Hey Rudge, and the other cooking freaks.

[Old-Polack]

I just bought one of these portable counter top induction cookers from Amazon, and first usage was with my pressure pot to cook a pork roast.



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045QEPYM/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M3T1_SC_dp_1

This is a truly slick device. It took only three minutes to pop the sealing valves, then another minute or so to set the rocker going, with the heat setting at 410 degrees, then 40 minutes to finish cooking at 250 degree setting. The timer shut the unit off at the precise set time, and the top was cool to the touch within a minute of removing the pot to a trivet.

I ordered it on Dec. 2, and took the free shipping option that says delivery will be between 5 and 12 days. It arrived in 3 days, so surprised me when it showed up yesterday.

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

[jaydot]

nice to see you back, o-p.  hope you had a nice holiday.

that looks an intriguing bit of kit.  i'm still using fire in the form of gas, not that i do much cooking as i have a nuker sitting on the other side of the kitchen.  presumably for non-ferrous pots one would need the interface disk?

[µT6]

very nice!

is it a power hungry device?

[Old-Polack]

nice to see you back, o-p.  hope you had a nice holiday.

that looks an intriguing bit of kit.  i'm still using fire in the form of gas, not that i do much cooking as i have a nuker sitting on the other side of the kitchen.  presumably for non-ferrous pots one would need the interface disk?

Yes. The induction cooker only heats the pot, not the surface of the unit itself. The interface disk serves the same purpose as the magnetic insert in induction designed cookware, but is portable between all units lacking the same.

very nice!

is it a power hungry device?

No. According to all the literature I find, the induction units offer 83-84% energy efficiency, as opposed to 30-35% efficiency with gas, and a max of 70% for high end regular electric stoves. At full power this unit will cost about US $0.12 per hour to run, but that figure is also depending on locale area energy prices. For most normal cooking it will be half that or less. Because the heat goes directly to the pan with no waste heat to the surrounding area, it's a little tricky to get used to lower settings for cooking the same foods. On my ceramic top electric stove I brown meat at the medium high (360 degree) setting. With the induction unit, even in an oiled pan, the meat will stick to the surface in less than a minute at that setting.

I will need to do more experimenting, as I've only cooked the one meal so far, but I suspect a temperature setting of about 250 will be sufficient for browning meat with the induction unit. That may also vary when using cast iron, as opposed to the stainless pot I used yesterday. We'll see.

[Rudge]

...

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

This looks awesome to me.

I don't know why the "magnetic insert disk" is a (possible) requirement.

Can you elaborate?

[YouCanToo]

...

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

This looks awesome to me.

I don't know why the "magnetic insert disk" is a (possible) requirement.

Can you elaborate?

Because induction heaters only work with ferrous metals. Therefore it will not work with aluminum (pure), glass or ceramics.

[Rudge]

...

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

This looks awesome to me.

I don't know why the "magnetic insert disk" is a (possible) requirement.

Can you elaborate?

Because induction heaters only work with ferrous metals. Therefore it will not work with aluminum (pure), glass or ceramics.

Very interesting.

I have never used an "induction heater".

I Know nothing about how they work. 

[Old-Polack]

...

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

This looks awesome to me.

I don't know why the "magnetic insert disk" is a (possible) requirement.

Can you elaborate?

Because induction heaters only work with ferrous metals. Therefore it will not work with aluminum (pure), glass or ceramics.

Precisely. Some aluminum cookware does contain a magnetic ferrous core imbedded in the thick bottom, for just this reason. Touch a small magnet to the bottom of the aluminum pressure pot. If it sticks, it will work with an induction cooker. If it does not stick, an interface disk can be used, though it won't have the full efficiency that an embedded disk would produce.

The interface disk looks like this;



and its use is shown in the smaller images you see scrolling down this page.

http://www.amazon.com/Burton-6200-1800-Watt-Induction-Cooktop/dp/B0037Z7HQK/ref=sr_1_3?s=appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1354866769&sr=1-3&keywords=Induction+cookers

Your aluminum pressure pot doesn't mention being induction compatible.

http://www.amazon.com/NEW-6-Quart-Aluminum-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B009M3NFJE/ref=sr_1_6?s=appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1354867251&sr=1-6&keywords=presto+pressure+cooker

The stainless version has pictures showing it being used with an induction cooker, and says it is ideal for use on regular, smooth-top and induction ranges.



http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01362-6-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B00006ISG6/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in

Note that the price of the stainless version is presently lower than the aluminum version. Ain't that a kick where it hurts most? 

