The best induction by deduction: Table-top hob comparison test

Add a wall-mounted induction blender to your kitchen

Many people hesitate to buy an induction blender for a number of reasons, such as high price, the need to buy new cooking utensils, etc.. But portable induction stoves with one or two heating zones are getting more and more attention from Americans. They replace more and more often outdated electric stoves at villas, they are put in rented apartments, used by new settlers. In addition to what has come as a surprise to manufacturers, induction stoves are actively used in moonshining. Connoisseurs of brew appreciated economy, compactness and affordability of this type of kitchen appliances.

By no means are we calling for or suggesting following the example of sugar refiners, but induction stoves do an excellent job with more “peaceful” tasks: boil soup, fry potatoes, etc.. So we decided to test the models from different manufacturers, so you can choose the one that by its characteristics best meets your wishes.

TABLE #1. OUR PARTICIPANTS

. Single burner

Model	KITFORT KT-107	MIDEA RHY2112	OURSSON IP1220T	ROLSEN RIO-2011
Dimensions, mm	280x320x60	295x372x65	296x400x61	290x370x35
Power, W	8 levels 200-1800	10 levels 120-2100	10 levels 120-2000	10 levels 200-2000
Temperature range, °C	N.d.	60-240	60-240	70-280
Cookware diameter, cm	12-26	12-26	12-20	12-20
Warranty, years	1	1	1	1
Price, Dollars.	2 010	3 190	5 190	2 450

B. Two-burner stoves

Model	IPLATE YZ-QS	CASO Vario Power 3400 Chef 2253
Dimensions, mm	355x640x80	350x575x62
Power, W	10 levels 1 600/1 300 2 900	12 levels 2 000/1 400 3 400
Temperature range, °C	60-240	60-240
Cookware diameter, cm	12-26	16-26
Warranty, years	3	1
Price, Dollars.	7 900	15 849

THAN A MULTICOOKER

We tested six models: four single burner and two two burner stoves.

If we abstract from the number of heating zones, they can be conditionally divided into two groups:

• Stoves with a choice of power level temperature.

• Stoves with automatic programs.

The first group suggests to act traditionally: put the dish on the heating zone, set the necessary power level, cook.

And here is the second group of stoves that demonstrate some features of multicookers. The manufacturers have equipped the devices with automatic programs. And the programs themselves can also be divided into groups: the first group stands for a certain kind of cooking: frying, boiling, steaming, stewing the second one for a certain kind of food: soup, milk, etc.. There are even programs with exotic names, for example, one sample has a certain “Chinese samovar” in the test.

It is clear that stoves are not multicookers, they do not have sensors, and the automatic program implies a selected power level or temperature and cooking time, at the end of which the stove will automatically shut off. In some programs, the user cannot change anything, in others he can change the power, either for a short time or for any.

Whether or not it is convenient to have programs is, I think, a matter of taste. Some like the fact that you can just click on the desired sensor and not waste time adjusting the power and activating the timer, for someone it’s easier to set the necessary parameters by yourself.

Stove’s operation is not affected by the presence/absence of automatic programs. It’s just a different approach to controlling the appliance.

WHAT WE MEASURED AND DID NOT MEASURE

We have not tested the reliability of equipment, service life and safety except for one parameter , because such testing is long and can only be done in a laboratory environment. All of the tiles have safety certificates, without which they simply would not go on sale.

We measured:

– noise level yes, yes, induction stoves are noisy, mostly due to the fan

– The power at each level, its compliance with the declared values

– the speed of heating water

– evenness of heating.

In addition, we measured the graphically marked diameter of the heating zone, used a thermal imaging camera to check how hot the heating zone gets after boiling water and frying nuggets.

Measured the length of the power cord and studied its characteristics.

We checked how the stove behaves if you remove the cookware during operation.

In two-burner stoves, we also looked at what combinations there are when the two heating zones work, and selectively measured the total power.

We tried to tell about all the nuances of functionality and control as much as possible, so you can buy not a pig in a poke, but the tile that you find the most convenient and interesting.

All the tests were performed under identical conditions: in the same room, on the same table. We used the same cookware we’ll tell you more about it , the same amount of water and food. All data was measured with the same devices.

DO WE MAKE NOISE?

