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Comment by amluto | Hacker News Reader

I recently bought a Polyscience/Breville Control Freak, and I’m increasingly convinced this is the future. It heats dramatically faster than a supposedly high end gas stove I compared it to despite being a lowly 1.6kW or so device. (Gas stoves are stupendously inefficient. That 15kBTU/hr stove may well deliver 15kBTU/hr to the air but not to your pan.). It heats quite evenly. And best of all, it has closed loop temperature control. Want to sauté some onions? Just do it and watch the onions — there is no longer a need to fiddle with a knob to keep the pan at the right temperature.

I wish this type of functionality was more widely available. There is absolutely no need for devices like this to be expensive.

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Wow, that Polyscience/Breville Control Freak looks great - if anyone knows of a mid-level/affordable induction cooktop that preforms similarly I'd love to know if one exists.

Currently I have two induction cooktops (counter top models, not built-in hobs) - one from Ikea and one Nuwave brand. The Ikea one looks pretty good, but it lacks precision. Looks like the Ikea one is no longer available in the US, but here it is on their AU website:

https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-hob...

The temperature settings go from 20 to 70 degree F increments. In particular, the jump from 210F to 280F really sucks. But it's great for boiling water, cooking pasta, etc.

The Nuwave induction cooktop I have allows 10 degree F increments, which is great for accurate precision. But it doesn't look very good in my opinion.

I'm also in the process of remodeling my kitchen and have a built-in Bertazzoni cooktop, which I've yet to unbox or install. I choose that because my wife wanted physical knobs instead of digital buttons and I agree that that does provide a nicer UI. I'm optimistic the knobs will provide precision temperature control.

Overall, I love cooking with induction - for control and clean air inside the house. However, one other issue I've struggled with is uneven temperature. Originally I thought cast iron would perform well, but it's not great with induction. I recently got some pretty decent stainless steel pots/pans from Tramontina, which are affordably priced compared Allclad, and those heat much more evenly. I also hope that when I install my built-in induction cooktop it will heat more evenly, perhaps with more magnetic rings.

The Njori Tempo is cheaper and claims to be even better. But it’s currently vaporware.

They are the future. The price will continue to go down slowly.

They were as low as $1,000 over December.

They are amazing. I believe that eventually (maybe 10 years from now) you’ll be able to get a 4 burner stove top with the same features.

Whoah! But it is expensive! $1500 for one pan at a time?!?

I have a one-pan induction cooktop that I got at Best Buy for $50 that I use whenever I need more precise temperature control than I can get from my gas range (e.g., when I make candy or meringue).

I bet the Breville cooktop is much better than mine, but you don't need to spend anywhere near that amount to get something decent.

Yep, I have a $50 one that I use for boiling maple sap outdoors in the spring, but also indoors whenever it's useful to be able to set up a cook surface somewhere other than the kitchen. It doesn't have the super-precise control of the Breville, but it's still a great tool.

I'm not sure what you're looking at, but my wife and I have a mix of cast iron and some stainless steel that has been great and I don't think we paid more than $50 for any one piece.

I believe the question is asking about the induction cooktop. Which indeed does seem to cost about $1500.

He's referencing the induction cooktop. It's $1499 MSRP.

Ahh that makes sense! For what it's worth, the cooktop we're using was $200. It is a bit rubbish: coil whine and the temp control is pretty coarse, but serviceable. I haven't looked, but I'd guess there's a sensible middle ground somewhere in between!

To be fair, a high end built-in induction range for four pans can easily cost $6k or more.

www.njori.com is a currently-vaporware device that looks potentially even better than the Control Freak and is substantially less expensive.

How does something like that (at $1500) compare to the performance of e.g. a full range like https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-Profile-30-Smart-S... (at twice that, but for an entire rangetop)?

The Profile can supposedly do the closed-loop trick if you pair it with Heston Cue pans. The manual makes this sound like a real PITA, and do you really want a pan with batteries and bluetooth? The Control Freak is compatible with any sufficiently flat magnetic cookware. Do you really want to be limited to a choice of a whopping three compatible pans? The world is full of excellent pots and pans at varying price points, and these are not compatible with the Cue system. This includes, for example:

Essentially disposable nonstick pans (pay a small premium for induction compatibility).

Enameled cast iron Dutch ovens.

Very high end nitride-coated pans from Hestan, compatible with any induction stove except Hestan Cue.

Plain old cast iron.

Magnetic steel comals.

Carbon steel seasonable pans, paella pans, etc.

A flat-bottom wok.

All of those work on induction stoves, and all work on a device like the Control Freak. Just put them on and set a temperature.

On the other hand, the GE range has an app and buttons. Where’s the knob?

Hmm. As someone who has never in his life measured the temperature of anything on top of the stove, maybe this is overkill?

Where does the induction stove measure the temperature? I'm assuming there's a thermometer near the surface of the stove, which I guess is close enough to the food to get good results.

It’s a spring-loaded thermometer in the center of the glass top. It presses against the bottom of the pan.

Does it have a coil whine? Cheaper table top induction coolers have a painful whine for me

The problem with that is, how do I use it under a range hood?

Put it on your stove. It looks dumb but it works fine.

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