Induction range issue ?

[evilgawd]

Hi

I bought my first induction range and received it 2 days ago. It's a GE Cafe here is a direct link to the spec. Using an 8" all clad stock pot on one of the 8" element, it "boil" water but its not a real rolling boil. Those elements are 2500W, shouldn't I get a full rolling boil on them ??

Coming from an electric smooth top( yes it did take longer to boil, but once it got there it was full-on) it feel underpowered, not sure if there is an issue with the range or my expectation were too high

Thanks

 

[Helicon]

2500W should be plenty, but if the cooktop has a high power (aka boost) mode, it might be worth using to bring the contents up to a rolling boil more quickly. It will also help the temperature recover more quickly when you add pasta/veggies/whatever.

 

[Michi]

Try with a different pot? The one you used might be marginal for induction?

 

[btbyrd]

I'd try with a different pot. I have a 1800W portable burner that has no problems getting to a rolling boil with an All Clad 8-qt pot.

 

[evilgawd]

Not sure if that is relevant, but using the same pot on the 11" element it has no issue going full rolling boil .

 

[evilgawd]

Well ill be damned. I tried the same test (4 cups water) in an All-Clad 4qt sauce pan , it boiled in ~3:30 full-blown. My All-clad stock pot 4qt was barely boiling after 7:30 and could never achieve that rolling boil.

Both are tri ply , purchased around the same time . What gives ??

 

[Michi]

Try testing with a magnet. There might less ferrous material in the slower pot.

 

[MarcelNL]

sounds like the pot, we recently bought some pots as test for the future and although they all said 'for induction' two of them were rubbish on induction and performed very similar to what you describe.

 

[Helicon]

There's no reason the pot should do significantly better on the larger burner if it's an induction compatibility issue. Even the stated power difference shouldn't prevent the pot from reaching a full rolling boil. I suspect there's something wonky with the cooktop.

 

[MarcelNL]

the coil pack in the 11"induction range might simply be a better fit with the pot than on the 8"coil. I've come to that conclusion with some pots, in the end dumping all of them as the result is that you'd need to remember which poty to use on what coil....boring!

 

[big_adventure]

As stated above, test with a magnet. Test in multiple locations on the bottom of the pot. I would imagine that the distribution of magnetic steel in the pot is uneven or just that there isn't very much.

I bought one large "induction compatible" stock pot that simply didn't work well on any of my induction burners - didn't matter which. I eventually tossed it (left it on the sidewalk in Paris = disappears in seconds). I replaced with with a larger (19L), cheaper one off of Amazon and it's perfect.

 

[MarcelNL]

holy cr@#$ 19 Liter that is either a pot towering on your stove or it takes up 3 induction fields...our 7-8L pot only barely fits on the puny 4 coil stove in the current house.

 

[evilgawd]

Try testing with a magnet. There might less ferrous material in the slower pot.

Both stick to the magnet, funny enough the one that works better appears to be slightly warped. As some mentioned maybe its the metal composition that was different , even if both are AC stainless steel ( note they are both ~15y old )

 

[big_adventure]

holy cr@#$ 19 Liter that is either a pot towering on your stove or it takes up 3 induction fields...our 7-8L pot only barely fits on the puny 4 coil stove in the current house.

Yeah, it's massive. But it's great for making a couple of kilos of pasta or a giant pot of soup without liquids launching themselves around my kitchen. The only downside is that it BARELY fits in my sink for washing. And it definitely doesn't fit in the dishwasher.

 

[MarcelNL]

Both stick to the magnet, funny enough the one that works better appears to be slightly warped. As some mentioned maybe its the metal composition that was different , even if both are AC stainless steel ( note they are both ~15y old )

IME it's difficult to 'measure' magnetism, the outcome is more important; does it work or not!