When I first tested the induction stove a few years ago, it was an unpleasant surprise to me that it made noise. The thing is, all the stoves have a cooling fan, and it works for a while even after the device is switched off. Also, sometimes extra noises can appear when using cookware with multi-layer bottoms this is what some manufacturers told me, I have not encountered this myself .

In general, to measure the noise level you need special conditions: a room with absolute silence that does not let in any extraneous sounds even inaudible to the human ear . Not all reputable laboratories have such facilities. We checked noise levels in a working office using the “Noise Meter” smartphone app.

The purpose of the study is to determine if one stove is more/less noisy than the other.

A smartphone with the noise meter turned on was lying in front of the tile. There was water on the hotplate in the lid of the ladle. Our office noise is ~45dB. We subtracted this value from the measured value and obtained the noise emitted by the stove, more precisely by its fan. Once again, we are by no means claiming to be one hundred percent accurate in our measurements. But in this way we were able to clearly show which tile is quieter, which is louder. And that was our goal.

TABLE # 2. MEASURED VALUES

AND. Single burner

Model	KITFORT KT-107	MIDEA RHY2112	OURSSON IP1220T	ROLSEN RIO-2011
Power range, W	228-1243	474-1485	370-1470	588-1361
Boiling speed1 liters, min.	6 min. 33 s	4 min. 55 s	5 min. 6 s	5 min. 35 s
Noise level, dB	28	22	26	31

B. Two-burner

Model	IPLATE YZ-QS	CASO Vario Power 3400 Chef 2253
Power range with 1 burner, W	341-1891	367-1544
Power range with 2 burners, W	367-3048	Max. 3092
Boiling speed1 l, min.	3 min. 46 s	5 min. 18 s
Noise level, dB	36	22

POWER

The power measurement showed the most interesting results.

The thing about induction stoves is that at low power, they heat up in pulse-periodic mode with a few seconds interval. That is, the stove would turn on for a few seconds, then turn off, then turn back on. Yet the power values are very different. To calculate the operating power, we have to take all the values for a certain period of time and determine the arithmetic mean, which is the value declared by the manufacturer.

We used a ROBITON PM-2 wattmeter. It doesn’t count the average, it shows everything.

But that’s what made it possible to visually see how the stovetops work.

Another surprise was waiting for us at the maximum values: they almost always weren’t up to the advertised.

As it was explained to us, there is such a “bad” tradition – to specify more power. Allegedly it was born out of a desire to make life easier for users who are used to conventional electric stoves. Due to the high efficiency, induction stoves at lower power work as well as traditional stoves at higher. That is, for example, induction stove 1500 watts = electric stove 2000 watts this is not a rule, just an example . And so, so that the customer is not afraid of small values, the manufacturers put higher ones. This is a nice version to explain the status quo. Anyone can come up with a more ugly explanation for why the inflated numbers appear.

The most interesting thing is that for one two-burner stove with two heating zones, the measured total power was higher than the declared maximum. What the manufacturer’s modesty has to do with it is unclear.

TEA BREAK

The task of this test was to see if the stove can replace an electric kettle. The results showed – in principle yes. It may be important for dacha owners, especially for the “horseless”. You don’t need to carry several appliances from the city, you just need to bring the stove.

This test indirectly confirmed the wattmeter measurements. The fastest stoves turned out to be the most powerful ones, according to our tests.

We did the test this way: we poured into a bucket 1L of cold tap water. We put it in the center of the heating zone, turn on the stove. If there was an auto-boiling program – activate it, if not – just set the maximum power temperature. You didn’t put a lid on the pot, so as not to miss the boiling point. We turned on the stopwatch on our smartphone and waited until the water started bubbling actively at the same time. Stopwatch was turned off and the value was recorded.

RUNNING BACK

I thought the test for evenness would be the most interesting and unexpected, but it turned out to be the most boring.

For this dough, we fried nuggets in a heated skillet. We didn’t add any oil. The task is to look at the crust, whether the nuggets in different corners of the pan will fry evenly.

The result was basically the same for all of them: the center nuggets fried a little bit stronger than the others. Otherwise, all turned out evenly fried with an even color of crust.

