Customer Reviews

Fagor 670040240 110-Volt Portable Induction Cooktop

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This was my first experience with induction cooking, and, like everyone else says, it's fantastic. Keeps the kitchen cool, heats things faster, offers precise control, environmental, easy to clean - all good stuff.

But I'm going to try a different brand next time I buy an induction cooktop. Here's why:

1) There are only six heat settings. I've found that to simmer many items, I need a setting in between 2 and 3. So I have to stand over it and manually switch between the two.

2) It appears to cycle on and off (at least on setting 3). A pot of stuff will bubble for a while, then stop, then bubble for a while, etc. I don't know if this is normal for an induction cooktop, but obviously it isn't very smooth.

3) The controls are indeed difficult to get used to, though it can be done. You need to give them a rather sharp tap, instead of just pressing them. There's also a delay, so if you want to turn the heat down from 6 to 1, you have to tap at certain intervals.

4) It seems to produce a hot spot in the center of the pan. That part will bubble when the edges stay cooler. I don't know if this is normal with induction cooking. I use All-Clad pans.

All told, these negatives don't outweigh the positive experience of using an induction cooktop. But I'll try another brand next time. And there will be a next time, because compared to my lousy electric stove, induction cooking is wonderful!

I've had this cooktop for 3 months now and I'm really pleased with it. I bought it to see if I liked induction enough to spring for a whole cooktop when I replace my stove. All but one of my pans worked on it (if you have aluminum cookware you will need to go shopping). I mainly use All-Clad stainless, Lodge cast iron and Chantal enamel on steel cookware. I have an iron, flat bottomed wok that works great with it. It is FAR superior to a hot plate or extra burner. This little unit has become our main stove. I could see using just one or two of these in a cabin, kitchenette, dorm, etc. I've been pleased with my Fagor pressure cooker, so that's why I chose this brand.

What makes me happy:
-incredibly quick response, I think as good as gas
-less heat in the air makes the kitchen more comfortable and cooking is safer
-no charred mess from spillovers etc. Really easy to clean
-fabulous low temperature setting that is barely more than warm. It will melt chocolate beautifully on the lowest setting. No more fiddling with a double boiler.
-I like the timer feature. When the timer ends, it turns off the unit. That's a boon for a distracted cook.
-It's harder to burn things with this cooktop than with gas or electric. Partly because it's so responsive, but I really think it does a better job of maintaining a consistent temperature.

Things you should know:
-as another reviewer noted, there is a hot spot in the middle where all the action is. If you use a really big pan, you'll see where the heat is concentrated. However, I haven't had any actual problems with this. It heats even large pans quite well even though it says somewhere in the manual to use smaller pans.
-if you lean on the front edge it will tip. Sounds dumb, but I've done it.
-there's a brief learning curve to the touchpad controls. Maybe 3-4 days of having to think about it and now it's second nature.

I really hope that induction cooking gains a wider audience in the U.S. It's a fabulous technology that's ready for mainstream consumers.

****UPDATE**** Now I've owned this unit for a year and a half or so. I still love it and I'm using it full time as my main burner. I'm considering buying a second one and never using my old radiant electric cooktop again. As it is, I removed the knobs from my cooktop and this little guy sits on top of it all the time. I'm also not sure I want to replace my old cooktop - a new 4-5 burner induction unit is close to a couple thousand dollars. I can buy a second one of these and probably never know the difference.

The glass surface has become a little scratched because I use heavy cast iron pans on it. (You can put some parchment paper under the cast iron pans to protect the surface, but I forget.)

This portable induction cooktop does what it says. Portable and eco-friendly! The countdown timer is a really nice feature. The touch buttons may need a little time to get used to for some new users and The fan is bit noisy . Otherwise I will rate 5 stars. I have to retire some of my old cookware which are not induction compatible and spend more money for new induction compatible ones. By the way, fagor customer service is not as nice as their product...

I do a lot of cooking and I was expecting a good result after reading the other reviews about the Fagor unit on Amazon.

I was very disappointed with the Fagor cooktop. I found the controls to be difficult to use (I had to wet my finger to get them to work) and very slow to react - You need a quick response when adjusting heat, and this just wasn't up to the task.

Also, the unit did not provide a well spread heat source. I was using All-clad stainless steel pans and found that the area heated was roughly 3" across - this lead to a very hot center of my pans and much cooler edges. All Clad pans give very good heat dispersion, and this was the worst I have ever seen them perform.

This cooktop just isn't up to snuff for anyone who wants a solid cooking experience. Frankly, my little Thermos dual-burner propane camping stove is much better than this - and much cheaper.

Off the batch, it doesn't match a full size 220v induction cooktop in performance, which works like a charm. The induction section shows 2 rings 5" and 8.5". On this model and possibly on all portable ones, due to power limitations on 110V and fuse breaker size, the active heating part is only the 5" ring, not the 8.5" which can be a problem depending on pan size and cooking method used. Despite these restrictions, considering the price, I'm overall pleased with the cooktop, works good,precise adjustment of heat, reacts fast like a gas burner, heats small pots and pans fast, works with large pots too. Of course only magnetic ones work, half of mine did. I use it every time I cook, combined with my regular smooth cooktop or grill, to saute, boil, simmer,I like the timer function.

