Induction gets even cheaper

[askolover]

I was watching Holmes on Homes a few weeks ago and he had installed a hidden induction cooktop. It had the coils under the granite top. They opened the drawer below and revealed the controls. It looked neat but what happens when something needs replacing on it? I just found it interesting.

 

[sudsmaster]

The actual usage or induction may be the same or even cheaper than natural gas, but what about the cost of replacing:

 

1) Stoves

2) Water heaters

3) Central heating systems

 

I'm thinking that cost could be up to $10,000 or more per residence.

 

 

[joeekaitis]

Beta vs. VHS 2.0

Someone had to say it.

 

[combo52]

Cost of going green

Hi Rich, you can install an induction cooktop for less than $1500 you probably still have the wiring there from the old electric cooktop some of this cost is now covered by federal tax credits and it may also have credit from California or your utility company.

The cost of converting to a heat pump water heater may be a little is $1000 again there are big rebates available.

The cost of adding a central heat pump on your existing system could cost anywhere from 2000 to 5000, as we age you need air conditioning it’s dangerous to your health to live without it during the heat spells that are gonna be coming in the coming years.

John L

 

[jamiel]

Speaking of a heat pump water heater--has anyone had any experience with them? I don't see it as being a solution in Michigan (with the cold tap water) but think it might be a solution here in Palm Springs (with the warmer tap water).

 

[qsd-dan]

Standard heat pumps are claimed to work in surrounding temperatures as low as 40F. Split-type heat pump water heaters work in temperatures as low as -25°F. I don't have any personal experience with them but there's a few here who have one. John LeFever has one.

 

[bradfordwhite]

heat pump w.h.s are:

1. loud, they make noise because of the fan(s) and compressor(s).
2. expensive to install.
3. Have a long recovery time, up to 3 hours.
4. expensive to fix as it has a sealed system. If any part of the sealed system that's immersed in water should spring a leak, you're screwed. Can't easily DIY that.
5. When installed in a heated space they dump cold air into that heated space adding a burden to your heat source. More $$



I'll keep my 6 gallon 120 volt 2000 watt GE water heater I got in 2010 for $44.
It just keeps going and going without noise or problem. I turn the timer knob and within a minute I've got a stream of hot water for doing dishes. If I want to take a shower or do laundry, I turn the timer to 30 minutes and give it 10 minutes. Never been disappointed. Easy to dump out and clean as its portable. Easy to fix- the element is $12 though I haven't had to replace it yet. No hassle. No ego b.s. And it's certainly green.

If it's running for 1/2 hr a day on average
using 1 killowatt(1,000 watts of steady use for an hour)
(2,000 watts x 1/2) and the rate for kilowatt hour here is $0.32 x 1
that's $0.32 a day
times approx. 30 days in a month = $9.60 a month (plus tax)

i can live with that. lol 

 

[bradfordwhite]

As for induction cook tops.

I still got these babies, 2 of them, though I only use one these days. 

Boy oh boy, I had to strap these heavy 4 pound puppies on a dolly to get them in here.....I'm telling you it's a ball buster.

 

I've had to replace the terminals on the wires a couple of times which cost me $0

but the burner, cord, and temperature control just keeps going.

 

So how green is this?  

When it's running, maybe 15 minutes a day, it uses 1000 watts when on but it cycles so figure  half the time.

(1,000 x 1/4 x 1/2) = 125 watts or

1/8 kilowatt a day x $0.32 (the rate of electric here) =  $0.04 a day

 

x approx. 30 days a month = $1.20 a <span style="font-size: 12pt;">month </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>(plus tax)

 

but I'm intrigued by induction.  

 

[bradfordwhite]

Check this out

tempting.

 

But then I either have to replace my copper bottom Revereware OR

 

get a disk adapter.

 

The other thing is the wattage it states.  Is that, when it's in use, the EQUIVALENT of a traditional stove top element, or is that what it's actually using?

[this post was last edited: 11/14/2022-22:16]

 

[mattl]

Those cheap countertop inductions are poor performers at best. Nothing like a real cooktop, they lack the power.  They work and can be a good primer to get into induction but I would not judge a cooktop by the performance of a induction plate.

 

[maytag85]

Induction cooktops are toys compared to a electric or gas cooktop and or stove. Give me gas any day, have the luxury of using the cooktop when there’s no power.

 

[bradfordwhite]

seriously?

Maybe there's a misunderstanding here but...

