Congratulations. It's a great way to cook quickly and to keep the heat out of the kitchen.

There is a learning curve, however.....

-Start everything on a lower temperature than what you might think it will take to cook, and expect it to heat much quicker than what you are accustomed to. Very rarely will you need to use HIGH or 100% power. You may even want to keep a few notes about your cooking experiences. You'll find your timing may be "off" for cooking things until you get accustomed to how quickly things cook. You can easily cut cooking time by 25%-50%.

-As an aside.... My electric kettle heats water to a boil faster, and uses less electricity for the job, than my induction burner (I conducted the test with a Kill-A-Watt Meter installed, just out of curiosity).

-Preheating a pan will only take a few moments. Don't add oil/fat/butter and turn your back on the pan - it can quickly overheat. Preheat the pan on low-medium, NOT high. It's also a good idea to have your ingredients ready to go. If you need to stop and get something, you may want to turn the pan off or to low. Cooking with induction is NOT for people who are easily distracted.....

-If bacon is streaked with quite a bit of meat - cook it slowly on a low heat setting. Thin things cook VERY quickly - even on the lower settings.

-Make sure the bottom of pans are clean and haven't been sitting in some water/liquid or food particles before you place them on the burner. Even tiny bits of salt can cause scratches.

-Don't slide a pan on the surface. If you need to reposition a pan, lift it up so you don't accidently scratch the surface by sliding it.

-Avoid placing anything on the surface other than when it is in use with a pan.

-Use the correct size and type of pans (see the user's manual).

I know you are going to LOVE it! ;-)

-Grainlady

Congrats! I always get really excited for people when they get one of these because I've loved mine so much. It is tremendous fun to use! Yes, it heats quickly and is as responsive as gas, but another great thing is the timer! If you're brewing tea or boiling pasta or rice, that timer is so lovely! And you can impress (and scare) friends with it... just put a paper towel between the burner and the pan and watch their faces as it does *not* burst into flames!

Btw, I haven't scratched mine yet, and I'm not very careful with anything... Not saying it isn't possible, just that I've never had an issue and I've never taken specific steps to avoid scratching...

Do you have to buy any new cookware to go with it? Some of my stainless steel worked with mine, but I did buy a cast iron pan to use with it... and it was much too large! I want to get one of those supposedly "healthy" non-stick pans, the nano-ceramic kind, but most of the ones I've seen aren't induction compatible...

How many watts is yours? Mine is only 1300, but it does everything I've asked it to just fine... I think 1800 watts is the max they make that will still allow you to plug into a regular outlet... I looked at the one you got on Amazon and couldn't find where it stated the wattage...

One thing though, be careful about getting hot pans too near the controls.... I've read reviews where people didn't realize the pan was hanging over the front edge a little bit or they pulled the pan off from the front and melted the controls! The controls on mine are at an angle rather than on the same plane as the cooking surface and I appreciate that since I can be absent minded...

Definitely have fun learning it and using it... it's one of the best toys in a kitchen :o)

Here's my beloved induction burner... I got it at JC Penny a few years ago, and keep it out, even though I have very little counter space because I use it so much. I tried putting it away once, but I was reaching for it so often, that I had to abandon that idea! The amount of control it provides (and my range is gas, not electric... still prefer induction), makes me want to trade my aluminum pressure cooker in for a stainless steel one just so it can be used with induction!

That must be why my control panel is angled downwards Vacuumfreak.

Mine is 1500 watts so it should definitely do everything that I need it for.

I tested my pots prior to ordering it, and I didn't test the bottoms of my favourite set......Cuisinart. They aren't compatible, (pout) but all of my other pots are, plus of course my cast iron, and a large dutch oven/pasta pot. I really want to try boiling water for pasta with this baby.

Hmmmm not to become distracted, Grainlady? I'll have to pay attention then. LOL

Our previous stove was a smooth-top, so I'll be careful not to slide my pot back and forth, and to wipe the bottom of any moisture, grit etc. I was meticulous with doing that before. Now we have a coil-top electric stove again, and I'm not so careful, and can shake/slide my skillets again.

Jasdip, I'm with the others. I think you'll really enjoy the induction burner. I got a Mr. Induction burner about 10 years ago just to test drive the concept. It wasn't very powerful and a bit confusing to use at first. But I liked it, and when we had some improvements made to our kitchen, it was a real boon. Once we were done with the kitchen mess, I took the leap and ordered an induction cooktop to replace a coil cooktop. It's been about 9 years, and it's still my favorite thing in the kitchen.

Wow! nice toy! Have fun cooking with it, I am sure.

Now go and get a sous vide cooker. :-)

dcarch

Nice! I got one a couple of years ago and it's been really handy. I was thrilled to find out that my thirty+ year-old ten buck apiece stockpots work on it. So nice to be able to can on the back porch when it's hot.

I like to simmer sauces down out there, too. And yes, bacon.....anything smelly.

I don't have one but a friend cooks with one and says it replaced her slow cooker as it will also cook so gently. Looks great too!

I tried my new induction burner with my oatmeal! In 2 minutes the water was boiling, and immediately went down to the lowest setting when I adjusted the heat.

