Monday, December 10, 2012

Max Burton 6000 1800-Watt Portable Induction Cooktop, Black

There's good news and bad news. I bought this unit as a training unit to check out the technology and have a good extra hob on hand for times when we strain our kitchen resources. The intent is to eventually equip our kitchen with an induction cooktop for energy efficiency.

The good news is that the technology works as advertised. It's remarkably quick and has plenty of power despite running off a normal power outlet. The bad news is that on this unit the heating element (if that is the correct terminology) is only about 7 to 8 inches across. It worked fine when we made soups, though we did notice that only the middle boiled or simmered. However, when frying, the limitation of the element size became a problem. We used a lodge 12" cast iron skillet to fry fish. The center of the pan put a beautiful tan on the panko, but the outside of the pan was relatively cool, requiring that each piece of fish be flipped to four positions before it was properly cooked.
We tested the unit by wetting the bottom of a cold pan and watching how it dried. The center bubbled and dried, but the outer bottom was only warm to the touch. I thought perhaps it was defective, but other reviewers have commented on the problem.

I notice that most of the units on the market do not specify the size of the heating element. Whether this exposes a problem with the technology or is just marketing avoiding a problem with inexpensive units I can't tell.

I am hopeful of the technology, but returned this unit because of it's limitations. If you only use smaller pans, or rarely, if ever, fry, I recommend it.

As has been mentioned before the first unit arrived broken.

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