new stove, glass top vs. coil

[pixiewings71]

I love my glass top stove!! Mine heats up very quickly and heats up evenly, it does take a while to cool down but it's not that bad in the grand scheme of things. I find it very easy to clean (I use a razor blade to scrape gunk off the top) and it looks good. I would get another one in a heartbeat!

 

[MrsPete]

We ditched our coil stove about three years ago, and I like my glass-top range. It's a mid-priced model -- it doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles, but it also wasn't the cheapest option out there. I'd buy it again. The one "perk" I haven't used yet is the warming spot.

Pros:
It looks better than the old coil stove.
My two front burners have a two-size option: If you turn the knob to the right, you get a "big burner" . . . if you turn the knob to the left, you get a "small burner". My old stove had only one "big burner", and it's so convenient to be able to put my biggest pots on whichever side I choose.
It is easier to clean than the old coil stove, but it still isn't easy to clean -- even with the special gunk. I guess it's fair to say that something that's used so intensely (and cooking is messy) it's just going to take some effort to clean it. Just don't expect miracles.
It has a "lip" around the edge of the stove that collects large spills.
We chose the enclosed coil inside the oven; this takes significantly longer to heat up, but you only have to have one pie or casserole "run over" to appreciate the benefit!
The newer ovens are so much better insulated than old models; the oven stays hots much longer, and I figure that has to mean 1) it's much more energy efficient, and 2) it's keeping the heat inside rather than letting it out into my kitchen.

Neutrals -- I have no negatives:
The time to heat /cool the stovetop burners seems about the same as the coil stove. Likewise, I cannot tell a difference between the evenness of the heat dispersal.

Induction cooktop seems to be the latest and is very energy efficient and supposed to be faster than gas? Also very safe as the top never is hot for you to touch it. I would also recommend convection for the oven.

Induction isn't the latest -- it's been around since my mom remodeled her kitchen, and that was around the time my just-graduated daughter was born. The pros you listed are absolutely true, and it's a great cooktop. The only negatives are 1) the cost, and 2) you are very limited to the pots and pans you can use.

Gas would be fantastic! I hate electric. I just need to figure out how to run 30 miles of gas line to my house.

If you really want gas, you can have a tank installed in your back yard.

 

[Califgirl]

I second, third or fourth induction! I love my induction cooktop!

Induction cooktop seems to be the latest and is very energy efficient and supposed to be faster than gas? Also very safe as the top never is hot for you to touch it. I would also recommend convection for the oven.

My induction cooktop heats water for boiling pasta in under 2 min. Yes, it's that fast.

This would be my first choice. I loved gas. Quickly heats up and when you turn the burner off, it cools down. Magic!

Induction mimics gas, in that when you turn the 'burner' off, it instantly stops heating.
And, the actual stovetop doesn't heat up. Spill some spaghetti sauce? No problem, it doesn't bake on the cooktop. Clean up is a breeze, and it's safer for homes with children. (Although the cooktop gets hot, just not to the degree of a regular coil type cooktop).
.





And if I could not have gas, I finally got my induction range! And I love it. I actually bought induction hot plates to see if I would like it (which I still use to cook smelly things and heat producing things in the summer out on the porch). I quickly learned to love induction cooking. The elements do not get hot, the only thing that gets hot is the pan because the stuff in the pan is hot. It is very responsive, quickly heats up and quickly cools down. So I sunk the $$ into a convection/hybrid induction range. Love it! And it uses much less electrity than conventional electric cooking, has 2 normal heating elements and 2 induction. I have had it for several months and still have not used the conventional elements. The only caveat is that you have to use special pans otherwise it won't work. If a magnet sticks to it, it will work.

I did the same thing, got a single portable cooktop before buying the full thing. I love cooking on induction. To see if your cookware can be used on an induction cooktop - if a magnet sticks on the bottom, it will work with induction.

