I grew up with gas, had gas 40 years in our old house, and installed an induction oven in our new-to-us house last December or so. Love it!

Pros:

* Water boils in nothing flat

* Heat control and maintenance is the best

* I've been canning. Heat control on "boil for __ min." is superb

* When things boil over you can just lift the pot and wipe and replace the pot.

* If you forget to turn a burner off it turns itself off and flashes ERR

Cons:

* You need magnetic pots and pans. I got a set at Costco

* My pressure canner doesn't work on induction

* Couldn't find a non-stick pancake pan for a price I was willing to pay. Bought a "Liddle Griddle" which I put on a dishtowel on top of the stove so I can vent when cooking pancakes or a single turkey burger or whatever is better on non-stick

I have always cooked on gas until about two months ago. The wonderful reviews on this forum led me to try induction. I was nervous and thought there would be a learning curve. Wrong. It was the easiest thing to transition to if you have pots that a magnet sticks to. And cleanup is a breeze, not at all like cleaning spills on gas.

I am a fan of induction. Quick, precise, immediate response. Eeeeeasy clean-up. Wouldn't choose anything else myself now that I've had it. Absolutely love it, can't think of a down-side. Most of my pots worked with it so I was good to go.

Induction is fine, but I wouldn't want to stare at a glass top when I could drool over a range top. I really do prefer gas.

suzanne_sl, what kind of pot do you use for your regular canning? I have a stainless canning pot that i'd use the jar rack in and it won't work now. It's the only thing I haven't found a solution for yet with induction. My induction range is in the garage, waiting on the remodel to be complete, but I can't wait to try it out.

mjarvis57 - I got a stock pot at Target for boiling water bath canning. I've been using the rack from the pressure canner in the bottom. I took a magnet with me to the store to be sure the pot was magnetic.

The regular old navy spotted canning pots and roasters work on induction. I guess they are some kind of enamel coated metal. Not even sure. I use my big roaster for turkey and set it over two burners to make the gravy. I also use it for sterilizing jars when I make jam or jelly on my induction. I love my induction. I didn't have gas before, but wouldn't trade my range for gas ever.

One con of gas from what I hear is that walls and ceilings get discoloured over time. They can be warm in hot weather whereas induction is not.

I love induction. Boils water so fast I had to learn to start the sauce before the pasta water. Excellent temperature control. Safer, especially with kids. Doesn't heat up the kitchen as much. And best of all, so much easier to clean. Who cares how the cooktop looks if it's a pita to clean. Induction is functionally so much better than gas.

I switched to induction from gas thanks to the appliance forum here and am so very glad I did.

I have had both over the course of 40 years. Liked gas except for the cleanup and hoe the grates looked over time. I love my induction. Regular ceramic Cook tops are not as responsive as gas or induction. The instant responsiveness is what I liked about gas and what I now have with induction. The easy cleanup is certainly a bonus. I boiled over pasta yesterday and just wiped it up. No taking apart the Cook top and no waiting for it to cool off. Making candy which requires close temp control is wonderful. If I boil over no using a razor blade to get the sugar off of the grates or Cook top.

My GE induction is one of my favorite things in my new space. No gas ever for me.

We love our induction. The clean up is super easy, and in our case, all but one pan that we already owned work perfectly. Another thing to consider is the indoor air pollution from a gas appliance. Look up some of the indoor air quality information, it is an eye opener.

I am trying both! We recently added a 15" hob of each and I am learning to use them after 20 years with smooth top electric.

Induction all the way. Have had mine for 3 years and will not go back. So easy to clean. So responsive.

Still love a gas range every time. I just don't like the look of induction or electric. The extra 5 minutes needed to clean my range is so worth it- it is gorgeous.

I also prefer seeing the flame to know how much heat I need.

Gas

You can always get a small induction cooker, my father in law got one and uses it.. but you can't add the gas later.

Also, remember, as many say, if you go induction, you may have to replace some cookware.

I think induction is awesome.. awesome.. but I love my gas. I have a coil stove now, have for the past year or more in this apartment. My new house will have gas and I am telling you what, won't cook without it.. period.

Loooove da gas!

R

After living through a few lengthy power outages I went with gas.

I had gas forever too until I moved last year and ended up with a smooth top electric that I despised - particularly after leaving a wonderful Wolf gas cook top behind in my old house. I was all set to get a gas line installed and get a gas range but started reading more on here about induction. I decided to take a chance on it and OMG I love it! Even DH likes it and he doesn't pay too much attention to that kind of thing. We have a weekend lake place with gas (where he is this weekend) and he called and said we need induction up there (he was boiling a pot of pasta).

I've only had it for a few months but I really don't think I would ever go back to gas. I particularly like that the settings are so precise and it doesn't throw off all the heat of a gas flame. And I'm coming to appreciate the speed and ease of cleanup though those weren't big factors in my purchasing decision.

