Induction vs coil cooktop?

Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Not too sure where to put this but I guess it's related to food... sorta.

Our cooktop lost its second burner... considering how old that thing is (guessing 20 years at least, it was in the house when we bought it 5 years ago), we're considering replacing it instead of even trying to repair it (hubby wants to try to get it repaired first, I'm thinking it's just not worth it).

I hate cleaning coil cooktops, but I'm worried about my pans when it comes to the induction cooktops... Do all pans work with those? My husband says yes but I'm a bit worried about it (we mostly use T-Fal, Calphalon stuff, plus a crepe pan that I love and got a few years ago and some other random stuff). Really don't want to spend an arm and a leg buying new cookware either.

Also a pain because our current cooktop is 34 inches, which of course isn't the norm at all, so we'll need to get a 36 inch one and get the installation guys to make a bigger hole in our counter... and the position of our cooktop is crap and I'd much rather have a 30 inch one anyway... Sigh.

So, anyway... Opinions? It has got to be electric, I don't think there's a gas line available for it.

Replies

  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
    edited January 2016
    There are two types of flat top stoves. Traditional electric, and induction. The traditional electric work with all pans. Induction requires pans with a certain percentage of iron in the metal to work (magnetism and science stuff I can't explain before I finish my coffee).

    ETA Induction is way faster to heat up, and awesome in general but EXPENSIVE.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    We have a non-induction flat top electric stove. I like it. We use cast iron pans and regular old Revere ware pots daily and have no problems. If you go this route, I'd suggest getting one with a black top. Everyone I know who has a white top complains about how hard it is to keep looking nice. Ours is black and we haven't had that problem.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Oh ok thanks, I didn't know that there was a difference, lol. Phew. Flat non induction it is.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    If you are still interested in Induction, you can get a counter top one. This isn't like the one used in dorm room. It's on my wish list.

    http://www.nuwavecooktop.com/?ref_version=GOOGLEPRODUCTS&gclid=CjwKEAiAws20BRCs-P-ssLbSlg4SJABbVcDp2eVsBvvZjLpijY-ahBkOoWKtsfaB4lwYIATUM9wsmRoCkuTw_wcB
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Oh ok thanks, I didn't know that there was a difference, lol. Phew. Flat non induction it is.

    Yes, I've used both electric coil and electric ceramic top, non-induction. Personally, I'd never buy either (the ones I used came with the apartment/house). The heat control on both is crummy. Takes forever to get to high heat, too.

    I'm replacing my coil range whose oven just died with an induction range. It should be installed in the next couple of weeks. I might have bought gas, which is cheaper and cooks well (though it dumps a crap-ton of heat into the house), but there's not a good way to install the proper ventilation in my kitchen.

    For the pans, if a magnet sticks to it, you're good. I'll lose my stainless spaghetti pot, but I don't care. Piece of crap is rusting around the rim anyway. All of my other stuff is either cast iron or stainless with a magnetic layer sandwiched between so I'm good-to-go.
  • mrcubbage
    mrcubbage Posts: 2 Member
    Induction is the way to go for sure. I converted from a regular electric flat cooktop many years ago and I would never go back. The heat control is so much more like cooking with gas. You do have to have pans that a magnet will stick to, so some of your pans may not work but boy is it worth it to get some new ones.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Well we lifted the cooktop to measure the hole and my husband managed to fix that burner, so we're sticking to it for a while!

Categories