We considered an all induction range and instead we have opted for a side 18" Wolf 2 burner induction cooktop that will be installed next to a full gas cooktop. Reason being is that I could not find any info about canning on an induction cooktop. Because induction cooktops are glass I felt it could crack if I used my large canner on top of it for a long time. Also I was concerned that the heat may not be even to maintain a consistent temp. Since our home is being built and my appliances have not been installed yet, I cannot post a picture now.

My mom has one. In my opinion . . . very nice, but not worth the price.

We have one. Its ok, but if we could I would have gone with gas. Induction stoves are specific to certain cookware which has been limiting. Its good otherwise, but the difference for what you get hasn't been anything spectacular.....

I have one. Love it and would not want to have anything else. It is quik to heat and same with getting cold again. It is easy to clean, food does not stick to it if anything boils over like the ceramic does, you need to own stainless steel cookwear. No aluminum cookwear works. The newest pan we have here is made of granit. Just wonderful to use.

I agree to ask this or research this in the kitchen forum to get more answers.

If it's a choice of electric vs. induction, induction is worth it to me. I love my induction cooktop relative to electric cooktops I've used in the past for reasons Ice mentioned (easier to clean/stays cleaner, only heats up where the pan is touching/safer, immediate/fast heat/boiling, etc.) I didn't realize how much it was an improvement until I went to my old house and used the electric cooktop again. Soooo slow.......

(I haven't had gas, personally. My brother dislikes his as it seems the only setting is HOT, HOT, HOT.)

After spending a lot of time reading (and on the appliances forum) I've decided to go with induction. This is after thirty years of fantasizing about a big commercial (in the early days, before "pro-style") range. Ease of cleaning, precise control (no need for a double boiler), timed shut-off. Still, my DH has added a gas line to our plans, in case I change my mind.

In my new build I couldn't decide between gas and induction, so I got a combo unit -- Bertazzoni -- three gas hobs and two induction. If I could do it again, I would go for a totally induction unit. I really like the responsiveness of the induction and the ease of cleaning, etc. As mentioned, you need specific cookware, but some of what I already had works and I've been adding a few pieces here and there. Really wish I'd gotten all induction.

There are some long threads on this in the appliances forum as well. I had never even heard of induction until I came to gardenweb. We decided to try it based on reviews and characteristics such as immediate response, great control over both high and low settings, timers, auto shutoff, and ease of cleaning. We've been using it for 6 months now (weekend house for now) and we both love it.

We don't have natural gas at the new house and would have to have added propane, which is one more system, plus no good place for a tank on our site. I didn't think the ease of cleaning would be that big a deal, but now that I switch back and forth (natural gas in the weekday house), I realize how incredibly annoying it is to me to have to move those grates to clean up spills, which seem to happen every single time I cook. I do have to be more careful on the induction not to bang pans around, but dang, that thing looks like it has never been used! And I love that "5" is always "5" and doesn't depend on how I hold my head when looking at the flame or anything else.

The only downside is that most people will look at it and not appreciate its awesomeness because it looks like the radiant electric that they had and hated. Big ol' gas cooktops do look sexier. I just don't want to clean one. Or simmer on one.

Ours is the Bosch 500 in the 36." We put three drawers underneath it, one narrow one for utensils and trivets and such and 2 deep ones for pots and pans. Could not be happier.

We're planning for a freestanding induction/convection range in our new build. It's a no brainer for us, since gas is not available. But not sure I would want a combustion appliance like that in our house anyway. Would have to have a much larger, more powerful range hood to evacuate the associated toxins. Here's a good review of induction cooktops, both function and efficiency: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/induction-cooktop-our-kitchen

We went with induction and I'm very happy that I did. I can boil water in less than 90 seconds, I can melt chocolate without a double boiler or hold cream soups warm without boiling them, and I have instant control over the heat as I did with gas, but it's so much easier to clean. It's also a lot more energy efficient as all the energy goes into just the pan, not all over the place like with gas. It meant I could get a fume hood the same size as the cooktop. With gas, they recommend you go larger.

The downsides are, you can't take a roasting pan out of the oven to make pan gravy as roasting pans are not magnetizable, you don't have an open flame to char peppers for peeling, and it's harder to find nonstick cookware that is magnetizable, though it's getting easier.

