Any Opinions on Induction Cooktops also Downdraft Vents?

[jerlane]

We are in the early stages of a whole house renovation and are working on the kitchen design. We are thinking about putting a cooktop in the island. I've always had electric stoves and generally haven't loved them, but induction is supposed to be a lot better and heat up very quickly which has been my biggest beef with electric. Hard core cooks and chefs always say that you HAVE to have gas. Well, I'm not a chef. I enjoy cooking, but do more grilling than stove top cooking. I like the clean look of class top. It also seems easier to clean than a gas cooktop.

Second question is about downdraft vents. If the cooktop is in the island, we don't want to close things off with an overhead vent. Downdraft would be the alternative. I know they aren't supposed to be as good as overhead, but are there any that work reasonably well?

Thanks in advance!

[XXX-er]

You have to change ALL your pots to be induction able so add that cost to the price of the stove

How hard are they to clean, don't most gas ranges come completely apart real easy so you can thro the parts in the DW?

I like my glass tops even cheap ones work pretty well

[el hefe]

House sitting a place with one right now. Boils a pot of water in about 2 minutes. Very fast with everything. Super easy to clean.

[Gepeto]

Having recently moved and back to gas after 15 years of electric range top. Gas is more of a pain in the ass to keep clean. Ceramic is just one surface although requires more elbow strength to maintain. A quick rake with a razor blade is a good way to start.

Cooking - it's easier with gas. Food generally cooks quicker and temperature is easier to modulate.

No personal experience with downdraft other than occasional use at a friends house. Probably not the best with an oil fire but, they are quieter. Look for jacked CFM

Gas really pays dividends in an oven anyway.

[The Tortoise]

I just bought an induction range. Would never go back to any other electric model. Gas I would consider but in the end I prefer induction.

You have to change ALL your pots to be induction able so add that cost to the price of the stove

Unless all of your current pots are induction compatible (mine were), in which case you don't have to buy a god damned thing.

How hard are they to clean, don't most gas ranges come completely apart real easy so you can thro the parts in the DW?

Easy to clean is the best part of an induction range. Boil overs don't get cooked in, the bottom of the pans stay clean and it's orders of magnitude easier to keep clean vs. a conventional electric top.

Cooking - it's easier with gas. Food generally cooks quicker and temperature is easier to modulate.

Induction is probably faster and easier to modulate than gas.

Other benefit is for long simmering you aren't throwing a ton of heat into the house since it's only in the pan.

Mine has buttons to turn on/adjust. Not a fan and would look out for an induction range with proper dials.

[kalisto]

Uh... unless you're cooking with aluminum pants/pots (which are shit anyway), then you don't need to replace anything.

Steel and cast iron work fine, and better than any other pans you think you need.

Induction is equally as fast as gas for the most part, and doesn't 'waste' any heat. Also it's cool to the touch basically as soon as you turn it off....

You can't flambé as easily on an induction, but that said, you get better pan coverage and heat distribution vs gas. I find if you are really trying to simmer something on low heat, the distribution of the flame is pretty limited.

That said, both are 100 times better than electric, induction takes an edge over gas, but I still love cooking with gas regardless...

Ideal would be 2 gas burners and 2 induction burners.

[Flyoverland Captive]

We had a hybrid (two induction and two electric burners) in our last house; absolutely loved it.

[Cruiser]

Down draft is stupid. I ripped the old one out when we bought our current house and put in a proper vent hood. Mine's in the island too and, while it's true that a big ole stainless hood does obstruct the view across the kitchen, it's totally worth it because the hood actually removes the stank.

[optics]

As with all things, these are just categories and you'll find good and bad performers within each.

Like others said, induction is much more efficient than gas. You aren't throwing heat into the air and hoping the pan catches it, you're transferring heat directly to the pan. For very low and very high heat there's no comparison.

Advantages of gas:

-if you cook directly on the flame, you lose that.
-if you want to flambe you need to light a match...
-it's much better in terms of 'sensory' cooking. You can see/hear how hot the flame is...it's just a different feeling.
-in some markets, it will do better resale-side. If you're worried about that.


Re downdraft: the heirarchy of effectiveness (putting aside specifics of CFM etc, just talking placement) is: overhead venting out>downdraft venting out>overhead recirc>downdraft recirc. Within the downdraft category there are ones that work well and others that don't - direct relationship to cost.

Situationally speaking...

Whether to compromise the function of the overhead for the aesthetic benefits of the downdraft depends on your personal cooking style, and on things like how reasonable it is to open a window when things get smoky. Keeping in mind that the times you're generating heavy smoke/fumes are a small percentage of the time you're using the kitchen...and the hood is there visually, always.

If you want more specifics I am happy to help. I deal with this stuff a few hundred times a year. You can PM me.

[plugboots]

We love our induction. If starting from scratch or a remodel we'd go induction again. Fast and precise. "P" to get to boil, 6 to keep boiling, etc.

[kalisto]

optics nailed it.

