Hate to return to a dead horse, but... Portable Induction?

I see there are some posts on this, but there are several years old and I'm hoping there are some up to date thoughts.

I am moving into a rental that has an electric stove (shoot me, but the house is amazing in every other way) and am considering getting some portable induction cooktops (the kitchen has a huge island).

The reviews on these things are all over the place. I see the guys here at Chef Steps using them and I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts about the best options. In many reviews precision seems to be a big sticking point, as is auto-shut off at high temps.

Do you have experience with these? Are they great? Is there a super reliable choice?

Thanks in advance

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pd3ski_278514

Hi Micheal, I have a couple of Volrath mirage pros and I can say they are ‘good’ with many more temp adjustments than most out there. I’m sure you saw the term overshoot reading those posts and it is real! It means that the device is so wanting to get to temp it basically could care less about your set desired temp and goes well past in its quest. This is annoying and can be mitigated by starting slowly and building from there, not the worst but not the best. But for water.. oh yeah boil it like now! I can still do a 10~15min scram egg and other delicates but I’ve just gotta watch the temps closely! Where the induction really shines for me are stocks/soups etc.. where set and forget is needed.. think crockpot style here. I’m glad I have ‘good’! Also never underestimate the power/pleasure of a rotary temp select knob!!

Now that said, Breville acquired ChefSteps and they have their own induction hob that I think is the top hob by far and I would bet a loonie or twonie that @Daniel_35357 would agree

*. But I sure do wish the price could come down on controllability.

I think there were a couple of folks that had the Paragon unit but I’ve not heard much more on that one.

And I definitely don’t think this is a dead horse! C’mon Breville..

*hope I got the right Daniel tag

**edited

chadxp

Hello,

I have a Control Freak, Volrath Pro, and the Paragon. That is the order I use them. The overshoot the worst with the Volrath, I just put water in the pan until it comes back down. The Volrath is the best for the price point, the pan temperature get it pretty close and use a thermometer to dial it in.

I love the Control Freak it is my everyday use. From crazy amazing eggs, melting chocolate, and temping sugar mixtures, it is consistent every time. That is the magic of it. It also lets you add control steps for items that you can program. It also does sous vide.

Paragon, well is good for keeping things warm!

One thing to watch out for is power. These devices will pop circuits if you try to run more than one on the same circuit. Two inductions, an induction and a sous vide device, and so on. See if your breakers are per outlet or how they are wired in the kitchen.

The other is warranty.

Volrath Pro

This warranty does not apply to products purchased for personal, family or household use, and The Vollrath Company LLC does not offer a written warranty to purchasers for such uses

Cheers,

Chad

tshewman

I have 2 portable hobs (Max Burton-real old, but works well) and a mirage pro (which is also good-better/more precise settings but more expensive). When I had a gas range, I used the induction hobs allot more than the gas top bc of their efficiency. I now have a GE induction range (which I love), but support the portable induction idea. Both mine were/are reliable (though very aged), It will depend on your budget. The mirage pro is VERY reliable (but one of the more expensive units) and the gold standard (for lack of better words) would be the control freak from breville.

If you are going that big, you might consider spending a bit more for a new (induction) range, but the lower end hob will work (at least mine did/does).

In order of great (but expensive) to less expensive, Breville control freak, Cooktek (MC1800), Hestan Cue (think Joule app for induction), Mirage Pro, Max Burton (and all those in that price range).

Sensitivity (temperature adjustability) may be important to consider and the features are usually tied proportionately to price.

montebello1964

It's worth mentioning, that although the usual discounts often available at Williams Sonoma don't apply to Breville products, if you sign up for their credit card, you can apply a 1-time, immediate-use 20% discount to purchase Breville products like the Control Freak. I did this recently to purchase their new Pizzaiolo oven (a brilliant device by the way!). But there seems to be some variability from store to store and what customer service will tell you on the phone, so I would go into your local store(s) to confirm this.

pd3ski_278514

Ha... I knew there was a paragon user out there! Good point about the warranty on volrath, Wasn’t the control freak consumer non-friendly for a while? I remember a deal on one a while ago and walked because it was still a multiple of 4 compared to my volrath deals.

Stacy_Turner_1101814

Over the course of a painfully long remodel I cooked on 2 induction burners at a time for 3 years. The Nuwaves crapped out quickly, but I made 3 Tramontina burners last for almost three years. I have one still working that I keep in reserve and still works fine. I highly recommend them.

pd3ski_278514

And nothing!! Crap another ungrateful dude who asks for experience/recos but can’t take the time to acknowledge any responses.... Gah!! Well congrats dude ... You definitely make the forum better .. howdeeho💩