Did you mean single hob rather than single cooktop? If so, various such configurations are manufactured by Cooktek, generally for commercial use, but this includes both built-in and portable hobs. I believe both voltages are supported by various units. I have a built-in Cooktek single wok hob 220V unit. I don't know what the coil diameter is of the various units now in production.

I seen some by cooktop and they have 8.5" coil and 13" cook surface, so they are a bit borderline but def usable. As for control knob, not too picky, single knob would work or buttons...

Ideally, i was hoping something cheaper and maybe few options to chose from

Well, if this is not the best darn answer I ever seen, it should be. I believe you basically told me, that I am SOL, and I appreciate that;)

One has to wonder if the reason they do this is due to some physics limitation or just being cost prohibitive or something else...

thank you.

p.s any other ideas for my paella dilemma... I can only get 30" stove and I have considered that too, but I hardly seen any burners that would offer better coverage than induction (or high I may get better overall coverage but also burn everything).

I have a CookTek Apogee that I believe is 10" (I've had it apart). I've put cookie sheets on it more than 18" wide and it doesn't care. I don't think it has a ruler inside. I've also used as small as 3", or 3.5".

My chicken fryer is 13", about 9.5" across the bottom. My larger fry pans (12") are about the same. 3-ply stainless. All work just fine.

As with all induction hobs, there will be a 'hole' in the middle. You just have to wait for the pan to warm up, and use a pan with good heat distribution.

Weed, I do not disagree with what you say except when it comes to trying to use large pans on PICs for things like paella being made by folks obsessing about getting the perfectly evenly toasted/carmelized bottom crust (a/k/a "soccorat") all the way across the full width of their 13" (or larger) spread of paella pan.

That's where I see a vain hope when using a large pan on a PIC versus using the larger burners (with larger fields) on built-in cooktops and full scale ranges.

So, MichaelSmith, that leads me to ask what you meant by your question about 30" stoves -- about having "hardly seen any burners that would offer better coverage than induction (or [on?] high I may get better overall coverage but also burn everything)." Are you asking about a gas or radiant stove and thinking you would have to crank the burners to high to get coverage across the entire bottom of your paella pan? (Depends on the burner size and design.) Or, are you thinking that the large burners on an induction range would have to be on high to get full coverage of your large paella pan? (Not so; ranges like those from GE and Bosch have burners that produce 11-inch diameter fields and cranking the heat does not necessarily help condctivity of your large pan.) Or, are you maybe thinking that the coils and fields on induction ranges and full size induction cooktops would not be any larger than those on PICs? (Again, not so.)

Hi :)

I definitely meant by 30"... is getting a new gas stove and I can only get a 30" unit since it has to fit between 2 counters. And, also yes, ideally, I want to stay with a gas stove (as I am used to), for my main stove, hence my venture into single burner induction has started. Also, yes, my question on 30" stoves was about main burner size, since right now, my stove is a basic one with a 11k btu main burner, but I have seen some stoves with a 20-22k btu main burner with a 2ndary smaller burner (simmer ring), which would ideally provide a wider coverage.

In the end, if I can help it, I wouldn't want to get a brand new, whole stove just for few dishes... I am kinda going back to look at cooktek 1800 as it seems to have largest coil and can actually fit 13" side bottom skillets/randeau's.

Is there any other models/brands that I would look at in your opinion that I have not? I checked into fagor, nuwave, berghoff and all of them do not fit my need. The vollrath seems to be also on the smaller end compare to cooktek.

Thank you

Wow, jw, I'm glad you knew something about paella cooking to provide a useful answer.

I also think that unless it is truly impossible, running a 240V line to extend the scope of possible induction units is worth considering.

So this leads to the question of what quality of paella cooking might occur with a good pan on an induction cooktop with many small coils (e.g., Bosch Flexinduction). Could that do do the job (given running a 240V line) or would it do if some pan motion were included in the cooking process to "fill" the heat flux gaps. (By motion I mean something less than a wok thrown around over a 100k BTU flame front.)

Another thought is a large circular sheet of 1/16th 400 series SS covered by a similarly large sheet of 3/8 or thicker copper, heated from below by the multiple induction fields, and used for evenly heating the pan base. This is only practical if the cooking is performed at low temp, as I surmised from your paella insights. This is equivalent to a sufficiently thick copper pan that is SS clad.

kas

Michael Smith:

If you really want something that will do authentic paellas, my paella-fanatic friends insist that you have to use 16" (or larger) carbon steel paella pans on a gas or charcoal-fired bbq grill. They sneer at efforts to make it on any residential stove-stop. Including my gas stove which has the kind of dual stacked burners you are considering. In their view, even those burners do not go wide enough. They are fanatics, so take that for what its worth.