[Shredhead]

I love to cook and have both gas and induction, in different places.
I like gas better, but the induction looks really nice, especially in a smaller kitchen.
We had an island with a down draft and cooktop. The down draft didn't work worth a shit and the wife always complained the house would smell like everything I would cook.
We moved it agains the wall with the biggest CFM hood I could find.
I also like my prep area next to the sink and between the range.

We put a microwave, wine and beverage center in the island, with a bunch of storage.

[::: :::]

I concur with downdraft not recommended.


Re induction:
- be careful with boil overs, esp if you're doing candy or sugar (glass will etch)
- I couldn't deglaze my roasting pan because the bottom isn't flat (used the gas grill)
- cast iron bottoms need to be flat for even cooking; some older pieces may need grinding to make them usable
- love the low temp evenness
- love the speed
- care/cleanup is pretty easy

[Flyoverland Captive]

As for vents, overhead is by far superior to downdraft. There are some brands now that make vents with the fan at the exhaust end, which makes them significantly quieter than traditional ones. If I ever remodel, I'm getting one of those; I absolutely despise the white noise of fans.

[Cocximus]

Are there any EMF dangers? Legit or chem trails kinda paranoia?

[Flyoverland Captive]

^^^ Nope; tinfoil hat. Go here:

http://theinductionsite.com/radiation.php

[comish]

Own both induction and gas.

Just replaced our typical electric w/ Induction in Mammoth where our condo does not have gas. Induction has been amazing! 100 times better than regular electric. Most of our pans work, but we feel its benefits so far out way the costs of an extra pan or 2 over regular electric. It heats up fast, boils in 30 seconds, and you can control the heat very precisely and quickly. One thing to research is some Induction models feature fewer steps or levels of heat which could be an issue with some. Easy to clean. Really next to no negatives with induction.

I actually think I like it more than gas, but we don't flambe, but in the end that is a close one. Nothing to report on downdraft as we just have the stupid recirc fans in both kitchens.

[Snow Dog]

I have gas cooktop and a downdraft vent. The downdraft has a remote 1,000 CFM fan and is only slightly better than nothing. I'd like to replace it with an island range hood.

Gas is awesome -- instant control -- but is a pain to clean. Putting the parts in the dishwasher won't do anything; the food bakes onto the enamel.

Induction is the most energy efficient but that's all I know about it.

[Phill]

Down draft vents are worthless.

[SeatownSlackey]

Bump.....

going through this same decision tree myself.

initial plan was to replace 36" gas cooktop and downdraft with a 30" gas cooktop and a 15" induction module. Despite the beau-coup $$ i was looking at the Miele height adjustatble island hood to keep sight lines in our open kitchen, well, open.

Digging in and thinking i may be better served by the inverse ie predominately induction cooktop like this 30" and just a 15" gas burner module

Anyone else made the switch from mostly gas cooking to induction? my grill is right outside our kitchen on the deck anything high heat/searing goes there so i dont think i'll miss the gas inside and will still have the one burner if i do.

Also the vent hood is going to be an issue with the alignment of my upstairs floor joists. To add a hood will require a very long run and moving can lights out of the that particular joist bay so i'm tempted to say Fuck it and go with this downdraft which with its 18" rise and when paired with a >1200cfm remote blower should work far better than our existing 500 cfm that only raises 10". Anyone actually had decent luck with a newer and more powerful downdraft?

[Core Shot]

Downdraft sucks

Induction rocks. Once you change pans, it’s almost like gas unlike other electrics

But yeah, island hoods suck for aesthetics
If you get downdraft ones that lift up, they work better. If they don’t lift, they don’t work
The increased cfm should help

[Vt-Freeheel]

Where is the 1200cfm replacement air coming from? Might get decent results with the high intake on the back burners, but that kind of airflow is crazy high.

You can use faux can lights to keep your lighting as is, like this or similar. -Canless-LED-Recessed-Kit

[Cruiser]

Down draft is appreciably less good than a hood, even at similar cfm levels. That said, even a good hood with a good blower and plenty of makeup air is still nowhere near as good as a real restaurant style hood in terms of evacuating all the cooking smells.

[tgapp]

I love induction cooktops. Not quite the same aesthetic as gas, but very similar response times when cooking, they're super easy to clean (much easier than standard ceramic cooktops because they never get super hot), and you can get replicable results (eg, there's no "level 7 heat" on a gas cooktop, but there is on an induction). Overall I would highly recommend induction.

[SeatownSlackey]

Where is the 1200cfm replacement air coming from? Might get decent results with the high intake on the back burners, but that kind of airflow is crazy high.

You can use faux can lights to keep your lighting as is, like this or similar. -Canless-LED-Recessed-Kit

i'll prob add a MUA damper for code but realistically will often just open my kitchen window <4' away from my cooktop. But wouldn't want to get dinged by a building inspector if we ever sold and its way easier to add during reno.

and agreed on CFMs 1200 is essentially moving the same amount of air as a 2 ton furnace/air handler. probably over compensating for inefficiency of downdraft.

thanks for the light link. was really hoping to avoid much if any sheetrock work but if i end up running a new exhaust vent those would be very handy.