You’re not listed in any of the indexes, so I missed it. Would’ve been nice to have a heads up before hand.

I saw Invisicook at 2 booths and visited a lot of porcelain vendors that now can handle the undercounter induction. I will post more probably tomorrow when I have time go go thru my notes. Also saw the Whirlpool Combo. A little disappointed that they were not really familar with their own product. Did visit both LG and GE. Again lots of notes. Will be interested in seeing how PaulF likes his LG. Off the top of my head I know LG has a condenser where GE does not. GE did claim they can handle bigger loads and had the most great reviews. I thought it was a lot of "puffing" since LG just recently came out with theirs Combo so there would be less reviews. Also did not see Gag. We were looking for Wofle too for their ceiling exhaust vent for the induction and didn't see them either.

@tapattee Whirlpool told me their poorly reviewed combo (released last year) was not on display! I walked the booth and did not see it either... maybe because they told me it was not there. Please post a picture of it.

You got lucky spotting any hidden induction. I searched for it with the help of guest services. I even went back today looking. I love the concept and want it so badly but if the big boys are steering clear then its not ready for the masses...that's the way I look at it.

LG was on it with the challenge to the GE combo... making it slightly larger, 9 inches shorter and the Frig that changes colors was a slightly better Samsung.

The GE combo definitely has a condenser with a 5 year warranty. "Five years From the date of the original purchase. The sealed heat pump drying system (compressor, condenser, evaporator and all connecting tubing) which fails due to a defect in materials or workmanship. During this additional four-year limited warranty, you will be responsible for any labor and related service costs."

I would watch this comparison video of the 2 machines before you decide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCTpDVgQXGI {update Mar 1st} The bad reviews are starting to come in on the LG. The condenser is 1/3 the size of the GE and not drying effectively. I'm refusing delivery on it tomorrow. So disappointed!

I guess a dark counter with a Miele induction isn't so bad. Thats what I'll probably go with.

But some other interesting ones.

I currently have a standard freestanding 30" gas range (oven below, 4 gas burners on top). I don't have anywhere to put a wall oven or anything. Is it possible to have an invisible induction system with oven below?

I said a while back I would post the porcelain manufacturers I found at KBIS. I have a blog where I listed the manufacturers. We are currently renovating a home in TX and discovered Floor and Decor now sells 10' porcelain slabs. They have pretty good prices and some beautiful "statement" pieces. I also included our video of the Invisicook under a Geoluxe slab. Invisicook is an option we're considering for the modular home we're building in CA. I'm still researching the washer/dryer combos, but will put more time into it when we have the TX reno done and we are back in our home state. Blog: The Modularist - Sharing the Knowledge we've Gained Building a Modular Home

Ugh, I went to see invisicook again at a place in Los Angeles. It was the most professional install I'd seen yet.... no loose wire balled up in a drawer below the cooktop. The salesperson opened a tiny little bottle of water... maybe 8 oz and poured about half into a small pan to start the boil. I insisted she put in the whole bottled at least. So, we waited for about 5 minutes for that half inch water to come to a boil. She explained that the cooktop could be controlled by an iPhone or iPad now but didn't know if Siri could turn it on with voice.

She also said that the only problems other than the slow boil she's seen is a situation where a specialty pan to cook a single egg was too small for the burner to register it on the counter and didn't work. The other is a woman that slow simmered soups and stews and the hours long cook times overheated the Invisicook so the cooktop kept shutting down as a safety measure.

Here is an emailed response to a complaint about the Invisicook's slow boiling.

"So our New Units coming out at the end of June, will be improved Speed for Boiling water, and will work with 2cm Dekton now too, and pull 2,000 watts of power when on Power Boost to boil water. Again it will be slower then the typical glass induction, but this is to do prevent Thermo Shock."

Also, the cooktop CAN be controlled with an app for iPhone or iPad but cannot be controlled by voice... like with Siri or Alexa.

@Paul F. Looking at the specs the wattage for Invisicook's current 240v products is 1,600 watts. Increasing the wattage to 2,000 would be a 25% increase in power which equates to 20% faster with constant factors. Their mention of Thermo Shock was intriquing. It sounds like this is a precaution to help prevent the countertop from getting damaged by heating the surface too quickly. I did see the TBK has 1,400 watts for their small inductor and 3,000 for their medium and large. Mostly likely they account for the thermo shock when producing the countertops thus allowing for the higher wattage. I meant to ask earlier if you knew if the unit you saw in Los Angeles was hooked up to 110 or 220.

