Customer Reviews

Circulon Infinite Induction Cooker

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

[UPDATE TO THE REVIEW BELOW - after using the cooker about 10 times (10 hours over a 5 month period) it has quit working. The fan runs and the display indicates all is well, but no heat is generated in the pot (and yes, it is an induction-compatible pot).]

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I couldn't find the power rating of this device anywhere on the web. I decided to risk buying it because the device looked well thought-out. The label on the underside rates it at 1500 Watts max. I measured around 1430 Watts (active power) and around 1530 VA (apparent power) using a Kill-A-Watt meter with the burner running at max power. It has 9 power settings down to a 100 W simmer.

In a large-diameter pan it brought 2 qts of water from room temperature to a boil in 10 minutes. Based on the pattern of the boiling activity the device seems to have an active heating area 5-6 inches in diameter, which is consistent with the recommended minimum pot diameter of 5 inches.

The 3-star rating is due to the small diameter of the active heating area. I bought this thing in part to cook down garden produce like tomatoes in broad shallow pans prior to freezing or canning, and it doesn't seem very good for that. I'm used to cooking with gas, and a gas burner spreads the heat across the bottom of the pan (much of it escaping around the sides, unfortunately). The induction burner focuses the heat much more precisely, so if you cook in smaller diameter pans it may suit you well. BTW, it has a fan that is not exactly whisper quiet but wouldn't bother me.

I had this burner for 6 months and just about completely stopped using the burners on my stove, but after 6 months the little thing that pops out in the front broke. (See the picture, this is where the controls are located and the screen tells you what the settings are.) First the screen went blank so you couldn't tell what the settings were and then about 2 weeks later, it quit working all together. Maybe something in the way we were using it caused it to break. I'm buying a different induction burner today with a different design (not one with little pop out controls).

When I received an unpacked the cooker it was pretty much what I expected: Beautiful design, reasonable craftsmanship. The plastic bottom seemed a little bit cheap, the pull-out controls a bit flimsy - but from there to the top: very nice, nothing to complain about.

Now, let's put the thing to work. First disappointment: It has no power switch. Yes, it's nice to see the word "circulon" lit up in red - but the on/off switch does not turn the unit off completely, you have to pull the plug.

The next surprise came when I put it to use: Oh my, what a noise! Yes, I expected the buzzing sound typical for some induction cookers, but this cooker has a cooling fan that runs constantly and produces a noise level somewhere between a mixer and a modern hair dryer. All the time. No, it's not thermostat-controlled. Imagine using the nice temperature-hold functionality (which could do with a few more levels) holding the proper temperature while preparing a pot roast: You probably will feel like three hours under a hair dryer in a hair saloon.

Bottom line: Beautiful, fascinating, effective - and so noisy that I sent it back the next day.

I've used two other portable induction burners, but this one has some great extra features: A detailed instruction book is the first great help. At 1500w, it has power to boil & fry very quickly- a real time-saver. It's wider diameter allows use of 12 and 14 inch skillets in addition to smaller ones. The "Hold" temperature feature was what I selected this model for and does it deliver! I can set a constant temperature to cook, for instance, pancakes or steaks without burning them. No electric griddle needed. The Circulon Infinite 6qt Saute Pan I got to use with it has become my favorite cookpan. The Gift with purchase is an awesome value as well. This is a great induction burner to start with and keep!

I have checked out the unit to find that it works the way it was advertised

- 5 inch working unit in about 12 inch surface, and heats up the "magnet-sticking" cookwares fast.
- I am not sure how many times it is going to work since I only tried it once at a store.
- Best price seems to be $99.95 at Crate and Barrel (+shipping around $10~$15)

Too delicately designed for my taste that I did not purchase the item. If there will be a sturdier model with larger surface, I would buy it. Until then, I will do the fast boiling in my Chef's Choice tea kettle, fast braising in my pressure cooker, travel cooking on my travel butain burner, and slow cooking in my Crock-Pot slow cooker.

