Thanks again for more info. Is the induction disc worthwhile? Half my pans will work with induction.
Are you really going to want to use all your pans while undergoing kitchen remodel? Iām good with the teapot and skillet, I think, and dutch ovens work, too. Iāve read really mixed reviews about the disc, figured Iād do without.
donāt shoot the messenger.
Group A screams about how fast induction heats and how wonderful that is one can save 42 seconds when soft boiling an egg.
Group B did some tests. with some curious notes.
I donāt flive a givving hoot - Iām retired. I donāt care if it takes 2 minutes or 3 minutes for the water to come to a boil in my 60 year old Revereware stainless pot with the crumbling bakelite handle.
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Sometimes, perhaps often, people ask questions based on preconceptions. Addressing those preconceptions can lead to a happier result.
Hi, Elsie:
The converter disks make economic sense, insofar as you donāt have to discard non-compatible cookware.
However, the lack of perfect thermal contact twixt them and your pan bottom means they wonāt cook like an induction-compatible pan. Many people will say this ādefeats the purposeā of having induction, but this is mostly hyperbole. The disks, from a cooking perspective, just turn your PIC glasstop into the equivalent of an electric glasstop.
The serious concern is the disksā effect on the PIC itself. They tend to cause the cases to retain more heatāsometimes more than the cheap little fans can vent. So you run risks of frying electronics along with your eggs, cracking the glass, etc. if you use them too long at too high a setting. This is not a big concern, IMO, with a $75 Far East-made unit that wonāt last more than a couple years anyway. It IS a huge issue with a $5K induction top.
For a portable unit, short cook times and moderate heat settings, I think theyāre useful and worth having.
Aloha,
Kaleo
Hi ZwiebelHash,
When I switched to induction, I ditched my Revereware. Now Iām having lots of fun when I create those one pot meals with my Staub Dutch ovens.
Ray
You know the patriotic origin of the modern 1-pot meal, right, Ray?
when the only tool you have is an induction hammer, virtually everything looks like a one-pot-nail.
Enlighten me.
OK, remember, you asked for it.
Hi ZwiebelHash,
Iāve done many types of electric and gas for many years, and put in my time with Revereware, so I can appreciate what I have. Sounds to me like youāre just blowing smoke. Maybe you should read up?
http://theinductionsite.com/proandcon.php
Ray
Well, admonishing me for responding as requested by the OP could also lead to an unhappy result if you catch me on the wrong day. Donāt say you werenāt warned. 
Elsieb, I would recommend against the disc because of the superheating involved that can damage your induction cooker and in some cases the cookware itself. Hereās a series of experiments I ran with induction conversion discs: https://www.centurylife.org/the-inefficiency-of-induction-converter-discs-aka-induction-interface-discs-and-what-your-real-alternatives-are/
For you, induction is a temporary arrangement so hopefully you will have enough to make do while your more-permanent stove is installed.
Ugh!
I think I prefer the paella pan analogy.
Ray
The Germans also had a cast iron promotion programme under which, if Reichcitizens turned in all their copper to support the war effort, they received a special cast iron skillet with a war slogan cast into it. They come up occasionally on eBay.
Hi, Elsieb, reviving this thread because Iām in the same boat, buying an induction burner for use during construction. How did your model work for you? Any advice?
To the HOs familiar w/induction, I have a question about ācontrol.ā I get that you dial in the temp you want and that the unit instantly modulates the energy transfer, the same way gas instantly dials up and down the BTUs. But SS and cast iron do not instantly react when you wish to reduce heat.
So if I want to take advantage of the superior control of induction, I must know more precisely (way more than I do now) how hot I want the surface to get, correct? Are there charts or cookbooks for induction that note such?
Otherwise, if youāre cooking hot and you want to stop the reaction and cook cool, how do you control for that when your cooking vessel is not conductive enough to respond?
I plan to keep the unit in the pantry for pasta water, as an extra burner for big cooking jobs, and for summer cooking. But as long as I have it I would like to understand the tool better. The YouTube universe has not been helpful.
(Confession: I bought a Tramontina unit at Costco because I was there and it was on the shelf. 
I think you are overthinking things. SS and cast iron do not āinstantly reactā no matter what heat sourceāgas, electric, induction. The pan itself will retain heat to a certain extent. Do you cook with gas now? If so I predict you will have zero learning curve with induction. If you are currently on electric, know that the pan and its contents will react more quickly to an increase or decrease of your heating source.
15 years ago I stayed in a service apartment temporarily with an induction stove. I normally cooked with gas. That was my first experience with induction, and I must say, the heat transfer differently compared to gas, e.g. water boiling. Took me a few tries to get used to it. Stuff spilled out of the cooking vessel a few times. So there was a learning curve, at least for me.
Well, I currently cook with coppers on gas. I (joyfully) gave my SS and cast iron away because of frustration with lack of hot - to - cool reaction time. So I understand that w/induction Iām sort of back to where I started. But it has its good points, I get that. I was just wondering, because of all the chatter about superior control w/induction, if folks had come up with techniques to achieve more control w/their cooking vessels to take advantage of the superior temp controls of induction. Sounds like there is a simple answer, which is no?
I understand what Kaleo is saying: that dial 37 and you get 37. Now I have to coordinate what 37 means w/the food I cook. So, there will be experimentation. Good!
I bought a french crepe pan to start the games with.
Hi jammie,
The Vollrath induction units have three modes: āenergy,ā centegrade, and fahrenheit. With energy, you can set energy level with increasing percentages. With the temperature setting, one sets the desired temperature, and the unit eventually settles down to that temperatureāafter an initial overshoot.
If you have such a unit, you will find you have very subtle control over temperatureāand knowledge of what the level is.
Ray
