Good news everyone!
Its good to know that research has shown gas cooktops cause direct health problems, encouraging their replacement with electric, out of self interest.
Anyway, what's your preference & why?
It seems the cost difference is significantly more for induction, as well as needing to spend on suitable cookware.
Ceramic is rubbish, induction is amazing. Recently swapped our gas out for induction and I had forgotten just how good it is. You won't regret it.
What works best as a replacement for a wok, on induction cooktops? Would a heavy based broad deep frypan be a suitable substitute?
X-posted my reply with yours. You can get woks made for induction which have a flatter heavier base. Alternatively there are electric woks (similar to the 1970s version), or if you have $$$s in the budget there's a bowl-shaped wok cooktop ($6k plus installation and then you still need a second cooktop for other flat pots)
You can get flat bottomed woks, but you have to learn how to toss using instruments rather than wok itself because it loses heat as soon as you lift more than an inch or so off the surface. Wok cooking is probably the only pain point I've encountered since switching to induction. Everything else can be relearned, and the energy savings alone makes it a no brainer, especially if you have solar PV.
If you have any doubts at all get a plug in induction for $50 (I have the Aldi one, IKEA also v. popular). I used to love gas cooking too, for reasons that were crap as it turned out. Had the Aldi plug in for almost a year, I can only remember 2 occasions the gas cooktop was used since (a need for additional simultaneously cooked things rather than a preference for gas). The first time I boiled a pot of water I was converted!
I've had to get a new frying pan and wok (again both aldi total $75) but all the Cuisinart and Arcosteel pots I already have are working fine.
Used ceramic in a rental previously and the temperature control you can get with induction is so much better it doesn't even compare. If WA ever again has any tradies available, I can't wait to get a proper induction cooktop wired up.
Kmart too
A minor for some is that the magnetic field of induction cooktops can interfere with heart pacemakers.
May not be an issue for you if you are as heartless as you say though…..😁
It may be worth some strategic inaction on your part. In order to meet current climate targets, pretty strong action is needed ( you can thank your conservative mates for this..) My theory (which I have which is mine) is that changing home gas appliances to electric will attract some rebates. My local council has some already. So give it another 12 months and see.
In the meantime, if you are concerned about internal leakage (the gas appliances, not you) you can check your meter a few times to look for any change overnight before gas use starts. Look for a bees d@cks difference…..
Induction beats ceramic in so many ways but make sure you don’t need a upgrade to your wiring to run it.
I would never cook with anything other than gas if i had a choice.
Why?
Because gas is awesome. I've been impressed with the rapid heating of inductions though.
When the climate nazis win and all fuel is banned I'd be ok with a switch to induction. But by then there won't be any electricity either.
Many good reasons to go green. It's the way forward to a better more advanced world. Why even put that para in about the politics?? But yes, i don't think your cooking choice will do much to the environment, plenty of greenies have camp fires and cook with gas too. Personally there is no choice, so so so much better cooking on induction stoves! Especially if you tend to burn or over boil things, they tend to shut off and not cause a hard to clean mess. By far easier to cook with and by far easier to clean!!
Many good reasons to go green
Bruh…
The only green I want related to my cooking are the vegetables.
I was gas all the way. Until we bought a new house with a new Bosch induction cooktop. I'll never go back.
I can boil 4L of water in a saucepan in 90 seconds or less with induction
Genuine question, is this hyperbole or do you have a really powerful induction?
To heat 4L of water from, say 20C to 90C (starts to boil) requires 4kg times 4.18 kJ/kg/C times 70C = 1170kJ of energy, which delivered over 90 seconds equates to 13000 Joules per second, or a power of 13kW. On a 240v circuit, that's 54 amps.
His house could be on Mt Everest
If they're starting with water from the hot tap at 50C that'd bring it down to 30A which lines up with the 32A someone else mentioned
The appliance power rating is shared between all the induction elements. The highest power rating for a single induction element is 3200W.
The highest power rating for a single induction element is 3200W.
For every induction cooktop ever made?
I use the hot water from the tap.
I'll time it next time.
You shouldn't drink or cook with hot water from the the tap.
Use cold water and boil it on the stove
https://www.denverwater.org/tap/psa-dont-drink-or-cook-with-…
@spaceflight: I wouldn't do it, but if you had instant gas hot water and/or a stainless steel tank HWS in a house with copper or plastic pipes, I'd say you'll be fine.
Anyway, I have induction so it's pretty quick to boil from the cold water tap.
if you had instant gas hot water and/or a stainless steel tank HWS in a house with copper or plastic pipes, I'd say you'll be fine.
