Wow, klaa2, you should work in advertising;~)

Thank you, klaa2. After reading your post, I called them to send me the form and I just sent the form back last night. I am excited about this free offer. The Demeyere is high qualiy cookware that I have been eyeing to buy for a while but couldn't justify the cost. Wow, now I will own 7 pieces thanks to you.

Hokies

Glad to hear it Hokies!nThese forums are GREAT! Enjoy!

Thanks to klaa2 and Hokies for sharing.I am very excited to see this forum...We are getting our 36' All Induction cooktop from Thermador installed next tuesday feb 8th. However I'm a little worried about finding the right pan sizes for the cooktop. Right now we do not have any induction ready cookware...and will not have the Demeyere set to test until later. Last week I went shooping with a magnet in hand. My concern is the cooktop has varoius ring sizes. For example,the center ring is 12 inches as shown in the manual(but its actually 11.0222 inches to be exact). My question is: Does my pan size have to match exactly the ring size or could it be a little less(10 1/2 inch,9 1/2 inch) or more. I am aware that the cooktop will not turn ON if there is a mismatch of sizes...Can you help me ??

Thanks,
Sumana

Congratulations, I'm sure you will be pleased with your purchase.

I just finished some tests before this post, so this is accurate.

First, we have the following types of cookware:

Ultrex II - This was a full set from Home Shopping Network and is probably our oldest cookware. All of it is 18/10 stainless non-stick and fully compatible with induction.

Faberware Millenium - Newer pieces from Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linen's & Things. These have nice solid bases made to spead heat evenly. They are also non-stick.

Demeyere - These are 18/10 tripInduc. I find that these heat fast and extremely even. They are not non-stick but cook like it! They are very easy to clean and have a beautiful finish. The pots feel lighter than our others, I believe they have thinner walls and heavier bases. I like them a lot.

Okay, heres what I tested. I filled one of the Ultrex II's with a 8.5 inch base with water and placed it onto the 6 in right rear hob. It's the biggest size pot I could put on the hob without it hanging over the actual unit. I set it to powerboost and away it went. I watched as the center of the pot bubbled quicker than the outer portion. After letting it come to a boil I dumped it out, let the pot sit under cool faucet water. I refilled the same pot and boiled the water on the 8 inch hob (front right). Though I didn't actually time them, it did boil faster on the 8 inch hob. The users manual indicates that if you do not use a suitable size pot on the hob the heat setting number will flash and it will not initiate and eventually (90 seconds) turn off. I did not find that to happen with this particular test.

The next set of tests I did was fill a 4 & 3/4 inch base Ultrex II pot and put it right in the middle of the 11 inch center hob. I put it on powerboost as well and it boiled lightning fast. Again, no issue with the mis-matching of the pot size to hob.

Thats about it. We have not yet had a reason to mis-match pots to hobs in a regular cooking situation.

I included the link to the user manual for the 36" full induction unit. Good luck and have fun cooking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Themador 36in induction user manual

Thanks a ton Klaa2 !! I am relieved big time. Your e-mail sets me free and gives me enough flexibility to go and buy some cookware which I could not do so up until I read your posting. I am very eager and excied to get my cooktop installed soon. Can't wait to do all my experiments. Will keep posting my results.
Thanks again,
sumana

Sumana, yesterday was supposed to be the big day. right?

Did you install and play?

Hey Klaa2, yesterday as in feb 10th we finally got our cooktop in because we had to get out hood installed with new venting etc. But my excitement only lasted for some time..I am not sure what's the problem but my cooktop's making a ticking sound at lower setting like at 4 or 5 but the sound stops at 7 and above. Also we discovered a new scratch going from right between the touchpad to the center element ( a noticealbe break or scratch)...I am making tests as I type. I will get back with more queries next time.
Thanks,
Sumana

What you are hearing is not a problem though the severity of the clicks must vary from unit to unit. This is occuring at low temps. As the unit cycles the hob on and off. Mine is a meer tic and does not bother me in the slightest (besides, I'm a little short on the hearing. if you know what I mean).
So the sound you hear is normal for low temperature cooking. Sometimes you'll hear it, sometimes you wont. Since your making mention of new sounds the unit makes - if you put a full pot of water to boil on Powerboost, you may detect a hum. This too is normal. These are sounds that after a month with the unit, you wont hear anymore.

The scratch is a problem though. Did you look at it when they delivered it? They made us sign a form saying that the unit 'looked' perfect.

Ours came with no scraches, marks or anything. You may want to see if they would do a swap. Maybe you'll be forunate enough to get a unit with a little less ticking.

