Good news everyone!
Its good to know that research has shown gas cooktops cause direct health problems, encouraging their replacement with electric, out of self interest.
Anyway, what's your preference & why?
It seems the cost difference is significantly more for induction, as well as needing to spend on suitable cookware.
I have gone backwards from induction to a resistive heated eramic cooktop. There was quite an uncomfortable adjustment period where I had to get used to how slow it was in comparison.
If you can afford it, get induction.
Agreed. Ikea has pretty good induction stoves. We went for smakllig - love it.
Btw, Ikea induction cooktops are made by AEG (at least mine)
When I broke the glass top because I dropped a sodastream bottle on it, I had to call Electrolux.
@Powlie85: Swedish appliance manufacturer AB Electrolux acquired the AEG household appliance line in 1994. AEG brand appliances remained part of Electrolux's consumer durables division into the 21st century.
I did lookup by the serial number, found mine in AEG. I guess Ikea uses multiple suppliers, e.g. their top of the range rangehoods from Elica.
@Cupa Bundy Drinker: Interesting - thanks this is good to know. Are you happy with yours? I have no complaints - a lot of great feature for the cooktop and oven for Ikea prices.
Yeah, don't waste your time with ceramic. Cooking is so slow & inefficient, only benefit is that it works with all low quality pots. Induction only works with a good metal which makes it heavy.
Aldi induction rated cookware is light and works fine. Cheap as, although i have noticed it takes slightly longer to boil water than a stainless steel pan. No, I haven’t actually timed it.
I'd be really careful pointing to that particular site as proof of anything serious as it clearly states its just a guy who "put a lot of time into researching" and we all know where that tinfoil lined rabbit hole can go pretty easily.
The fact is that all induction cooktops (and microwaves, mobile phones, wifi access points etc) need to comply with standards set for user safety and output of non ionising radiation to be sold here. A quick look through worldwide standards points towards the standards for induction cooktops in place in the US and other parts of the world being around 6.5 microtelsa in normal expected use.
This is not really a health issue unless you happen to made of ferrous metals and have a thing for getting worryingly intimate with your cooktop while its active. Its important to remember that magnetic field strength falls at the square of distance - feel free to test it by playing with a couple of strong magnets to show just how quickly the fields fade to not noticeable.
If you are looking for some actual research and backed information on exposure to similar radiation types then I suggest giving this a quick read:
https://www.arpansa.gov.au/understanding-radiation/sources-r…
"There is no established evidence that occupational exposure to ELF EMF at any level is associated with long-term health effects. Some studies have reported a possible association between electrical occupations and certain neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer disease, however it has been suggested that this is due to increased occurrences of electric shock not ELF-EMF exposure."
If you steer clear of playing with the wiring for the cooktop and avoid getting tazered you should be fine.
there has been zero conclusive evidence of any negative health effects from EMF.
i recently worked on a project that aims to construct an electricity transmission line. their findings were that you could put your house directly under the transmission line (if they let you - which they won't) and you would suffer no ill effects from EMF in any condition. you could live next to the substation if you wanted! no problems.
a massive corporation were willing to put their name on this and put it out into the public domain. knowing how horrified corporations are of losing money, do you think they would do this if there was a chance something would happen and they'd have the pants sued off them?
the EMF / 5G / whatever """concerns""" are just another bogeyman invented by a) cooker headcases and/or b) shills who have coopted the environmentalist/hippie movements to sell woo products that do nothing but line the pockets of the salesmen.
I wouldn't trust any advice from an "Academy" that is just a wordpress blog run by one guy. Even if it makes the unsubstantiated claim of being "largest and most trusted sources to learn about EMF radiation". FFS.
I have tried many portable induction hobs and I am only disappointed with the induction. Sure it's great in boiling water as it only takes a few minutes. But there are two main issues. I have tried better ones like nuwave and xiaomi and got same disappointing results. There are videos on youtube which show the same thing.
