I would guess it really depends on your cooking needs. We use the 11" burner on our Samsung for large stockpots, the large skillets, and the LeCrueset grill pan. A medium-sized pot or skillet will not work on it, so that is one negative. So, I guess having at least one large burner is a must, but you might need two.

For me, it was a "must have". I have three pots/pans that won't fit on anything smaller - a large skillet and my 12 and 20 qt stock pots. My 8 qt will fit on the 8" burner though it overlaps slightly.

I do a lot of home canning, so right now I've been using the big pots a lot, though I keep my really big stuff for use in the summer kitchen.

I love using induction for making jam, that instant control is wonderful!

My 11" burner will work with pots that are at least 7" diameter. So it actually sees the most use of all the burners.

My husband was a bit miffed though, his favorite pot for making cocoa-wheats was just a tad too small to use on the smallest burner - it won't turn on. At least now when he boils over his cocoa-wheats, clean up is a snap!

Cathy

For me it also was a must have for the stock pot and other large uses. For many people it isn't. Remember when you're measuring your pans, it's the part that's in contact with the glass that matters, not the overall size. You might have a 14" pot that only has 9" on the bottom touching the glass.

Additionally, if you do have big enough pots to engage the outer ring of an 11" dual element, you get a big increase in available power.

Most brands' elements are good for an inch or two larger than their nominal size.

Mine is not a true dual element, it just can fit a much smaller pan. The whole 11" ring "heats" when on. I experimented by putting a pan just big enough to get the burner to work, and then putting a metal washer on the exposed part of the ring. The butter on the washer melted.

Then I put the washer half over the ring on the outside, and only the butter on the half inside the ring melted. So I know if I'm using a smaller pan, I can't but something metallic (like a spoon) inside the outer ring, or it will heat up.

I love the way the induction heats the full circle no matter what heat setting I have it on. Both my coil and regular glass top cooktops cut down the heating part of the element to control the level of the heat. It's nice having a low simmer over the whole bottom of an 11" pan, and not just in the center of it.

Hm... Have you tried putting the washer in another element by itself to see if it'll heat up? I'm wondering whether the pot detector detected it. I haven't tried that on mine, but I do know that when I use my 1 qt. saucier in the inner ring on mine, it heats at the lower power that the inner ring is rated at, vs. the somewhat higher amount of power that the next biggest ring is, or the gonzo power of the full 11". Interesting that yours turns on the full 11".

Our E'lux Icon has a 10", 8", 7", and 6" elements. We use the 10" about half the time. Nice match for larger pans. The 6 or 7" elements really crank on the tea kettle. The new regulr E'Lux only has 8" and 7" and 6" elements.

I see Whilpool now has a 30" induction with a 9", 8" and 6" elements at a very attractive price.

plllog, the washer on it's own would not cause the element to turn on. I had a lot of fun "testing" out my new cooktop.

Even having a pan off center so that not all of the smaller ring is covered will cause the element to not work.

I have the Elux Icon specifically because the reg Elux does not have the larger element.

Agree that a large burner is a ''must-have,'' but I would look for one that can also take small pots. Otherwise the big burner is not very versatile. This is particularly important if you have a household of one or two people and cook in smaller volumes.

warmfridge - I was just wondering about that - is there an easy way to tell if the 11" can be sued for smaller pots. For instance, Bosch list PotSense⢠- Automatically Adjusts Cooking Element to the Size of the Pan Bottom - not sure if that means you can use a smaller pot on the 11 or not.

Thanks for the input everyone. I do have some larger cast iron pots/pans so I'm guessing 11" would be useful.

Plumorchard, all induction burners "adjust" to the size of the pan, no matter what brand. The metal in the pan is what activates the hob, it only heats where the metal is. Advertising that feature as a 'bonus' is just marketing of a feature that's part of the induction technology.

Cj

Well, yes, it's true that they all do that, but when you have a dual, large element, when you're within the inner circle it limits the power to just that section, and when you have a larger pot, it uses two power inputs. Sort of. I don't have better words and leave it to one of the techy guys to explain.

Have to disagree, Cj. The 8.5'' and 10.5'' front burners on my Elux range won't activate for any pot much smaller than their inner circles, which are 7''. That means every time I want to use a 1-2 qt saucepan, it has to go on a back burner, even if it's the only pan I'm using. This is what I meant about making sure the large burners are versatile enough to work with both large and small pans.

Can you put a diffuser under the small pot(s) on these larger burners, to allow for using them at the front of the stove?

Our Samsung does the same thing as warmfridge's Elux. We cannot use a smaller pot on the largest burner. There will be a pan detection error.

I haven't tried a diffuser, but I think I will. Thanks for the suggestion. Since I'm only cooking for myself, I use a lot of smaller pans, and it's annoying to have to put them on the back burners, especially since they have lower wattages.

On our E'lux icon the large burner has a 7" smaller circle. A 6" pan activates the burner without any problem, I just now tested it. It is the smalled pan we have.

But I've found the smaller pans seem to heat faster on the smaller burners. Probably something to do with the larger burn wasting more area on a smaller pan.

I just did the same test as texaskitchentoo.

I used a 5" pan and put it on the my Elux Icon's
"11" burner (I measured the diameter of the outside circle it measured just barely under 11")---anyway it
boiled the water very quickly with no errors displayed.

I have also done just the opposite, taken a large pan (10-12") and put it on the smallest burner , at first I see the bubble pattern (when boiling first starts) as an outline of the smaller burner, but soon (less than a minute) it spreads to the rest of the bottom of the pan and the boiling appears evenly spread across the pan (Emeril ware clad pans SS-Al-Cu).

So it appears that different Induction models (even from the same manufacturer) behaive differently.

That being said, I think I would still look for one with the larger burner (Hob) if you use a lotta large pots/pans.

I suspect boiling might be a bit faster matching the pot/pan size to the burner (Hob), alto even if ya don't it will still blow the doors off any gas stove, even the Cullinarian (Sorry Trevor)!!!!!

Anyway, "Msg" here is if at all possible, take whatever induction unit for a "Trial Run" and see if it meets all your needs and expectations!!!

Gary

I've been drooling over the Thermador 36" with the 9"/11"/13" center hob, at up to 4600 watts. Lots of burners and sizes to choose from. OTOH, the old GE 36" is getting so cheap (~$1300), and my remodel so expensive, that I may just go with the GE and save $1600. With the way I cook anyway, buying the Thermador would be overkill, like folks around here buying 4 wheel drive SUVs that never see snow or off road.

Ah, but then there's the guy with the two-wheel-drive, temperate climate suburban who gets in trouble on the ice in Colorado during the Winter, and the lady sheriff is baffled as to why a little ice would cause trouble for a Suburban! I don't think they sell two wheel drive ones anywhere in the Rockies. :)

With all of this, it depends on how you want to use your stove. I've noticed the difference, same pot, between the 2200 W/3300 W and 1800 W/2500 W (second number is on boost) on my induction. The difference is definitely just speed, however. Both will do the same job in the end.

The Thermador sounds like it has plenty of "features" to advertise, but I bet the GE is just fine. Whereas, there are places where a two wheel drive can get you in trouble. :)