As for choosing between a Cooktek model and the Vollraths for other kinds of induction cooking, there may be reasons you might prefer to pay the high prices for the heavy duty Cooktek models (MC1800 and MC1800G), but max pan size should not be a concern. There is no problem with pan bases extending beyond the ceramic surface over the framing on the sides. Vollrath specs the 59500 Mirage Pro to handle pans up to 14" in diameter in commercial kitchens. I've used my canning kettles (13" diameter bases) and large pressure cooker (12" diameter) on the Vollrath without problems.

kas:

There is a guy screen-named Kaleokahu on chowhound and hungryonion.com who is developing a rectangular five-ply copper-SS "plancha" version of the copper/SS sandwich you suggest. His prototypes reportedly will heat very evenly end-to end even when only one end is over a hob.

My take on the Bosch flexinduction zone burners is that the dimensions of the 16" x 9" zone work better with large rectangular pans rather than the "authentic" paella pans which are round. Probably would have better luck using a round paella pan (or the 13" base rondeaus that Michael Smith has) on the Bosch's 11" round induction burner. OTOH, the Demeyere planchas and the similar griddle/teppanyaki pan that Bosch sells as an accessory for the Benchmark induction units have raised rims. Maybe paella could be made in one of them?

jw

please say hi to your fanatic friends and that I do appreciate their authenticity, and if I could do it, I would! while you're saying hi to them, please ask them to recommend me a proper paella pan (the thin carbon steel ones we see online are uneven and very flimsy).

thank you for additional details on the vollrath. I will keep both in mind before making a decision.

kas

I agree with jw, when I saw it was a 16" x 9" I just signed. Not that I could have gotten that cooktop but the idea was good, until it was not. It needed to be around 18 " x 18" to be useful IMO. also, I heard using cast iron on top of these is not recommended unless it's enameled, so it would not scratch the surface.

I use a triad of small silicone pads cut from cookie sheet silicone protectors to keep my pans off of the Ceran. Industrial silicone sheets --red oxide or black -- would also do; see MSCDirect.com.

Depending on the temperature you're going for, paper will also work. I use paper towels routinely when frying bacon. Searing would be too hot.

On paella pans, my friends say that their current and preferred paella pan is a Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Paella Pan. It is carbon steel. They say they paid about $50 last year but it might be around $60 now. They started out with a thinner one from a Spanish brand called, of all things, La Paella. Also carbon steel but about half the weight of their current Matfer-B pan.

On protecting induction surfaces, I've followed both weed's and kas's practices from time to time, but I've been using bare cast iron pans on induction for decades without ever scratching the surface. Probably because I did not care about scratches. :>) FWIW, I have scratched ceran surfaces with my enameled cast iron dutch oven and stainless pans.

You might want to look at some of these. The Hatco ones look interesting.

induction units

To give you an idea here's a paella gas burner with up to 4 rings and three individual controls for even heating and caramelizing. Burner and here's their pans Paella pans. Double the thickness. I'd season it with Rice bran or avocado oil. You may want to dimple it yourself. Like these.

I have been looking at those M G Black steel pans. It seems their 15" has 12" base, which is good, but it made me wonder what base diameter is their 17" pan. If it's below 13.5" it might be very tempting for me to try!

I think I will grab cooktek and hopefully be able to cook paella on it within the next 2-3 weeks.

Let us know how it works for you. One thing to bear in mind, though: carbon steel and cast iron hold heat well but are inefficient at conducting it and that makes them particularly good at showing you where and how big the burner's induction field is. IOW, when the the center/middle of the paella pan is at the right temperature, the outer few inches can be considerably less hot. One hack for overcoming this with large cast iron and carbon steel skillets is to preheat the pan in the oven for half-an hour.

You can heat the cast iron on the induction for awhile too for the same effect.

Most of the carbon steel pans I've seen are very thin, however. Actually, every non-clad steel pan I've ever seen is thin, whether carbon steel or enamelled or flash coated. I have several.

Paella pans are also thin, though not as thin as crepe pans usually. As JWVideo said, you're much more likely to get a hot spot around the inductor with one, and pre-heating the pan--not too high because you don't want to warp or scorch it--is essential.