Did you ever decide on your combo washer/dryer? We are seriously considering for our modular home we are building. I have yet to start my research.

@tapattee Good question! I have an email into the showroom to get that answer on the voltage instead of assuming it was 240v... which I believe it was. I'll let you know as soon as they respond.

I have 2 GE Ultrafast's for my rentals and they are great. I was hoping the heat pump LG was going to blow it away so I could get the best for me. Unfortunately, LG tried to make it a shorter machine with slightly more capacity than the already huge 4.5cu GE by reducing the size of the condenser. The reduction to a 600w condenser from the GE 850w was not a good idea. If it can't wash and dry a full load in under 2 hours then I'm not interested. So, although the LG is beautiful and shorter but with more capacity all the reviews are saying it is slow to dry a heavy load.

I just found out the Samsung unit was introduced a couple months ago. I thought it was a prototype when I saw it at KBIS because it was so ugly in person. They wouldn't allow photos either. Reviews are mentioning sometimes an almost 7 hour dry time on heavy loads... no thanks! Here's a youtube comparison of the 3 machines... GE - LG - Samsung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-LcHNrmvm8

Ok, so they replied quickly. The unit they had on display was a ONE burner install and the ONE burner model only comes in 110v. The 110v large single burner is 1400W. When you jump to the two burner 110v it is the same wattage... 1400w. However on the 220v double burner versions the larger burner is 1600w.. The new upgrade will give the ability to boost the bigger burner to 2000w but remember, 'boost' is only used to attain the boil, but not to maintain the boil. It will boil over if you keep it on boost. It is nice to know it is there.

SO...If you are interested then wait until June to get the new Invisicook version and get the 220w unless you don't mind the slow boil of the 110v 2 burner version. The 3 burner and up versions only come in 220v.

TPB tech update- after many delays caused by the local fabricator and installer we have our cooktop! after a week of cooking we can say it is great and heats very quickly. I brought 3c of water to a hard boil in 3m 45s using 8/10 heat setting. Works great with my favorite vintage cast iron, nonstick and stainless. cleanup is such a breeze and having extra prep space is extremely helpful.

TPB doesnt like to ship cooktops with mitred edges so we had a local business handle that aspect. the only place that the underlayer shows is in the sink cutout (we chose for this to be black). i actually like the dark band.

we found out that the induction units need 2” of space under them and had our drawers cut slightly shallower than normal- that worked a treat. the setup’s electrical requirements are below. we have 2 small and 1 large burner.

I hope this helps! Ill post more when we have had more time to use it.

Power requirements for 2 large hobs and 1 small hob:

- 2 dedicated circuits

- 240v each

- 20amp capacity

- 2 Hots + Ground

@Corby Bee That's great! So you had the whole counter shipped and a local shop mitered it for you, right? Can you please, please fill up a big pot like you're going to make pasta for a family... lets say 3 or 4 inches of water in a pot you'd use for of a large amount of pasta and time it on 10/10 for us... the quickest boil you can get? I've yet to see real world cooking boiling testing on hidden induction.

@corby bee Thank you for posting this! Were you able to get this in USA? Did you have to buy their counter?

We bought it via Sensorium in New York. they coordinated with Spain and the local fabricator/installer for us. we did have to get one of their countertops. The edges were all done in CA- the fabricator picked it up from LAX and did the cutting.

I boiled 160oz of water, started on Power Boil and then it went to max power. 11 minutes to boil roughly 1.25gal.

pics of the induction and my drawer undeneath, plus an edge close up. we were reassured that in the event that we need to replace a burner down the line it is easy to disconnect and replace. in almost a decade I think Sensorium says this happened once. the ease of repair reassured us and let us take the plunge. thus far Im so glad we did!

Corby Bee: Would you mind clarifying the "circuits" description? Normally, one 240-Vac circuit comprises two hot leads, a neutral, and a ground. Each hot lead is 120 Vac to neutral; hot-to-hot is 240 Vac. Are there two of these, or one of these?

