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Yes and, no
I hate the Jenn-Air cooktop in the house I bought and, before I shelled out $3 - 4k for an induction cooktop to replace it, I thought I'd try this little one out.
My dislike of the Jenn-Air gas cooktop is the lack of "range". Low is too hot to simmer and high just doesn't get there to blacken meats. With only 6 heating levels, I did not expect the Fagor cooktop to have the precision I want. I was wrong, it excelled in both. I simmered a pot of chili quickly and it easily held it at just below simmer. I clarified butter in a steel bowl (more on that later) and it quickly separated and never boiled up to mess up the separation. I then took it outside, put it up on high with my Lodge fry pan and seared a steak like never before.
And, I sent it back. Of all the pots and pans I had, only three worked. Be sure you check your cookware to see if a magnet will stick before you commit to any Induction unit. None will work with aluminum, copper or some stainless steel pots or pans.
One other small issue was the fan noise and funny noise the controls make when the unit cycles on and off. I would have lived with that, but not a big investment in all new cookware.
[Wednesday, October 15, 2008]
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Disgraceful quality control
This product is worthless. It would not detect Fagor's own cookware on the surface. So, it beeped continually and turned itself off. The instruction manual is horrible and the controls on the cooktop are all but unusable. You might as well throw your money in the street.
[Saturday, October 11, 2008]
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Induction cooking is great, but not this model
This was my first experience with induction cooking, and, like everyone else says, it's fantastic. Keeps the kitchen cool, heats things faster, offers precise control, environmental, easy to clean - all good stuff.
But I'm going to try a different brand next time I buy an induction cooktop. Here's why:
1) There are only six heat settings. I've found that to simmer many items, I need a setting in between 2 and 3. So I have to stand over it and manually switch between the two.
2) It appears to cycle on and off (at least on setting 3). A pot of stuff will bubble for a while, then stop, then bubble for a while, etc. I don't know if this is normal for an induction cooktop, but obviously it isn't very smooth.
3) The controls are indeed difficult to get used to, though it can be done. You need to give them a rather sharp tap, instead of just pressing them. There's also a delay, so if you want to turn the heat down from 6 to 1, you have to tap at certain intervals.
4) It seems to produce a hot spot in the center of the pan. That part will bubble when the edges stay cooler. I don't know if this is normal with induction cooking. I use All-Clad pans.
All told, these negatives don't outweigh the positive experience of using an induction cooktop. But I'll try another brand next time. And there will be a next time, because compared to my lousy electric stove, induction cooking is wonderful!
[Sunday, October 05, 2008]
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