Induction Cooktops

Does anyone have an experience or opinion about a particular brand?

My 36" drop down, down draft electric cook-top died. (Thank God! I hated it!) We were thinking about going to gas but the cost to pull a gas line was high. We started looking at the Induction Cook-tops and have read where people like them more than gas and they are noted at being more energy efficient as well. Now they don't come in a down draft but it is cheaper to put in an updraft ventilation than it is to put it the gas. (Can not use the telescope downdraft because I don't have enough clearance.) I can even add a over the range microwave / convection oven with ventilation and still come out cheaper so I will get a second oven out of the deal. Now, in shopping for the cook-top I have found that each of the local appliance dealers carry different brands: GE Profile, Kenmore, Miele, BOSH ..... and although the cook-tops are very similar the pricing is all over the map. Are you paying just for the name?

Not so familiar with GE / Kenmore, but I really do like my Bosch induction cook-top.

Our first choice would have been Miele or Gaggenau without a doubt - but maybe that's just a Dutch-thing, don't know. The model I wanted from Miele was going to be updated and I had to wait over 6 months for the new model. The older model just wasn't available anymore. (Don't know what they were updating - the new model looks exactly the same to me-) Gaggenau at the time did not have the specifics I wanted. I ran out of time and for my specific likings - the Bosch was the only other option.

Having said that - before the Bosch, I had a much cheaper Kenwood induction cook-top. Honestly, it worked just as fine. It was not as fast as my new one but that was only because it was made 15 years earlier. It was still faster than many new gas cook-tops. We had it for 15 years and then it just cracked. It was not as energy efficient as the current ones, but of course, this was one of the first models here in the country - one of the first brands who had one at that time.

So, basically, unless you are looking for something specific or unless you are loyal to one specific brand - I think you could be very happy with any brand.

I just bought the Consumer Reports Kitchen planning & buying guide 2008. They gave the Electrolux Icon ($2000) a 96 rating; Thermador ($1725) a 94 rating; Gaggenau ($3500) a 93 rating; Kenmore Elite ($1800) a 91 rating; Diva ($2700) an 89 rating; and Viking Professional ($2200) an 88 rating.

No rating at all on the Jenn-Air or the Miele, wow I am surprised!

I've owned GE thru the late 80's and 90's, and even though there's a vast amount of consumer complaints on the internet...thank goodness I never had issues with mine.

When we moved to our new home, I put in BOSCH appliances. I absolutely love them, and they have very high marks from consumer advocate groups.

Well, we made the decision and purchased the Jenn-Air. From what I have read they are a pretty reputable company. On the upper end of middle in the ranks. I am thinking, hoping, I will be happy. This is the cook-top we purchased http://www.jennair.com/catalog/prod...E_SESSION_ID=85336d22c0a850ac5bb918cb72dc07e8 and this is the over the hood microwave / convection oven http://www.jennair.com/catalog/product.jsp?parentCat=2&cat=15&prod=1497 . Now it's time to get the contractor and electrician going!

Hi

I do not have direct experience of induction cooktops but I did find two useful sites that may be of interest to you. The first gives a good basic introduction and is here http://www.induction-cooktop.com/. The second one has more information, including lots of detail on the different models. I cannot remember the link but it can be found on the links page of the first site I've recommended.

Hope that this helps

Now that you bought an induction cooktop, you also need to buy a new set of cookware.The old pots and pans mostly likely will not work well.

LisaH said:

Now that you bought an induction cooktop, you also need to buy a new set of cookware.The old pots and pans mostly likely will not work well.

Click to expand...

Thankfully most of my cookware is stainless steel already so I won't have to go out and replace too much.