You would still be wrong.
Hot water can still dissolve chemicals from plastic pipes, and metals in your hot water heater.
Plus your tapware which could contain lead.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/lead-in-drinking-water-pus…
@spaceflight: That's why I mentioned stainless steel tank HWS.
Tapware that contains lead is going to contaminate both hot and cold water.
That's why I mentioned stainless steel tank HWS.
So the stainless steel is the only thing the water comes into contact with before it comes out of the tap?
You're forgetting about all of the fittings, pipework etc that are not stainless steel.
Tapware that contains lead is going to contaminate both hot and cold water.
The solubility of lead in hot water is much higher compared to cold water (pure lead is insoluble in 25 degree water)
I'm not certain of your numbers, but I do know my most powerful burner on my Bosch is 5.5kW.
While mine is fast, it's no where near 4L/90secs fast (from Cold tap)
I'll time it next time if anyone is interested.
5.5kW means dumping 5500Joules of energy each second.
1kg of water requires about 4200J of energy to heat up by 1 degree C
So the temperature of 1L of water should increase by 5500J/4200J kg^-1 C^-1 * 1kg = 1.3 degrees per second.
4L of water would have a temperature increase of 0.32 degrees per second
This is assuming zero heat loss (unrealistic), but I would actually be interested how close calculations are from the real world
@Che0063: Also need to factor in heating of the pot too.
I will definitely report back to you.
I've got a very accurate thermometer too (Thermapen).
Make sure you get an induction unit with timer controls. Makes life much easier.
To those who upgraded to induction from gas: how much did the installation cost?
I paid $1,400 to get a 20A circuit for an electric oven and a 32A circuit for the induction cooktop. All new wiring in a difficult house with no access under the floor or through the ceiling (we had conduit run outside the house). That price also includes some new power outlets in the kitchen.
I bought the induction cooktop secondhand and it turned out to be a lemon, so I ended up paying $132 to have a new one installed.
So in my case $1,400 for all the new circuitry or $132 had have it all already been there.
About $90 for an Ikea induction portable, put a board over my gas cooktop and haven't looked back…
I recently replaced all the gas appliances so we could disconnect gas from our property entirely ($345 per year saved in daily charge alone).
I can highly recommend getting a three-burner induction stovetop so you have one for big pans and two for small pans. We never used 4 burners at a time so it was a no brainier. Using a pan bigger than the induction coil can damage your pans, so be sure to measure your cookware and check the size of your induction coils before buying.
For stir fries, we use a wok burner outside next to the barbecue, hooked up to a gas bottle. Works great and cooks a better stir fry than our gas cooktop ever could.
Go for it. You won’t regret it.
What did you do for hot water?
Use the government incentives to get a heat pump installed. Out of pocket expense was $1,100. It’s a 280L Midea one. I have no idea if it’s going to last, but even if it only lasts the 5-year warranty period, it’ll still have cost me less compared to just the gas daily charge. So fingers crossed.
I'm interested in induction, but how do you cook with a wok on it?
Maybe something like this? https://www.winnings.com.au/p/miele-38cm-induction-wok-cookt…
Buy a two handled stainless steel wok.
What about the shape? Wouldn't cooking be uneven?
Buy an induction wok with a flat bottom
Thx, at that price i bought 5
Gas.
Any other answer is wrong
Why is that?
Are you also one of those Americans who swears by a stove burner over an electric kettle too?
I went back to a gas cooker recently and nearly died from old age with the time it took to boil water. Induction is so much faster and safer.
Induction.
Induction so much better
Replaced gas hob to induction in December couldn’t be happier. Oh conservative voter here btw, great bullshit generalisation!
I've lived in houses with all 3 types (gas, ceramic, induction), within the last two years. I would rate them 1. Induction, 2. Gas, 3 Ceramic.
Induction is so quick to heat up.
Just in time for the forum as I am in hunting for an induction lately.
1) Which induction brand (65cm) would you recommend for price range between $1000-$1500?
At first I get to know Whirlpool product from the deal below, it is selling at $1k odd in eBat which is ok for the price but wondering if this is a good model knowing it's probably outdated model.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/524425.
2) I noticed that induction makes some loud funny noises (buzzing or clicking?) which I understand it's because it's the way induction and cooking metals interact, but is it really loud? Ceramic doesn't make any
IKEA is great. See if can find an induction demo. Miele showrooms usually have demos - too expensive for me, but great to see what types of features you might want in action.
The more settings the greater your control. Eg. 1-20 instead of 1-9. You’ll soon learn what setting to use for what, they are really precise. Edge protection is a nice thing. Being able to share one long pan over two burners is another option. Ours has it but never used it.
