First, if you are not familiar with Induction, let me state that it is far superior to any of the other electric technologies, and even better than gas.
We tried a Duxtop Induction Hotplate before ordering this unit. The Duxtop uses a top material that is much less fussy about cleaning and does not get as hot or retain as much heat. Retained heat is the primary issue in responsiveness, the less the better. So the Duxtop is slightly more responsive. Both units are more responsive than gas and far more responsive than other electric technologies. In two years use as our primary cooking tool the Duxtop never got a visible scratch on the surface. The GE at one month already shows several light scratches. So I am a little disappointed in GE's choice of cook top material. That is the primary reason for the 4-star rating. I would have rated it 5-stars if not for the cook top surface material.
However, the Duxtop was far noisier, had way too small a diameter for the heat source, and poorly chosen heat levels. On the whole, the GE unit is a far superior product. Let me tell you all about it.
Noise: Noise was my number one complaint on the Duxtop. In contrast, the GE unit usually operates nearly silently. Occasionally the fan comes on and can be heard in a quiet room, but it is not noisy. This is a quiet unit.
Cooking: The power selections are perfect. There are 11 for each hob (burner). L, 1-9, and H. There are plenty of choices on the low end to precisely control simmers, and the small hob can be used for melting chocolate and such. For frying, a similar situation exists, and oh my goodness, H is sooooo fast and powerful for bringing liquids to a boil, or for reductions! Because the different size hobs operate in different power ranges, there are plenty of choices. Heating is dead even and I never appreciated how important this is, but it helps with control and because there are no hot spots, a higher overall temperature can be used. Reductions go so fast with this unit, I am amazed. My wife is amazed at how quickly she can bring her tea water to a boil. The unit is very responsive. If you haven't tried induction, responsiveness is it's claim to fame. So, this unit fulfills it's basic functions perfectly.
Cleaning: Far easier than gas or other electric technologies, because foods do not get cooked on, and because of the smooth surface. The cook top comes clean with a few quick wipes of damp soapy rag. However, the damp rag usually leaves a streaky appearance. GE recommends daily use of Ceramabryte. Ceramabryte produces a nice shiny result, but is a little more work, and it gets annoying to need to polish the unit after each and every light use. Alternatively, I have gotten decent results by using a dry rag to polish after the soapy wet rag. The bottom line here is that this cook top surface shows every tiny splatter and needs polishing to look good. The manufacturer warns that spills of hot sugary liquids must be cleaned immediately, while hot, to prevent pitting of the surface, and to use care not to burn yourself doing it.
Hob sizes and placement: I guess bigger is better when you are shopping. In practice, maybe not so much. I have yet to find a pan that has an 11" induction bottom, and yes I've looked. It's huge! Many pans sound bigger, but it's the bottom that counts, and if there is an induction insert then it is the size of the insert that matters. I measured a number at several major stores. A 14" saute pan, the largest I could find, had a 9" induction insert. Most 12" saute pans are around 8"s. Dutch ovens and deep sautes may only be an inch or two smaller than the quoted pan size, but are still not 11". Even 20 qt stockpots don't come in at 11"s. So this 11" burner is too large, wastes space, and the full power is therefore not used, as I understand it. It's also placed inconveniently far back for active cooking tasks like sauteing, but is fine for making stocks, stews and such. Fortunately, the 9" hob at front right serves all the more active tasks superbly and delivers plenty of power.
Controls: I think these are capacitance type sensors. I see many complaints about these being subject to issues with poor performance when wet on the internet. So far ours have worked flawlessly. Possibly they are slightly less responsive when wet, but not an issue. The control layout is easy and intuitive. I haven't used the timer yet. Lock the cook top for cleaning. A three second touch is required to lock or unlock.
Cookware: Normally not part of a cook top review, but since the US market is largely unfamiliar with induction I will comment:
Obviously you do need induction suitable cookware. I like a set of nonstick pans for everyday cooking, and a few stainless interior units for pan fried steaks, browning nuts, and other high temperature cooking operations. It can be very difficult to tell if a pan is induction suitable online. Use Amazon's Customer Questions and Answers and user reviews to try to find out.
The thin aluminum pans with induction inserts are my least favorite. The one we have warped on first use, likely when I added broth to a roux for a gravy. I wouldn't get another of this construction type.
We have a tri-ply type dutch oven that seems to work great for soups, stews, boiling etc. I would be concerned about warping if using something like this at high temperature, but it's light, stylish, and heats well. This is our widest pan and we use it on the 11" monster hob. Be sure these types of pans are actually rated for induction as some stainless is not suitable.
Our main set is Analon Nouvelle Copper Non-stick, and we have some complement pieces in their stainless line. These have the heavy plates attached to the bottom and will not warp under any circumstance. Heating is extremely even and well controlled. The only drawback is that these are heavy. I recommend this type of construction for use on induction, hands down. Again, make sure pans of this type of construction are rated for induction.
Cast iron: Works, but we haven't tried it yet. We have a Lodge LPG13 cast iron griddle on order to use with the two sync burners, but again no experience yet. Many people recommend using a piece of paper towel or parchment paper between cast iron and your cook top to reduce scratching. This sounds like a plan to me. There are also commercial products you can use, such as a Silpat baking mat.