1. Cant keep the pan hot for over 10 minutes. If you want 200 degrees or searing the pan has to stay hot. On measuring with a power meter. Induction burns 1800watt to 2000 watt initially as promised but as electronics heats up it doesn't draw power and heating slows.
2. Heat distribution. These companies have very small coil so very small heating area so while the bottom is hot the heat distribution from even a couple on inches from center is poor.
In short it's not good for cooking but great for boiling water. Please tell me a induction which doesn't have these issues. Thanks
I don't cook much but definitely prefer gas. Instant-on, much higher energy output and easier to control required heat.
I used to be exactly the same until we got an induction cooktop for the outdoor kitchen and I much prefer it to the gas inside now. The induction is surprisingly much faster to heat a heavy frypan than the gas and boils a pot of water about 2 minutes faster than the same pot on the biggest burner inside. I was shocked by the difference to be honest and would not have believed it until I used one. The ease of cleaning compared to the hob is just the cherry on top.
Instant-on, much higher energy output and easier to control required heat
You haven't cooked with induction then, I was a gas lover too until I bought an induction stovetop - will never go back.
More instant, gets hotter faster, easier to adjust heat.
You obviously haven't really done much cooking on induction cooktops. Induction is faster and more precise than gas cooking. Gas is absolutely inferior in those regards compared to induction cooktops
Maybe hybroid does a lot of wok cooking.
Maybe he does and that's one thing that I'll concede gas cooking does better. But his points were specifically about "Instant-on" (lol), energy output (conveniently forgets to mention how much of that output is wasted), and easier to control heat.
@Thinkscape: That still won't get you wok hei. It'll just fry the contact points. If done properly, the point of gas is that it burns the aersolised particles when you toss the food. This part is completely missing when you use induction.
@Thinkscape: Woks are also good because their sides get hot rather than just the bottom.
You don't get that with an induction wok.
@spaceflight: Yeah you do, if you get an induction wok burner it's a concave shape and the wok fits in it, so the sides get hot.
And regarding what the previous commenter said about being precise, it depends what people mean. If you mean precisely directing the heat the induction is way more precise, however if you mean precise control of the heat, gas wins due to it being a knob with an infinite number of settings. My biggest gripe with induction is you usually only get 9 settings, and sometimes 5 to 6 is a big jump.
Having said that, induction is far, far superior IMO. Also worth noting that the best induction cooktop I have had from a reliability perspective I picked up from Aldi for $239 reduced, so hard to make an excuse for any inferior tech at that price
What hybriod needs is a hybrid induction top with a gas burner. Then you get the best of both worlds.
wtf … no sure what you mean by higher energy output .. induction is faster
Induction. No question here.
Big risk on induction and ceramic is dropping pots, jars, wine bottles etc on it and then it's stuffed. So if you have children who cook you may want to consider something durable.
Induction is nice for the speed - although not all pots and pans work.
Have you ever broken a cooktop?
They are not indestructible but I've been very clumsy with mine and they are much tougher than they look.
Yeah have seen them cracked (i agree they are fairly robust but not indestructible). Luckily not done it personally.
If you search ozbargain forum you will see examples if curious.
We broke one. I bought the replacement glass and fixed it myself for a couple of hundred dollars. If was really easy, the unit just lifts out of the bench and the top is just held on with a few screw on clips.
Have an upvote… I always like to hear when someone fixes something themselves.
idk if i was just super unlucky, but the first week of moving into a rental, first place i'd ever had induction, i dropped something on it whilst unpacking and the whole thing exploded. it wasn't a budget one either.
after it was repaired we were very careful and didn't crack or break it again, but i don't think i'd say they're 'tough'.
They're like any glass product, they're tough up until they aren't - when they often break catastrophically. As long as you don't drop things on them they're generally ok. They are particularly prone to breaking if you hit the edge of the glass, so consider putting some sort of trim around the outside of them if you are worried (just like a bumper around the outside of a phone will normally protect it from drops).
wine bottles
You're meant to put the wine in the cooking not in your mouth.