I just packaged my cook top up to return it to amazon. We used it for the first time last night without much success. First off, aside from the fact it was stuck on the no. 4, (I think this is suppose to be equivalent to medium heat) I got a center burn mark on my 12 year old ALL CLAD stock pot! I've never ever had my ALL CLAD cookware react that way on gas cook tops. It tells me that the cook top has a hot spot! Also, my husband and I are in our 50's and are somewhat healthy, and we both had difficulty turning on the unit. Maybe that was also defective, but you have to push hard on the button to turn it off/on. It didn't have ease of use in my opinion. I think in its favor, design. It has a nice look but didnt work. Not sure yet what we are going to do, I need a unit for acid dyeing yarn in my studio and this fit the bill to also help out my over loaded kitchen on holidays. I see all clad came out with a unit, its a whopping 799.00!

I've wanted gas since I bought my house years ago, and I could have it (propane) if I remodel the cabinet space above the present cooktop (a Jenn-Air radiant) to give me at least 18" clearance above the rear burners for code purposes (I have 16"). I'd like to avoid that because, as we all know, one thing leads to another and that leads to lots of money spent for 2".

Since some claim induction is actually more responsive than gas (and without the drawback of wasted ambient heat production) I thought I'd try a single burner induction and I decided on the Fagor. I was planning on eventually buying a full unit in the 2.5K range if I loved it. I didn't.

I realize it's unfair to compare this single burner to one of the full-sized units on a dedicated 40 amp circuit, but hey, what else could I do.

The Fagor had a 20 amp circuit all to itself, and I used my All-Clad and Le Creuset pots and pans.

I didn't like the fan noise. I didn't like the whine from the pans (which, with my cookware, I'm sure was actually minimal). But I could have lived with that. What I couldn't live with (and why I returned it) is the lack of control in the low range.

It has six settings. The two lowest settings (1 & 2) cycle on and off (I used a Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor and 1 draws from 6 watts to +/- 465 watts and 2 draws from 6 watts to +/- 550 watts) so if you're simmering rice in a covered pan, for example, when the unit cycles off there is no simmering whatsoever, and when it cycles back on it resembles more of a low boil. My Jenn-Air doesn't do this (even though it also cycles) because the cooktop retains significant heat in the off cycle. It will effectively simmer over the full simmer range.

On the Fagor, if you move the control to 3 (a constant draw of +/- 615 watts) it will boil over. So, low heat cooking requires constant operator supervision and significant intervention (see Mark Wilden's review) which is a downward departure from my Jenn-Air.

The people who love it have their reasons and I'm glad it works for them. It's a very stylish unit and it works well in the upper ranges (4 draws +/- 865 watts; 5 draws +/- 1085 watts; and 6 draws +/- 1140 watts).

I'm relatively sure any issues I had with this model would largely disappear with the real thing, but I'd have to see the unit I wanted to buy in action, with my cookware, before I plunked down some real money. I certainly wouldn't spend +/- $2.5K based only upon my experience with this model.

I hate the Jenn-Air cooktop in the house I bought and, before I shelled out $3 - 4k for an induction cooktop to replace it, I thought I'd try this little one out.

My dislike of the Jenn-Air gas cooktop is the lack of "range". Low is too hot to simmer and high just doesn't get there to blacken meats. With only 6 heating levels, I did not expect the Fagor cooktop to have the precision I want. I was wrong, it excelled in both. I simmered a pot of chili quickly and it easily held it at just below simmer. I clarified butter in a steel bowl (more on that later) and it quickly separated and never boiled up to mess up the separation. I then took it outside, put it up on high with my Lodge fry pan and seared a steak like never before.

And, I sent it back. Of all the pots and pans I had, only three worked. Be sure you check your cookware to see if a magnet will stick before you commit to any Induction unit. None will work with aluminum, copper or some stainless steel pots or pans.

One other small issue was the fan noise and funny noise the controls make when the unit cycles on and off. I would have lived with that, but not a big investment in all new cookware.

... and worth every single dollar even for those of us with fine wine taste on a beer budget! If you live in an urban condo or similar small space this unit & at most 2 of them could replace the traditional bulky stovetop & be stored in a cupboard when you have no time to cook. I have been test driving mine for 3 weeks now & have worked thru some initial touch pad issues - ATMs and voting machines don't like me either! - and can't stop smiling. Now I understand why even the classic chefs are switching to induction in commercial kitchens - such a relief to work long hours w/o the heat buildup. I live in a hurricane zone and from now on won't have to worry about cooking if we lose power for extensive periods - this light weight unit would work off a standard generator (110v;only 2 prong connection) or could be thrown in the car (literally) w/other emergency gear and used in a hotel, etc. I fell in love with the Fagor brand sev years ago after doing extensive research and eventually buying my first Fagor pressure cooker. I have since purchased different sizes of same for myself & given quite a few of the cookers as gifts to very special friends and relatives who share love of simplified gourmet cooking, fast/healthy cooking, & "greening up the kitchen" whenever possible - but always w/eye on the wallet. If I ever (1) buy a ticket & (2)win the lottery, I'll give one of these to everyone I know. After that I shall have a Fagor Euro minimilist kitchen designed especially for me!!!! ha ha PS: I do not work f/this company but if I lived near WallStreetWest in Jersey I'd apply for a job! Their customer service is remarkably responsive & friendly - hi Tina and Jenny - so the management must be as good as the products. Summation: GREAT BUY!

Please beware of this product. I purchased my unit in April 2010. By August 2011, it had stopped working - the display flashes "EC" which stands for electrical connection. I phoned the 1-800 Fagor customer service number and was told that, since my unit is out of the 1-year warranty period, they will not replace it. Moreover, I cannot even pay to have them repair it as they do not have a service center. So, after 1 year and 4 months of service, the unit is broken and there is nothing Fagor will do to replace or repair it, even at my own cost.