@kaseki I don't know enough about electrical work. Each induction unit is on its own circuit, that's the extent of my understanding. I pasted the details in from a communication with the contractor.

Yes, I need to contact my electrician. I have one 240v for an induction cooktop. I would assume he could do a 40 amp breaker and I could run two of these modules.

At worst, assuming 20A per module, one could install a minimal breaker box in the cooktop cabinet feeding the 40A circuit to two 20A breakers and thence the two modules.

@Corby Bee Thanks so much for the boiling timing! So rare anyone will test like that for the group. I just placed a pot with 108oz of water on a 15,000BTU gas burner on high and it didn't reach a point of boiling where I'd put the pasta in it for 13 minutes.

I'm down to my last week of being able to shift the design to an under counter system like this. The big question is how much did you pay, all in... to the point of picking the item up at LAX... so, not including fabrication? I'm about 5 miles from LAX so I couldn't ask a better person.

@Paul F. Have you checked out the new SKS Flex induction cooktop. Only read about it, but if not doing undercounter something to throw into mix.

@tapattee I haven't and I know I should go with regular induction but you have to admit that Corby Bee's kitchen looks fantastic.

We're considering Invisacook for our new home build here in Santa Rosa California. It would be installed in solid black Dekton.

Have others found it difficult to position pans on a solid color surface lacking all pattern. What are the implications of not exactly positioning a pan?

What are the implications of not exactly positioning a pan?

The field lines over an induction cooktop coil, imagining that there is no pan sensor, would fill a space that looks like the top half of a horizontal donut, or bagel. When a pan is centered on this field the field lines are "pulled" into the inductive base material and cause heating. The field volume would then look like a squished donut. The center of the donut -- the donut hole -- does not directly transfer heat because there are no field lines there.

As the pan is moved off center, the donut hole of course moves to an offset position relative to the pan center, and, depending on pan size vs. coil size (outside of donut), some field lines have to extend further through the air. At some point, roughly where the pan base edge is next to the donut hole, field lines will be fully in the air from inside to outside the coil winding, and no heat will be transferred in that area. Somewhere in such a progressive pan displacement, the induction circuit's sensing of adequate inductive material will shut the power transfer down until the pan is returned to a sufficiently adequate field-coupled position.

Bottom line: Smaller-than-coil pans can be moved a fair amount before heat transfer is significantly degraded, so long as the pan sensor is happy. Also, larger-than-coil pans can be moved a fair amount before heat transfer is significantly degraded. In all cases, the effect on cooking will depend on how well the pan base layers conduct heat across the pan base.

Note that the under glass sensor located in the "donut hole" is likely to be an overtemperature sensor; the induction sufficiency sensor is best performed by the electronics observing the voltage waveform vs. current waveform in the coil. This can be performed by intermittent pulsing or more subtle means.

I was looking to put 4 singles in an island for group Chinese hot pot nights or to keep food warm during dinner, but 1400W just seems inadequate under 12-20mm of Dekton. BUT I just broadened my search, and the 4-burner "galley" version, which has 5200W total (220V 23.6A), 2000W x 2 and 1600W x 2 (in boost, I'm guessing). Power seems adequate, but the spacing makes it so I can only fit 8" pans if I use all 4 burners.

I do not recommend TPB TECH. There are many reviews on internet and it is pitty I did not read them before buying. We ordered their worktop and special original cookware, but after using a month, the worktop itself broke, just noticed a crack. We contacted company, and they did not provide any warranty, while they primised it before buying. And it happend to all clients. First they sell, later, they run away and tells that ,maybe you used inappropriate. TPB TECH product is very poor quality. Be careful

This whole idea seemed very gimmicky to me from the start….

@Stephen D I disagree. Gas cooktops are ugly and nasty to clean, yes. BUT Induction cooktops are perfect, easy to clean and nice to look at. I could not be happier with our Gaggenau 400 Series 36" cooktop, it is PHENOMENAL. Everyone said watchout there is a learning curve but not really, very intuitive to use, my teenagers LOVE cooking now. And it is a breeze to clean. I am thrilled with my choices of Gaggenau and Taj Mahal countertops, looks amazing and easy to mantain.

