List Price: $129.99
Sale Price: $84.99
Today's Bonus: 35% Off
MARCH 10, 2013.
Our review from December published below originally gave this PIC a five star review. I have changed to only ONE star now. SO, if you happen to read any comments by other folks which might not make sence, that is why...
I also have added at the bottom of this review an email from The Induction Cooking website expert, addressing small induction burner elements and the cooking powers of these smaller Induction cooktops.
The Induction cooking method is a good choice.
THIS product has a defect which makes it cook at much higher temperature than the temperature you set.
I used a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of water and soup. THe temperature/thermostat was defective.
When the unit was set and 160, the thermometer measured 200 and a rolling boil occurred.
I returned the unit, exchanging it for another PIC.
THe same defect occurred.
I will be returning the second one now, and get my money back.
I hope that this update will serve to protect others from putting their money into a product which does not function properly.
ALSo, for reader's information. THe induction burner within this unit only measures 5 1/2 inches, so can't be used with larger pots.
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My question to Eric:
I've been looking at the listings on your site.What I am looking for is the
> ACTUAL size of the burner element in each of the countertop cooktops.
>
> I thought that the individual companies would have this information readily
> available, yet cannot seem to find it on amazon and your site. Do I need to
> call or write the individual companies to get this information.
Eric's answer to my question:
You could, but the answer will be pretty much the same (if you can get an
answer at al)--around the 5" to 6" that you have discovered by yourself. The
only exceptions would be in some units expressly designed for commercial use
(and priced accordingly).
One must remember that countertop units were not and are not intended as the
main station for cooking--they are improvements on the old "hot plate", which
is for lightweight supplementary cooking, from heating up a small pot of some
canned goods in a college dorm to at-the-table cooking of those few dishes
that need to go from pan to plate in a blink. They were never meant for 12"
skillets or huge, many-quart pots of soup or the like.
If one has to cook on them with anything much larger than 6" to 8" in
diameter, the material of the cookware and the natire of what's being cooked
come into play. Cast iron is a poor heat conductor, and so is quite slow to
carry heat from the center to its periphery; on the other hand, given enough
pre-heat, it will eventually get at least moderattely hot at the perimeter and
will tend to hold that heta. "Clad" stainless steel, on the other hand, is
designed to conduct heat well, and so will heat up more quickly; but it will
also cool down more quickly. Neither material on a small, countertop unit
will be really satisfactory in heating the outer annular area of any pot or
skillet, but whether that is critical depends on what one is cooking: if one
is making pancakes, or cooking anything that needs even heat throughout, it
will never be a real success; on the other hand, something like heating a
liquid will work tolerably well because the liquid itself will very rapidly
even out the temperatures.
There is always, though, the power limitation: 13,000 BTU/hour, which is the
equivalent of what a 1.8-kW tabletop can deliver, is a lof heat energy, and
will do well for most household tasks. But even that cannot boil several
quart of water in a flash. In a build-in unit, a 1.8-kW element would be one
of the small ones.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I'm on my second PIC and have had it a little over a month and the thermostat is messing up. hot, hot, burn then down, down, down sitting on a cold pan. I don't EVER want to talk to anyone there again. If I stand there and keep adjusting the heat I can get meal. Don't trust it for melting chocolate or making yogurt. My fried chicken sat in cold grease, till I turned it up, then down, then up. Buy a different brand. I have a commercial cooking background and know how to cook on induction. This is a bad product.My PIC over heated enough to separate the enamel from my dutch oven. They agreed to replace, then put a hold order on the replacement without notice to me. I called 5 times and it seems that notes are not accumulated in one area of the software they use, I had to go over the same thing every time. I finally got a "Shipped Out" phone call 24 days after the initial call. By then I was outraged and said so and wanted recompense for my dutch oven, time and inconvenience. I was offered an 11pc cooking set, which included a dutch oven for shipping only. I agreed and was charges $69.99. I know they inflate shipping, so when I verified I was NOT being charged for the set, I was reassured this was shipping ONLY (I know but that's them). My trust at this point is nil, so I go online...no such thing as an 11pc set. closest is a 10 pc Ultimate NO DUTCH OVEN, priced at $69.99 + $29.99 shipping. Now I start the call backs to get a supervisor, dropped calls, delays because the notes can't be found same old stuff. After 2 hours on the phone my satisfaction was the $69,99 order was cancelled. But to this day I do not have a replacement PIC and my burnt out $119 dutch oven is a doorstop. If you have the NuWave PIC, don't turn your back on it, it will over heat, or leave your food sitting cold. But it could burn more that just a pot as mine did. And don't expect NuWave "Main Office" to care. Induction cooking is great, there are other induction cook tops...no need to buy NuWave. I have filed a complaint with BBB and found that BBB has a Business rating. NuWave id not accredited by BBB and has an "F" rating.
April 21....They did NOT reverse the credit Card on March 28 as promised, I found out when I got my bill.
