[Shop-talk] Stoves

[Steven Trovato]

I think there is a little confusion here.  There are smooth type 
cooktops that still use fairly traditional heating elements.  And 
then there are inductive cooktops.  They both look kind of the same, 
but they work differently.  The inductive type does not get hot, it 
causes the pot to get hot.  This type is expensive, efficient, and 
requires the right type of pots.  The other kind are basically the 
same as any electric element type stove, except the elements are 
protected and the top should theoretically be easier to clean than 
one with exposed elements.  Heating elements tend to fail after a 
while due to the repeated heat cycling.  While anything can fail, 
inductive components should be less prone to failure.

-Steve Trovato
strovato at optonline.net