I will be surprised if the CF draws constant wattage at any setting.
You bring up some good points, kaleokahu. I hadn’t considered that.
In my experience, the Control Freak basically has three output levels (or four for the 230V 2400W versions). I’ve assumed that it outputs fairly constant wattage for each of the power, levels, but only does so intermittently to maintain the specified temperature. It makes sense that the software algorithms might adjust to different pans, or that they might vary the output based on a feedback loop.
An observation: in my copper pans, if I set the temperature to 100C, I can actually see the induction coil “pulse” as the water boils and stops boiling, boils and stops boiling, etc. It’s definitely pulsing power (albeit gently), rather than using a constant variable output.
But then again, I haven’t measured the output on a chart, so I’m not really sure. My measurements to date have been on a watt meter, and generally only during constant heat scenarios. I do have an ESP meter here which can graph out watt usage, and I have an oscilloscope, so I could probably rig up something to show the wattage usage in various scenarios.
IIRC, the Vollrath 4-series advertises that it’s a different kind of induction stove because it outputs a variable amount of power to maintain a temperature. The two downsides, as I understand it, are that its pan temperature sensors aren’t super-accurate and that it tends to heat very quickly to attain a temperature. For the latter, their manual actually recommends that the operator gently nudge up the target temperature when gentle warm-up is required.
You would see the same sine cycling in a different form if you used a good contact thermometer ranged around the pan. To the extent this is any more precise than the Average Bear, it’s the result of a direct thermocouple and PID switching.
1 Like
So, the next time I bring a dish to pass, I become a "caterer. " 'Nother piece of useless sht to add to the resume.
Ray, most of us do see catering as a commercial activity. Yes, technically is means to supply food. Kindly clarify the type of caterer you are when asked, and we won’t get this foolishness. Kaleo and Meekah certainly didn’t have a mean spirited tone, IMHO. It’s not a personal attack to ask for clarification, unless the offended assumes it is personal.
Kaleo thinks commercial, like most, when he thinks of catering. I , on the other hand, now feel liberated to call myself a caterer, what with all the prive/prestige involved. Now we’re brothers in catering.
If the Control Freak works as advertised, it appears worth the $. The “as advertised” part is the rub.
I deal with bullying frequently, and I often see you paint yourself a victim. I don’t see Kaleo as bully, and you the victim, because he wanted clarity. Then, you get perhaps overly defensive and he won’t let go.
I ain’t gonna lie, when you started talking catering, I pictured, as most would, the professional kind. “Why would a doctor go from medicine to catering?” thunk I. With this new found epiphany, I can now add caterer to my many occupations. Feel good about it.
1 Like
You bring up some good points, DaBadger. Unlike with basketball players (where the difference between NBA players and NCAA players and aspiring players with hoops above their garage doors is obvious), the difference between a home cook and Grant Achatz may seem obvious–but there are a lot of levels in between.
I have two Control Freaks and some nice induction-compatible gear. I have a sous vide. My kitchen is more of a professionally-equipped lab than a kitchen. I learned cooking “backwards”, starting with physics and chemistry and experimentation instead of enrolling in a beginner’s cooking school or learning from my mom. [My fault, really; my mom would have probably been happy to teach me.]
I am not a chef. I am a scientist-cook, and an aspiring food scientist. The lines start to get blurry for people who eat my food though. Because I am able to reproduce execution plans (er, recipes) so well, the people I share food with keep calling me a chef. I keep correcting them, letting them know that I’m a scientist-cook, an amateur, and that being a true chef one day is aspirational.
A lot of chefs have spent years honing their crafts. A lot of caterers additionally jump through a lot of hoops to get licenses, to meet safety inspections, etc. A lot of people working for catering companies have less formal education and more passion to learn on the job, and they have access to some nice gear which helps them make some tasty food in large quantities. Heck, there are a lot of people who go to prison in the U.S. and basically learn to become quite good at the craft of cooking.
In Ray’s case, I think he’s somewhere in the middle–which makes it hard to stick what he does with an easy label. He’s using some commercial gear and working out of a professionally-equipped space. He may have developed some really good skills in terms of cooking. He may even be speeding along on his way to becoming what many would regard as a chef. But folks who have put in enormous amounts of time and effort and sweat to become caterers–and who need to be respected to be able to put food on their own tables–might be offended by any dilution of the label for their craft.
