INDV-3102

First time with an induction cooktop - it is fast! Takes up very little space on the countertop and looks nice and sleek. Back with a second review: we have had this now for more than half a year in the hotel suite and it is a great cooktop. I highly recommend it. You can't get better for the price and for how safe and easy it is to cook on it. I have had only compliments from guests and never a complaint. I purchased a good inexpensive set of pots and pans from IKEA, and they all work great. I like that the cooktop won't start without a pan on, and that it's cool at touch. I think this is one of the rare induction cooktops that has the "vertical" design, so you save so much space on the countertop. I am posting some more pictures to show how nice it looks. Very happy with the purchase.

Installed and used my first one for nearly a year and operation was flawless until I dropped a heavy glass cup from a cabinet about 3 feet above the cooktop. The glass cup shattered in dozens of pieces and thought the cooktop survived without any damage till looked again after cleaning up the glass cup and found it cracked. All my fault and bought a second unit and replaced and all was good for about a month. Since I have been using the induction cooktop for nearly a year, I have stopped treating it like a delicate instrument and have progressed to using cookware (classic all stainless steel RevereWare) made before induction cooktops were made since it passes the magnet test and the ultimate luxury in cookware is using something so light yet cooks so evenly. However the other day while using the all stainless steel RevereWare 7" frying pan I angled the pan while keeping a side on the cooktop so it would remain on (lifting the pan off the cooktop turns it off) to distribute the olive oil before adding the food. Within minutes of this pan tilt, the cooktop made a loud pop, tripped the circuit breaker and once the circuit breaker was reset will not power up. I have since swapped the ceramic cooktop surface of the unit I dropped the glass cup with the unit that for lack of a better term, blew itself up. I will not tilt cookware on the unit and report back my findings at some future time.

Love this unit...and great service. First unit was DOA, but we did not heeok it up for several months. Company sent out a new one no questions asked...and accepted the dead unit. The replacement works fantastic. High power...is much more powerful and CONSISTENT than any pair of single 1500/1800W 120V units - we have tried several - Duxtop, NuWave PIC, and another random unit (don't know why people love the NuWave...it is really terrible and shuts off randomly)... We have demo'd Bosch, Viking,...etc and several other burners...some sort of combination K&H unit will make it into our perm kitchen (right now we are using this during our whole house reno...) Unit requires 240V / 20A breaker with #12 wiring or better. The questions and reviews stating a 30A breaker is acceptable are WRONG. This unit is designed to operate on a 2-pole 20A breaker. If you already have a 30A/240V circuit and want to use this appliance on that circuit, you need to REPLACE the 30A 2-pole breaker with a 20A 2-pole breaker. It is acceptable to reduce the breaker size, not increase. If you're concerned about safety, a 2-pole 20A GFCI breaker can be installed to power the cooktop (this is especially important if you're using a plug & receptacle arrangement on TOP of the counter). If you really want to prevent a dangerous condition with a toddler, a 2-pole 20A switch can be used to turn off the unit between uses - Leviton makes a 2-pole PILOT toggle switch (light on) - 3032-PLC or 3032-PLR

This is an incredible bargain compared to high-end name-brand. It works almost as well (read on) at a small fraction of the price. At first glance, there appear to be only 9 power levels, not 17. The instruction manual is rather cryptic, saying press a number twice, and again to return to the previous level. What it means is that there are two power levels associated with each number. A decimal point is displayed next to the number to indicate you are getting the higher-level power for that same number. (Meaning "1", and "1.5", and so on.) It toggles back and forth between Low and High for each number as you press the number repeatedly. With my cookware, I have found that level 1 will raise water to 148 degrees, level 1.5 gets to 170, but perversely, when the water is already 210 (level 2), I can turn it down to 1.5 and the water stays at 210. Possibly an artifact of the conductivity in my specific pans. When the pan is hot, it takes less power to keep it hot. So don't count on my temperatures for your pans. Do run your own tests before cooking that lobster in butter. This cooker also uses cyclic energy bursts to achieve lower heat levels, which is less compatible with some foods than the more expensive cookers. For example, level 1 turns the power on for a few seconds, then off for a few more seconds, repeat. Depending on the specific pan used, the surface temperature of the pan may vary more or less widely during these power boosts. So you can't melt chocolate directly on the pan because it will get too hot during the ON cycle, You have to use a water bath, or some other damping mechanism. That said, it works adequately, and for the price, you can adjust your cooking style to adapt. (or you can spend five or six times as much and get a high-end name-brand.) If this is your first Induction cooker, be aware that the top-of-the-line induction cookers are easier to cook on, and do a better job than radiant electric or gas. I still like it better than my gas stove, and it's so easy to clean compared to either gas or electric radiant--the surface never gets hotter than the bottom of the pan, and doesn't stay hot very long. Virtually no chance of a fire with induction cookers. This one is far more powerful than the 120 v 2-burner units you may be comparing. This one is a smart, economical choice; only less than perfect at lower temperatures.