@Stephen D and @Corby Bee thank you for the information shared last year regarding the hidden inductions. Are you able to provide feedback on TPB Tech and Cooking Surface Prime please. so you use other hobs aswell as these? Customer services follow up needed? Would you recommend? Any drawbacks or considerations? I’m looking to use one of these companies and hence the questions. Many thanks, Tracy

@Tracy Lou Invisacook is what we have and we LOVE it. The customer service is fantastic. Good luck.

Hi Tracy, We still have the cooking surface prime. Its been used nearly every day for the last 18 months. I still love it and would buy an invisible hob again if I had a choice. Negatives of my unit are that I don’t particularly like the way the controller looks and functions and fan noise is louder than most other induction hobs I have used. There are some work arounds for the above. The power of ours is great but the caveat is you need the correct pans to access the power. There is a lot more choice since we purchased ours. If i was buying now I would strongly consider the ‘Novy undercover’ given they are the first mainstream brand to launch one. I am aware gaggenau also make one but that is prohibitively expensive for most people. I did a video review of mine a few months back which may help some people.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gEglb4bmiHs&t=6s

My My opinion after 12 months use. - YouTube

@Stepehn D thank you this is really helpful and I’ll watch your YouTube video.

I have really bad experience with this product, which I dont recommend to buy because:
-its not working as advertised. It breaks quickly with a big crack. You can just through more than 10000 dollars in to rubbish bin
-no customer service, no guarantee
-avoid responsibility
They act arrogant and just ignore. All nice talk only till you buy

All I can say is, I am so so happy I didn’t follow for this gimmick. I went with a Gaggenau 36” induction cooktop and it os a DREAM! A dream to cook, a dream to clean. I have Taj Mahal quartzite around it and it is the best decision in the kitchen. I have teenagers who love to cook and not clean so much haha, but it is a breeze to clean and 2 years later of DAILY heavy usage it looks and feels new. My whole kitchen is Gaggenau and I would highly recommend it to anyone if you can afford it. I have 5-years later warranty and 2 years in everything still looks and feels NEW. Do yourself a favor forget this gimmick and go Gaggenau all the way.

@rosee_bv You must be in Europe since this isn't available in the US. To import it here would void the warranty... using it with your Taj Mahal voids the warranty as well. That's awfully daring of you for something so expensive. "Gaggenau has partnered exclusively with Cosentino (Dekton) to make this technology possible."

@finndian Paul, my Gaggenau is VISIBLE, NOT hidden. I am European but moved to the US years ago. Gaggenau induction cooktops are available in the US. I see where the cooking area is obviously but that's not something concerning to me. I rather have a bulletproof, fast and reliable cooktop that a hidden one that gives nothing but problems. And yes I love my Taj Mahal around it (not on top).

@rosee_bv I see. Good... I got worried for you! I love Taj Mahal stone. Aldona's picture of a cracked counter appears to be AI generated so I don't know the agenda there. That is not to say that even Dekton counters can't crack with hidden induction.

@Paul F. - What basis do you have for claiming this appears to be AI?

@foodonastump I spent the last year using AI to render three different kitchen designs, probably hundreds of iterations while experimenting with different woods, countertops, hardware, and layouts. After seeing so many renders, a few details in this image stood out to me.

AI (especially chatGPT) renderings frequently include the same styling cues: cutting boards casually stacked against the backsplash, small gray pots with generic greenery, dark soap or oil bottles, and olive trees in oversized planters. None of those things prove an image is AI-generated, but together they caught my attention.

There are also a few architectural details in her photo that make me curious. The oven appears small possibly less than 24 inches wide and if it's a Miele, the handle, proportions and placement seem a little unusual. The rear countertop also looks shallower than I'd expect, although that could simply be the camera perspective. Finally, I'd expect the crack in the counter to continue to the edges, but that isn't visible here.

I could absolutely be mistaken. If Aldona posts additional photos from different angles or construction photos, I'd be happy to say I was wrong. My point isn't to accuse anyone, it's simply that AI images have become incredibly convincing, and I think it's healthy for all of us to look critically at what we see online rather than accepting every image at face value.

Take another look at her photo. Does the island look perfectly parallel to the back counter, or does it seem rotated slightly clockwise?

