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(More customer reviews)An induction cooker is different from a standard electric coil since the cooking surface remains relatively cool, being largely heated by the pan; the surrounding surface will remain cool to the touch. Instead of the heat loss we recognize as a warm or hot kitchen, the heat is 70-90% efficiently directed to the pan and little heat is lost to the air except from the hot pan. The cooker requires ferrous (metal)cookware that a magnet will stick to; aluminum or glass will not work unless a special heating plate is put on the cooktop that will transfer the heat to the non-ferrous material. The reason for this is that the cooker has an electromagnetic coil that creates an electrical field, which in turn causes the pot to heat up by the induced current since the cookware will not be as good a conductor as the copper coil in the cooktop. All instructions make particular note for those with a pacemaker or defibrillator to not use this sort of cooking method since it could potentially interfere with the devices.
This induction cooker is 1800 watts, which to my understanding is the most powerful that can be used on a 110V circuit. There are actually 2 models; they have the same feature set, but this one has stainless steel trim and comes with a non-stick pan, and the other is an all black finish and no pan. It doesn't have a built in timer, but comes with a battery powered digital timer. This, in some ways, is better since you can keep the timer near you in other rooms as a reminder. It has 9 power levels arranged in 3 groups: low, medium and high; each having 3 sets of temperatures. The temperature settings range from 150 degrees F to a high of 500 degrees F. The controls are true touch type, not blister type press pads, and are sensitive to a light touch. There are, as in most, 2 circles indicated for pan placement and it is supposed to sense the correct pan size, the minimum being a 5 inch diameter, the maximum being about 9 inches. The unit looks and feels like a quality item. The glass top is easily cleaned with the included microfiber cloth. Like most units the cooling fan can be heard and remains on for a minute or so after it is off for cooling the coils.
It seems to have even heat and is every bit as responsive as gas. It is different cooking with however. At the lowest heat it pulses to keep the temperature constant, which can take some getting used to. Again, all units do this; it's the nature of the beast. The cooktop remains cool to the touch and heats very quickly. No, I have not done the boiling water test, but my stir fry turned out fine with no drama.
I got this as an introduction to this type of cooking, so I can't comment on other units. I am very happy with the build quality and would purchase it again.
UPDATE 9 September: I've had more of a chance to use this unit and while I still like it and feel that it is well worth the money, there are a few caveats:
The low temperature settings are 150, 175 and 200, and the medium begins with 250. For something like rice that depends upon steaming, 200 is too low and 250 tends to be just a bit too high. By finessing the controls a well cooked rice can be done, but it would be easier if there were more control over the temperature. On the other hand, I continue to be impressed with the immediate control of temperature and its power to take on things like browning meat. It was easy to make golden translucent sauteed onions and brown meat for an excellent goulash; but because of the power I had to be careful to watch the liquid level. Although there is definitely a learning curve, all meals prepared thus far have been quite good. The pan that comes with this unit is a very nice non-stick one. It does not come with a lid, but a Calphalon 12 inch glass lid fits it perfectly. For some reason the bottom isn't flat so oil tends to run to the sides. This hasn't been an issue with most things since not much oil is needed with non-stick, and sauces have been fine.
The only unit that I have seen that has infinite settings is the Viking, which is also 1800 watts, but costs $500. It is also the only one that I have seen that has a rotary control, which is far more precise and faster to use. Before you get put off from a touch pad though,it has its virtues, such as ease of clean up and no mechanical components to fail, but is a bit slower to change things quickly, such as changing quickly when something is boiling over. I hope that this information will be useful to those trying to sort things out.
As a final note, I also bought a Viking unit and have found it to be easier to manage the heat with the rotary control knob. Although the noise from the fan in the magneflux didn't bother me, the Viking is also much quieter if that is a consideration for you. Other than boiling water or heating oil perhaps, don't be misled by cooking speed claims. Once the pot/pan is at the right temperature it will take as long to cook as any other conventional method. Its strength is with the immediate responsiveness to control and the area surrounding it remaining relatively cool.
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