At the end of the day, I think it’s really cool to see people learning how to cook, devising clever new recipes, and making sure that the people at their churches or in their communities are fed well. But yeah, it’s probably good to add the word “amateur” before “caterer” if one is doing it for charity and not yet a professional. It sounds like Ray is trying to help clarify where he is on his cooking journey; I’m new here, but I’m looking forward to learning more about this art from him as well as the rest of all y’all 
BTW, back on the main topic: after several years of use I can say that the Control Freak does work really well. It makes my food objectively better, partly because I lack the experience to cook this well on a traditional burner and partly because it’s very good at what it does.
But the Control Freak is a medium- or medium-large burner, not a larger burner. And it’s a medium- or medium-high-power burner (1800W-2400W), not a high-power burner (3600W). And it has three or four power levels (slow/medium/fast/max), not 10 and not 100 like with Hatco/Vollrath units.
If you’re using pans larger than 26cm, or if you want to cook by fine-grained power intensity rather than by target temperature, or if you want to boil water mind-bogglingly fast then another stovetop will excel there. But for everything else, and especially for precision cooking, I haven’t found anything better than my two little Control Freaks.
So, the CF stands the test of time. That, to me, means a ton.
I’m sure Ray is competent in the kitchen. Just gets touchy when asked for details to his posts. “Caterer” is a broad noun, especially as Ray uses it here. Now that he has given us tidbits as to what that is, I’m good.
Let’s just say that “saute” isn’t a technique using chicken broth as the cooking medium.
1 Like
I miss Ray’s posts here.
He has disappeared once again or taken a break from this forum.
But he still surprises me with his level of cooking.
Just a year ago he wrote here on this forum, that he seared a steak for the first time in his life a year or so ago, and I’m not kidding.
If you sear your first steak at Ray’s age in 2021 or 2022, you’re not a mid level amateur cook in my opinion.
You’re a novice.
Ray hasn’t posted here for over 4 months. Maybe it’s time we stopped talking about him 
It’s a shame, but just hope he’s happy and healthy wherever he is…
3 Likes
I will if you will. I didn’t bring him up or opine of his competency.
2 Likes
There was an interesting post on the cooking subreddit yesterday about Demeyere Proline pans not playing well with the CF. I don’t particularly know what to make of it, particularly Demeyere’s response to the OP. I’ll let others weigh in:
https://reddit.com/r/cookware/comments/zw1ds4/breville_control_freak_not_working_with_demeyere/
1 Like
As I understand it, the Demeyere Proline (Atlantis family) pans use a non-magnetic stainless steel as the outer layer (300-series), the outermost of the triple-induc layers, to make the pans really easy to clean. The magnetic-compatible (400-series) layer is behind that.
I actually have a couple Proline/Atlantis pans coming in next week, so I’ll be able to find out if and how they work on a couple Control Freaks.
Demeyere Industry 5 should work just fine, as I understand it.
Huh. Sounds to me like Breville didn’t set up their product parameters using a Proline (which is only one of Demeyere’s pans employing TriplInduc, BTW). This technology is proven across a wide range of induction appliances; in fact, this is the first and only instance I’ve seen reported of a Proline not “working”.
Other appliance makers have had similar issues. For instance, for a period, Viking induction appliances were famous for not working under Le Cresuset ECI. It was a sensor issue that was worked out.
I’m very interested if this issue will present with afs’ new pans.
I’ve seen reports of the same issue (and of people having no issues using Demeyere pots and pans). I have quite a few myself, so it will be interesting to see how I get on.
Saw a “hack” involving starting the pan off-centre for a few seconds before moving it to the centre that supposedly solved the issue
1 Like
Assuming your hack works, the problem is clearly a sensor issue. It may have something to do with the location of the central thermocouple button.
Have you tried a Hestan Cue? https://hestancue.com/pages/hestan-smart-cooking-2
I haven’t - I thought I read somewhere that you need to use their cookware for it to work
1 Like
You do need to use Hestan’s “smart pans” to get the super precise temperature control.
To add to what @kaleokahu said, Hestan has released a temperature probe that you can presumably use with non-Hestan pans to monitor the temperature of liquids inside the pans. But I haven’t tested that scenario.
They want you to use their pans, as that’s how they measure pan temperature. But they do provide some support for using third-party pans.
Yeah - that’s what i thought. I find that proposition a little less compelling than the CF and the ability to use all my pots and pans.
All your magnetic pans, maybe excluding Demeyere Triplinduc, maybe others.