Yeah nah I am clumsy af and drop stuff on my ceramic far too often and somehow no dents or scratches. Seriously, I have no idea how. Probably overdue?
our 10yo induction top has a crack from being leant on trying to remove range hood filters (not dropped pots), probably 4 years ago? Still works and we'll replace it during a kitchen reno one day
So if you have children who cook you may want to consider something durable.
Yeah you are right, much better off having your kids cooking on open flames, rather than risk the 0.001% chance they break the cooktop, would rather take my chances with them burning themselves or setting fire to the house /sarcasm
Hiyaaa no egg fried rice for you.
I'm curious to know now about the research that shows gas cooktops cause health issues? Do you have any links?
We went induction over ceramic. Heats up super fast (induction current, v. ceramic which works via conducting heat) and once cool is super easy to clean up because it's a flat surface (compared to gas burners). Just spray and wipe! Induction is more efficient and cheaper to run than ceramic due to less thermal loss.
They probably have very insignificant health issue, then again which is a open flame by igniting natural gas. However my whole generation cooked with gas, they didn't has any health issues and egg fried rice in a wok trump anything.
They did have health issues. A lot of them have asthma which is highly correlated with living in a house with a gas stove as a child.
A lot of them have asthma which is highly correlated with living in a house with a gas stove as a child
That just a theory that you came up with without any real evidence.
I haven't came across any evidence on gas heating/stove cause asthma. None of my family members have asthma for generations.
But researchers believe diet, exposure to new allergens or even hygiene can cause asthma, but not yet proven, which is based on the fact that immigrant get asthma after they migrate to Australia.
@boomramada: ah… no, it's not just a theory that I came up with. It's peer reviewed research which has been in the news a lot lately! If you haven't come across any evidence, maybe it's because you are not actually looking.
There have been a few studies in the past few years, here's a recent article from Harvard which contains a few links to other studies.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/have-a-gas-stove-how-to-…
@moph: That is like half done research, link to asthma, or 42% chance of having asthma.
That's like me drinking coke zero, cheese burger, chicken fried rice, ice cream, , has XX% of chance of having a heart attack lol
I'm not saying gas is pure, it probably have some affect, but seriously, if you walk outside near a busy road, you probably get more pollutant than gas stove.
But they had multiple studies in US, Australia, why immigrants all of a sudden get asthma, apparently these results probably end up getting the key reason behind what causing it. Don't think they use ceramic or induction in their own country.
@boomramada: And you accused me of coming up with a theory without any real evidence? Nice
Edit: very little in science is 100% or direct causality. Most things are related by some % of correlation. If you don't understand this, you don't have any business commenting on this issue.
None of my family members have asthma for generations.
Asthma is wildly under- or mis-diagnosed though. People ignore symptoms because they don’t think it’s bad enough to do something about, but it’s still asthma there under the surface.
@boomramada: Guess you need to be a scientist to come up with evidence. But the USA Consumer Product Protection Agency has actually claimed it does have evidence of gas stoves being the causation of asthma. Read this Guardian article. Follow the red highlights and then consider your remarks.😄
When you think about burning a petro chemical it's not hard to envisage chemical pollution, and in the case of gas stoves and stove tops the burnt off gases just hang around inside your home. Asthma for some?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/29/why-elec…
@Bitplay33: Seriously, if you worried about such a research, you won't be going outside, wrapped in a bubble in Madagascar eating prawns. Oh wait, you might be allergic to shellfish.
It’s a rabbit hole, more you google more endless supply of crappy research which can link to anything.
Surely, if you are a chef, 8hrs a day front of gas cook? it might have some aggravating affect.
But after living with an asthma sufferer for a while (not related), something I noticed, dry cold weather, spring, and deodorant has a greater play.
