Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not ideal pricing, but very good cooktop, May 25, 2006
I would have given it 5 stars if it was even a little bit less expensive: the price is bound to keep some people from wanting to try it.
Also, if you have a lot of non-ferrous, glass, etc. cookware, read this before buying an induction cooktop!
1. You won't be able to use non-ferrous (non-magnetic) pots and pans. Check your cookware with a magnet before purchasing an induction plate. If they're not magnetic at all, they probably won't work. We use enamel-coated cast iron pots, and they work really well.
2. Cooks much more efficiently than gas or electric (heats up faster, and doesn't shed excess heat in the area not in contact with the pot).
3. Your cooking area doesn't get hot, only the pot and the food do. If you have to cook in the summer, you'll appreciate not having to crank up the A/C.
It has some really great safely features, too: if the pot isn't compatible, or if you remove it, the cooktop starts to beep. If you don't put the pot back (or transfer it to one that works on induction stoves), it turns itself off. It has a sealed top and sealed controls so spills or splatters can't get into the element or the console.
I thought about getting one of these for about 7 months before making the purchase, and now I'm really glad that I did.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great intro to induction cooking!, November 29, 2007
I wanted a way to cook that wouldn't heat my kitchen (think August - South Texas). Without having any experience with induction cooking, I wanted something that could give me an idea, but not go into the range of making a car payment for a test drive. So, I purchased the Sunpentown SR-1851. Wow! I no longer need to dread a massive heat-up of my kitchen when cooking in the summer months.
Are you using a pressure cooker? This cooktop couldn't be more suited for using one: when I switched to "low," it really went to low (unlike my gas stovetop), and I can set the timer knowing that if I don't get to the stove when time's up, the cooking element will turn off by itself.
My husband makes yogurt, but doesn't want to babysit the milk as it heats up to pasteurization temperature. No problem, just select the heat setting that's below that temp, and when the milk gets there, then select a higher heat, so there's just a little bit of time of babysitting.
As with any induction cooktop, you'll need cookware that is induction compatible: more and more cookware is being labeled as such if it is compatible, or you can check to see if a magnet is easily attracted to the bottom of the pan. More information on induction cooktops is available at www.theinductionsite.com.
Okay, so why not 5 stars? The instruction book is close to useless. It gives you hints to the features you can use, but doesn't clearly explain what to do to get the temperature settings (use the "warm" setting), rather than level of heat settings. If you've ever had instructions that are badly translated to English from the original language (like many for electronics are), this falls in the same category. As another reviewer said, this unit is not a high powered unit (just 1200W, the equivalent of just under 8000 BTU), and area that heats is just around 4" in diameter. While having a larger heating area would be nicer, the smaller heating area of this cooktop has not deterred me in the least.
I've been so favorably impressed with this that in the near future, I hope to get a more powerful cooktop to use, especially for summer time, as my main initial interest was to keep my kitchen cooler. I also now only look for stove cookware that is induction compatible. Would I buy this product again or recommend it to a friend? Definitely!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This little hot plate is great, January 3, 2007
I was recently on a diet that used boil-in-a-bag pouches. To solve the dilemma on how to boil water at my workplace, I purchased the Sunpentown hot plate. It is elegantly designed, attractive, and has sleek lines so it didn't look like a clunky piece of equipment in my office. Better yet, the safety features that come with the induction-style hot plate made it ideal for a workplace, where a conventional hot plate would not be appropriate. The only catch that I didn't fully understand before I purchased the device was that it required a certain kind of pot -- either cast iron or enamel style. The hot plate itself performed its function admirably, boiling the water within minutes. Contrary to other reviews that I read before I purchased it, I did not find the fan sound to be too loud or distracting. The timer function that is built in to the hotplate is also a helpful feature. All in all, I would heartily recommend this piece of equipment.
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