Induction stoves

[TooPatient]

We are looking at houses and weighing trade offs. I have loved cooking on the gas stove with natural gas. Many of the houses we are looking through have propane and others are electric only. Are induction cooktops a good solution? Do they cook well? Would love to hear experiences!

 

[Musia]

All celebrity chefs use gas stoves. We have electric, my DIL has an induction one. The main problem with induction is compatibility of your cookware. Buy something (converter) and learn how to use your stove. And best luck to you! We are also thinking of moving (out of CA).

 

[kenny]

Sorry, I'm no help regarding inductive stoves.
I think I'm reasonably okay at inductive reasoning (or is that deductive?) but that doesn't heat up food.

Just sayin, might a new stove be a tiny expense with respect to the price of a house?
IOW, I'd disregard whatever stove is there.
If a stove's heat source wasn't to my preference I'd sell it cheap on CL and buy a stove I prefer.

I realize talk is cheaper than stoves.
When I bought this house over 20 years ago I didn't have one penny for upgrades - but I just barely squeezed into a fantastic house in a fantastic neighborhood.
Some of the house's details are not what I prefer, but the appreciation has skyrocketed just because of the prime location.

But I should hush up and let qualified members respond to the question you asked.

 

[Polabowla]

@kenny there might not be a gas line for a gas stove though & that can be expensive to install.
I hate my smooth electric cooktop. I once bought an induction burner from Costco to try it out & was not impressed.
I would love a huge 48 inch gas range with a powerful exhaust fan.

 

[kenny]

@kenny there might not be a gas line for a gas stove though & that can be expensive to install. ...

Ah yes.
Thanks, that had not occurred to me.

 

[TooPatient]

Sorry, I'm no help regarding inductive stoves.
I think I'm reasonably okay at inductive reasoning (or is that deductive?) but that doesn't heat up food.

Just sayin, might a new stove be a tiny expense with respect to the price of a house?
IOW, I'd disregard whatever stove is there.
If a stove's heat source wasn't to my preference I'd sell it cheap on CL and buy a stove I prefer.

I realize talk is cheaper than stoves.
When I bought this house over 20 years ago I didn't have one penny for upgrades - but I just barely squeezed into a fantastic house in a fantastic neighborhood.
Some of the house's details are not what I prefer, but the appreciation has skyrocketed just because of the prime location.

But I should hush up and let qualified members respond to the question you asked.

Stove is definitely small price! The houses are in areas that have very different utilities available. Some have natural gas available that we can run to the house. Some only have propane available. Others have nothing other than electric in the area so we would need to either use an electric stove of some form or look at having a propane tank installed on the property.

It hadn't occurred to me that there were areas that I consider to not be hugely rural that just don't have gas pipes around. Crazy realization!

 

[TooPatient]

@kenny there might not be a gas line for a gas stove though & that can be expensive to install.
I hate my smooth electric cooktop. I once bought an induction burner from Costco to try it out & was not impressed.
I would love a huge 48 inch gas range with a powerful exhaust fan.

48" gas would be amazing!

I hated the smooth top electric we had. It was better than the electric coil type, maybe. I keep hearing mixed things on induction.

In many of the houses, the gas pipes aren't even at the street. The company would be willing to run them for $$$$$$ except for some of the areas where they just don't have it at all. Someone mentioned a zoning thing or city policy that might make it difficult to have in the city too.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

We are looking at houses and weighing trade offs. I have loved cooking on the gas stove with natural gas. Many of the houses we are looking through have propane and others are electric only. Are induction cooktops a good solution? Do they cook well? Would love to hear experiences!

Im scared of gas
i beleave most dynastic cooks prefer it but once we moved in the gas cook top was out and electric was in
It was gas piped in from the street
We did upgrade the hot water to infinity and now we have those big propane bottles that you get delivered
My other half would have preferred a new gas cook top but i do most of the cooking

 

[dk168]

I bought a couple of induction hobs for my pop up kitchen events, a single and a double, and had used induction hobs prior to that, and I love them.

Very responsive and on and offable.

I am having my campervan/RV kitted out with a 2-burner one designed for this market instead of a gas stove, and have bought a new set of pans for the van.