AI loves cutting boards, dark pump bottles and gray planters:

Aldona

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Here it is. Poor quality, and their service is terrible. They do not provide any guarantee, even if they tell, that there is, but in reality it isnt. It just such a big waste of money. This crack happend just using normally, very quickly. Really dont trust their advertisments, it seems big scam. I think some of most comments are not real

@foodonastump The TPBtech logo, the burner-position marker, and the surrounding veining don't appear to line up the way you'd expect if these were two photos of the same countertop. If they are, I'd expect those reference points to actually match.

That's all I was saying: don't believe everything you see on the internet.

I have same experience with this company. Highly do not recommend them, because their product is very bad quality, we used couple months and it broke suddenly, although we used original cookware bought directly from TPB tech. When I contacted them, they were extremely arrogant and no guarantee provided, they told me, that I used different pots, but I didint, I bought many many pots from them. There are many negative reviews with photos how these worktops cracks after some use. Dont waste money, really such a bad experience, we paid such big amount of money and now this worktop now is in rubbish bin, really, it was not possible to fix, as they did not provide any help, nothing, just asked me to buy another one and pay them again:D i agree they are scam company. I can post videos, i have sent many of them

I have had nothing but a good experience with Mateu Serra and Xavi Ortega, the guys at TPB Tech in Barcelona. Nice group of people and helpful. We even visited them, saw their facility, got some samples before deciding to put their product into our new home. They even replaced the defective cookware when it got too hot and bubbled. You must use the rings if it is not the pots with special feet as the countertop will get too hot and crack if accidentally used without them. I am extremely vigiIant with this as they stressed this point to me from the very beginning. Overall, I am extremely happy with mine which I have had for a couple of years and use every single day. Love how they function and it's a beautiful countertop. Tried to upload a pic but for some reason it won't let me. Anyhow, sorry to hear you had issues.

I have been actively involved in the technology of hidden hobs for 7 years, I know in detail the advantages and disadvantages of all available technologies. It is necessary to comment on the above comments and information.

Regarding TPB Tech - this is currently the most sophisticated solution of all, but clear rules must be observed. You must not cook without pads or original dishes. You must also pay attention to the adjustment of furniture bodies, which must not be uneven, especially they must not be lower at the edges than in the middle. These are 2 reasons why your hobs cracked. Regarding poor communication - yes, what the owner of the company Joan Llaveras manages is problematic, he does not recognize any of their problems, including complaints. In contrast, as written above, Miguel Ortega and especially Mateu Serra are great and helpful, unfortunately they have a weak position in the company.

Regarding Invisacook - we no longer offer this technology to clients due to the weak and especially shared power input. A universal solution with the possibility of installation under various brands of ceramics and sintered stone will not compensate for the user's discomfort.

K Cooking Surface Prime - has its flaws, such as higher noise and unsightly controls, which can be hidden in a new stylish horizontal push control holder. But it is currently clearly leading the market in terms of the number of implementations, namely in terms of user comfort. The implementations with 20 mm large-format FullVein3D plates are beautiful.

K NOVY - has its implementation shortcomings. By cooking without pads, the advantage of a cold plate during invisible cooking is erased. However, they have great and designer controls. However, they can be installed in a work surface with a width greater than 80 cm, i.e. practically only in an island, while the minimum width of the cooking part is 120 cm. The disadvantage is the mandatory installation with Dekton material, which is somewhat out of fashion in terms of design.

Regarding Gaggenau - thanks to this company's involvement in the hidden cooking family, this technology has become a standard and has increased sales of all brands by tens of percent. Gaggenau's own solution is not comfortable and is also the most expensive on the market. They have a problematic and complex distribution network that does not allow them to attract kitchen studios and designers across the board, and there is a lack of a sufficient commission environment.

Our clients currently prefer 70% of Cooking Surface Prime and 25% of TPB Tech. 5% of the market is for others.

These are our opinions after years of experience.

