Anyone have experience with induction cooktops?

Bumping this up now. Just found out that lpg will cost double (around 2k+ per cylinder) from next month onwards. So looking to buy an induction cooker. Flipkart has some really good deals on them right now.

I narrowed down my choice to Philips HD4928 @2440 or something.
http://www.flipkart.com/philips-hd4...id=ICTDGRVGPEJP857U&otracker=search&pageNum=1

In the description it says steel utensils is supported. Does this mean we can use the non magnetic steel ware found in home? I only have one iron base utensil. The rest are normal steel.
 
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After making this thread, I had got the Bajaj ICX 6 cooktop for my family. It's been working perfectly fine, though we don't use it very often.
Initially we just used some flat bottomed steel based cookware that was already lying around the kitchen and it worked perfectly fine. (Though I still wonder if it is optimal).
I'm planning to get one of these things for myself now and that Philips model looks good. It's high time that I start cooking something myself.
 
Thanks for clarification. How does non magnetic steel ware work with this? I thought induction requires something in which it can create magnetism.

Also few posts back I had written that cooking gas price will always be cheaper than electricity. Seems gap is almost closed now with increase in gas prices.
 
I bought the Philips 4938 induction cooker from snapdeal. Used the killawatt to measure consumption. On lower settings below 4 bars the cooker stops and resumes periodically On 300W setting.at its peak consuming 1kW then shuts down momentarily. Now as I understand its trying to average the consumption to 300W. I was really disappointed by this way of functioning. doesn't seem very elegant. Positive side to this is no frothing and danger of spilling over. My review on snapdeal was never published due to this point. Shows the input voltage and units consumed.

High quality stainless steel utensils are essential for magnetic coupling The only ones I found were http://www.snapdeal.com/product/bergner-stainless-steel-saucepan/1171776
But after few months use developing certain kind of corrosion or stains. 18/10 steel grade is supposed to be the best for induction cookers.

If utensils are not completely compatible the cooker starts complaining by making squeaking sound.

Induction cookers are really fast at heating up food. Perfect for those hurried noodles and tea or coffee. There is absolutely no comparison with gas cookers.
 
I have the philips 4938 and i can tell you only stainless steel vessels with iron side bottom will work .
Just use a magent and see if it attracts to the bottom of the vessel,if it does then it will work.If it doesn't then the induction cooktop will beep for a few seconds and switch off.
 
Maybe it stops periodically to prevent over heating of the circuit inside.
I don't have an induction cooker yet but some of the steel utensils show rust. I think its because of the highly corrosive type of dish washing liquid we get now combined with the metal or that green nylon corrosive utensil cleaning pad. I can see utensils having some black powder on them even after washing them with clean water twice. The dish washing liquid have some buffing agent in them which probably corrodes steel on atomic level. Rub a finger on a steel plate and you'll know what I'm talking of.
 
Actually the reason why its shuts off is that it doesn't detect a vessel unless the vessel has ferromagnetic properties.
If you see rust then it will work on a induction cooktop.A fool proof way is to use a magnet or screw driver with magnetic properties and see if it shows some signs of attraction towards the vessels bottom.
 
adder said:
I have the philips 4938 and i can tell you only stainless steel vessels with iron side bottom will work .
Just use a magent and see if it attracts to the bottom of the vessel,if it does then it will work.If it doesn't then the induction cooktop will beep for a few seconds and switch off.
Click to expand...

I have a Havells Induction and been using it more than 1 year. All stainless steel utensils work for me. Maybe, it depends on the induction cooktop model.

6pack said:
Maybe it stops periodically to prevent over heating of the circuit inside.
Click to expand...
Exactly!! The coil pushes firepower in bursts as required.
 
Kuantum said:
I bought the Philips 4938 induction cooker from snapdeal. Used the killawatt to measure consumption. On lower settings below 4 bars the cooker stops and resumes periodically On 300W setting.at its peak consuming 1kW then shuts down momentarily. Now as I understand its trying to average the consumption to 300W. I was really disappointed by this way of functioning. doesn't seem very elegant. Positive side to this is no frothing and danger of spilling over. My review on snapdeal was never published due to this point. Shows the input voltage and units consumed.

High quality stainless steel utensils are essential for magnetic coupling The only ones I found were http://www.snapdeal.com/product/bergner-stainless-steel-saucepan/1171776
But after few months use developing certain kind of corrosion or stains. 18/10 steel grade is supposed to be the best for induction cookers.

If utensils are not completely compatible the cooker starts complaining by making squeaking sound.

Induction cookers are really fast at heating up food. Perfect for those hurried noodles and tea or coffee. There is absolutely no comparison with gas cookers.
Click to expand...
Well in my True RMS clamp meter it consumes 3.55amps at 225v which is around 800watt when it set a 120,300,500 watt setting.
 
6pack said:
...I don't have an induction cooker yet but some of the steel utensils show rust...
Click to expand...

steel rusts irrespective of the use of dishwashing stuff... stainless steel doesn't, hence the name. moreover, steel is magnetic and stainless steel isn't.

i don't use induction cooker/cookware but if people are getting mixed reactions to the use of steel cookware already present in their homes (pre induction era) then it could be because they are not able to differentiate between steel and stainless steel. most of the 'cheap' steel stuff in kitchen is not stainless steel.
 
I tested most stainless steel vessels with a fridge magnet and they're not magnetic. Magnetism depends on grade and percentage of iron or other alloys used I guess. Most vessels in my house must be low grade stainless steel.
 
Even my Bajaj ICX7 induction cooker works with all stainless steel utensils. And yes, the cooker works in bursts in most modes. When I put the cooker in "boil" mode, it outputs the maximum power and that too continuously, without any interruptions. Lots of differences between how cookers from different manufacturers work, I guess.
 
You must have bought or have vessels which already have a ferromagenetic base.

When i bought my Philips induction stove,not a single stainless steel vessel in my house worked,i assumed something was wrong with my induction cooktop.Only after i found a bare steel vessel with ceramic coating did it work.
I have since bought stainless steel vessel with Ferromagnetic base.The ones that didn't work where all bought prior to 2000,hence none where made with induction in mind.
 
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