at all. Think of a microwave. After you've nuked your coffee in there, the cavity can be somewhat warm from the steam, but the microwave itself isn't hot at all. It's similar with induction. The electromagnetic elements only work on pans that are magnetic. Your hand, unless you have a rusty steel rod in it, isn't magnetic. That's why you can put your hand on top of an "on" burner without any injury at all.

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    @2LittleFishies - We have black glass version of the Thermador Induction cooktop, and that happens with ours.

    What happens is that the pot becomes hot, and then the glass cooktop absorbs/conducts the heat from the pot. Just like a coffee mug becomes hot due to the hot liquid inside it, the hot pot causes the glass cooktop to become hot.

    I've noticed the upper case 'H' when I've been cooking with high heat for some time, and the lower case 'h' when I've been cooking on a lower heat setting. The upper case 'H' changes to lower case 'h' when the temp of the glass cools down to some point.

    I can usually place my hand on the burner area when the 'h' is a lower case.

    My appliance sales guy did a demo at the store, the classic one where he boiled water with a paper towel between pan and cooktop. The point of that classic induction demo is to show the paper towel doesn't catch fire quickly, like it would with a traditional cooktop. Even he said that if the pot was boiling for too long (YMMV) on high temp, the heat from the pot would likely cause it to burn.

  • jadeite
    11 years ago

    I'm another happy Thermador owner. I like the way the capital H shows that it's really hot, then it becomes lower case h to show it's just warm.

    2LittleFishies - if you try to touch the pan that's been heated, it's usually a lot hotter than the cooktop. I've demonstrated my cooktop to friends, asking them to touch the pot base, then touch the cooktop to feel the difference. With a regular electric cooktop, this would be reversed. The glass or coil would be too hot to touch and the pot would be cooler.

    I still haven't worked out the various program modes. So far the only gizmos we've used are the timers and the panel lock.

    Cheryl

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    @jadeite - My eyes glazed over when I got to the part about program modes. We may never use them, since I cook really simple food. (Would that make me the Anti-Foodie? lol)
    Haven't even tried the timers yet. We're still getting a big kick out of the fast responsiveness when the temp is lowered on a burner. We keep saying, "It's like cooking with gas, minus the flame. WooHoo!"

    Hubby and I are so easily amused. ;o)

  • jadeite
    11 years ago

    Cavimum - the timers are wonderful! They have changed the way I cook forever. I know it sounds silly, but I set the timer and walk away without worrying about scorching. I used to do this a lot - get a pot going, then be distracted by the phone or someone at the door, and come back to a curdled or burnt mess.

    Try it, it's dead easy. After you've set your pot and the power level, press the timer button. A little clock image comes up next to the hob that is on. Enter the number of minutes using the same keypad as you use to set the power. It runs from 1 to 99 minutes. That's it! You can use the timer independently on each of the hobs, just click on the hob to make it the active one, then set the time. You can reset the time or power level, or cancel the timer. I think the program codes allow you to set power level and time more than once, e.g. cook at level 6 for 10 minutes, then level 4 for 20. I'm not that advanced yet.

    Have fun,
    Cheryl

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    @jadeite - Once I settle on a tea kettle, it won't matter if it has a whistle. (I am famous for leaving the room and forgetting, ruined many a copper tea kettle that way). I figure I'll learn to set the timer and even if I don't hear a whistle, it'll turn itself off. :-D

  • westsider40
    11 years ago

    On my Bosch induction, which has the same parent co. as Thermador, you set the timer by tapping the timer spot twice, and then enter the number of minutes. As I recall...senior brain of mine.

  • bookmom41
    11 years ago

    Yes, the glass gets hot from the heat of the pan. Maybe I'm the only person in the world who burned her hand on her induction surface. I, not thinking, pulled a very hot pot off the "hob" and tried to wipe up a spill with a paper towel, yikes! Won't make that mistake again. I have noticed the glass cools down pretty quickly once the pan is removed.

  • a2gemini
    11 years ago

    Glass gets hot! Freshman chemistry- someone handed me hot glass tubing. Overall not nearly as hot as a standard cooktop.

  • PeterH2
    11 years ago

    > Freshman chemistry- someone handed me hot glass tubing.

    Yeah, and you can burn your lips quite nicely if you are careless blowing glass in the lab.

  • ginny20
    11 years ago

    My KA induction also gets hot from referred heat, especially if something has been cooking for a long time. It also has an "H" warning indicator. You can certainly burn your hand on it, and I'm sure bookmom is not the only one who has done it. I realize I'm not adding anything new to the conversation, I just wanted to agree that all induction works like this.

  • stahlee
    11 years ago

    @peterH2, I've burnt myself a few times making pipettes.

  • bayssherry
    7 years ago

    my induction stove top is really hot after I cook on it. Also the oven which is electric when it is on keeps the induction stovetop hot as well? Does the whole thing need to be vented?

  • kaseki
    7 years ago

    The glass top of an induction cooktop can get hot enough to burn one, but won't likely sear flesh in a moment as a hot radiant electric cooktop can achieve.

    Induction cooktop Ceran can be kept a bit cooler if the cooking pot or pan is supported on a set of thin silicone pads. These will conduct some heat, but the air gap reduces pan-to-Ceran heating to mainly radiant heating and air gap transfer heating, and not direct conductive heating.

    bayssherry: One would hope that the oven was insulated from the induction electronics to help extend the electronic components lifetime. Your installation manual should cover any ventilation needs driven by heat generation.

    kas