Of my existing pans at home which are supposed to be induction ready when I bought them years ago, one of the pans is not recognised by my induction hobs, and the manufacturer does not know why. It is a tad annoying, however I use a gas hob at home so it is NBD.

DK

 

[Polabowla]

Yes it's odd how some places just don't have gas lines (or on septic & well not sewer).

 

[kenny]

Stove is definitely small price! The houses are in areas that have very different utilities available. Some have natural gas available that we can run to the house. Some only have propane available. Others have nothing other than electric in the area so we would need to either use an electric stove of some form or look at having a propane tank installed on the property.

It hadn't occurred to me that there were areas that I consider to not be hugely rural that just don't have gas pipes around. Crazy realization!

Got it.
Mostly I've lived in suburbs close to very large cities, hooked up to all utilities.

But in a former relationship I got an eye-opener.
We bought a second weekend/vacation house in a very rural area on nearly 10 acres.
It did have electricity, but a well for water, a septic tank instead of sewer lines, no cable, and a truck delivered propane to our tank for heat and hot water.

The house had an electric stove, so I get the utility thing.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Yes it's odd how some places just don't have gas lines (or on septic & well not sewer).

Lots of newer suburbs here don't have gas from the street
Our street dates back to the late '50's so does
i guess it comes down to cost for the developer but also if the gas company is going to run in pipes

We had a septic tank when i was younger - out in the country
i would not like to have one in a built up area

down home in Dunedin we had coal gas not natural gas when i was little
Mum and dad took it out when mum got a new oven
i never liked it - it used to kill any house plants and made a lot of condensation
I dont think you can still get it ?
the gasworks is a museum now

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

When we got rid of the street gas here we still kept getting a statement every month for two years threatening to cut us off if we didn't settle our account (which was zero $)
Had lots of very angry phone calls with the company
the ugly eye sore connection thing was still in the garden by the house and they refused to remove it because their records showed us still being a gas customer
We got a plumber out to check it was capped at the street and threatened to hacksaw their ugly thing off at the ground and throw it on tp the street
they said they would remove it for $500
more angry phone calls while still getting monthly letters asking us if we had anyone at home on medical equipment to stay alive as they were going to cut us off
how many times do we have to tell these people we don't have their gas
We did have electricity with this company but it was a different account and was always paid in time and when we rang that part of their bussiness to check all was well but they couldn't stop the gas section from sending out these stupid statements
In the end we completly switched to another power supplier and for $130 they removed their connection and the ugly metal box that housed it

Never ever going back to street gas
Oh and the connection charge and daily line (pipe?) rental was outrageous
The gas bottles have a yearly rental equivalent to one gas bottle full

 

[dk168]

In UK, there are plans to do away with natural gas in new builds some years in the future.

For properties in rural areas, LPG and oil are common, as well as septic tanks.

If I were to refit my kitchen in my house, I would get an induction hob, replace the pan that is not induction compatible, and get a couple of flat bottom induction woks as the ones I have are round bottom ones.

Induction hobs are far easier to clean too, being a flat surface compared with a gas hob.

DK

 

[Austina]

I always had gas, but a few years ago changed to induction and I absolutely love it. It’s just as controllable. I love the sleek look of it and it’s very easy to clean.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I always had gas, but a few years ago changed to induction and I absolutely love it. It’s just as controllable. I love the sleek look of it and it’s very easy to clean.

This !!
The cleaning drove me nuts.
Plus the safety aspect. No possible gas leak!!

 

[missy]

@TooPatient maybe some helpful info for you here...

Induction vs gas cooktop?

Has anyone converted from gas to induction cooktop? If so, are you pleased with the change. Pros & cons please. I'm aware that you need iron or other magnetic pots and pans. I don't know how old the Jenn-Air gas cooktop is but was here when we bought the house 15 years ago. I call it The Beast...

www.pricescope.com

 

[TooPatient]

@TooPatient maybe some helpful info for you here...

Induction vs gas cooktop?

Has anyone converted from gas to induction cooktop? If so, are you pleased with the change. Pros & cons please. I'm aware that you need iron or other magnetic pots and pans. I don't know how old the Jenn-Air gas cooktop is but was here when we bought the house 15 years ago. I call it The Beast...

www.pricescope.com

Awesome information in that. Thank you!

