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AC_Hacker · 04-06-13, 04:56 PM

The finger stabbing at a plastic picture of a button thing was so dissatisfying, that I looked around to see what kind of induction unit was available with a more pleasing interface (AKA: "knob").

I discovered that there were an abundance of induction units with a knob, but almost all of them fall into the "commercial" classification, which means that the number of manufacturers is pretty limited, but the price is not limited. $1000 per induction hob seems to be the going rate.

But incessant hunting revealed another classification, which is "disposable commercial". As was explained to me by an on-line salesman, means that this unit is an import (they all are, thank you Uncle Sam) and that I shouldn't expect the unit to be able to stand up to regular use (8 hours per day, 7 days per week) for more than two years... then if it breaks, throw it away. Well, I whipped out my EcoRenovator-style calculator and determined that meant 5,824 hours. To be very generous, in an average week, I might use one for 1 hour per day (they do cook pretty fast), so I might expect one of these units to crap out after 16 years.

I think that 16 years would be enough time to give one of these things a fair test.

So, I went for it and got one of these:

It cost about $130, not including shipping.

An impressive list of features, 1800 watts (really about 1500w), 15 levels of power (from an effective 400w to 1500 watts in steps), 32 levels of heat (140F to 460F in 10 degree increments). A timer from 5 to 120 minutes in 5 min increments. But best of all, a genuine knob that is used for adjustment of power and temperature. Time settings are still adjusted with a plastic picture of a button, but that's a less frequent operation, so not so vexing.

Oh, and did I say it was noisy?

More later...

-AC

04-06-13, 04:56 PM	#8
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Induction + Knob The finger stabbing at a plastic picture of a button thing was so dissatisfying, that I looked around to see what kind of induction unit was available with a more pleasing interface (AKA: "knob"). I discovered that there were an abundance of induction units with a knob, but almost all of them fall into the "commercial" classification, which means that the number of manufacturers is pretty limited, but the price is not limited. $1000 per induction hob seems to be the going rate. But incessant hunting revealed another classification, which is "disposable commercial". As was explained to me by an on-line salesman, means that this unit is an import (they all are, thank you Uncle Sam) and that I shouldn't expect the unit to be able to stand up to regular use (8 hours per day, 7 days per week) for more than two years... then if it breaks, throw it away. Well, I whipped out my EcoRenovator-style calculator and determined that meant 5,824 hours. To be very generous, in an average week, I might use one for 1 hour per day (they do cook pretty fast), so I might expect one of these units to crap out after 16 years. I think that 16 years would be enough time to give one of these things a fair test. So, I went for it and got one of these: It cost about $130, not including shipping. An impressive list of features, 1800 watts (really about 1500w), 15 levels of power (from an effective 400w to 1500 watts in steps), 32 levels of heat (140F to 460F in 10 degree increments). A timer from 5 to 120 minutes in 5 min increments. But best of all, a genuine knob that is used for adjustment of power and temperature. Time settings are still adjusted with a plastic picture of a button, but that's a less frequent operation, so not so vexing. Oh, and did I say it was noisy? More later... -AC __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 04-06-13 at 05:34 PM..