Most Responsive Modern Electric Cooktop?

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I use gas and I love it.  But....if I lived where gas service wasn't available I'd go with induction.  If I ever build a new house I plan to have a gas range on one side of the kitchen and an induction cooktop on the other.  Currently have a Duxtop countertop 1800W model to try it out...had it now for almost 2 years and I use it more than the gas range...especially in the Summer and it won't heat up my kitchen like the gas does.  I went ahead and bought a new stainless cookware set at Walmart that's induction compatible. 
 
I went out to buy some new cookware for my Volrath induction unit and most all of now has a magnetic layer in it. There is even hard anodized aluminum that they are incorporating a magnetic layer into if one can't deal with abandoning aluminum cookware!

Replacing the cookware seems a small price to pay to be able to cook with a higher performance heat source.
 
It does make sense that a cruise ship would go with electric instead of gas. Why have to cart around a completely different fuel source when there's already tons of diesel on board making electricity? Plus piping propane through the ship would add another level of danger. A gas explosion in a house is one thing... a gas explosion on board a ship at sea filled with thousands of tourists... a whole nother level of tragedy.

Although I confess I don't quite get the square heating plates on that range, vs. round, but maybe there's a good reason. Maybe the food gets cooked in the same rectangular pans that go on the buffet steam table? Probably great for casserole type cuisine.
 
In a commercial situation

When I joined the commercial cooking business 14 years ago there were units available rather like the one Kevin illustrates above, they are not that popular as they were not as responsive as gas. But since the introduction of induction tops all electric units are becoming more and more popular as they are much easier to install, cleaner to operate and do not require the extensive ventilation requirements (with gas, by law, you are required to have mechanically assisted fresh air into the kitchen as well as extract) where is any part of the ventilation fails the gas supply is shut off through the interlock to the ventilation.

Another interesting feature is "invisible" induction on the likes of server counters where the induction unit is placed under the top and so is not visible but a magnetic cooking vessel placed on top will work, we did one of these before Christmas but it took a trial of three different types of chafing dish before we could get one to work properly - all to do with the magnetic content apparently.

Like many others, I would recommend induction in your situation too.

Al
 
It's going to be a competitive situation with bidding on the house.  Today is the deadline for offers to be submitted.  I think it's a long shot that her offer will be accepted.  I did tell her that as far as traditional electric goes, her GE is as good as it gets.  She wasn't thrilled to hear that, but it could be a moot point anyway.

 

Thanks for all the input.  On the outside chance she ends up with the place, she'll have options to consider.
 
Well, if this is her first house, she'll have a whole lot of other things on her mind besides the cooktop. And yes, that view is wonderful. I'm assuming the home is in the hills, but wondering which ones? San Mateo/Santa Clara? Fremont side? The yard looks interesting... with the fencing she might be able to have a veggie garden without the deer decimating it. Maybe. I hear they can leap over 6 ft fences.

I wish her luck with the offer. This can be a very stressful time. When I bought this place, I was nearly beside myself with the bidding process, taking out the huge (to me at the time) mortgage, signing a stack of paperwork that I just had to trust my real estate agent to tell me what it all meant. Then I spent a month fixing up the place: painting interior, pulling up old green wall to wall carpet, refinishing three rooms of nice broad plank hardwood, replacing the water line from the utility box to the home, etc... it never seems to end, either, but one just gets used to things... aging in place... lol, like the owner.
 
The House

Rich, it's in an unincorporated portion of San Pablo known as Bayview.   The view in the pic above is across to the north shores of San Pablo Bay, mainly portions of Marin and Sonoma Counties that for various reasons will likely remain unspoiled by development.

 

My sister's bid fell short.  Out of 19 offers, five were better/higher than hers.  It's fine.  The house needs about $40K worth of work.  The declarations document is some 215 pages long and the place is being sold as is.  The highest offer didn't reach the $600K mark.

 

She owns her place in Los Angeles and has decent equity in it, but San Pablo is a hot market and a contingency offer wouldn't stand a chance.   Hers would have been a cash deal, but she drew her line in the low 500s.

 

Here's a link to the listing on Zillow.  So far there's no mention of any sale pending.  If you view the pictures, you'll see that the kitchen is the sorriest room in the house, and quite small.

http://https//www.zillow.com/homedetails/2071-Cypress-Ave-San-Pablo-CA-94806/18498719_zpid/
 
The kitchen is on the small side, but well laid out, IMHO. It's obviously been refinished... the coppertone cooktop hood is a dead give away. Why they didn't paint that white, along with everything else (including the cooktop, apparently) is a mystery to me.