Hey, we were frying chickem cutlets yesterday and the oil was splattering all over the place. All I had to do was grab a few paper towels, have my wife lift up the fry pan, and I cleaned the hob and the area surrounding it without a problem. Try that on a radiant cooktop or worse - gas.

Let me know if you can live with the ticking / hum. I'm sure the many, many, many, benefits will outweigh the small insignificant new characteristics of this type of cooking. Keep me informed. Thanks.

Oh one last thing -MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL THE HEAT SHEILD-

You sent me an email, how is it going? Are you experiencing problems?

Hey Klaa2,
Thanks for all the support. I spent a lot of time researching thru the forums and finally was relieved after hearing the same from you about the noises(ticks and hums).I am over them now. They don't bother me now since I am aware of the facts behind the sounds and confident they are not problems.
However the scratch on the cooktop has turned out into a huge problem. The Thermador rep came and evaluated and ordered for a new glass top on feb 12th but they said its going to take anywhere from 10-15 days to get it and after that a couple more days to get it installed. Its driving me nuts. The bad news is another agent said its going to be available to us only in April. Its unacceptable.I am so tired and burned out.The customer service for Thermador sucks. I have 2 questions .First,do you have a service agent number that you can recommend ?.Second,what is a heat shield?

Thanks again for your help,
Sumana.

Did you try the 800-735-4328 Thermador number?

The heat shield is a "L" shaped piece of tin (I think) that is installed on the bottom of the unit towards the front end. It protects the electronics from the heat. The shield comes with the unit in the packaging (under the cooktop, in the styrofoam). It runs the entire width of the cooktop. I have three drawers under my cooktop and though the shield hangs down only about 2 inches, I had to convert the top drawer into a pull out (like under a sink). The installation instructions say that the shield MUST be installed.

Before I purchased the cooktop, I contacted the showroom in Brooklyn to make an appointment to see it in action. Unfortunatley, their cooktop came in with, surprise, a cracked top.

I could deal with 10-15 days but I agree with you that April is totally unacceptable. What could be their reasoning behind that? I didn't know that the top can be replaced. I would insist on a totally new unit. Because of the cost and newness of the model, I purchased a five year replacement warranty (it only cost me $99).

I apologize but I do not want to post anyones specific name or email in the forum here. If you'd like, email me with a return address I will provide you with the BSHG employee contact information that I used. Other than the original mistake of another rep telling me that I needed a 40 amp breaker and line instead of a 50 amp breaker and line, which they made good on, I have been satisfied with the overall experience. I feel bad that you are having this problem. Are you able to use the cooktop or is it non-functioning because of the scratch/crack?

Yes,that's the number( 800-735-4328 )we have been trying . I am sure the installer did not fix the heat shield under our cabinet. Until you mentioned I was not aware it existed. However I am wondering if you have to put it in only if you have any drawers underneath. Luckly I am not using the space under the cooktop .We have some venting going in that space.
I agree with you totally that a delay of 10-15 days is understandable. We also found out that Thermador will go to any extent of replacing as many parts as possible but usually will not replace it with a new cooktop or appliance.
Our best bet is to get the glass top ASAP.
The cooktop as of now is functioning . The rep told us to go ahead and use the other 4 elements except for the center ring which has the crack. But I am not so keen on using them since the crack originates from the touchpad. But looking at the delays,I have no choice.
Meanwhile I have bunch of my friends who are supporting me and helping me use their kitchens thru these times.I have to say you have been one such friend.
Thankyou and I am going to keep posting what happens next...

Finally I started using the cooktop..Wow!!!!! I am amazed at the results. I made crepes in my new carbon steel pan from chefmate (its a 10 inch omlette pan). Its an amazing surface,the crepes just came out easy with the least amt of oil.The best part...I could just lift my pan and clean the oil splatters right in the middle of making my crepes. Can't do that with any other surfaces.

Today I made tomato rice pilaf using my duo Fagor pressure cooker. It took just exactly 5 min for my rice.That's unbelievable. Usually I make it in 20 -25 mins or if I were to use the electric rice cooker(abt 45 min). what a time saver (induction and pressure cooking) and enery saver.I am just happy and excited with my cooktop. Hoping to get my cookware tomorrow from Demeyere. That's exciting too.

I am just using the outer elements and hoping to get the new replacement for the glass top soon.

My cooktop is the evny of my neighbours and friends.They are just curious and surprised at how the cooktop works.

OOps!! also the heat shield ,I was mistaken. We do have the Heat Shield installed. so one less thing to worry.Thanks again for mentioning about it.

Sumana.

Great! I'm very happy you are enjoying it. Hopefully you'll get the new top put on soon and everything will be perfect. Besides the speed, which you have taken notice of, the cooktop is excellent at low temperatures and extremely consistent. Outstanding, have fun with it.