Try out induction cooking with a portable plate ?

[jpaul]

Currently using a halogen (frustratingly pulses on/off at low levels), but would like to convert to induction or gas.
Have had gas before so think that gas would be better for precise control and delivering BTU's to the wok
So considering trying out a portable induction hotplate to get a feel for the technology
Does anyone have a purchase recommendation ?

With a portable induction hotplate it seems there are typically only < 10 power levels so may not be ideal for simmering, however even with the full size inserts continuous/variability of power seems to be not yet available, and at best have ~20 levels (eg Neff) and even then it seems some manufactures implement low power levels by pulsing the coils on and off at slow rate of seconds, which would give the same problem as halogen where I cannot simmer a pan of porridge.
Reading up it seems any steel/ferrous material in the pans will make them induction compatible this surprised me as I had thought that all magnetic pans were not created equal .. any counter experiences ?

Fact: Aside from extreme cases like a sheet of cast iron just a few millimeters thick, the quantity of magnetic material doesn’t matter. Thick cast iron draws just as much wattage as thin cast iron, for instance. And as long as the bottom of cookware is made out of cast iron, carbon steel, or magnetic stainless steel (aka 18/0 or 400-series stainless steel, likely 430 stainless), all three will draw very similar wattage. So in practice, most induction-compatible cookware is just as magnetic as cast iron.

 

[jpaul]

Thanks,
yes I admit I had discarded Tefal based on reviews; from the US article I posted they recommend

Best buy under $100 = DUXTOP 1800-Watt Portable Induction Cooktop Countertop Burner 9100MC

which has genuine 15 power levels, but I cannot find a European/240V version

 

[jpaul]

I had not seen it, but am skeptical based on amazon comments .. they preferred tefal (OK maybe cannot condemn it from just 4 reviews)

One issue is that when the Buffalo is turned down to anything less than full power
it simply repeatedly turns on full blast (3Kw) for a few seconds then turns off for a few seconds. This means that if you have a
pot that is near the limit (eg boiling wort to make beer or boiling jam) it is easy to have the pot boil over when the
hob turns on full. By comparison the Tefal is much more controllable. On manual setting just turn it down a level
if in danger of boil over. The heating is constant on each setting. It is this very easy with the Tefal to achieve a steady constant boil.
Another issue with the Buffalo is that the minimum setting is 500W. Ive decided just to use the Buffalo on full power
to bring a large pot up to temperature, saving time, then transfer the pot to the Tefal for simmering/boiling, slow cooking.

 

[FrenchTart]

I'd actually be interested in an induction hob for the opposite use - to provide consistent and even high power for use with cast iron/steel heavy-bottomed pans. I'm really annoyed with hot spots and generally weak heat output with my current setup.

 

[jpaul]

some of the inbuilt hobs now have multiple smaller coils (a free form desktop) but otherwise, the article suggest some hotspots

Fact: Wrong. The magnetic waves peak roughly in the middle of the doughnut-shaped induction coil. So if you have a 12-inch coil, then you can expect the circular hotspot to be about 6 inches in diameter (not exactly, but that’s a rough approximation

 

[FrenchTart]

I suspected that might be the case. So I'd end up with a hotter version of what I've got now. Not terrible but possibly not worth the hassle.

 

[Tefal]

I suspected that might be the case. So I'd end up with a hotter version of what I've got now. Not terrible but possibly not worth the hassle.

dunno about the portable ones but for inbuilt ones you can get ones that are made of multiple small coils that activate when theres a pan above them

 

[jpaul]

Probably going to try out one of the Caso products from Germany they seem to be a bona fide manufacturer (make full size induction too & pro);
their recent 2100W products with 12 power levels have good reviews on amazon.de