I would like to give it a 5 star rating, but can't because the unit I received was defective, and the replacement unit was also defective (but in a different way). I would like to think I just got a couple of bad units, as with proper operation, it would be a great unit.
I was excited to receive the unit, I had been reading about induction cook tops for quite some time. I already had two pans, a small carbon steel wok, and a stainless steel (with magnetic heat disk bottom) omlete pan. Plus this unit came with a really great non-stick frypan with a bottom magnetic heat disk bonded to the bottom. So I knew I had the right cookware to use. I also had an electric meter to test the wattage draw at various settings so I could evaluate the performance with each setting.
Intial set-up was simple, plug it in, place a pan with a couple of cups of water on the unit, and hit the on button. It defaulted to the #5 setting, (specified as 800w) and with-in a couple minutes water was boiling. All pans performed in a similar manner, but I did note that the wattage varied by the pan, from 600w to 700w. I continued testing the lower settings, the wattage dropped some, heating seemed consistant, the lower two settings seemed to jump from .5w to 200 to 500 and back again, as expected from what the manual said. All was fine and good, I was pretty happy with the unit.
Then I tried the higher settings, with each of the pans. Other than a slight variation in wattage, results were the same. #6 jumped the wattage up about 100, #7 another 50w to 850w, but #8, 9, & 10 would surge from 600w to 1100w, water would boil ferociously, then not, then back again. If I tried adding more water (like one quart) it took forever to get it to boil, even on the highest setting. I was so dissapointed.
I reluctantly asked Amazon for a replacement, they were great, sent me out a new one in two days, I got a pre-printed return label, a great experience.
Then to test the new unit. I was so hopeful, but where the first unit seemed to work properly on settings #6 and lower, the replacement unit seemed to surge on all the power settings, and would never rise above 900w, even on the highest settings.
It was so dissappointing. Since the unit is rated at 1600w, I think I just got two bad units. The first one worked so well in the lower settings, where one would do most of their cooking, but I need the ability to boil as well. So much promise, I really liked the unit, but the performance was not there for me.
I returned both units, and purchased an 1800w Duxtop unit. I will review it after another week of use, so far so good, I don't like the design as well, the lower settings are a bit hotter than I wanted, but lots and lots of heat at the higher settings.
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I attended a cooking class taught by the head chef at the Capital Hotel in Little Rock, AR and he used this device several time during the eveing. I bought one for myself and love it. I can just sit it on the count top and cook away without worrying about flames or heated coils. Just DO NOT USE IT ON A METAL SURFACE! think about it & you will know why! I am a house mother in a fraternity house and have a tiny apartment with no stove this is perfect. I would recommend it for anywhere, ex: camper. As long as you have electricity, you can have a stove right on the picnic table if you like. No flames to catch it on fire. Light weight, portable and works as well or better than gas. If you have caphelon sorry cannot use it on this device. But, any pan that a magnet will stick to will cook well. Try not to scratch it up as it is a glass surface device. Also you can use a razor blade scraper to clean up any big spills but they don't cook on the surface like other stoves and clean up is easier anyway. You can spread a cloth beneath it and throw it in the wash no counter to wipe. Yeah! I will even let my granddaughter cook on this device with supervision, of course.Best Deals on Fagor Countertop Induction Cooking Set, 2-Piece
I ordered this burner to use in our basement. We have a small kitchen area there with a microwave, but no means of actually cooking anything. I wanted this to mainly make some eggs to go along with toast for breakfast. Wow the eggs are ready by the time the toast is done and I start them both together. I only use the setting of 3, not sure how hot it gets on 5! I really like this product does exactly what it says it would do.Honest reviews on Fagor Countertop Induction Cooking Set, 2-Piece
received this 2 piece set about 3 weeks ago. Cooktop seems to work very well but the pan is a joke. All induction cooktops must be used with magnetic, flat bottom pans. If the pan bottom is warped it will not cook evenly. Our first attempt to use the set was to add about one inch of water to the pan to see how quickly it would boil. Well, the water boiled very quickly on most of one half of the pan but not at all on the other. We then tried to fry two eggs. Both fried but one was way overcooked and the other under cooked. When the pan cooled we wiped it clean and turned it over. The pan bottom is bowed on one half and misses contacting the cooking surface by from 1/8 to 1/4 inch. I contacted Fagor America and they requested I email photos showing the problem. I did the same day and was told they would get back with me by the next week at the latest. Well, they didn't. I called them today and they have not received any answer from their technical department, and its now been two full weeks. I said I need an answer by tomorrow or will return the cooktop set to Amazon. Its a real shame because the cooktop is worthless without proper cookware. We will be buying proper pans but wrongly assumed their included pan would allow sufficient testing before spending for new cookware. If we do get a correct replacement we will update the review accordingly.UPDATE March 27, 2013
Received the replacement skillet today and we tried it right away. HOORAY the bottom is flat, meets the induction cooktop surface perfectly and cooking was as fast (or faster)than gas and heat distribution was 100%.Gyess the warped/bowed bottom was a fluke.