One "meal" and I love it! Haha

I've seen a number of reviews where people complain about the noise of the fan, and equate it to a microwave. Wow, mine is so quiet, the fan runs for a minute or two after it's turned off but it's not noisy or irritating at all.

I'm glad that you are enjoying your new toy. I wish I had gotten a single burner to try it out before replacing my cook top with induction. Well, maybe not, all turned out fine.

Remember my Adopt-a-Pot last year with Bobby? Had to replace a lot of good cookware; I guess I should add the cost of new cookware to price of the cook top.

I remember that, Mustangs! I feel for you!!!

I was positive my Cuisinart ss cookware was compatible, as I tested the magnet..........on the side. NOT the bottom. So none of it is usable. (I tested it before I ordered the burner).

All of the rest of my pots and pans work though, and they're cheaper. Go figure.

I was in the dumps, but realized that since I still have my stove, I'll still be able to use them. I would be supremely upset if I was buying an induction cooktop and I couldn't use my Cuisinart set. I love them.

This post was edited by jasdip on Thu, Jun 5, 14 at 14:53

I'm interested in following your adventure. I am thinking about buying one for canning. I don't have a large enough stove for two big pots to fit so having one of these babies would really help! So wish I had a porch to can on!!

I have no desire for a Sous Vide cooker, but I think I could be interested in an induction burner. I'm going to watch for your follow up posts.

~Ann

I have the 18-inch non-stick griddle for my Max Burton (the link below is the lowest price I could find), which is a nice plus since it is lightweight aluminum and designed to work with the induction burner OR any cooking surface. You can also fill it with pancakes and keep them warm in the oven since it is also ovenproof, and looks nice enough to serve from.

The Max Burton came with the 8" Induction Interface Disk for non-compatible pans, and I do use it occasionally. My first induction burner didn't have the Interface Disk. I find I need to double the amount of energy used when incorporating the Interface Disk. If you would normally cook something on 3 without the Disk, you may need to use 5 or 6 with the Disk, so using the Disk will use more energy AND it puts off a lot of heat and takes awhile to cool off.

If you use your induction burner outside of the kitchen, I'd suggest having a large tempered glass cutting board next to it so you have someplace heat resistant to place a lid, the hot pan, or the hot Disk.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: ToolUp.com

Grainlady, we have a large end table on the balcony, next to the wall. It's fairly protected, and a large houseplant sits on it when we're not using the table.

We use our indoor grill/griddle on it, and it's great to have room for utensils, etc. The induction burner will work perfectly as well, out there.

I made rice last nite. Turned it to the lowest setting, then to the second lowest, so that it would simmer. It seemed to go too hot, so I put it on the lowest.

The unit definitely cycles on and off, as the steam would come out of the pot sporadically, but I had no boil-over, once. I usually have boil-overs when I make rice, and always with potatoes!

"----The unit definitely cycles on and off, ---"

Most electric heating devices operate either on or off, no in between settings, except in some microwave ovens which use what they called "Inverter" technology.

That is strange, because it a a very common thing for motor controls to throttle the electric power to go slow and fast, using what's known as PWM design (paused width modulation).

dcarch

We bought one of those to take along on our trips, for cooking in motel rooms. I think mine is 1300 watts. We ended up buying a fry pan and a sauce pan for it, at Target -- T-fal makes pretty nice ones, for the price! I then used my sewing skills to make some padded bags for the pans and the lids, so that they wouldn't get scratched or broken (the saucepan lid is glass) while in transport. (We travel in a pickup with a camper shell, and the cook/eat ware rides in a big plastic bin.) I'll keep you posted on how it works for travel -- we haven't gone on our summer trip yet. :-) Trying it out, though, it cooked so quickly, I was impressed!

Donna

Ann, I'm sure you would love it!

Another quick follow-up (don't worry, I'm not going to post every little thing that I use it for, but then again I might!)

I used my cast iron skillet to fry some onions for the burgers. I had the skillet on Level 3 (there are 6 levels). By the time I diced the onions, I put the oil in, and it was sizzling. The onions cooked in literally no time. Wow!

I originally bought the burner to save on hydro........instead of using a 220 coil burner, the wall outlet uses 110. Here's a question..... I use the induction burner on the stove sometimes to take advantage of the hood vent. The only outlet is on the stove......is that a 220 outlet or would it just draw the 110?

We're cooking the burgers outside, later on the balcony on the table set up out there. Keep the frying smells outside.

This post was edited by jasdip on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 12:26

"----I use the induction burner on the stove sometimes to take advantage of the hood vent. The only outlet is on the stove......is that a 220 outlet or would it just draw the 110?---"

If the plug fits, you will be OK. 220VAC plugs are different.

However, just to be 100% sure, get a table lamp and plug it in and see what happens. If the bulb burns out instantly, then there is a very big problem with the way your stove was wired.

dcarch

In retrospect, was that a dumb question? LOL
I know it's a regular plug outlet, but since the stove runs on 220 I assumed that "everything" ran on 220.

Dcarch, I use an extension cord on that outlet sometimes for my garland and mini lights that run along the top of the wall unit. They run fine. Great tip though! You actually scared me :-/