 

[seaurchin]

I didn't even know what an induction stove was but now I do, thanks to this thread. That makes me feel overjoyed so I must not be getting out enough lately! Anyway, I have always just accepted whatever stove was in place and replaced it with the same kind, if needed. They all get the job done.

 

[Arcadian]

I soooo miss natural gas. I'm roughly 2 miles away from natural gas lines which isn't the norm here. Natural gas is actually very expensive, more so than Electric. I do have bottle gas grill however.

I've learned to cook with electric, though I don't like it as much. As far as Induction, the only thing I know about it is its supposed to be more gaslike, the cooktops and stoves can be pretty expensive, and you'd have to have the proper cookware for it. The expense keeps me from doing it.

 

[rainydaze]

I have induction and I love it. I grew up with an electric coil cooktop, had gas for a short time in some apartments, an electric smooth top for several years, and chose induction recently to replace an existing electric smooth top (I could have gone with gas - would have needed a propane tank - but I preferred induction).

It cooks very well, is very versatile (don't have to match pan size exactly with cooktop size, I chose one that adjusts in half increments), is safe, and is easy to clean. It's really fast when I want it to be (boiling large pots of water) as well as low and slow when I want it to be. I use the half increments often.

 

[AuntKiki]

We have a well and septic and a buried propane tank. I've had city water and sewer and natural gas before, it's not noticeably different other than a bit of maintenance. I looked into induction when getting a new kitchen last year. It's interesting but I couldn't give up the flame. I wouldn't let these differences hold me back from buying a great house.

 

[Polabowla]

My electric cooktop is so old it can take almost half an hour to boil water for pasta. It is maddening.

I had a septic system in a rental once & it was awful. Too small & old, and caused awful problems .(thankfully the landlord had to deal with it, not me)

 

[lala646]

Induction cooktops are awesome! I first fell in love with them in France, in my best friend's apartment. And when we were without appliances for 2 months last year because of a Home Depot delivery snafu, we got a portable induction burner for the short term. All of our cast iron pans worked perfectly. If we didn't have access to natural gas, we would definitely go induction over electric.

 

[TooPatient]

My electric cooktop is so old it can take almost half an hour to boil water for pasta. It is maddening.

I had a septic system in a rental once & it was awful. Too small & old, and caused awful problems .(thankfully the landlord had to deal with it, not me)

I have had that stove That is the thing that got me looking at options before buying where gas isn't available. Do not want to live with that old electric stove ever again!

The septic tank here in our current house has been great. No problems in 14 years. Most of my life has been in houses with septic. My grandparents had one time where the septic had problems and that was enough to leave me cautious and skeptical of every one since. Our new house will almost certainly have septic and will be included in an inspection prior to purchase.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

I personally would not buy a house based on the type of range, but everyone has different priorities! My preference is gas, followed by induction if gas is not available.

 

[TooPatient]

I personally would not buy a house based on the type of range, but everyone has different priorities! My preference is gas, followed by induction if gas is not available.

Not exclusively, but it will definitely help with tie breaking as we have several houses that are favorites we are trying to decide between. There was one electric stove in my past that would have caused me to sell a house if I couldn't get something different to replace it. Funny what aggravation can come from a small annoyance

 

[GliderPoss]

I loathe gas stoves, can never get a proper low simmer! Induction stoves are great BUT you need to buy all new special pots & pans for them so add that to the cost.

 

[missy]

Awesome information in that. Thank you!

My pleasure! I wouldn't let it decide for me what house to choose however as you can always retrofit the kitchen with your stove of choice. My aunt is a chef and loves to cook and bake and where they live there is no natural gas but she has propane for her gas stove.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I loathe gas stoves, can never get a proper low simmer! Induction stoves are great BUT you need to buy all new special pots & pans for them so add that to the cost.

Not necessarily... It's not "special induction" They just have to be magnetic. Easy to test beforehand - if a regular magnet clicks to the bottom of your pan it'll work.

We had regular pots & pans and didn't have to replace anything.

Definitely didn't buy our pots & pans with potential upgrade to induction in mind.
I was especially delighted that the only expensive stuff I have (cast iron Le Creuset) works perfectly.
We just lucked out, but a friend had some stuff that was pretty expensive and didn't work. She bought an adapter (like a plaque to put between the job and the pan). She's pleased with the result. Haven't tried it myself, though.