Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

{Updates in brackets 1/15/2015} [update in these brackets 1/24/2015] Thought I did my research on this model, but I guess I missed a couple of things. I bought this portable unit primarily to do low-slow simmers outside (Bone Broth.....48-72 hour simmer). Not so successful on the long simmers: 1. The unit turns off after 3 hours for safety reasons. It is not clear from the literature....as it seems that the timer function is selectable.....but three hours is the limit, and always in force. Not happy about setting my bedside alarm for 3:00am two days in a row to restart this thing. {update----the default safety shutdown is only two hours. You can extend this auto-shutdown to a maximum of three hours if you set up the timer function. Terrible for long simmers} 2. This unit "seems" to have many power and temperature settings.... { update---- Could not make slow simmers work properly on with either Power or Temperature control. For temperature, setting at 175deg was a fast boil, setting at 150 stopped boiling altogether. For Power setting, P-2 was a fast boil, and P-1 stopped boiling. Depending on a number of factors, like size and type of pot, amount of liquid, and ambient temperature, you may get lucky and hit a simmer close to one of the settings (so with right combo, it may work for you). I used a power meter (Kill-A-Watt) to see what this thing was doing on the Power Settings (P-1 thru P-10). I was shocked. The pan I tested on was an Induction pan 12" base Vollrath Tribute. The maximum wattage that the Burton will put out is dependent on the pan bottom material itself. This particular pan maxes out at 1380 Watts (not 1800 watts). Other pans I have do better for a maximum (like Dutch Oven cast iron...about 1600 watts). In short, the lowest power setting ( P-1) is 25% of maximum power for this pan I am using (335 watts). Only at this lowest setting, the unit cycles on and off every four seconds with 800 watts for 3 secs, then 0 watts for about 4 secs (avg 335 watts). Here is the killer: the next power level, P-2 Jumps up nearly 500 watts from 335 watts to 800 watts...about 60% of full power. WHAT???? This level, and all power levels above this run continuously (no on-off cycling). Here is the actual data: OFF....0% -- 6 Watts P-1: 25% -- 335 Watts P-2: 58% -- 800 Watts P-3: 72% -- 988 Watts P-4: 76% -- 1045 Watts P-5: 79% -- 1090 Watts P-6: 85% -- 1178 Watts P-7: 87% -- 1200 Watts P-8: 92% -- 1268 Watts P-9: 96% -- 1320 Watts P-10: 100% -- 1380 Watts No wonder I could not get this thing to simmer properly. Power Level P-1 jumps from 0% to 25%. P-2 Jumps from 25% to 58% HUGE jumps. Then P-3 thru P-10 are all tiny steps of power output. What were these guys thinking? 300 watts is about all you need to keep 16 quarts (big pot) simmering, and there is NO adjustment in that power range. Temperature control for simmering is problematic (with low-thermal mass systems like induction) with even good continuous-variable temperature control and is impossible with the discrete 25 degF steps on this unit. I would say that it is barely usable for simmering. I finally used setting P-1, and wrapped insulation around/top of my 16 quart stockpot to change the operating point to get a low simmer. Yuk. \update} To a lesser degree, there was a bit of disappointment that the burner ring is only 6" in diameter with a doughnut hole in the middle. Most my pans/pots are 8-12" diameter. Even with an expensive try-ply bottom, you will be challenged for even heat in this situation. On a positive note, I did cook some chicken schnitzel in a fry pan (Vollrath Trinity), used temperature control set at 350, and it came out brilliant. Also, you cannot beat this burner to boil water. Our 1600 watt electric kettle is the reference standard. Our high-output gas stove takes 60% longer to boil the same quantity of water as this kettle. The Max Burton MATCHED the famous electric kettle in the boil ring. Pretty amazing. I will definitely consider a high-end induction cooktop with large rings, and "continuous-variable" thermal control for our next kitchen installation. However, for this portable cooktop, I will send it back and get an electric hotplate with larger burner ring, 1300 watts, and continuous-variable power control independent of type of pot used. {update.... ordered from Amazon and received the Waring SB30 electric and tried it out side-by side with my ongoing bone-broth simmer (next to Burton). I was able to get better control of power applied to get a nice low simmer with the Waring. The disadvantage is that it takes a long time to heat up the pan, and, the heat is retained for a long time when you turn it down. I am not happy with the power control though. It works well because of my 14 quart simmer. But serious control issues here too. Apparently, the only portable countertop induction that promises continuous-variable control is the $450 Vollrath Mirage Pro. Just seems that the Max Burton was so close to perfect......what were they thinking?