# Tell me what's so great about induction hobs/burners **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840 "2020-09-17T15:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/21 "2020-09-18T03:13:46Z")
Trump. Got an induction stove for the first time a year ago and I love it. Its faster than any gas range I’ve had. Though from looking around some of the Wolf 20k burners should deliver more enegry but they cost 4 times as much. I love how fast it heats up, and how fast is cools down. I like that I don’t have to worry about my kids touching a hot stove and I like using my stove top as another work surface in the kitchen. Now I do my meal prep on the stove and can have a cutting board and cookbook sitting right next to the pot I’m cooking in. But my favorite thing of all is cleaning it. I clean it every week because it takes 5 minutes and it is spotless. Removing burners and lifting the top of the stove to deal with boil over is a thing of the past. A year in and we’ll never go back to gas. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/22 "2020-09-18T04:23:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > There seems to be an aversion to gas stoves, perhaps because of perceived safety issues. Berkeley, CA banned natural gas in new construction for greenhouse gas / carbon reasons earlier this year along with about a dozen other CA cities as well as Brookline, MA. To be honest, as much as I prefer cooking on gas, there is a certain degree of insanity in using gas in areas prone to earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/23 "2020-09-18T04:34:45Z")
There’s a little residual heat left from the pot/pan, but not burning hot. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/24 "2020-09-18T07:07:06Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > noticed my home warranty does not cover induction tops. Which is OK since I don’t have one. Why would that be? I thought they were supposed to be safer than standard electric or gas? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/25 "2020-09-18T07:11:19Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > And I have to wonder how strong/stable these handles are, never having seen any myself. They seemed very stable when I used them, I just found them awkward to switch from one pan to another, and I was always hunting round for the handle because I hadn’t got into a habit of putting it down in one place. I guess it’s one of those things you’d get used to. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/26 "2020-09-18T07:13:15Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Amen to that, I build a hanging pot rack as well, and it is the single best improvement I’ve ever made in my kitchen. I keep mine on a high shelf above my knife rack, which kinda does the same thing. They look nice, too. (I don’t like kitchen wall units, a personal foible). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/27 "2020-09-18T12:02:55Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Berkeley, CA banned natural gas in new construction for greenhouse gas / carbon reasons earlier this year along with about a dozen other CA cities as well as Brookline, MA. To be honest, as much as I prefer cooking on gas, there is a certain degree of insanity in using gas in areas prone to earthquakes. I always wondered about that. It always seemed that like when a house foundation moves separately from the earth around it, any hard pipes, like water or gas, would should snap. But when I see the aftermath of earthquakes on the news, I don’t recall ever hearing about the air being filled with natural gas. I’m surprised they’re banning it instead of finding a way to work around it. I feel like it should be possible to come up with something that can sense the seismic activity in the area or notice the excessive amount of gas from a broken pipe (like an short to ground on a electrical wire) and shut off service to the area until someone can check it out and turn it back on. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/28 "2020-09-18T12:31:25Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m surprised they’re banning it instead of finding a way to work around it. Well there’s the environmental concern too - natural gas is unsustainable. The UK government are banning gas central heating in new homes from 2025 for this reason (although not, interestingly, gas cookers). It’s all about renewables these days. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/29 "2020-09-18T12:46:51Z")
A home warranty is not the same as home insurance. It covers maintenance issues, not losses. So I’d guess the warranty company thinks that it’s not cost effective to cover induction tops in their plans - either they’re too likely to require maintenance, or too expensive to repair/replace. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/30 "2020-09-18T13:29:02Z")
Ah, good point. I don’t think we have such a thing here. Warranties tend to given on specific appliances or building works, not whole properties (unless it’s a new build, I guess - even then, I doubt it would cover appliances, just the bits under the building company’s control). ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/31 "2020-09-18T14:19:30Z")
