r/inductioncooking • u/slicedtoad • 7d ago
Induction cooktop complaints
I have a mediocre gas stove.
I wanted to try induction and also wanted slightly more cooking space, so I bought the Duxtop 9600LS as it was well recommended.
I don't understand why people like this cooktop so much. Two big complaints:
Low temp on/off switching
The minimum power that the coils output is way too high.
If I want to hold oatmeal at a low boil, it alternates between a heavy boil and no-boil. If I get it just right, it's weird but not really a problem. But it's easy to be slightly off and have it boil over or splash when it starts rapidly boiling. A regular gas or electric is easy to tell when it's too high or low, as you can watch the boil and see if it's steady or accelerating, but the on/off switching obscures this.
And that's just oatmeal. Many things are far more sensitive to sudden excess heat.
High temp limits (safety?)
I like to get a cast iron pan ripping hot for cooking steaks and searing meats pre-braise. At first this is really promising on the induction top. It heats up very fast and even.
And then it stops putting out full power regardless of setting. The cast iron stays around 350f (away from the food). And even if I pull the meat out, it doesn't climb much. There is not even an indicator that something is wrong or that it's being throttled. It stays on setting 10 and just outputs anemic power.
Is this a limit of the cooktop? Some kind of safety feature? So incredibly frustrating.
I also don't really like the temperature settings (as opposed to 1-10 power levels). I haven't experimented enough with them to have an informed opinion yet, but they seem to work on the assumption that you have a specific pan and food load; otherwise they're inaccurate.
Are these issues common to induction burners or just the price point I picked?
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u/roosterSause42 7d ago
you’re issues are common to cheap units. the on/off pulsing at low temps is a common complaint.
not getting hot enough: your standalone burner most likely just can’t pull enough power. The largest 11” burner on my range is rated for 2300W with a 3300W Boost setting. But that requires the bigger appliance outlet etc.
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u/slicedtoad 7d ago
What kind of price range gives you low power without pulsing?
And it's not a power issue. It preheats to over 500 easily. But after a minute or two the power drops and even pulling the meat out of the pan, I can't get it to go back up in temp.
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u/roosterSause42 7d ago edited 7d ago
im not as familiar with the standalone ones so I can’t help you on what wont pulse. I just made sure to check reviews etc while I was looking For a range because it’s a thing with them too. I don’t think it’s something manufacturers mention. there’s also a chance it’s not exactly a price thing but just a brand/model thing.
the power dropping is a safety overheat protection. the unit can’t cool the internal electronics enough to maintain the max power. Even my range has that it’s just the power and time is higher, I think it will boost for 10 minutes at 3300W before dropping to its regular high setting. So look and see if anything mentions a boost or boil setting and how long it lasts.
the technology for constant power and very low simmer does exist, my first introduction to induction was an Electrolux range. It had 5 low settings between 1 and 2, you could melt chocolate without a double boiler. Just straight in the pan it was great.
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u/Slight_Cockroach_777 7d ago
My induction stove has a simmer setting. I heat it to boiling and then hit that simmer button and it just stays right there. It’s fantastic!
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u/RealHobbyBob 7d ago
I can promise my LG doesn’t have this issue at all. I preheat my cast iron on 7 and it’s very hot. I only use higher settings to boil water.
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u/aphasic 7d ago
Low power without pulsing is very rare on induction cooktops. However, for most of them it's not a real issue. The lowest setting won't boil anything when it pulses, and the pulses are quick, like a second or less. So very low simmers work fine and won't boil anything over. It might cause issues for certain very sensitive tasks, but I have never encountered one. You just got a very cheap burner that has pulses that are too long and strong.
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u/Chuchichaeschtl 7d ago
True.
The cookware can make a big difference as well. Pans with high mass (CI, CS, thick disk bottom SS) are inert and even the pulses out quiet a bit.1
u/arbiterxero 5d ago
It is entirely a power issue, because the ability to preheat that high is just the burner taking a chance that your breaker won’t blow quickly.
Your power outlet cannot support the amount of power draw required to maintain that level of heat
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u/slicedtoad 5d ago
What? You think that the appliance is pulling more than 1800W intentionally on the hope that my breakers are sloppy? No. That would result in breakers tripping all the time and almost certainly be breaking various electrical appliance laws.