But given all the plus/minus, I'd definitely do it again. I HATE cleaning gas burners!!

:)

I am hoping to get one, all depends on what's available when I can finally buy appliances. I mentioned to DH that some of our pots and pans may not be compatible. He suggested we could put a pan or sheet underneath that IS magnetic. It'll heat up, and in turn heat the pot that isn't magnetic. As an interim solution until I find suitable replacements.

I've had one for 5 years (Bosch), and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. The pots were not a big issue for me since my good pots worked and the one that didn't needed to be replaced anyway. I've alos found that induction capable pots are more common now than they were even 5 years ago. The top cleans like a dream - no baked on stuff from the high heat of electric, and no messy burners as with gas. And I think it gives very good control - especially at low levels which was hard/impossible with electric. The boost feature on mine is great - heats a teapot so quickly!

Have a wolf induction and really like it. Have only been using it a few days, but it's very fast and easy to clean. We only have propane at our home and so induction, in my opinion, was my only option. My only negative is the the touch screen is hard to get use to . My husband says I just have cold fingers:)

I don't know where you live but many of us have cold fingers this winter. ;)

I have induction and love it! In our last house I had a viking gas cooktop and this time around decided to go with induction. For me the cleaning with the gas was just too much. You have to wait for the grates to cool down and the unit just never seemed clean to me. The induction is really easy to clean, since it doesn't get super hot nothing burns onto the cook top. I simply spray it with Windex and wipe it down. I also find that I can also get lower temperatures with the induction. With the gas no matter how low I went with the flame somethings still boiled over.

We are trying to pick between induction and dual fuel, as I am not a fan of normal electric cooktops. At the moment we are leaning towards induction but the idea of replacing all of my stainless steel pots and pans with new stainless steel pots and pans makes adding a propane line look fairly attractive. We will essentially be throwing away (ebaying) $1,000 of pans to replace them with pans that look the same. If you have a lot of good pans I would suggest you take a magnet to them before you finally decide. We were surprised how few of our pans would work well.

Have you talked to anyone who cooks with propane? I have heard that it does not get as hot as natural gas and when my SIL was considering it everyone recommended against it. Also, we have a propane fireplace, which we love, but OMG the cost. We just had our 100 gal tank fiiled (ran out in 3 months this year, even though we only use it for the FP which we turn on in the evenings only). Almost $5 a gallon here. One fill would pay for half of your new pots and pans. And Ikea has very nice induction cookware for not much $$$.

Amberm, I wouldn't recommend that as a solution ... It can damage your unit by overheating. Read the reviews on this interface disk.

I looked at the math on it. We are looking at the Bosch 800 series. It has two 5k burners, one 10k, one 15k, and one 18k. If you burn all the burners at once it is 53k. One gallon of propane is about 91.5k btu. This means a 100 gallon tank will be about 173 hours of cooking if you cook with all your burners on full all the time. If you more reasonably cook with half your burners every time you get 345 hours. I feel confident that will get me well over a year and closer to two, as we usually only have one to two pans on the cooktop at a time.

Love mine! I have a bosch, and the only drawback is that I cannot do my canning on it since there is not a large canner available in the right metal. I have been canning on the back porch with a propane burner instead which I have come to prefer... the heat and humidity of the canning process never enter the house! The induction is so easy to clean. I bought skillets from WS that work great on the cooktop. My sauce pans already worked, but I had to put away my nice Calphalon... saving it for a vacation home one day, perhaps. :)

Thank you all for the feedback!

Definitely get the induction! I have a Bosch 500 series and could not be happier. Easy to clean, tons of control, and doesn't heat up the house.

I have had the Viking 36" professional 6 burner induction cooktop for almost 7 years. I have not experienced one problem.

For the person wondering about canning...no problem for me and I have the large canner.

For the person who said roasters are not induction compatible...false. I have a couple. One if steel with a teflon coating. The others are the old fashioned speckled enamel roasters, the navy blue ones that have the same finish as canners.

If you can't find induction compatible roasters, simply get one of those induction plates and put it between the cooktop and the roaster.