Fake good reviews for sure. We noticed that they write good comments for themselves. Look how many 1 star rating they have with same crack problems. Their technology not working with original .cookware. also no service, no warranty, no help if you have some problem. Many people contacted me with same problem after my posts with videos of their worktop. If someone interested you can contact me on facebook Rita Romo, I will send you videos of reality, their "perfect" techology.- under the worktop there is the cheapest induction bought from other big brands worth 200 euros, even not their product, they just put worktop and you pay 10000 Eur !Dont trust their fake good reviews, TPB tech is a scam

Hi Rito, I'm sorry to disappoint you. My review is not fake news or an endorsement of any brand, but my factual findings from 7 years of experience, when I enjoy the position of an expert on hidden hobs and organize presentations and trainings on most available technologies. Yes, you are right that TPB Tech is difficult to deal with, but this stems from the local mentality, they simply do not like any problems and do not want to solve them at all. You cannot change the mentality. Therefore, from your point of view, it may seem that they are unwilling and unable to solve anything. If you want to achieve something with a complaint, you need to proceed very carefully and politically. The Spanish mentality, or rather the Catalan one, is not the US understanding of business. This does not mean at all that TPB Tech is a bad company and a bad product, quite the opposite. I just repeat that you need to strictly follow their rules and recommendations and then nothing will happen. I know of 5 similar complaints, but they were always about violating their recommendations. I think that if you buy an expensive car, you won't be sweeping every road with it... If you need any information about the hidden hob, then get in touch. Unfortunately, I can't help you with the complaint at this stage.

I disagree. We got poor quality worktop from TPB tech from first minute. Here is picture, you can see the gaps in the side , which really looked like very bad quality product. I informed them about that from first minute I opened the box and they ignored. Also we used only their pots, and it got a crack also. I know TPB tech now changed their technology completely, because all the advertisment was a big lie, many many customers got also same problems. But they never refunded money for scam they sold. And there are so many customers who faced same loss. Their behaviour is disgusting, they tried to threaten me, also started to write fake reviews for my friend company ( as they thought its mine company), also suddenly they got mane good fake reviews , from non existing customers

Yes, Rita, I understand your dissatisfaction. I have seen such a peeled edge several times (after consulting with their technician, apparently from production in the hot summer season), but I can assure you that it is a cosmetic defect and does not affect functionality. Instead, I think there would be a discount from TPB. We solve this in production by cutting the edge at 45 degrees and gluing a 3 cm wide edge. Then such an edge disappears and the entire surface of the worktop looks massive and very designer. I do not know how many customers you are talking about, but I do not think it would be very many, because I know the number of TPB implementations in the USA. I think that the fundamental mistake when doing business with the USA is that TPB does not provide its clients with instructions for use in an adequate manner and does not sufficiently emphasize all possible problems that may arise during use. For example, they certainly do not state (even in Europe) that it is necessary to check the height of the furniture so that it does not sit on the edges and does not leave a bulge in the middle, especially in the area of the inductors. This material is flexible and very resistant only when it bends to the center of the board and not at the edges, where it becomes very fragile. I know that in the USA you have different requirements for the user manual than in Europe. It is simply a business and marketing mistake by TPB that damaged it in your market.

I do not think that anyone from them would write any fake reviews about your friend's company anywhere. No one there has time for that and it does not correspond to their mentality at all. I think they simply rejected you and that is the end of it for them. If you somehow pushed for a solution very hard, they may have written to you once more and then nothing. No apology, no solution. Is that so?

It is not possible to fix, as the edge was from beginning and it was not big problem for us. But when we started to use with their original elevated pots, the worktop got a big crack. Listen, with their original elevated pots ! And I soon contacted them, as it was only one month after we intalled, and they ignored, TPB started bullying me, my husband, my friend company with fake reviews, they ignore warranty, they demanded to pay us for worktop again if we want to be fixed ( calculated several thousand euros !)

Many people contacted me about same problem, as the TPB prpduct doesnt work as advertised, it is just a big scam. All by time gets a crack , as I said, under the worktop thry install the cheappest induction system ( bought from another company,it is not thei original product). Everyone can check under the worktop, that induction real price is 200 dollars, and they charge you thousands

@René Bárta:

As a point of interest, assuming a suitable level surface for supporting the slab, what would be the difficulty with using standard 3 cm soapstone as a surface material, counterbored from underneath to 10 mm or whatever remaining thickness is needed where the induction coils would be placed? The soapstone should be able to ignore pan and coil heat. Thanks.