Enameled cast iron: Also works, but we haven't tried it yet. Supposedly no paper or Silpat is required with enameled cookware.
Update: January 23, 2016: The Lodge LPG13 griddle works fine on with the two left hand burners synced. Surface temperature is not as even as I would like. At temperature setting 5, measured with an IR thermometer temperatures ranged from just over 400 F over the hobs to the mid-100' Fs at the edges. The area between the hobs runs around 250 F. Moving things around, as is common in griddle cooking makes it all work out. At temperature setting 6 it gets too hot over the hobs.
I tried it both with and without a silicon sheet, and have begun using it without the sheet for the most part. The LPG13 does not scratch the surface of the cooktop, thanks to Lodge's professional finishing. It will move around a bit when scraping and the use of a silicone sheet does help reduce that, but it is by no means necessary.
All-in-all, while I would prefer more even heating, the LPG13 is a usable griddle for the cook top. It is nice to be able to cook large. This morning I made French Toast cut thick from a country loaf for 5 people on it. Came out great.
Easy to use...very clean looking. Exceeds our expectations and the price was excellent. We love that there are no physical knobs to clean. Just two features surprised us but we learned to accept: (1) glass top is very slick - pots can slide all over, so, just be careful; (2) if you want the glass to be "streak-free" as we prefer, use a cotton towel and "CeramaBryte" cooktop cleaner. Paper towels and regular glass cleaner leaves streaks.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cook top! It has been fun to adjust to this as opposed to my ancient coil cooktop! I cannot tell you how much I love this! Sadly, I ordered the one with out the stainless steel, which is what I wanted...but, it's ok. I really am happy with this product. The bridge burners work well too! It is sleek and really makes my new kitchen look great!
I don't know if its the cooktop, or the cookware that I purchased that hums a little when turned on, but it stops very quickly after things get heated up. The slight hum is not loud nor does it interrupt anything. Just wanted to note that it is there. I researched a lot about induction cooking and know that is common among them.
The smooth surface is nice! Very pretty and modern. I think the placement of the different sizes of burners is just about right. It has not been difficult to clean, at all.
I am very happy with this product!
For induction cooktop, I'm looking for low noise(most of induction cooktop produce high pitch noise) and low magnetic leak(safety concerns). GE did pretty good there. The noise is very much at low frequency band which has lower column than a venthood. You can use a compass to test the cooktop magnetic wave leak. As long as you are a few inch away from the cooktop, you will find the compass reading is hardly changed by the cooktop magnetic leak wave.
This model is relatively new. There are many small things need to be improved. For example, the cooktop display is hard to see in the evening. You need lights to turn on or off the cooktop. Would be nice to lit up the cooktop background light if it senses your hand is near by. :)
I would rather cook with gas, but cooking with magnets is a sacrifice I'm happy to make for the sake of not contributing to fracking.
There are some awesome things about this product - it's EXTREMELY low-profile - so that when people walk in our house they think we don't have a stove. It also boils water in well under a minute. So fast that we got rid of our water boiler thing for tea.
One down side is that some of our favorite pans didn't work on it, but we are in the process of slowly collecting pans that do work (cast iron is great). Also - although there are 10 heat settings, we basically can't cook any food higher than level 4, otherwise it burns. I think it just takes a little getting used to.
Feature Product
- PHP9036DJBB
Description
36 Inch Induction Cooktop with 5 Induction Elements, 3, 700-Watt Element, Pan Size Sensors, SyncBurners, Red LED Display, Kitchen Timer, ADA Compliant and GE Fits! Guarantee.
Love the cooktop and the SPEED that the electric induction has when heating liquids. Just testing the water to boiling was amazing. Great safety feature too that the burner does not conduct heat where the pan is absent or will turn itself off when you remove the pan. I like the lock out feature since there are no knobs and the audible chimes when using the touch control panel. Happy with the unit and delivery was quick too. Recommend.
very good and fast, also clean, I like it very much, when I have traditional one, usually need to spend sometime clean up the around, now it is easy to clean all in no time.
but,
1. need steel or iron product only, hope there will be some non-stock steel or iron products
2. timer is not going to shut off power, actually, this is very easy to update in next version, since there are a lot of single spot induction product has timer triggering the power supply inside. this could lead to other production on the market.
I bought a less powerful version of this cook top in 1991, and it worked well for 25 years. When it finally failed, I replaced it with this one and am delighted with the improved performance. My wife and I have been sold on induction cooking since we first saw it demonstrated and have been singing its praises to anyone who would listen. It's like "cooking with gas"...... only better! The only down side is the special cookware required, but that is a small price to pay for the many advantages of induction cooking.
Induction is the way to go for cooktops. Fast, efficient and so easy to clean up. Spills do not burn or stick onto the surface. I installed this cooktop on the end of my island, rather than in the middle, and the best part of the placement is that two people can cook on it at the same time without getting in each other's way.
Fabulous cooktop so far. Only concerns is it scratches easily (knew that from other reviews) and it will make some noise from the cooling fan as well as the pots sometimes if there is any debris between the pot and the cooktop which is common with induction cooktops. Nothing (that you can legally have in your house) will heat water faster or control quicker. Only other issue is that I keep on throwing ice cubes in a pot and demoing it to visitors (wife rolling eyes).
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