Do a search for Induction gas, You will find quite a long thread about same.
The post you saw about spilling water and the unit shutting off, was about an Elux Icon Induction cooktop that had the stainless trim between the touch panel and the rest of the cooktop. I have that one and never had a problem, alto I haven't had any boil overs. I usta kick on the boost to boil water, but then you gotta remember to turn it down, after having the unit for about a year now,I quit doing that, as even at half power it heats water very quickly, and I dont hafta remember to turn it down.
The good news is that the new Elux got rid of that stainless steel strip, so I doubt you will have any problems. I dont recall seeing any other posts about that kind of problem, alto some of the units (sorry, cant recalls which) actually have sensors on them that detect boil overs, but as far as I know, you wipe it up and then turn it right back on.

I wont bother to post all the good things about induction, except to say, "We sure love it" unless you need more info after you read the posts I suggested.

Good Luck!

Gary

I've had the GE 30" induction since Dec. 2007 and I will never cook on anything else! It's fast, everybit as responsive as Gas, safer, cooler, more energy efficient, and 1000 times easier to clean!

If you have a boil over, just pick up the pan and wipe it clean - as the top isn't all that hot. The top is only as hot as the heat it gets from the pan.... So because you can clean up as you spill/splatter - after clean up is a breeze - no cooked on messes, no gas grills to clean around, etc. I just wipe like the counter and then buff dry with a microfiber - looks brand new after 3 years.

It truly is my favorite and most maintenance free appliance in the kitchen! And for that alone I will never go back...and it cooks great, too. There's nothing NOT to like about induction!

Gary - Thanks - yes, I read the l-o-n-g post started in '07 about induction vs gas - very informative. I'm wondering if some of those that commented 3 years ago had any new info to provide - especially those that were still in the planning stage.

dl - our decision is getting harder! I'm beginning to be a believer in induction. Our designer has an 8' cooking station planned - all stainless with 2 single ovens under counter on each side of our planned gas rangetop. Stainless steel open shelving above the ovens, as well as SS drawers below the cooktop and SS backsplash with a swirl design. I'm now wondering how the black top will look on that SS counter! in lieu of the rangetop? (Yes, lots of SS, but the rest of kitchen has dark walnut cabinets - he promises the balance will work!)

Another question - from reading, I'm wondering if there is a problem using all 4 or 5 elements at the same time? Any help there?

We have had our unit for just over six months now. It is easy to keep clean, we often use it as temp counter space, it does make the kitchen cooler, it is fun to push buttons versus playing and bending down to see a a gas flame, and the response time is incredible when adjusting it. I am getting spoiled because I am wondering why the water isn't boiling after a few minutes! LOL!

The boilover feature isn't as sensitive as you might think. Our Bosch can have several tbs of water on it and not shut off. Luckily it is easy to clean. The "hot" sensor afterwards, I can often touch the burner because it is cooling that fast.

I would look at other brands to make sure before buying tho.

Units that use power sharing are restricted to how much power a pair of hobs can put out at the same time. Lets say the power is limited to '20' for the pair. With most units, each hob has a setting of 0 to 10 with an additional 'power boost' setting allowing something higher than 10 for a short period. Let's say that the boost allows a hob to go to '15'. So let's say you're merrily cooking along at '10' on both hobs, burning things like crazy (which you will if it is set that high). You then decide, "hey, there's not enough smoke in here!" so you set the power boost on one hob. This one will go to 15 and the other will go to 5 keeping the combined power at '20'.

Some units have power sharing. Some don't. If you look on the Induction Site, they usually list this feature. Else you can look at the power coming in (Volts x Amp rating) and compare it to the sum of all the hob power ratings. If the hob power is greater, then it uses power sharing.

