I recently moved into a rental townhome, all electric appliances (no gas).

Coming from a gas stove, I absoluely hate the glass-top unit that's in this place.  So much so that I'm considering buying and installing an induction range and then taking it with me when I move out in 1-3 years (likely to be 3 years, but who knows).

Do any of you guys have induction cooktops in your home?  If so, do you like it, and what are the pros / cons?  I know they require certain types of cookware, but that's not a problem since I have to buy all new stuff anyhow (divorce sucks, I don't recommend it ).

I have a couple small single burner induction cook tops.  I love them for certain things.  Originally bought to take things to work and feed my lab mates, but having a spare burner, that I can place anywhere I want is nice.  It also gives off a lot less waste heat, basically all of the energy goes into warming the cooking vessel.  In a small kitchen in the summer this is nice, as my main stove top is gas.  Nothing gets water boiling faster than an induction cook top, but it can be tricky to set it so that the water just barely simmers.  They're perfect for searing a steak, or boiling water for pasta or making broth.  Not as good for simmering a sauce or the like.  Mine are both Monoprice brand units, so other makes may differ in this regard.  The units I have used all are about the same however.  For $40 I think they're a good buy.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18734

I grew up on gas, had Electric for 10 years, now glass top for the last 2 years.

Fucking hate the glass top, want to go back to gas.

I love my induction range. I use stainless steel and carbon steel cookware and I love how fast it heats up, and how precise I can control the temperatures. I wouldn't go back to gas personally.

You need cookware that can complete the magnetic field. Most cookware will tell you if it's induction ready or not.

Pros: Quickly gets cookware to temperature. Precise control. Easy clean up if something spills. Cook top cools off very quickly.

Cons: Sometimes buzzes, quite annoyingly. Don't use around people with pacemaker. As mentioned, need induction ready cookware. Can't use to light a cigar.

Thanks all.
I picked up a single burner and am experimenting with that.  Even if I do swap out the whole stove, I'm going to need that single burner for searing steaks outside, so I figured "why not?"

So far i't done a great job with the single cast iron skillet I own.  I can't believe how fast it brought it up to temperature (I think it was even faster than the gas stove at our old house!).  I am now looking around on Amazon for a compatible non-stick and maybe a small sauce pan or 2qt pot.

@corruptor

That's a good idea, getting a single burner for occasional outside use. Can you link me up with what you went with, and how you like it?

@JustinHEMI04

It's an Ultrex.  I bought it second hand at a consignment shop (after testing it on one of their frying pans).  So far so good, but it's going to take some getting used to before I can give a solid review.

Thank you!

I have a new induction range and had to get an induction-ready nonstick skillet. I got this one:


It's metal-tool safe and can go in the dishwasher. Heats up very fast and very evenly. So far, I love it.

Wierd thing is that half my set of All-Clad Copper Core is induction compatible but half I have to replace. I'm bummed.

No experience with them YET, but we will be getting induction when we remodel our kitchen next year. We've already settled on appliances, just gotta get them purchased.

Induction outperforms many of the benefits of gas like fast heating etc with the easy cleanup of a glass-top, and it does it all more efficiently (less heat waste into the room, which is a big deal in the summer).

Induction has been big in Europe for years, it's slowly catching on here. It is currently more costly, but the costs are continually coming down.

I've studied up on numerous brands and it seems you don't always get what you pay for; some of the premium brands really missed the mark on their product.

IE, I came across some "demo unit" Electrolux induction tops for $300. Did some researching on them. They have "touchscreen controls" built into the glass top. This makes a replacement glass top $1400 if you crack it (because it's all one unit, touch controls & glass top). The touchscreen controls act up if you spill any water on the top near the controls. On and on... There seems to be a continuing theme in appliances. More gadgetry, more complex brains, fancy control schemes. All those things lead to reliability challenges.

In my searching I discovered that Frigedaire Professional appliances are heading the other way. They're going back to the old-fashioned knob controls because they're simple, and reliable. I was reliability first and foremast. Frigedair, despite being the same company as Electrolux, seems to have a much more reliable product.

ETA, Other brands may also be equally reliable but they weren't a contender for various reasons like options, price-point, etc.

Induction is awesome as others have stated.....fast, precise, clean....overall, we love it after having it for about 5 or 6 years. We will never go back. As others have stated, biggest drawback is cookware. Many will pans and brands will say they are induction compatible but they are still slow to use. If it is an aluminum pan with just a wafer thin steel plate on the bottom, skip it. Buy all steel such as some of the hinckels, etc. If you really want the best for induction....look at SCANPAN CTX Stainless......they are awesome but not cheap.

Replaced old electric cook top with induction couple years ago. Very satisfied with the gas - like action.  You won't be disappointed .

Costco has single induction cooktop.  Would be a good trial run or your outdoor use ...

I have a single burner.  Only thing I dislike is it lacks finite power control.  Jumps in 30 degree steps, from 210 to 240 for example.  So I'm either rolling boil or nothing.

In addition to the pan-compatibility issues already mentioned, each pan you cook with must have a perfectly flat bottom from edge-to-edge, or they will heat unevenly. I had to bang two of my Copper Cores flat using a dead-blow hammer and a straight edge. My cast-iron skillet and Dutch oven are not flat on the bottom. I'll have to mill/file them flat, I guess.

As for pan compatibility, I discovered a trick today: my big stock pots are not compatible, but they nestle perfectly inside my big Copper Core saute pans. Had to make two soups today, so I used the Copper Cores to transfer heat into the stock pots. It worked well, though it is not as efficient as it would be were the stock pots induction compatible, but it got me by for today.

This was my concern with my carbon steel pan, but it turns out that the maker forges them slightly concave so that when heated, it sits flat. I had another carbon steel pan that didn't do that, and when heated, would become a little convex lifting the edges off the stove. You could spin it like a top.

My All Clads are good to go.

Good point to bring up I forgot about that.

LOVE my induction cooktop. Wife and I converted 2 years ago and will never go back.

I use All Clad pans, both stainless and nonstick.

Keep in mind that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to  achieve browning in a nonstick pan.

Cast Iron also works on induction. I am seriously considering picking up a 10 or 12” cast iron pan to use as my main pan. The All Clad stainless are great pans but aren’t very forgiving for a novice such as myself.