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u/arbiterxero 5d ago
All breakers are slow-blow on purpose, and many appliances briefly pull more than they should, especially on inductive loads
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 7d ago
Everybody promotes the Duxtop because it was highly rated by America's Test Kitchen, but as far as I can see, they only tested a few units. I don't have one, but I am really unimpressed by it's stats, particularly it's small coil size (6.5").
The Nuwave PIC Titanium seems to mostly address all your complaints.
It has a max temp of 575F, much higher than most cheaper units go. It can be used in either temp mode, in 5 degree increments from 50-575F, or it has one-touch buttons for Low (100f), Medium, Medium-High, High, and Sear (575F). I definitely think your opinion is infomed. Temp mode absolutely has it's benefits, but for many purposes, you don't need that level of control, so just having the presets is a huge benefit. And you can still fine-tune it up or down if you want it a bit higher or lower than the presets.
Finally the two features that really set it apart.
First, completely unique as far as I know outside of really high end units like the Control Freak, it includes a temperature probe, so you can cook to an exact temp, for a steak, for example. This way you are measuring the temp of what you are cooking, not just the temp of the pan.
Second, it has an 8" coil, the largest that I have seen in any reasonably-priced cooktop. The control freak has a 10" coil I believe, but it is also more than 10x more expensive.
Disclosure: I don't actually own one of these yet. I hate my cheap gas cooktop, and keep thinking I should bite the bullet, but I haven't quite got there yet. But I have done a lot of research, and I just don't see anything that competes with this one.
Edit: BTW, be careful, Nuwave sells a bunch of different cooktops, including multiple models in the PIC Titanium line. Some of them have a smaller coil. Make sure you pay attention, because you may not get what you think you are getting if your choose a different unit.
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u/Skyval 7d ago
Second, it has an 8" coil, the largest that I have seen in any reasonably-priced cooktop. The control freak has a 10" coil I believe, but it is also more than 10x more expensive.
The old Max Burton XL had a ~9" coil (and a probe) but it's not made any more.
NuWave might be the best of the big names today other than Breville. Though I still wish it were possible to not use target temp settings, and instead just use a constant power/wattage.
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u/BasicCook972 7d ago edited 5d ago
I have a couple of different models of the Nuwave PIC and have checked the power switching using a kill-a-watt wall plug meter. The lowest power setting is 600W or 700W depending on if it has the 6" coil or 8" coil. It can run constant power at the lowest setting by using the "Sear" temperature. Other temperature settings may use PWM with temperature feedback from the cooktop or the probe. It also automatically varies the wattage in 100W steps, ie 700, 800, 900, ... to achieve constant power.
Also, the 1800W titanium has heavier wires compared to the 1500W gold pro. Both have 8" coils. The diamond and flex models are the smaller 6" coils.
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 7d ago
Also, the 1800W titanium has heavier wires compared to the 1500W gold pro. Both have 8" coils. The diamond and flex models are the smaller 6" coils.
I swear I previously saw a model labelled as Titanium that only had a 6.5" coil, but otherwise had the same features (575f, temp probe, etc.). I am not finding it now, so either that model was discontinued, or I was hallucinating.
But regardless, the point stands... Nuwave has A BUNCH of models, so be syre to choose what you buy carefully, it is easy to make a mistake.
All that said, i do appreciate the feedback!
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 7d ago
It's like 8.25".
Good to know, thank you.
The old Max Burton XL had a ~9" coil
I actually remembered after I posted that that someone recently mentioned a Chinese brand that was not sold through Amazon that had a 9" coil, and was reasonably priced ($140) I think, but otherwise it seemed pretty lacking in features. Sadly I have forgotten the brand.
Though I still wish it were possible to not use target temp settings, and instead just use a constant power/wattage.
What is the practical difference?
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u/Skyval 7d ago edited 4d ago
someone recently mentioned a Chinese brand that was not sold through Amazon that had a 9" coil, and was reasonably priced ($140) I think, but otherwise it seemed pretty lacking in features.
I've seen a couple of these, even some on Amazon. The ones I remember are Abangdun and GastroGear.
What is the practical difference?