 

"Give me gas any day, have the luxury of using the cooktop when there’s no power."

I can count the number of significant electric outages I've encountered in my 50+ years in the single digits.

 

Never when one was happening did I think :

 

Oh, now more than ever I desire to make a fabulous 6 dish cooked meal on my stove

or

This is a great time to make a stir fry and hand-made cinnamon rolls in my oven.  Perhaps I can use the soggy ingredients that have thawed in my refrigerator for the last 4 days and hope for the best.

 

Nor could one use a gas stove as a heat source in winter unlike an electric stove with the front burners and oven set on the low setting.  The likes of which I have had to do on occasion because the gas furnace stopped working or the heat pump was insufficient .

 

[bradfordwhite]

Toys?

So all the meals I've made in the last 12 years, the pots of water I've boiled, the eggs I've scrambled, the foods I've warmed were...... toys?

 

Never have I thought -I wish I had the REAL POWER of a 30" stove.

 

Seldon does a cook, a real cook, turn a burner to the highest setting on a builtin or free-standing stove unit and leave it there. 

 

The only time I can think of where one would want an inordinate amount of sudden heat would be stir frying in a wok.  That would be best outside anyway because of the mess and there are dedicated appliances for that.  It's better to just get that kind of food from a restaurant imo.

 

But I mean each to their own.  I prepare food at home daily for only me.  Others have to prepare food for a family and they will certainly have larger needs than me.

 

[foraloysius]

There are induction wok burners too, from cheap to expensive. With 3500 Watts they are not toys I think. At least I wouldn't let a child play with it.

Negative attitudes often come from lack of experience.

 

[joeekaitis]

Today's under-$2,000.00 induction lineup at Home Depot

 

In Sunny SoCal.  Price may vary by region.

 

[maytag85]

Bradfordwhite

I’ve dealt with at least a dozen plus power outages this year since they had to replace all the power equipment in the neighborhood since it was time to upgrade equipment that was at least 30+ years old. Every outage lasted at least 8+ hours, couldn’t do anything including making myself some breakfast in the morning which meant I had to get something out since there was no power. Thanksgiving last year was absolute hell since I was without power from 11pm Wednesday to at least 9am on Friday, because of that I had no thanksgiving dinner and ended up having McDonald’s instead. If I had a gas cooktop/stove, it would have been a different story all together since I would have had at least a partial thanksgiving dinner. Electric cooking is great when it works but are up a creek without a paddle when the power goes out for at least a couple of days.

 

[combo52]

Gas cooktops

Sean all you need is a side burner on your gas grill or a portable two burner LP cooktop I keep one in both houses just in case of power outages.

It’s not worth putting up with the gas cooktop for those occasional power outages.

I’ve been dealing with this awful Jenn air cooktop all week I’ve been here in Pleasanton California this week with my partner Todd, this thing took 17 minutes to boil a pot of water we had to go out and get an electric tea kettle.

 

[joeekaitis]

 

That is one quirky burner layout.

 

[sudsmaster]

I can't say I've ever used an induction cooktop but I doubt it's much quicker than a gas fired system. The main heat sink in a full pot of water is... THE WATER.

 

Yesterday I sealed off the ceiling vent in the main bath here and immediately noticed an improvement in the heat retention. It does have a kind of flapper in the 3.5 inch piping up in the attic, but since I can hear it opening and shutting all by itself when it's windy outside I doubt it seals very well even when it's not windy.

 

Still have to get around to the stove vent in the main kitchen, and the original bath in the main house. I keep the door to that bath shut most of the time, so it's not a big heat loser as far as I can tell. Probably has something to do with the difference in workmanship between 1941 when the house was built, and ~1965 when the master bedroom/bath addition was added.

 

 

[combo52]

The Water

Hi Rich, induction is much faster you should read the facts before you comment most tests have it boiling a quality of water more than twice as fast as a Gas burner.

I’ve been here in Pleasanton cooking all this lovely generic gas cooktop this past week.

The first thing I had to do was boil a gallon of water and it took 17 minutes and never really boiled vigorously.

Yesterday I made a homemade spaghetti sauce cooking in the onions and browning the ground turkey took an amazingly long time I’ve never used an electric stove anywhere the slow it did get cooked eventually.

I decided to make rice instead of pasta cause I knew this thing with never boiled water fast enough to really cook pasta properly. After haven’t tried it earlier in the week.

John L