Updated rating to 4 star as the cooktop is really works well.
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When I placed my order for this package deal I also included the Max Burton 6010 8-Inch Induction Interface Disk. Good thing I did. I had assumed that most of our pots and pans would work with Induction Heat, but looks are deceiving. Almost none of them will.I received my Fagor portable Induction cooker and Interface disk 3 days ago on a Saturday. The packaging was in perfect condition and everything worked right out of the box. My first impression of the unit was it's amazing simplicity in the layout and function of the control panel. No bells and whistles and un-needed frills. Just basic, but adequate form and function. My wife will like this.
Having no prior experience with Induction cookers, I decided to play with the unit to become familiar with the controls, and it's capabilities. My primary reason for this purchase was to ease the annual hassle we have getting our electric range prepared for a very large two piece Clam Steamer. We have a Range hood that provides a shelf for our Microwave oven; but the steamer is too tall to fit under the hood and still be centered over a burner. So each year I have to store away the Microwave and hood until after Clam Bake season; and my wife hates it because she can't use the Microwave.
I was pretty certain my Clam Steamer would work with Induction Heat because it's made of enameled steel, and a magnet sticks to it. My only concern was the size and capacity of the Steamer. The two piece Steamer is 12" wide and 16" high and can hold several quarts of water in the lower boiler. So when the package arrived I decided to do some testing. Here are the tests I performed to compare the Fagor unit against a small burner on our glass top electric range. For all of these tests I used the 6" range burner. I've also noticed the Fagor seems to concentrate its heat within the 4.5" inner circle on its glass top.
Test #1: 4 cups of cold tap water poured into a room temperature copper bottom domed teapot.
In this test I used the Fagor cooker set to power level 10 with the Induction Interface disk between the teapot and the cooker. From start to whistling, took about 12 minutes. The same teapot placed on the electric Range, starting at room temperature with cold tap water from start to whistling took 9 minutes. These results were not unexpected. My copper bottom teapot had to be used with the Interface disk, so some heat energy was lost there. Also, the Ranges burner covered a full 6" instead of the Fagors appearant 4.5" hot spot.
Test #2: 4 cups of cold tap water placed in the Induction ready fry pan that came with the Fagor cooker.
This turned out to be the real indication of how well Induction heating works. Placed on the Fagor, it took 5 minutes to reach what I deemed to be "boiling". On the Range, the same fry pan took about 7.5 minutes to achieve the same perceived level of "boiling". In this case, an Apples to Apples comparison showed that Induction cooking was faster and more energy efficient.
Test #3: This wasn't so much a test as it was a validation of my assumption that I could use the Fagor cooker to heat my Clam Steamer.
I placed the steamer centered over the Fagor cooker and It felt very well supported and showed no indication of any instability. I poured 4 quarts of cold tap water into the lower boiler, and replaced the top steamer section and turned on the Fagor to power level 10. In about 25 minutes the entire steamer was too hot to touch. Using oven mitts I lifted off the top steamer section and looked down into the boiler. The water was in a rolling boil that made me think that once the water was heated to a boil, I could probably turn down the Fagors power setting to a lower level to maintain a less intense boil.
From here on out, my wife and I will have to play with the unit to become familiar with it. I'm not yet ready to run out and buy all new Induction Ready cookware to replace our perfectly good glass and aluminum pots and pans. But as they wear out I'll have a new criteria for picking out replacements. So far I'm very pleased with the performance of this unit.
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