Cooking For Engineers

[Maxwar]

With regard to Induction Burners, I'm wondering if one or more of these "gadgets" would be a worthwhile addition to an all electric kitchen. Any responses from those who have experience with them would be most appreciated.

[GaryProtein]

Absolutely. They are as powerful as gas with the speed of adjustment of gas. The speed of heat adjustment is as fast as you can change the dial, just like gas. I love that all the heat is developed in the cookware itself, unlike gas where tremendous amounts of heat is wasted going into the air in the kitchen. For anything that cooks for an extended time, it is the way to go. For quick things like omelettes, I like non-stick ware, and most then have aluminum substrates, and for things like that, gas might be better. (I think All-Clad makes some stainless steel clad aluminum non-stick pans, but I don't own any.) The only problem with induction is you must use ferrous pots and pans. The best thing is a combination of induction and electric/halogen. Take a look at this:

http://www.thermador.com/kitchen-appliances-cooking_cooktops_induction-cooktops_CIT362DS.html

A few manufacturers like Thermador and Wolf and a couple of others make single burner induction stoves you can plug into an outlet or hard wire.

[dlmz06]

Vollrath Mirage Pro is a great home single induction burner. It is quiet, powerful, has a low setting, has not 6 or 7 widely spaced power levels, but 100 with a smooth rotary knob power level control. It also goes low to melt butter. With temp control all of single unit induction cookers exhibit a peak temp overshoot either by design to cook fast for quick boiling or fast wok frying, or due to the lag time for temp variations to pass through the glass top to the sensor beneath. Straight power control is smoother for sauces, no overshoot. The grain control with many power steps is smoother than the less expensive import units that use a limited control chip with only 8 or so steps. I've used it every day for 2 years. I keep an IR gun nearby in the kitchen, for fun.

I ordered other inexpensive units to hack and play with the inside control circuits. (hacking not recommended for non EE 's, 1200 v here! and not recommended because of fire hazards and fire insurance/homeowners insurance possibly not covering).
The induction circuit is a resonant pulsed coil similar to the circuit used in microwave ovens, I understand. The Vollrath uses 4 ig transistors either in bridge configuration or to increase the operating frequency. It has one control mode for pulsing the pwm for stable low heat and another continuous variation of the pulse width modulation for higher heat temp settings. The power setting control mode seems to be continuous pwm. The ring time of the pulse is measured periodically with a zero crossing comparator to detect whether a proper pot is on top and stops operation if the pot is lifted or a noncompatible pot is used like one too small in diameter or made only of aluminum.