this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023
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switched to an induction stove recently because they're so much easier to clean
We swapped the standard electric for induction and it's a game changer. Fortunately most of our cookware is enameled cast iron so we didn't have to buy all new stuff.
The induction is mindboggling. Haven't gotten the hang of it yet because I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE HOW.
It's life changing. I'm coming from the electric "coil" stoves
Granted, it sucks that a few of our old pots are useless now, but we have plenty good still, so not a huge loss
Can I get a loan, because you must be THE MONOPOLY GUY
I got an induction hotplate for around $50. Took one of the burners and grate out of my gas stove & put the hotplate there. It's great for day-to-day, and the other burners are still there if I want to make a production.
I have a cheap induction hot plate and while it boils water extremely fast it still burns things on low heat because it’s just cycling max power on and off at set intervals. I don’t like it for anything that needs long, low, and slow cooking because it will burn it
That's true with any electric heater element. It's called pulse width modulation (PWM) and is actually very effective when done properly. Seems like the frequency is too long on yours. It should be cycling many times per second, meaning the full power is only on for milliseconds at a time, nowhere near enough to actually burn things.
Even a cheap Arduino is capable of PWM at 16MHz (16 million duty cycles per second; we're talking microseconds here now). So I'd think even a cheap one should have good PWM control, but I guess you get what you pay for.
I don't know about proper induction cooktops, but the hot plates all seem to use mechanical relays to switch power, so they're limited to far less than 16 MHz. Most seem to use regular, industrial controls that operate at more like 1-0.1 Hz.
I honestly don't think you'd want to use anything but a mechanical relay to switch 10-15 amps. Do that with a solid state relay, and you're going to waste 15-25 W in a small package that will have to be radiated somewhere.
I read a bunch of reviews from reputable sites and bought what they said was the best. Apparently they couldn’t even spring for an Arduino because the pulse widths are seconds long.
It's not the logic that's expensive, it's the solid state relay suitable for high power, high frequency switching
I don’t need MHz switching. A few kHz would be better than just turning it on for 1 second out of 10 for “low power.”
Still can't do it with a cheap SSR or a mechanical relay
By "expensive" we're still only talking a dollar or two. It's not going to spike their cost to the point where it would be prohibitive to them.
That's $50 food money bro, it's 2023
What are you gonna buy with $50? One banana?
Realistically? A shitton of instant yakisoba and overstuffed ravioli
You're complaining about food prices and you're buying premade food? What a joke. Do you know how much rice, beans and greens $50 gets you?
About fifty dollars worth I reckon