It took me a while to figure out how that house is laid out. From the street it looks like a run of the mill tract home. But the rear portion with the Great Room and vaulted ceiling sets it apart. I guess that's a family room, since there's also a smaller seating area opposite the dining "room". I think. Also the house mostly appears to be over a crawl space, except for the rear great room which looks like it's on a slab. That's probably a good thing, since it allows the plumbing to be accessible under the main floor, although it also looks like a very tight crawl, which could complicate the gas line extension.

It's right on the water, with a set of train tracks running just n.e. of the rear of the lot. Depending on what runs there, that may or may not be a problem. The view is nice but I notice that similar sized homes inland of that site are going for substantially less.
 
I personally have ALWAYS had an electric cooktop. Grew up using them. From the GE ribbon coil burners to the first corning ware white glass top unit and down to the radiant black glass top burner that I have now. The latest is very quick indeed and amazingly enough, consumer reports said it heats a little quicker than gas and cools down quicker than the electrics up to now ever have. It is MUCH easier to clean up, if you have a boil over or mess with a smooth glass top. I can use comet and a green scrubber pad on it with no problem at all. I think it amounts to what you learned how to cook on and grew up with in many cases as to whether you prefer gas or electric.
 
The trains weren't bad when we were there.  Being a train person, I didn't have a problem with them.  No horns are used since there aren't any grade crossings nearby.  Traffic consists mainly of Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains that are about five cars long and pass by quickly.  From the back yard, you can barely see the tops of the trains unless you walk all the way out to the edge.

 

A long haul freight train also went past.  It made more noise, but you could still converse outside, and inside the house the double pane windows muffled it quite effectively.

 

I have no doubt that the view is what sold the place.  There was another home down the street (2173 Cypress) that we looked at.  A mirror image without an added on room, but with more yard beyond its chain link fence.  It had less of a view due to vegetation from the park behind it and was a lot less private.  It didn't hold a candle to the one she was going after, but it did have a nice KDC 21 in the kitchen.
 
Interesting house, the outside sure does not match the inside.  Looks like lots of update to the interior, but none outside.  One thing that struck me looking at the interior shots is that the entry door does not in anyway belong.  Cross-buck with diamond windows with that modern interior ? No.

 

Other than that the interior seems fine, the kitchen is not that bad for it's size.  I agree the hood should have been swapped out, but that is minor.
 
Oh for sure, that entry door would have to go.  I'd replace it with something less vulnerable and more modern with glass up high, as it would be dark in the entry way if the door were solid.  The exterior needs an update.  It does belie the interior improvements (except the kitchen) and the enormous add-on room, though.
 
Just curious, what all needs to be done to the house that would cost $40k? Termite? Foundation? Plumbing? Electrical? All of the above?

The roofing looks OK in the photos, but sometimes you have to look at it up close. I wonder about the join between the gable roofing over the main house and the walls and perhaps even the angled shed roofing over the great room. That can be a problem area if the flashing isn't done right.

Too bad the house isn't flipped around so the great room is in front. But perhaps not as much privacy that way.

All moot, anyway. Just as well.
 
Drainage issues (note all the flex extensions off the downspouts), termites, dry rot (the exposed ends of those big great room beams in particular), some roof and sewer work.   Of course, the inspecting contractor quoted the prices, and the work could possibly cost less if someone else does it.

 

The seller is the daughter of the original owners.  She has lived there for the past few years.  None of them ever lifted a finger with regard to upkeep, and there's some DIY stuff that appears to have been inspired by Popular Mechanics.

 

I think the winning bidder got a good deal in spite of all that.   In addition to the view, while standing at the back fence you can hear the bay waters lapping at the shore below.   Even if it runs up to $650K after all necessary work is done, that's very reasonable for a waterfront view home around these parts.
 
The Titanic's main two ranges, spanning 96 feet and 19 ovens, used coal, which obviously the ship had in abundance.

However the ship also had an electric oven for baking and various electric appliances for freezing, mincing, peeling, toast and such.

I don't know if steam was used in the kitchen, although the main heating source for the ship was steam. First class cabins and some other areas of the ship also had supplemental electric heaters.
 

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