Come on, as I said from the beginning, there may be some affect from gas cook store, and if you think switching can stop asthma attack, then go for it.
What I'm try to say, gas store doesn't cause asthma as it lay out to be, it could be genetic, or lifestyle or what we eat. If you have A, B, C, D and E contributing factors, you have to understand, scientist only comparing A vs B here.
Anyway no point arguing over it, I like my egg fried rice.
@boomramada: How can you be so confident that burning organic compounds and keeping the air in the house is not contributing to autoimmune lung disease?
Just because it is also associated with genetics doesn't make the other causes irrelevant, without the environmental trigger genetic risks won't develop into asthma on it's own.
I think you are too concentrated on statistics and not looking at it with an understanding of biology
@boomramada: Interesting. I got asthma after I moved from Europe to Australia. Is there any link to a study or article? I thought it was just a coincidence. It’s a bit more difficult for me to breathe here, but in Europe I am fine. My kids, born here, are all fine.
If there are children with asthma in the house the having a gas cooker my be aggtavating it.
This article gives a summary.
Are gas stoves bad for your health? Here’s why the federal government is considering new safety regulations
I call BS on this one
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2354433-gas-stoves-harm…
But hey, I've got an opinion & me mates Gazza & Wazza got opinions too. Aren't echo chambers awesome?!
you're telling OP's word is not enough in a public forum?
I'm curious to know now about the research that shows gas cooktops cause health issues? Do you have any links?
Here you go
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-01-27/gas-cooker-me…
Health concerns are mostly related to cooking unventilated in modern houses with extremely low natural air flow. It’s less of a concern in older Australian houses which generally have high ventilation rates, or when operating the extraction fan.
Your biggest concern is obviously burning oil, which can happen on any cooktop - but that doesn’t push the electrification narrative.
Induction is awesome :) Only downside was we had to buy an electric wok to stir fry in.
You can get 50 dollar induction cookers at Kmart. Are they basically the same thing.
Prob not as powerful or robust.
Not as powerful as a mains-connected hob, but they're surprisingly robust. An induction cooktop is basically a conductive coil with no moving parts or water contact, so they're pretty bulletproof compare to most kitchen appliances. I had a cheap plug in Ikea one that I used for ages when I lived in a studio as my main means of cooking and it's still going strong.
Good to know!
2100w in a single coil.
You:re a genius! I am going to run 4 of them in a grid pattern and save 50 bucks!
I love induction - having cooked quite a lot on Induction, gas and ceramic go Induction. I wouldn't even consider ceramic it would be induction or gas for me
If you don't already know this - when you're shopping for induction cookware take a magnet, if it sticks to the bottom of the pot/pan you are looking at it will be fine on an induction stove. There's a lot of induction safe cookware that are is advertised on the box but will work on it so long as a magnet sticks to the base (doesn't work for online purchases though).
The only time I would say gas is when you want to go use a wok or go very, very hot (like sear a steak on cast iron). Gas does edge out Induction on these two, especially when heating a wok, but for everything else Induction
You also need a very flat base for induction.
My cast iron pans didn't work as well.
Aldi cookware is cheap and they have induction rated stuff..
My IKEA induction was under $600 and is 7yrs old. So easy to clean.
If you don't already know this - when you're shopping for induction cookware take a magnet
That can work.
But if you are looking at cheap aluminium pans that have a thin piece of steel on the base to make them work on induction don't buy then even though the magnet sticks.
Ones that look like this https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/51/590x/Cleanin…
They'll work on induction but not as well as proper cookware.
This is my experience also.
I have a 20cm cast iron pan (Like a $40 one from Myer, not something like a Le Cruset) and its fine on our induction unit. Seared a beef roast tonight on the hob then into the oven. Works fantastic.
Yeah the part about not searing a steak on induction, that's just plain wrong. You can get it way hotter faster
My induction is great but it's so goddamn loud
Induction everytime
But just be wary of washing it down.