[Neal ManBear]

I want one! --- Better start saving my pennies.      

[Rudge]

...

Rudge: I know you got the aluminum pressure pot, so I don't know if it will work with that. It will if the pot has a magnetic insert disk on the bottom. My pot is stainless steel, and does have the magnetic bottom insert. I also have a lot of cast iron cookware, both plain and enameled, so I have a good selection that will work with this unit.

This is my first experience with induction cooking, and I can honestly say I was impressed. This is definitely not your momma's old hot plate.

This looks awesome to me.

I don't know why the "magnetic insert disk" is a (possible) requirement.

Can you elaborate?

Because induction heaters only work with ferrous metals. Therefore it will not work with aluminum (pure), glass or ceramics.

Precisely. Some aluminum cookware does contain a magnetic ferrous core imbedded in the thick bottom, for just this reason. Touch a small magnet to the bottom of the aluminum pressure pot. If it sticks, it will work with an induction cooker. If it does not stick, an interface disk can be used, though it won't have the full efficiency that an embedded disk would produce.

The interface disk looks like this;



and its use is shown in the smaller images you see scrolling down this page.

http://www.amazon.com/Burton-6200-1800-Watt-Induction-Cooktop/dp/B0037Z7HQK/ref=sr_1_3?s=appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1354866769&sr=1-3&keywords=Induction+cookers

Your aluminum pressure pot doesn't mention being induction compatible.

http://www.amazon.com/NEW-6-Quart-Aluminum-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B009M3NFJE/ref=sr_1_6?s=appliances&ie=UTF8&qid=1354867251&sr=1-6&keywords=presto+pressure+cooker

The stainless version has pictures showing it being used with an induction cooker, and says it is ideal for use on regular, smooth-top and induction ranges.



http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01362-6-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B00006ISG6/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in

Note that the price of the stainless version is presently lower than the aluminum version. Ain't that a kick where it hurts most? 

I will have to check to see if my cooker is magnetic.

One of the other draw backs to my aluminum cooker is that it "stains".

If you look into my cooker you would say "it is not clean" but it IS and still, it looks like it is not. 

[Old-Polack]

I will have to check to see if my cooker is magnetic.

One of the other draw backs to my aluminum cooker is that it "stains".

If you look into my cooker you would say "it is not clean" but it IS and still, it looks like it is not.  

I know what that is like because I had an electric aluminum pressure pot for a while, courtesy of an inheritance of cookware from my mother in law after her death. I only used it a few times before the element died. (it was old when I got it) It came pre stained from her usage and nothing would remove the stains.

I always preferred the stove top stainless unit, but the electric did have the advantage of being able to be used on any free counter space, a table, or out on the patio during cookouts. The induction unit now brings that portability to the stainless unit.

[Bald Brick]

In the 'seventies I saw a television programme about induction burners and stoves. As my cousin was a director at a company producing burners and stoves I immediately asked him about when they were going to start selling induction ones. He looked at me as if I were slightly insane.

"Yes, they are better than ordinary electric stoves", he admitted. "But who's going to buy them? Do you know what they'd cost?"

It seems that the prices have gone down since then, and I can't imagine anybody who wouldn't want a portable burner like O-P's.

[µT6]

yes, i remember a time when this technology costs 10 times more than anything available

seeing how much op invested i want one too 

[jaydot]

i can't think of anyone i know who still uses aluminium pots.  it was shown some years ago that some foodstuffs will react with the aluminium to leach small amounts into the food and, as we know from the camelford spill, that ain't good for health.  for a simple demonstration, cook an acid food, such as rhubarb in an aluminium pot and see how shiny it is where the rhubarb made contact.

it's possible that the same thing can happen with ferrous (iron) pots, but as that element is a part of our structure, that should be fine.

[pags]

i can't think of anyone i know who still uses aluminium pots.  it was shown some years ago that some foodstuffs will react with the aluminium to leach small amounts into the food and, as we know from the camelford spill, that ain't good for health.  for a simple demonstration, cook an acid food, such as rhubarb in an aluminium pot and see how shiny it is where the rhubarb made contact.

it's possible that the same thing can happen with ferrous (iron) pots, but as that element is a part of our structure, that should be fine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_poisoning
hmmm...I wonder how much leaches into the food...