I recently started looking for an induction cooktop, preferably 36" wide, when I came across the Bosch benchmark series: https://www.bosch-home.com/us/productslist/cooking-baking/cooktops/induction-cooktops/NITP660SUC#/Togglebox=manuals/Togglebox=accessories/.
I like the idea of the flexinduction zones and the potential to provide even heating to big, rectangular pans. I looked up the replacement parts and saw that the flexzone is made of 4 oval-shaped coils lined up right next to each other. https://www.bosch-home.com.au/shop-productlist/12009054#!/Tabs=section-fitsappliance/
Then I came across this YouTube review, which showed some terrible pan detection and a really narrow band of heat running lengthwise down a pan that spanned all 4 zones. I would be beyond pissed if I bought a >$3k cooktop and it performed like that. https://youtu.be/7Tt_D0Bii88
Does anyone else have experience with Bosch flexinduction zone? Does the pan detection work well? How big of an area do the coils heat?
Hi Hawashingtonian,
So, essentially the Bosch cooktop shown in the video is nearly identical to the Neff 60 cm cooktop I own. The only significant differences are that mine has an illuminated dial to control heat settings and a bridging induction coil in the center to accommodate wider vessels. Just FYI, the model number of my Neff is T66PS61X0. Bosch and Neff are under the same corporate umbrella as Siemens (BSH), so their flexinduction units are largely interchangeable.
I guess you must have missed all of my posts on Chowhound about this cooktop, but overall I think itās fantastic. Bigger skillets can activate 3-4 inductors with no issue. Itās also really adaptable to having 3-4 pots and pans cooking simultaneously, and the dial is much simpler and more intuitive than the touchpad controls.
As far as the issues raised in that video review, Iām fairly dubious. Iāve tested cookware on both my Neff and Zanussi induction cooktops (the latter with normal, circular coils), and the Neff has better evenness with about 95% of cookware. For bigger pots and pans (28 cm and greater), the Neff is far superior. Let me know if thereās a particular piece youād like the results for.
And the sensors on a lot of induction cooktops can be tripped up. The simplest solution to resetting a wonky sensor is to lift the pan off the cooktop and set it back down again. Iāve only seen this happen a handful of times in my five years of owning the Neff, and itās always been easily fixed.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have further questions!
Cheers,
Andrew
P.S. One of the guys who used to post on Chowhound, JohnLearnsToCook, owned a big 90 cm Bosch like the one youāre considering, with three concentric coils in the middle. He adored that cooktop, and used even 40 cm diameter pans with no problem.
I bought the Bosch 36ā Benchmark for the house we are building. Canāt wait to try it!
Please tell us how you like it when you have a chance!
Hi Andrew, I remember your CH posts about your Neff well. I seem to remember some scorch marks you made with yours once, and it seemed like your inductors were small and oriented differently to the schematic for the Bosch. The schematic shows the oval inductors stacked on each other as seen in this schematic. Good to know that John liked his Bosch. I really hope itās nothing like what that YouTube video showed because Iād like to use rectangular griddles, and the burner sync on my old GE only gave me two 5-inch hot spots, one at each end of a 9x16" pan.
Will do! Wonāt be until March.
Indeed, I made scorch prints of a number of different pans using the Neff cooktop. Its induction coils are oriented identically to those on the Bosch youāre considering.
Iāll attach the scorch prints of the 32 cm Fissler Profi serving pan as well as the 32 Demeyere Proline skillet so you can see the difference pan construction makes on this type of cooktop. The āT on the Fissler was 40Ā°F and on the Proline was 160Ā°F. If you look closely you can make out the shape of the oval inductors in the scorch prints. For the purpose of this test I activated only two inductors on each pan.
That looks great, and since I wouldnāt use such wide pans on the flex zones, I think thisāll do just fine for me. The 12" coil will be a big upgrade for me as well.