Induction isn't the latest -- it's been around since my mom remodeled her kitchen, and that was around the time my just-graduated daughter was born. The pros you listed are absolutely true, and it's a great cooktop. The only negatives are 1) the cost, and 2) you are very limited to the pots and pans you can use.

If you really want gas, you can have a tank installed in your back yard.

This is absolutely true. Induction has been around for a long time, and is more prevelant in Europe.
We had thought about putting in a natural gas tank in our yard, but it was just too expensive to plumb the house.
I LOVE my induction stovetop!

 

[Chelley00]

We had to replace our coil stove after a kitchen fire last year, and we went with glass. I have a love/hate relationship with it


Love:

easy to clean (I use the Wegman cream cleaner and it works wonderfully)

no coils to clean under, around

Hate:

takes awhile to heat up or cool down

stainless steel slides around

 

[Muushka]

I second, third or fourth induction! I love my induction cooktop!

My induction cooktop heats water for boiling pasta in under 2 min. Yes, it's that fast.


I did the same thing, got a single portable cooktop before buying the full thing. I love cooking on induction. To see if your cookware can be used on an induction cooktop - if a magnet sticks on the bottom, it will work with induction.



This is absolutely true. Induction has been around for a long time, and is more prevelant in Europe.
We had thought about putting in a natural gas tank in our yard, but it was just too expensive to plumb the house.
I LOVE my induction stovetop!

That's why I carry a magnet around in my purse!

Ikea has a nice range top for $999 (induction) which is a pretty good price.
I notice that places around here that used to sell them no longer do. I guess they were just not well known how great they are. Oh well, saved $600 because they were trying to get rid of it!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I have a glass top and I have had no problems with it *knock on wood*. I like the way it looks and it works great.

 

[limace]

Ugh. Hate the glass top that came with our house. It's really hard to clean, and I really worry about it when I'm canning, as I know the tops can crack with the huge pots boiling water for hours. Can't wait to replace it.

 

[DebMcDonald]

Gas!

I have to agree with the above. I have the glass top and I hate it. It's scratched and it's always always always dirty, something spills over someone doesn't clean it up right away if I had a choice I'd go gas.

 

[connie1042]

I have a glass top and I hate it. I would go to gas if I could. It is hard to clean some stuff off of it. It is slow to heat and takes forever to cool down.

 

[keetmommy]

Had a glass top and a burner went out...would be like 200.00 to have it fixed...Just replaced it with a coil as it decided the oven didn't want to turn off anymore...now if I have to replace a burner I can do it!. I also found it very hard to keep clean!

 

[mill4023]

I absolutely despise our glass top stove. I hate the thing with a passion.
Next stove will definitely be gas since we already have the line, but if that wasn't an option, I'd go back to a coil.
For a lot of things, the glass top is fine. But it's very limiting. I can't stir fry on the thing because it doesn't put out enough heat. I can't properly reduce liquids because it doesn't put out enough heat. Basically, it just comes down to it not getting hot enough for some cooking techniques.

 

[deegack]

Gas would be fantastic! I hate electric. I just need to figure out how to run 30 miles of gas line to my house.

As a kid we had the stove run on propane. We had a tank in the backyard. Worked very well.

 

[pixiewings71]

I absolutely despise our glass top stove. I hate the thing with a passion.
Next stove will definitely be gas since we already have the line, but if that wasn't an option, I'd go back to a coil.
For a lot of things, the glass top is fine. But it's very limiting. I can't stir fry on the thing because it doesn't put out enough heat. I can't properly reduce liquids because it doesn't put out enough heat. Basically, it just comes down to it not getting hot enough for some cooking techniques.