Had a case where water seeped between the glass and the induction plate and the whole thing died.
ThE cONseVatiVes!?!?! They're everywhere! I'm suffering from sever cognitive dissonance, please help!!!!!!
As conservative voters couldn't give two shits for the environment,
Do you normally start a question by insulting strangers with your ill-informed prejudices?
its good to know that research has shown gas cooktops cause direct health problems,
More bovine excrement. Where do you get your information? Try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNwcWe85Wnc
Gas can be a problem in certain circumstances, such a s small tightly-sealed apartments. Not usually in Australia.
You do have an extractor hood over your cooktop, right?
And everyone knows that gas or induction are the only ways to cook. Not ceramic. never.
Do you normally start a question by insulting strangers with your ill-informed prejudices?
Have a look at his previous posts. If you don't want to, the answer is "yes".
Here's one for ya: Since intelligence is often used to differentiate between species of animals, are Conservatives a subspecies of hominid?
Homo Sapiens Dimwittedis????
Considering you don't even know how to use the term "cognitive dissonance", I don't think you should be judging others intelligence. At least most people won't try to use such terms in an attempt to look smart, when they don't actually understand how to use it.
@Boogerman: @Boogerman Everyone of your posts relate to political discussion.
Can we please stick to Induction vs Gas vs Ceramic?
On topic, I bought an awesome induction cooktop from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08CLX7V5X/ref=ppx_yo_d…) and it is the most amazing technology.. I use my single cast iron pot and can get to boil within minutes. Really amazing and makes you wonder why entire kitchens are needed these days when you can plonk down an air fryer and a couple of Induction cooktops.
Good thread (minus the deliberate attempts of you to draw out the nasty conservatives)
Incorrect. Gas cooktops and cooking are harmful even with extractor correctly vented to the outside, and with room ventilation. They can be harmful even when turned off due to leaks in transmission and actual hardware (even in new houses).
The shared links here and quick Google search will provide the sources with tests and quantified info on pollutants
"Where do you get your information? Try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNwcWe85Wnc "
My post further up:
"https://www.newscientist.com/article/2354433-gas-stoves-harm-our-health-and-the-climate-should-they-be-banned/
But hey, I've got an opinion & me mates Gazza & Wazza got opinions too. Aren't echo chambers awesome?!"
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone is angry 😬
Anger is the least of their problems.
Gas can be a problem in certain circumstances, such a s small tightly-sealed apartments. Not usually in Australia.
All modern built houses are tightly sealed.
You do have an extractor hood over your cooktop, right?
Not all of them vent outdoors.
What's the point of an extractor that doesn't vent outdoors?
Prefer Ceramic over induction because sometimes the Tefal pans/saucepans do not work for some reason… It's hit and miss.
Some reason?? Induction uses magnetism. Take a magnet when shopping to test. Your aluminium pans will need a steel layer to work.
Get the right pans
They are the right pans…
It is a known issue, others have had the same issue too.
I've had several induction cooktops in different houses, many different pans and no issues as long as the pans are suitable for use on induction. Maybe try a different brand? I haven't used tefal recently
Send them back
We replaced gas with induction and it’s amazing! So much faster and more precise. Plus a dream to clean.
Did have to get new frypans. And induction requires its own electrical circuit so that’s an extra $600-900.
Don’t bother with ceramic electric. Takes ages and not precise.
32 amp circuit at that. And you need room on your switchboard. Which we had.
Ceramic, or any other electric cooktop, needs a dedicated circuit as well .
Our old ceramic cooktop had a 15A plug but thats it. No dedicated circuit.
Induction every single time. Don't bother with ceramic unless you really have an amazing reason for it.
The only advantage ceramic ones have is that they work with any type of cookware and are normally cheaper (but not by enough to really make it worth it!). Induction (with the right cookware!) is faster, more efficient, easier to control and doesn't get nearly as hot surface wise.