} *********************************************** ************************************************* [update 1/25] Purchased the NuWave Pic2 Pro (now renamed "Titanium") from Amazon as replacement for the Max Burton 6400 Induction and the Waring SB30 Electric. Although not perfect, it is definitely a keeper. Here are the advantages over the Max Burton 6400: > Size. It is small and round, yet handles my big 12" 16 qt stock pot and massive Le Creuset 13.25qt Dutch oven (14") nicely. It just looks nicer, and is easier to handle and stow. > Instead of a hard maximum three hour operating limit, you can set the timer for up to 99 hours (4 days!). Hello long bone broth simmers (72 hrs), and not setting alarm at 3:00am to restart unit!!!! > The heating on the Max Burton seems to be almost elliptical 5.5" x 4.5". The NuWave is a distinct 6.5" perfect round.....that is a big difference in heating area. > The power transmitted into pots is dependent on the pot bottom material. I get between 150 to 200 watt higher power (NuWave vs Max Burton) into each of the cookwares I tested: Vollrath Tribute (Induction) Stock 16qt stock and fry, and Le Creuset 13.25 cast iron. > The power control on the NuWave allows me to produce a simmer, fine enough control to go just under a simmer, and even vary the simmer intensity. It has temperature control in steps of 5 degF, unlike the Max Burton at 25 degF steps. At first, I was dismayed that the NuWave ONLY offers Temp Control Mode, and does not have a Power Control Mode like the Max Burton. However, as the Max Burton's first two Power Mode levels have ridiculous steps "0 to 335 watts" and "335 to 800 watts" (0%- 25%- 60% power levels), rendering that control mode almost useless, I gave this thing a whirl. By the end of my testing and cooking, I now see the brilliance in having only a temperature control mode. It does have its limitations, mostly due to the physics of the problem. I'll try to do a layman's explanation. All of my testing was performed with a logging oscilloscope and current transformer to monitor instantaneous power, average power, current and view modulating duty cycles of the controller. Temperature measured with TypeK thermoouple into a Fluke 325 Voltmeter. The problem with temperature control is that all of the these cooktops (NuWave, Max Burton, etc.) are "guessing" at what the temperature of the actual cookware bottom is. The temperature sensor is NOT on your pan's bottom, it is under the glass top of the burner. Through software magic, they guess at transient timing, power levels, etc. The downside is that with big variations of the pan's bottom material, rate of heat lost out of top of pan, ingredients in the pan, ambient temperature, the "guess" for temperature can vary a lot. Inside home (70degF), 5 cups of water in my big dutch oven, temperatures tracked within 10-15 degrees (actual temp higher than the NuWave setting). Outside cooking (6 hr Pork Shoulder Braise) at 41 degF, I had to set the Nuwave at 250 degF to get a bare simmer (actual at pot surface about 210 degF). However, despite the difference in the actual temperature vs. the Unit's setpoint temp, it does a great job of holding that temperature. So, don't trust the absolute temperature setting. Use a thermometer, or, use judgement, or both to get the proper "setting." The neat thing is that once you set a temperature level, it seems to do a great job of varying Power output to maintain that temperature. So as your pot ingredients heat up, the power level automatically reduces to keep the surface temp constant. With 5 degF steps in temperature control, you do have great flexibility. There was one situation that the NuWave did not handle well, and it may be a very rare situation. Theoretically, when doing temperature control, the software should be able to apply anywhere between 0 and maximum unit power to achieve that temperature level setpoint. I believe that NuWave has set up software for reasons of safety and possible limiting of overshoot of temperatures, power limits for ranges of temperature setpoint: 100-270 degF settings: Max 600 watts 275-370 degF settings: Max 990 watts 375-420 degF settings: Max 1287 watts 425-560 degF settings: Max 1566 watts SEAR: ---------------------1702 watts So in a rare case of trying to low boil small quantity of water in a big, big pot outside in cold temperature, you need about 750 watts of power to reach a boil. If you set "215 degF" on the Nuwave, it maxes at 600 watts, and the temperature never gets above about 200 degrees. If you step up temperature setpoint nothing happens until you get to "275," where the max power available is now 990 watts, and you will end up with a very hard boil. Definitely a rare case, and I can live with it.