Noise isn’t an issue with IKEA Smaklig - only ever hear it at full power, or if the bottom of your pot is wet or dirty. Never as loud as the exhaust fan though. Like Matt P above says about the controls also. Can you read them easily, are they where yo can easily keep them clean?
Next time I’ll look for a bigger range of settings than 1-9, but can always manage by shifting to one of smaller/bigger coils
I’m leaning onto getting ikea Hogklassig (59cm) but I noticed that the cutout on our ceramic was 59cm but looking at the actual cutout underneath it is about 2cm longer on both sides (63cm?). I think the previous builder had cut it wide just in case. I really like this IKEA one, shame.
Google the IKEA installation info. Talk to an installer. It may not be a practical issue that can’t be easily overcome. Battens can be installed (cheap, cheap - really) to reduce the opening size. Any material. Should be less than an hour’s labour plus some inexpensive materials to get your opening to the right size.
We don’t imagine any of the 600mm cooktops are much different in their specs.
@bbinc: Thanks. Since the Ikea cooktop is smaller than the actual cutout it'll fall. If battens are used they will be exposed on the cooking area so it is not ideal. I may go for a one size larger (78cm) but this is too big for my like.. sigh.
Is this even a question? There is no comparison. Induction ftw. Worth every cent
Even if it is twice the price of ceramic, it is infinitely better.
Induction > Ceramic, any time.
That said, I got myself a gas jet burner for stir fries. My portable induction cook top wasn't cutting it.
Anyone ever seen a half induction half ceramic cooktop? I am looking for one and the only thing I could find was the only one from China and I have to import here which is a big risk.
Yes they exist, they are called a hybrid cooktop.
Fisher and Paykel make them
Use Induction at home but nothing really beats food cooked over good old fire. The flavour is just not the same.
over good old fire?
can't compare an open flame or charcoal BBQ to cooking on a pan.
We had our gas cooktop replaced 8 years ago with an induction one from Ikea when we converted our house to all electric and got rid of gas completely.
I love the temperature precision and speed of induction cooking. The only cookware item we had an issue with was our old wok, which was too rounded at the bottom to sit and heat properly on the element, so we changed to a flat bottom one and all is great.
Hi @Ozstache, did you have gas central heating before hand? Was wondering if you did what did you replace it with, split systems (starting to look at removing our gas central heating so interested in your route)
Yes we had ducted gas heating before and replaced it with 3 split ACs. We also went for heat pump hot water. With solar panels installed too, our annual energy bill dropped from $3600 to $1000 per year and it has taken just over 7 years for the changes to pay for themselves.
super thanks for the information @Ozstache, apart from the cost (or savings) your happy with the replacements?
I grew up in a household with a gas stove, and always thought it was great. Living out we are using a ceramic cook top, have yet to try an induction. But one of the things I think I dislike about these flat based cook tops is things sliding around easily, it would be great if they had some models where it was like gas tops where it can be a cylindrical ring so it can have some kind of surface to kind of lay onto.
Has anyone got any idea about the electricity usage for induction for a 1-person (or even 2-person) household?
I have a gas stove at the moment and pay about $25/qt
At today's rates electricity will always be cheaper than gas.
The initial cost of the induction system may be higher depending how you want to switch.
You an easily buy $99 portable from Ikea (or even cheaper versions on ebay/aliexpress etc.) plus cost of cookware depending on what you already have.
Gas cooktop bogey man is based on one US study. An unfair comparison to Australia.It is being pushed by vested interests. Energy,manufacturers,paid to comment and NFP pseudo asthma 'experts'. Those groups are NOT aligned with the AMA et al.
Basically exposure to daily traffic fumes will do as much 'alleged' harm'. A few hours of prescribed burn smoke or bushfire smoke does far more harm by way of carcinogenic particles. The same NFP group pushing the 'gas is bad' position ( including it seems a 'willing ABC ) says nothing about the greater risks of other respiratory contaminants. That's how genuine they are(not).
Climate change and smoke are a greater risk . Here is one of many takes on the single (now Emperors New Clothes status) study>
https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/gas-stoves-asthma-paper…
(Yes we need to transition to renewables. Sensibly and as fast as we safely can. There's lots of issues at play too, regarding the transition and running costs for the more vulnerable. The impact of dropping one tech for another and what that waste stream looks like,physically and it's impacts on carbon equation. )
Mate this is OzBargain. We don’t deal in boogey men, only bargains.
Gas supply charge $1.08/day
IKEA portable induction hob $69
Pots and pans already work.
