induction cookers?

[wonderflu]

I'm spending this summer in an un-airconditioned east-facing apartment. While I'm at work, it gets to about 85F in the apartment.I hate cooking on the gas stove, because it makes the kitchen intolerably hot. I've been reading about induction cookers, which use magnetism to cause pans to get hot. For basic (but hot) tasks like boiling water, it sounds like an induction cooker would help me keep my place much cleaner. Does anyone on ATOT have experience with induction cookers? The models that Walmart sells for <$100 seem to have gotten favorable reviews, and I'm not opposed to getting a new pot if mine prove incompatible.

 

[sdifox]

err, normal people use a plug in kettle to boil water. Induction cookers require iron based cookware so aluminium is out. proper airflow is essential for the longevity of these things so a hot environment is probably going to kill it faster.

 

[wonderflu]

Do normal people make pasta in their plug in kettles?

 

[guyver01]

normal people dont spend the summer in unairconditioned apartments.

 

[mmntech]

Induction cookers do the job well if you have iron based cookware like sdifox said. They're a lot more complicated though. More to go wrong in the future.

 

[sdifox]

Do normal people make pasta in their plug in kettles?

normal people don't boil water on the stove...That is not efficient. I use the electric kettle to boil the water, then dump the water into the pot on a stove if I need to boil something or cook soup. unless I am doing hard boiled egg, in which case I basically have to use the stove from start.

 

[nageov3t]

just suck it up and use your gas stove imo.

I'm in an unairconditoned apartment all summer as well, but having one gas burner on really makes no difference to the overall apartment temperature.

the oven, OTOH, I don't turn on unless I *have* to.

 

[nageov3t]

normal people don't boil water on the stove...That is not efficient. I use the electric kettle to boil the water, then dump the water into the pot on a stove if I need to boil something or cook soup. unless I am doing hard boiled egg, in which case I basically have to use the stove from start.

you are not normal people.

 

[sdifox]

you are not normal people.

you missed the fleabag thread on boiling water didn't ya

 

[Mark R]

Once you've used a decent induction hob, you'll never go back to gas. Induction is more controllable, heats faster and is easier to clean.

Realistically though, it really doesn't make that much difference how you boil your water. The boiling water will heat your place up just the same.

 

[crab]

We installed a full induction Thermador cooktop when we built our house and I don't know if i could ever go back to electric. If I had a choice, I'd go to a nice gas unit though but cooking is a big deal to me.

 

[techs]

I picked one up on sale from Newegg a couple a three weeks ago.

Very nice. Heats very fast. Very controllable. Don't worry like I do that the gas in my range will go out if I turn it down too low when i simmer something.

 

[wonderflu]

just suck it up and use your gas stove imo.

I'm in an unairconditoned apartment all summer as well, but having one gas burner on really makes no difference to the overall apartment temperature.

the oven, OTOH, I don't turn on unless I *have* to.

This stove has brackets that put pots very high above the burners. My apartment is also small enough that using the stove does change the overall temperature.

sdifox, I don't know what to say to you.

Mark R/crabs/tech, I very much enjoy cooking. Even ignoring the heat issue, is cooking on an induction burner better enough that it's worth getting one?