ZONES ARE ENDLESS

The diameter of the zone has a value. Manufacturer’s instructions usually specify a range from minimum to maximum. But graphically the zone is marked differently in all of them. Some have two circles – a small one and a maximal one, and some have a medium one. As it was explained to us, usually the diameter is indicated graphically, in which the frying would take place precisely.

The fact is that the processes of cooking and frying on induction stoves are different. You can also cook soup in a huge pot, the main thing that would fit on the stove. In this case, the liquid at the edges of the cookware will heat up from the liquid in the middle, and everything will be fine. But if you put a frying pan outside the zone and you fry pancakes in it, for example, they will stay soggy outside the heating zone.

This didn’t happen with the nuggets, because the pan we had was lucky. The diameter of its bottom fit all the stoves in the dough. By the way, don’t forget: when choosing an induction frying pan it’s important to know the diameter of the base. Cookware manufacturers usually specify the diameter of the pan itself, its working part. The diameter of the base will either have to be measured yourself in stores, or you can ask the retailer for this information.

TABLE NO 3. COMMON FEATURES

Model	KITFORT KT-107	MIDEA RHY2112	OURSSON IP1220T	ROLSEN RIO-2011	IPLATE YZ-QS	CASO Vario Power 3400 Chef 2253
Choosing by capacity	+	+	+	+ in some programs	+	+
Temperature selection	–	+	+	+ in several programs	+	+
Autoprograms	–	+	+	+	–	–
Display	–	+	+	+	+	+
Lock	+	–	+	+	–	–
Pause	–	+	+	–	–	–
Timer	–	+ For up to 3 hours	+ Up to 3 hours	+ up to 24 hours	+ Up to 24 hours	+ Before 3 hours
Features	Easy operation, reasonable price	Disables after 10 seconds if no program is selected	Boost mode, Stand-by 1 min.	Standby mode, delayed start	Stand-by mode, high power	Residual heat indication

AND YET IT GETS WARM

People often say that induction stoves heat the cookware and the cooking zone itself remains cool. And that’s not true – the stove heats up from the cookware, and heats up great. We used a thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature of the heating zone immediately after removing the ladle of water and after frying the nuggets.

I was impressed with the results. I remembered about them when I read some advice on the internet – “cover the stove with newspaper to keep it clean and cook on it”. When the tile heats up to almost 200° it can become dangerous.

Only one of the tested stoves has a residual heat indicator which shows which heating zone is hotter than 50°C.

So, housewives, take care of your hands. You should not put them on the hot plate area immediately after you’ve removed the cookware.

It’s true that the plates cool down quickly, also thanks to the operation of the fan.

DOWNLOAD! THE BEEP WILL NOW SOUND

We checked if the stoves really switch off when you take your dishes off. Everyone’s out. The algorithm is the same: first you hear a beep for a minute even if the hob has no beep , then the hob shuts down, then the fan stops.

Speaking of beeps, some stoves have beeps that are active when you turn them on, when you switch modes, when you turn them off. You can’t turn down the volume or turn off the buzzer, you have to consider this. And if you plan to use the stove in a room where a child sleeps, give preference to “voiceless” models, there are such too.

TEST RESULTS

All stoves successfully completed all the test tasks. We tried to give you as much detail as possible about the features of each. Read, compare, choose and buy the stove that’s made for you.

CROCK POT

In our tile test, we used the wonderful Pensofal cookware from the Vesuvius Biostone collection.

We fried the nuggets with the PEN 8002 without oil, by the way. And you boil water in a PEN 8011 ladle.

Pensofal cookware is non-stick coated with four layers each containing mineral particles which makes the coating extra strong and scratch resistant and ensures the maximum non-stick effect.

Model	Pensofal PEN 8002	Pensofal PEN 8011
Thickness	walls -3,5 mm Bottom -4,5 mm	walls -3.5 mm bottom -4.5 mm
Handle	Bakelite	Bakelite
Heat Resistant	up to 200°C	up to 200°C
Diameter	24 cm	16 cm
Diameter of the bottom	15.5 cm	12 cm

Patented double bottom made of stainless steel and aluminum, suitable for induction stoves. It is constructed with a special magnetic stainless steel plate. Tapered pointed projections “cling” to aluminum and form a riveted connection with it, the pointed cones enter the aluminum and direct the electromagnetic and natural heat transfer inside the cookware.