The great thing about a thin steel pan on induction is that it's amazingly reactive. Keep that in mind, however, as you add cold food. You'll want to get your pan hotter than you expect to cook at, like when frying.

I do agree that paella pans are thin and my experience proved as such. The two I had were so thin that they weren't even flat! This maybe futile attempt but mafter black steel one claims to me 9lbs, which makes me hope that it's at least 3mm thick...

A big paella may be make purposefully round on the bottom to flatten out when they get hot. I've seen other kinds of large thin pans that do that. I think they're up in the center rather than down, however. I don't remember very well.

Hi guys...

I just got my cooktek mc1800 and when I plug it in, I get error code 6. Manual says: Input line (from power outlet) voltage too high (one of their reasons could be: Something else is on the same circuit. Line voltage fluctuations at end or beginning of work day. (Voltage > 132VAC).

This is a normal home kitchen outlet, I have 6 total and they sit on 2 switches in my box, each rated for 20amps. Right now, there were no devices connected to them that drain power.

My q is: I never seen such issue... is it saying that my outlet is rated for too much power and that's why it errors or something else? And, any advice how to fix it? Thank you

That is unusual. Do you have a voltmeter, or multimeter you can use to test the line voltage to confirm the Cooktek's complaint. The voltage should be in the range of 115 -- 120 Vac. If actually 132 Vac, I don't think it is your wiring that is at fault*, but the power company's fault. And it is a fault they need to correct.

kas

*In a normal 240 Vac feed, center-tapped to ground, that is, +/- 120 Vac, there is no actual voltage above 120 Vac, relative to ground. However, if one has a grounding issue, where the white (neutral) conductor in the kitchen circuit does not bond correctly to ground in the entry box, but has some leakage to the opposite 120 Vac line, then there is a problem in the house wiring that needs (!) to be looked at.

Although I haven't experienced this in my residence, it is also possible to have a feed that is 208 Vac, three phase, where each phase to ground is used for a circuit. Again, though, without some issue causing an offset neutral voltage, there should not be more than 120 Vac to neutral.

Using a multimeter to test between the neutral and the ground connection at the receptacle socket is called for in these cases. No other device on the house circuits should be able to move the neutral voltage significantly above the ground reference unless there is poor bonding between neutral and ground at the service entry.

P.S. I'm impressed that the Cooktek even measures that type of fault.

I agree with kas. Excess voltage is most likely the power company's fault. Let them know so they can come check your service line and the transformer from which your residence is serviced.

To answer your specific question, the problem is not "outlet is rated for too much power" but "something else" which is too much voltage coming from the electrical system.

My experience is with over-voltages affecting computer systems and editing workstations served by the quaint electrical grids that supply the rural western towns where I live and work. Each time I've seen the problem --- usually disclosed by the line-voltage displays of back-up UPS units --- the local power suppliers fixed the over-voltages by replacing an aging transformer.

Hi guys

I think this maybe simpler than it is. I called cook-tek and they didnt mention anything special like that. I think it's just regarding it being 110v vs 220v. My outlets are all 110v, of course, so after he had me do few tests, he said that cpu needs to be replaced.

I am actually happy about that... lol :)

Hi guys

To give you an update: I called cooktek 10 days ago and they ran me through tests and said that cpu was fubar and needs replacing. He said it'll be $134 + s/h both ways. (Before quoting me, he checked serial # and said it was 15 year old machine). I was away on a vacation, so I called today and they directed me to their ARP program. I got that pdf and some stuff there didn't make sense to me (cheapest option was replacement for $350 for a refurb unit with 90 day warranty, they also wanted me to put cc # on paper, scan it and return it... so 1990's), so when I called again to clarify a few different things, they told me a very different story.

They said few things: my machine is 15 years old (i got it 2nd handed but it looks pristine (bottom is like new)), it does not quality for arp (advanced replacement program) program (only 7 years) and because it's that old, it won't even work with new firmware/cpu's, so replacing cpu is pointless. The guy also said, he didnt know who told me the original quote/info, but he did say that there are only 5 engineers in that department, so it's hard to believe one could be so wrong.

At this point, I think I am going to return it and overall, my feelings towards cooktek aren't exactly best. Maybe I shouldn't feel this way; after all, this machine is 15 years old, but I was so excited to use it (I don't typically get excited about new gadgets), and my friend was over and that happened, I guess I kinda felt embarrassed at that moment. I can't blame cooktek for not supporting 15 year old product, but it's still hard to swallow....

On to the next :(