I called to replace defective PIC March 11th...got replacement on April 15th. My Credit card was reversed the $69.95 for the un-ordered cookware on April 17th...NONE of this would have worked in my favor but for "Reporting them to BBB" who handled the replacement of the PIC and my Credit Card reversal. I'm still out my burnt up $119 enamile Dutch Oven. I watch the new PIC like a hawk. Remember BBB gives this company an F grade.
Best Deals for Review of Download NuWave PIC - Precision Induction Cooktop
I purchased mine from the Nuwave website. It was the BoGo offer with the cookware. As written in many other places the S&H for the cookware and second cook top negate any "get one free" benefit. That should be a considration of "how/where" you purchase.I immediately unpacked my 2 PIC to test boiling water. First thing I found out was my Calphalon cookware from Target is annodized aluminum...not magnetic and not induction compatible. That should be a considration about buying the PIC if you want to use current metal cookware...BE SURE IT'S Magnetic.
Ok, now for the review of actual functionality. I used both the "free" stainless steel cookpot and a castiron fry pan. Both PIC's that I received only had a functioning induction coil in the very center of the cooktop. If you see a picture without the pot or pan on the PIC it's the size of the center red circle that is intersected by the NuWave logo. This will affect the eveness of heat distribution and cooking...especially frying.
The button for "Med" indicates a temperature of 275. I just wanted to boil water for my first use(that's 212 degrees farenheight, actually slightly less here in Colorado Springs). After 5 minutes there were bubbles forming on the bottom of the pan in a 3-4 inch circle in the center. This is the location of the inner induction coil. According to the NuWave response on their facebook page the induction coils are supposed to be out to the OUTER red cirlce on the PIC cooktop so this indicated to me that the coils were not working properly.
To get the water to actually boil, and this is on the included DvD also, you need to select the SEAR/HIGH button and adjust down once you get to a boil.
I don't see this product being nearly as "precise" as the NuWave website indicates. There is definitely as much lag in heating pots as with a standard electric range. It may truly be more efficient overall because the heat is generated within the cooking pot by exciting the atoms and not transferred from the heating element to the pot...but speedwise I definitly saw zero improvment over conventional electric or gas. I have a GE Profile gas range and the small burner did a better/faster job boiling water, again probaly not as efficient since the flames must heat the pot.
Safety-wise there are indeed no open flames or electric burners but the glass cooktop does absorb heat from the cookware so there is a chance to burn yourself after extended cooking times with the PIC.
I think this may work fine as a hotplate for parties or for serving fondues...but for active cooking I feel it's quite a let down from what is shown on their site or in the informercials.
*** Updating to a 3 star rating after testing the green pans that came with the product. The heat convection in the "Perfect Green" 9" Duralon pan is very good and the non-stick surface is excellent(not sure about durability as this is day two with the product). I'm not sure why the sauce/steamer/fondue pan seems to work poorly but the Perfect Green fry pans work very well. I can't push this beyond 3 stars as it still seems as slow when using anything other than the fry pans. I bought this with the idea of having solid, precise control for frying chicken I will be trying that this weekend and hopefully reporting back here afterward.
### For those of you who wondered about chicken frying, it seems to hold temperature(once you get there !!!) much better than a standard electric skillet, and since it seems to cycle off when it reaches temp...unlike standard cooktops that keep adding heat unless you adjust them...it was a better final product. I was able to fry 12 chicken thighs in 3 batches of 4 without stopping or messing with the controls.
Still only a 3 because it definitly doesn't live up to the infomercials.
Honest reviews on Review of Download NuWave PIC - Precision Induction Cooktop
I purchased through the TV Add BOGO. I couldn't wait to get my new induction cooktops because I want to replace my regular smooth cooktop with induction. Felt this would be an excellent way to try it out. Since I have ALL CLAD stainless steel cookware, I knew my cookware would not be a problem.When the units showed up, I opened the first unit, filled up one of my All Clad pots with about 3 inches of water and put it to the test! Unfortunately, only the very center of my pan tried to boil. I NEVER got a full boil going with the unit. It didn't even get the center of the pot of water boiling. Since that didn't work, I pulled out a smaller pot and tried again. Same result. To top off the poor performance, the fan is incredibily loud.
I emailed with customer service (Hearthware.Com) and their answer was "sorry". I was told if I wanted to send it back, I had to pay the shipping and handling. Now, that means I have to pay shipping and handling both ways for a poor product. So, I figured it was just the one unit so I opened up the 2nd unit and tried the same thing. This unit was worse than the first one since after 10 minutes I couldn't get anything to boil. Temperature of the "boiling" water never got over 140 degrees. Fan was just as loud on this unit as the first unit.
So, back to customer service (email) I went. Again, no assistance in saying "let's replace that for you". Same answer send them back at MY cost.
Needless to say, I will never purchase a product through HEARTHWARE again. I will NEVER purchase a NU WAVE product again. It cost me over $75 for shipping and handling for a product that did not work and I don't have. MAJOR disappointment.
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