90% of energy from the induction transfers in to the pan. Gas it’s closer to 30%, ceramic 20%
Paid for itself in two months = bargain.
OK but cant I try to avoid smoke and car fumes too?
Available in Alkimos for DeltaPositionReady ?
It's probably been said several times already, but induction is close to instant heat like gas. Also my mother had a ceramic stovetop and it was a pain in the neck. Apparently you must always have something on the hotplate before turning it on or it blows up!?
And in case someone says you need to change all your cookware for an induction…
a) Most people are going to change cookware a few times in their lives anyway. So changing it a bit sooner is no big deal, especially after offsetting the cost the instant-on heat saving (over traditional hotplates).
b) You don't need to update cookware anyway if you really don't want to. Round 'go-between' pieces are available (or cut one yourself from a sheet of steel using an angle grinder) that sit on top. The induction heats that, and it transfers heat to the non-magnetic cookware you sit on top.
I'd get induction every time. Just make sure the dials have a full temperature range. i.e. Cheap ones skip steps. So you might want to simmer something, but on one setting it's doing nothing, and on the next setting up it's too high. You can do things to solve it like move the pan most of the way off the hotplate, but it's still best to get a fully adjustable range without skips.
Everyone still seems to jump to the fact you need special pots and pans for induction however in my experience it's pretty difficult these days to buy something NOT suitable for induction. Even Kmart stuff works with induction.
Induction is about 100x better than any other electric stove but be aware you still want a good quality induction stove.
I was going to put induction in my new kitchen but swapped for gas when I realised that F&P actually made a nice looking unit.
Even with gas prices doing what they are the payback would never actually happen with induction as the upfront was 200% more for their equivalent unit.
The other point which isn't mentioned all that often is that induction has a limited life as the glass top will fail and need replacing at significant cost.
"induction has a limited life as the glass top will fail and need replacing at significant cost."
limited life…will fail.. lol where's the evidence of this?
Is there any grants to replace my gas stove top. Only built the house a few years ago now thinking about replacing it given the latest research
Grants for what?
Why do people expect a handout?
Induction also causes health issues. People who have a pacemaker can't use them.
A lot of people mentioning the portable induction plugins … I was tempted to buy one to try and also have as a backup in case of a gas outage or if it's cheaper to cook with it. But I also remember plenty of older comments in the deals that plugins were very hit and miss in how well they control heat, so I haven't ended up getting one.
Are they all a lot better now?
The Breville professional series are quite excellent and are to the degree, quite accurate.
False claim right off the bat.
Cooking food indoors is shown to cause health problems due to inadequate ventilation.
Burning gas is not the main cause of the issue and is being demonised.
In Australia we have fairly good standards for extraction systems or venting to roof spaces and outdoors.
I'd go gas first or induction.
The others are inferior for cooking.
Edit: an overstated claim, instead of false.
Yes that's right. "If" there is any issue, ventilation is the issue.
If people spent a few bucks on that, they could keep their gas gear. I'm amazed not a single body pushing this myth, has provided the data of leaking methane via gas cooktops in Australia.
"Science" is too hard , so alarmism fills the gaps. This is what catastrophising looks like.
Spending thousands when you don't need to isn't a bargain. Spending money you can't afford, based on a vested interest campaign, just pushes the vulnerable closer to the edge.Rebates cost other tax payers, so it needs to stack up.
There's probably worse paint, glue and plastic fumes in peoples homes than any risk from gas.
People should worry when a proper (any) Australian study is done based on our appliances /homes. Go induction by all means, but the study claims getting kicked around the newsiverse, are the last reasons to do it.
Love this argument. 'You are poisoning yourself with all these other chemicals so might as well pile on!'
No I'm calling out the logic of 'piling on' a part foreign study, extrapolated to = everything everywhere, and a few 'altruists (read opportunists) cashing in. Then it becomes folk lore at best. Trump and his Brethren did this with his Ivermectin myth.
How can it be false when you put a CO2 meter next to a burning stove and it jumps even if you have extraction system.
Anything that burns creates harmful gases which can easily be avoided by not burning and using alternatives…
Im not a great cook so ceramic is fine by me. If I burn it it wasnt because the cooktops heat control was poor
Ceramic will take longer to heat up/cool down and you can't get it anywhere as hot as induction.
You'll cook faster and better with induction- searing meat instead of stewing.
I can burn meats just on a cooktop. Just let it heat up for a minute or two first :D
haha but burning isn't the same as searing.
Even a 15 socket should always be a dedicate circuit. You sure there was no cooktop breaker/fuse??