A gas burner like for camping or Asian wok cooking would be appropriate for power outages. My choice would be induction. I personally have induction with a separate gas wok burner. I don't use the gas wok burner as often. The precision of induction is so wonderful when making things like caramel. My pressure cooker maintains pressure easily and consistently. Since I own several portable induction units, I use them as warming units when I have parties and used one initially to judge induction. They are a great gateway product but not comparable to the real induction cooktops or ranges. Before the switch to Induction, I had a 48" Dacor Rangetop with sealer burners. The induction performs significantly better than the gas unit. Also, I like things like the fact that the handles don't get hot on my cookware. One thing induction may force is a change in cooking habit. I prep all my ingredients before starting to cook and everything is ready in a short period of time.

Good luck!

I love the idea of induction and the ease of cleaning, but when I read about longevity (or lack thereof) and difficulty in repairing (usually is just replaced), I knew that induction was not for me. I tend to think in 20-25 yr longevity for an appliance. It really depends on your comfort level with short replacement time.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!! I am taking the plunge with Induction as I had originally planned. In the worse case scenario if I don't like it after a few years (or it breaks and can't be repaired) I can always switch to gas. The only barrier would be the backsplash but by that time I might just be ready for a change there too. Thank you all again. :)

I was so happy to see this thread. It is exactly where I am at the moment too. The plumber was here on Friday and I didn't have him take out the gas line as I had thought I would (he has to return so I can still have it done). My kitchen is gutted, and I have a single induction hob and I haven't been that impressed with it. Yes, it boils fast, but lowering the heat has been a little more problematic that I expected, but then it is a quite inexpensive unit and I realize not like a range would be.

Would you all, who have joined the induction crew and sound so happy about it, mind sharing what brand induction you have? New Freedom Nurse mentioned GE. Any others?

And thanks for the idea of a camp stove or wok burner for power outages, that has been one of the sticking points.

I have a now discontinued Frigidaire induction range.

We have a 3 hob Wolfe cooktop. It is only the 2 of us, and we've found the extra counter space really nice.

I have a Bosch - I'd never willingly switch to non-induction. In fact, when we look at the homes we might choose to live in when we retire (just a few years from now), having adequate electric service so I can install an induction cooktop is a selling point!

I have a GE Profile that has worked flawlessly the last 4 years.

I have a Eurodib portable (from Costco) that I used during the renovation before I committed to a Miele cooktop. I was super impressed with the portable and am even more impressed with the cooktop for all the reasons listed above. Everyone talks about how easy the cleanup is and fast it is to boil water, and yes, that is true, but I also love it for its low settings. Hollandaise without a double boiler (and no scrambled eggs!), oatmeal in 20 minutes with no sticking or intervention (thanks sjhockeyfan325!), simmering for hours without burning (couldn't do that on my gas with stirring a lot),

My neighbour borrowed my portable during a heat wave to do tomato sauce without heating her entire house (she has a gas stove) and has yet to return it..... I'm not sure if I will have to rip it out of her hands or not.

So glad I made the switch. Love the sleek, clean look of the induction flush mounted in my soapstone countertop (and I am so over the look of "pro" gas cooktops!)

I'm with all the other converts here. No regrets here either.

I have a Miele induction cooktop and Miele Gas wok burner.

I seriously doubt any modern appliance will last 25yrs these days. Also, it seems like every few years the change in technology is so rapid that appliances are soon going to become like iPhones. I can't imagine what fridges will look like In the next 5yrs.

When my four-year-old fridge broke down this spring (needed a new computer board) the repairman said 1 out of 4 appliances in the landfill are less than 5 years old. He also said that it was a crap shoot -- $10,000 Sub-zeroes were just as likely to fail as a $1000 Frigidaire.

I purchased an extended warranty when I bought my range last month and I had a surge protector installed in my electrical panel since EVERYTHING in a home runs on computer boards. Fingers crossed here.

I went with the Kenmore Elite. It has knobs to adjust the burners vs push buttons.

This is all very helpful! Thank you all.

I have ordered the 30" Jenn Air induction but it hasn't been installed. I am VERY excited about it though!!! ;)

We will have 2 gas burners in our outdoor kitchen. (the brand is Coyote)

I have a five year old Bosch 30" cooktop. I have a gas range at our beach house. Induction is far superior to gas, imo. I have never heard of a short lifespan of induction. Indeed, Fori of gw had a 1980's induction which was still going strong when she replaced it. They are common in Asia and Europe and very popular-which would not happen if they had a short lifespan.

We switched from gas (a pretty but awful vintage range) to a Miele induction cooktop and love it! Would have preferred something cheaper but the Miele layout worked best for us. My 1 year old whirlpool wall oven just died so I am a bit worried about longevity!