The cooker performed well at first. Nothing spectacular as far as the time to boil a pot of water even as compared to a conventional electric range, but for a portable device the induction system offers benefits that you don't get from usual electric element portable burners. Very nice that the unit doesn't get hot except for the residual heat from the pot, and that fact that a portable burner could boil a large pot of water in a reasonable time was a good sign for my intended use (onboard our boat). Unfortunately, the unit I bought began failing almost immediately. It kept turning itself off. My suspicion is that an internal sensor was triggering the shut off because something in the induction system was getting too hot or drawing too much power and the shut off was a safety mechanism. This happened using the correct pot for induction cooking, and without any environmental or workload abuse. This shouldn't happen with a well design device. The unit performed reasonably well when it wasn't going into shut down mode. Problem is, shut down happened before any cooking could be completed, so it is a fatal flaw for me. I could have just gotten a defective unit. If Circulon reads these reviews and thinks this is the case, I would be happy to hear their side.

I bought the circulon infinite induction cooker today. I put my 8quart pot filled with cold tap water on it, hit "on" and started the stopwatch. 25 minutes to go from cold to rolling boil. Not bad. And no heating up the whole house or worry about cleanup if it boils over. The timer is pretty darn nice too.

I loved this unit when I bought it. I almost completely quit using my range top. However, within two months I began getting "error messages" and it would shut off. I was never able to use it for long slow cooking. In another month, the display unit stopped working. The unit still works, I just have to turn it on and count backwards to the setting I want. In addition, it still shuts off whenever. I LOVE this cooking method, but would definitely recommend another brand!!

After reading all the reviews, I decided to go ahead and buy the Circulon Infinite Induction Cooker to go along with my new set of Circulon Infinite pots and pans (Christmas present). I have a ceramic cooktop stove. It has its good points (easy to keep clean/looks good) and its bad points (very hard to control temperature, slow to respond to changes, and scary during a boilover since there are no wells to catch the fluids). I decided to try the induction cooker for two reasons: 1) I cook a lot of pasta and wanted something that shortened the boiling time; and 2) I wanted more control over cooking temperatures. This induction cooker accomplished both those things. Using a 7 QT Circulon Infinite covered pasta pan, I brought the water to a boil in 35 minutes on my ceramic cooktop. Using the same (covered) pan with the same amount of water, it only took 20 minutes on the induction burner. That's a substantial improvement. Unless I'm making a recipe that requires extensive prep work, I'd rather be eating than waiting for water to come to a boil. And, from my point of view, the noise from the fan is minimal and does not irritate me at all. To me, it is a non-issue. The vent on my stove hood is much louder than this fan. Also, I was intrigued with the review about the stabilized environment for a pressure cooker. I love using a pressure cooker, but always had to spend too much time trying to stabilize the pressure when using my ceramic cooktop. I'm looking forward to seeing how my pressure cookers (I have 3) respond to the induction burner. I have only used the induction cooker three times so far, but I'm extremely pleased with it and love the idea of having an additional "burner" that I can push off to the side when I need more counter space, or assigning a task to a helper who can work at the other end of the counter. Very cool. I'd recommend this cooker to anyone who could use an extra burner and a little more free time. It handles pots and pans of all sizes, although it does state it is best suited for pans with a bottom diameter minimum of 5" and a maximum of 10.5". And they must be induction compatible (magnetic bottoms).

I purchased the Circulon Infinite Induction Cooker about 2 months ago and use it almost daily. It has worked excellently to date and has made up my mind about future kitchen designs. I currently have glass top electric but wanted gas then started hearing about induction tops. I picked this cooker up to test it out and it really lives up to the hype. I will be installing an induction cook top with the up coming kitchen remodel and I've also discovered that pans such as the older Emerilware and All-Clad stainless work perfectly. I was disappointed that a small set of Wolfgang Pucks classic line won't work but have since replaced the 4 or 5 pieces with Emerilware Pro line or All-Clad stainless line. I also just purchased a Fagor pressure cooker that will work on induction so I'm pretty well set now. This one will join me when traveling as it really comes in handy.