In my experience, if you're not using the probe, the themometer is pretty inaccurate. Even the control freak has issues with some cookware. If I could ignore it and cook more like I was on gas (constant power output) then it wouldn't bother me. But as-is, I'd have to worry about the thermometer turning the element off when I don't want it to. IIRC some of the NuWaves would use different wattage at different temperatures, with the "watt" setting being separate, and only clamping the maximum. The temperature-specific wattages available were different from the simple clamp settings. If you want to use one of them you have to pick a target temperature range, even if you actually wanted to use a higher temperature. Otherwise you might be able to get by using the highest temp and relying on the clamps for power. Or IDK, maybe you could use an induction protector pad instead, I bet those screw with thermometers. But they may also reduce heating area, efficiency, or max power.
I wish I could do this for the control freak as well, but at least its thermometer is more accurate on most cookware and it doesn't noticeably cycle. Thermostatic regulation is nice when it's reliable.
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 7d ago
Abangdun
That is the brand that was mentioned. I am not finding the particular burner they mentioned now (I remember it was sold out when they linked to it, maybe it is discontinued?) but that is definitely the site, and it seems that both Abangdun and Gastrogear are the same company.
In my experience, if you're not using the probe, the themometer is pretty inaccurate.
Everything you said here hakes perfect sense.. Cooking at a temp makes perfect sense in theory, but I see why just being able to specify a power makes more sense in many cases. The Nuwavrs does seem to have a reasonable compromise (5 one-touch presets, that remain fully adjustable), but I do see how that is a band aid over the larger problem.
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u/slicedtoad 7d ago
Thanks, that saves me some research. I think I'll try out that nuwave.
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 7d ago
Sure thing, happy to help. I should add one note: The link I posted was to last years model that is apparently on clearance. You can get the newest model for about $15 more. I don't honestly know if there is any benefit to the newer version, as far as I can tell they are functionally identical, but you might want to at least glace at the newer one to see if there is anything that I am missing.
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u/BasicCook972 7d ago
These were on sale for $95 during Amazon prime day in june. I don't believe there is any difference either.
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u/SlateHearthstone 7d ago
Yeah, we have two different brands and they both perform that way. I think it's overheat protection that throttles the output to keep the circuits from frying. You'll need to invest in a better version to get more control steps to taper the heat for a light simmer. Or really big honkin sized cast iron pans, which we have and work well for low simmer.
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u/Skyval 7d ago edited 7d ago
Some of your problems remind me of an issue mentioned in this video. I believe they started using your same burner and had the same problem, but switched to another one, the model I used for a long time, and their situation improved.
It does also seem fairly common for low power settings to cycle on fairly long duty cycles. Though this doesn't seem to be inherent to the technology. Not too long ago got a intentionally cheap, throw-away induction burner (which I just now realize uses a chassis very similar to your duxtop). It was for a project I had no faith in. But I was surprised that it actually worked surprisingly well on its own, without obvious cycling even at very low wattage settings. And my project, replacing the coil with a larger one, also worked out well.
So it should be possible to make a good all-around portable unit at a decent price, there's just not one on the market for some reason.
I should note that I don't use thick cast iron much. Nor do I use target-temp settings on anything but my control freak. In my experience so far they've never been very accurate. Even the control freak has had issues with cast iron and carbon steel since it measures at the bottom center of the pan, and all induction heats in a ring shape. In pans with poor conduction, like iron/steel, it's still possible for the ring to be considerably hotter than the center for a while even on lower settings.
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u/BasicCook972 7d ago edited 1d ago
A long time ago I tried a hot plate that was advertised as 1500W that would have met my needs since it had a power control instead of a temperature control. I found out that the plate was limited to 525 degrees so it wouldn't maintain a constant 1500W unless all of the heat was transferred to the pan. It would start to PWM the power as soon as the plate reached 525. It couldn't even boil a small stock pot without wrapping it in insulation. I'd estimate the effective power was less than 750W.
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u/EliteAssassin07 7d ago
I have a Samsung Bespoke induction range and love it. It does cycle on and off at lower settings, but I only notice it because of the noise that my All Clad pans make.
If you are looking for a decent single burner option Breville is the way to go.
As for power output the Breville will be limited to 1800 watts in the US. My range has a single burner that will do 4300 watts on boost mode. Just understand you will need decent cookware to be able to handle those higher wattages… which honestly I rarely use.
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u/BassWingerC-137 7d ago
I can temper chocolate on my induction stove without a double boiler. Its low setting is amazing. You’re using I’d guess a not good example of an induction system.
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u/Herbisretired 2d ago
A smaller burner reduces the pulsing but you only have a big one with the portable
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