To address the OP, we bought an Electrolux induction range (cooktop and oven combo) and although I was initially sceptical as I wanted gas I have to say I’ve come around. It’s as easy to clean as any Ceran top, boils water in under 90 seconds from cold, provides even heat, and can really get my cast iron griddle scorching hot as needed for blackening and such. It has almost all the versatility of a gas cooktop and is easier to clean and safer if you have kids. The only thing I can’t do is scorch peppers but the gas grill (bbq) is nearby so I use that. The only pan we own that has a detachable handle is for browning bacon in the microwave so I’m not sure where you got the idea your pots and pans can’t have handles with induction. We have a set of Lagostina Pro that has non detachable handles and they can go from stove top to oven with no problems. So long as the cookware is made of ferrous material it will heat up; that includes stainless and cast iron which are non-magnetic. It’s pricy, but not Wolf or Thermidor Range pricy, which would be lovely but I can’t justify the cost. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/32 "2020-09-18T14:46:44Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > The only pan we own that has a detachable handle is for browning bacon in the microwave so I’m not sure where you got the idea your pots and pans can’t have handles with induction. I didn’t think you couldn’t - I didn’t know. The two properties I stayed in both had them so I wondered if it was an induction thing, but obviously not. Maybe it’s a pot craze in France at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/33 "2020-09-18T14:48:07Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > So it’s just for storage/space issues, nothing to do with induction. Probably just coincidence both places you stayed had them. Or were they owned by the same entity? No, they were both privately owned homes - no connection between them. Except they both had what looked like newly installed kitchens, and hence lots of new kitchen gadgets. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/34 "2020-09-18T15:05:34Z")
Sorry if I came across as snarky, a consequence of being in my own head ( I know something, ergo everyone does…). I’m sure this is a type of bias but I can’t recall the name… As noted up thread, I have seen cookware with detachable handles at IKEA but never correlated the two. Induction is still awesome, though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/35 "2020-09-18T17:14:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Slow to heat up This is the exact opposite of my experience with mine (just a one-plate standalone unit). That thing is _fast_ - way, way faster than my old electric stove and still faster than my new gas stove. And uses much less electricity. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/36 "2020-09-18T17:23:28Z")
ETA - in fact, the only reason we have gas is because my country’s electricity supply is pants. Otherwise it’d be an entire induction stove. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/37 "2020-09-18T17:28:15Z")
We rented a flat in Italy that had a four burner induction cooktop. It defeated me. Everttime I used it I’d have to brink out the instructions. Easy to clean though. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/38 "2020-09-18T18:07:56Z")
In addition to earthquake issues and general greenhouse gas emissions for gas ranges/stoves in homes, there is the indoor air quality issue: > **[Gas stoves can generate unsafe levels of indoor air pollution](https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks)** > > An accumulating body of research suggests gas stoves are a health risk. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/39 "2020-09-18T19:20:12Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Maybe that’s the crux of it then - If you’re used to electric, induction seems amazing. If you’re used to gas, you can’t see what the fuss is about. That’s got to be it; I grew up with gas, had a stretch with electric stoves, and am back with gas, and everything they say is true about gas, but not electric. One advantage that induction has, I believe, is that it heats evenly- no more of this hot spot where the burner is, while the rest of the pan is relatively cool business. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840/40 "2020-09-18T19:53:29Z")
Everything is great about induction burners. They heat faster, they are very efficient, and they cool faster. The fact that the stove itself only gets warm, not hot, means that things won’t burn onto it. Only downside is that they are expensive and expensive to repair. I had mine for 15 years before it went out, though, so not that bad a run. Well, that, and when you go to use a regular stove, you won’t know how. I was cooking something at my parents’, and when it was ready, I turned the stove off. Ended up burning the bottom, as I forgot that their stove would stay hot for a while. Dunno about the pans. I actually had a set like that that were not made for induction stoves, and when I got my induction stove, I got pans that did not have detachable handles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-whats-so-great-about-induction-hobs-burners/920840.md?page=3)