I have cooked on gas and electric, and now induction. Honestly, I like it just as much as I ever liked gas. The responsiveness is awesome, and the speed is everything I'd hoped it would be. I, too, worried about being able to use all the hobs at once and it has not yet been an issue. I'm fining that once I get things up to temperature, middle to low powers are more than sufficient to keep them where I want them.
I have the Miele, BTW and so far (about a month) I love it.
Cj

The only cooktop I've ever had a problem with was the gas one which came with my house. It looked fine, but was way underpowered and annoying. I've had no problem with electric coil, LP, or NG in prior kitchens. I never had the electric or gas under glass though. When I came to GW, before induction was so widely shown in the U.S., I was sure I was getting a Wolf rangetop. Once I learned about induction here, and researched it with engineers and professional cooks, I tried a portable unit for myself. I changed my plans around to get induction for my power unit, and a two burner Wolf cooktop (a lot more powerful than the old cooktop, but not the oomph of a rangetop).

With both pleasurable gas and good induction available, I really don't choose gas for most tasks. On a purely emotional basis, I can't seem to want to grill tortillas on the induction and use the gas, but I saute on the induction. Most built-in units nowadays allow you to lift the pans for a few seconds, so the jumping part isn't the kind of problem that people reported a few years ago, where the sensor would cut off the power when a pan is lifted. Mine flashes a little, but gives more than enough time before it decides you've walked off and forgotten it. And even when it does feel abandoned and sulk, if you rush right back and turn it on, it returns to the setting it was on.

If you're depending on the heat from the burner making you warm in a kitchen that is underheated in cold weather you need gas. There are some compromises to be made with a wok on induction without a dedicated bowl shaped unit that some people don't want to make. They get a blast furnace gas wok burner too. I'm not good with a wok so not a judge, but if one is willing to adapt to the tools, the Le Creuset cast iron wok with the flat bottom on induction, does seem to work well. It takes a long time to heat thoroughly, but once it does it seems to recover heat very fast. And for charring veg, toasting tortillas, and other "but I need flames!" tasks, one needs gas.

If one had an outdoor gas grill, I wouldn't think one would have any need for indoor gas at all, if the electricity were not unreliable. In the last really big earthquake, we lost electricity and not gas, so could light a gas stove with a match. OTOH, one couldn't open the refrigerator because there was no telling when the electricity would be restored, and letting the cold out wasn't an option. And the people who were in the boil the water before ingesting zone probably were also under don't use the gas before it's inspected too....

If you're unsure about induction, I'd really suggest trying a portable unit and keeping in mind that it doesn't have the kind of power that the real deal does. Try it out. See how you like it. I got the cheapest one, which doesn't boil fast or anything flashy like that, and hardly ever used the old gas cooktop from then until demolition.

Conclusion: Nothing against gas, and some people prefer it, but if I had to choose one or the other, I'd have induction.

I have used my new Miele about 5 times now. I have to say the best thing is the "low". I'm really bad at getting dishes to finish at the same time. Really nice to be able to set it to 2 which is basically keep warm. My gas never worked that well on very low.

If you live near a big city, I can recommend the free Miele dinners that the distributors put on. We went to one in Seattle, and got to see / play with both induction and gas. Since Miele sells both, they're not trying to push you one way or the other, but you can really see how each one differs.

Other brands probably do something similar. Note that the whole night is a sales pitch, but the food was great and it's one of the few ways you can see someone cooking food on both of them side by side.

[We chose the induction, as I think did many others that were on the fence at our particular dinner. Ours is part of a kitchen-in-progress so no real world experience to share yet.]

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele distributor for seattle

I have had my induction range for one year and have never had the cooktop shut off for any reason.

What I love best about it is each burner can go from "power-boil" to extremely low simmer (on my old electric stove some burners were "hotter" than others). Also very even heating across the pan.

It's limitations, to me, are the same as any smooth top stove. Pans can slide around if you don't hold the handle when stirring. Also, you still have to somewhat match the size of the pan to the burner you are using.

I have never used all four burners at once so I can't comment on that.

Overall, love my induction stove and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Another great thing about induction is that there is no flame to distort, so if the hood fan is on moderate to high the flame doesn't jump around, leading to hotspots.

I also have the Miele and I love it. The touch controls take a bit of gettting used to but the ease of clean up is awesome and way better than dealing with gas grates, IMO.