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Comment by jsperson | Hacker News Reader

If you ever get a chance, try an induction stove. We got one because the size of the gas line into our house was marginal for running heater, hot water, and a couple of fireplaces concurrently. I just didn't want to futz with potential problems. It turned out to be a great decision. They are remarkably safe. The surface only gets hot from heat from the pan so it doesn't bake stuff on like electric/gas. It boils water just as fast as gas and is quite responsive. The only downside is that the pans must be ferrous, but that has turned out to not be too big of a deal. Also the oven is electric, which in my opinion is actually better than gas - the broiler works better in particular.

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I've used induction stoves at friends' places and at AirBnBs and I've always hated them. Possibly I just need to spend more time with one to learn it. They're super fast at boiling water, yes, but whenever I've frying stuff it seems extremely picky about alignment and eventually starts beeping at me and shutting off. I also had lots of difficulty picking a perfect power level, which is trivial with gas. The granularity in the digital controls seems too poor, or it has something to do with the thermostat not having direct contact like it does in an old electric stove?

The biggest issue though is every IH stove I've used has had touch controls on the top glass panel which means if you have any spills or overflow, you can't even turn it off.

Maybe I don’t cook enough, but your biggest issue is one I never face. A) I very rarely have any spills, and B) when I do, they’re never so much that they cover the controls (which are at front and center of stove, and not by the burners themselves, which is the way mast are designed).

Just seems like an odd issue for it to be your “biggest” turnoff from induction.

We love our induction stoves, but definitely have had issues finding ones that have good controls. A lot of the cheap units don't have much granularity in heat settings, but the higher end ones have gas-like, nearly continuous options. All of them, high and low end, seem to be suffering (like cars) from some of the modern UX theory that if something can possibly be a touch screen it should be.

We've settled for a unit that has physical, clickable, tactile buttons to control the temperature and a numeric readout that clearly states the current temp and all controls on the side, away from spills. I'd love to find an induction stove with a plan old knob for each hob though.

I recently switched to an induction range and so far I've considered it a downgrade from gas (maybe that will change over time).

For some reason I get a buzzing sound when the stove applies current (minor).

It does have the instant heat that gas does, but what I've noticed is it doesn't have the visual feedback. When cooking with gas, it's easy to tell how much you've turned the heat up or down, just look at the flame.

I'll probably get used to it over time, but I miss gas at this point in time.

Those are accurate and reasonable criticisms. I've gotten used to all that over time. I'm not a sophisticated cook by any means so my need for feedback is not boiling something over (setting of 6.5 or so does the job for mac and cheese after it's boiling). I am the family safety officer though. Love the fact that it's not a super hot surface and that I won't be running across the house after smelling gas - an actual event that could have made for a bad Thanksgiving. I'm also the cleanup guy. After three years and almost no scrubbing the surface still looks new.

There you go. I may just be an old crank who doesn't like change.

I did put up with electric resistive for a long time before switching to gas and I dealt with it just fine. I'm only 1 month into inductive so let's see how things go. In the grand scheme of things I'm pretty sure I've survive. :)

> I've noticed is it doesn't have the visual feedback

Does it not have a power/intensity knob or setting that’s displayed? Even with gas ranges that’s what is used because the flame is blocked by the pot.

I can glance under the pot to see the flame.

On my induction stove, 5 is medium and 6 is boiling. Not linear at all.

I suspect that's a problem specific to your stove model.

As you visit friend's places, see if they have different brands of inductive stovetop, and try them out if they do.

Also maybe try a pot with a thicker ferrous base?

I switched ~8 years ago and wouldn't go back to gas. No buzzing sound although if you listen very carefully there is a faint 'thrum' when it is active.

Visual feedback is from a number (1..9) displayed per induction ring. There is also a per-hob 'h' when it is off but still considered hot. When you activate a hob you can start it at strength 4 (of 9) or 9 (full-on). Or 1 and keep pressing up or down buttons to the setting you want. I'm used to this now.

Cleanability is awesome. Because the whole surface is flat, unused rings can also be used as a heat-proof surface when you have lots of hot pans that would scorch a normal work-surface. I think it keep things warm (without sticking) better than gas because the heat is better distributed over the whole bottom of a pan.

Main downside is that it is useless in a power-cut.

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