I'm really confused to some of the posts regarding glass tops. I stir fry on mine regularly, at least twice a month, never had a problem, mine heats quickly (so much faster than an electric coil) and evenly, it does stay hot longer than a coil but I expected that. I regularly make a chicken piccata dish and my stove top reduces the liquid beautifully, that dish is one of my favorites! I don't have a problem cleaning mine, if something gets stuck on I use a razor blade to scrape it off (used to do that with the stuff that would get under the stove top with the gas range I had or the coil range), I use the stove top cleaner that came with the stove a couple times a month and I use Lysol wipes or any other standard cleaner after I've cleaned any stuck on stuff off. Maybe I just got really lucky but I adore my glass top stove and don't want to go back to a coil or gas any time soon.

 

[mill4023]

I'm really confused to some of the posts regarding glass tops. I stir fry on mine regularly, at least twice a month, never had a problem, mine heats quickly (so much faster than an electric coil) and evenly, it does stay hot longer than a coil but I expected that. I regularly make a chicken piccata dish and my stove top reduces the liquid beautifully, that dish is one of my favorites! I don't have a problem cleaning mine, if something gets stuck on I use a razor blade to scrape it off (used to do that with the stuff that would get under the stove top with the gas range I had or the coil range), I use the stove top cleaner that came with the stove a couple times a month and I use Lysol wipes or any other standard cleaner after I've cleaned any stuck on stuff off. Maybe I just got really lucky but I adore my glass top stove and don't want to go back to a coil or gas any time soon.

Maybe some are just better than others. Ours is the first one we've had.
It gets plenty hot when you put a pan on it, turn it up to high, and leave it for a few minutes. But as soon as you put a bunch of cold food in the pan and it cools down, it takes forever to get back up to temp.

 

[momto2inKC]

I also was surprised at how many posters mentioning how hard they are to clean. I have a container of glass top wipes that I clean it off with and when something is stuck, use a razor blade. It doesn't scratch or damage it in any way.

 

[Muushka]

I just use the induction side and it stays very clean. My previous stove, glass top, did have 1 area that was difficult to clean.

 

[pixiewings71]

Maybe some are just better than others. Ours is the first one we've had.
It gets plenty hot when you put a pan on it, turn it up to high, and leave it for a few minutes. But as soon as you put a bunch of cold food in the pan and it cools down, it takes forever to get back up to temp.

Maybe, mine is also the first one I've had, in previous homes I've had gas and electric coil, before our fire the house we have now had an electric coil stove top. Putting cold food in a pan on the stove does not cool the pan down that much at all, not anymore than the old stove did. I didn't get the most expensive one, more a middle of the road one that had a warming spot and the 2 front burners can be big or small, those were the only perks I wanted. LOL I got the best priced one they offered at Home Depot with those features. I guess I just assumed they were all about the same.

 

[dyna]

HATED my glass top in my last house. Took forever for it to heat up, pans spun around on it, could not use my cast iron skillets, pain to clean. Really don't have anything good to say about it.

 

[pampam]

OP here. I've been stove shopping and guess I'll have to get a glass top. Coil ranges with the features I want are few and far between. I'd really like to get an induction but just can't justify the price. I have my eye on a whirlpool range with convection and steam clean. It's $900, so maybe I'll get it and an invection cooker to sit on my counter. Gas is out of the question, since we use oxygen here and need to be 10 feet away from an open flame. I'll go shopping again on Tuesday, and make up my mind, but I really need to get a new stove asap. I appreciate all the feed back. I've been asking at the various stores I went to what brand thay have the most trouble with. Each store says something else, from whirlpool to samsung or frigidare. It's all very confusing. But I thank you for doing your best to answer my questions.

 

[traces7]

I love my glass top stove, would never go back to the regular one. I think it does heat a little different, but I never have a problem. Things rarely bubble over with my glass top.

I don't get the difficulty cleaning either. It's easy, just wipe with a wet rag. Since things don't spill over at all, there's no need for scrubbing, etc. I do have some special cleaner that makes it look shiny if I use it, but I haven't even had to use that in a long time. I don't see why it would be a pain to clean compared to the old stoves where things spilled over into the burners, ugghh! I always hated cleaning those things.