duxtopPortable Countertop Burner Hot Plate & Stainless Steel Stir-Fry Pan, 10 Inches

We got this induction burner to try out induction cooking and see if it could be a viable replacement for our propane gas stovetop. We had been seeing a lot of news articles about propane and natural gas leaking cancer-causing chemicals into the house, and we wanted to transition away from using propane anyway because our tank needed to be replaced. The burner is very easy to use, and the instructions were excellent at helping us learn how to cook with induction. My favorite aspect is that the heat level can be selected using specific numbers. When we later looked for built-in induction cooktops, we found that many of them lacked this wonderful feature, so we decided to just continue using this portable cooktop instead of installing one, and bought a second portable induction cooktop from this same brand, which we also love.There are a few downsides which were not enough of a big deal to us to outweigh the benefits:As other reviews mention, there is a high-pitched humming noise when the unit is heating up. Some of our family members, particularly children, were greatly bothered by this in the beginning, while adults who don't hear as well noticed it but weren't bothered by it much. The noise pitch and volume seems to vary depending on the type of cookware used--generally, more ferrous materials such as cast iron seem to make less noise, and nonstick pans that just have a layer of metallic surface on the bottom made the most noise.We found it's much more usable with a silicone mat--otherwise the pan can easily slide around on the cooktop, particularly when you're boiling water and it splashes over the sides.There is a slight learning curve to cooking with induction, but as a pretty functional family "cook" who makes just simple dishes, I found it very intuitive. Much of the challenge was that I decided to also learn how to cook with cast iron at the same time, and that also has its own learning curve, which I found to be steeper than cooking with induction.Many people we've shared our positive induction experience with are incredulous that we were okay with buying all new cookware, but we used this as an opportunity to clear out a lot of the cookware clutter from our kitchen. We found we really only ever used a few pans anyway, and we were happy to have an excuse to replace our cookware that had scratches in the nonstick coating, which likely wasn't good for us to keep using anyway.I would highly recommend this induction burner to anyone looking to try out cooking with induction, relatively inexpensively. We've had it for a year, using it several times a week usually, and it has always performed consistently well.

It works amazingly well. The cooking speed is outstanding. The controls are easy to use. It is very sturdy.

This unit is exceptionally easy to use straight out of the box. The temperature control is easy to adjust and is very responsive to decreasing as well as increasing the temperature setting. Unless you don't have any cookware which is magnetic on the bottom, you shouldn't find it necessary to purchase new cookware to use this induction burner. Cleanup is simple with the wipe of a soft damp cloth and another to dry it. Paper towels are not a good option according to the documentation which comes with it as they will easily scratch the extra smooth shiny surface. You can use cookware as small as 5" in diameter and up to 10" in diameter. I brought 4 quarts of water to a boil in a 12 quart stock pot in about 10 minutes. The unit is fan cooled so the surface remains hot for a very few minutes after the power has been turned off. It's weighted well but not heavy for excellent portability which would make it ideal for use at campgrounds with electric hookups and college dorm use as well as an apartment with a very small kitchen or an only 2 burner stovetop. There are less expensive brands and less expensive models within this same brand however, I highly recommend this particular unit because every bit of the 1800 watts if available power is concentrated in only the one burner. The two burner model splits the power among the 2 burners so you don't get full power to both burners; for that scenario I would recommend purchasing 2 of this particular single burner unit. I am planning to purchase a second unit for my own use.

Overall I would say this is a very nice induction stove top, and it is definitely worthwhile if you are interesting in trying out induction burners for the first time. The product features are nice and easy to use, and overall the unit is pretty lightweight and easy to move around. I've used it set out on my kitchen counter, and just put it away after use. Very easy to move around.In terms of power, this little baby does not disappoint, at max settings it is way too hot for most applications, which is great! But max is amazing for boiling water extremely quickly.The biggest downside is that the heating element itself is fairly small, which is a common problem for almost all budget induction burners. And because of the way induction cooking works, if I crank up the heat, I can end up with the center of my pan ripping hot, while the outer half of the pan is still cold. Ultimately this is something that you can learn to work with, and just requires slightly different cooking style, moving things in and out of the hot spot. But for my long term cooking needs I would definitely want to invest in an induction burner with a larger heating element.