Will this cheap 3500 watt induction burner work?

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that's not the tri clad bottom right? if not I would look into the steel discs you can get to set in the bottom and increase the heat conductive surface area as Ive read that 304 stainless is less than ideal with a conductive top and although it works I believe there are more magnetic grades of stainless that work better.
 
Not tri clad and there is a post about the plates not working. Everything works as it should it's just a large amount of liquid to get boiling. With 5 gallons of water from 170 to boil it takes 16 minutes
 
I added a 2000W heat stick from brew hardware. Really speeds getting to boil. The Induction handles maintaining without a problem.
 
trussell said:
I added a 2000W heat stick from brew hardware. Really speeds getting to boil. The Induction handles maintaining without a problem.
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That's where I ordered mine from. I went with the 1500 watt because i don't have a dedicated 20 amp outlet where I brew.
 
cheesecake said:
Not tri clad and there is a post about the plates not working. Everything works as it should it's just a large amount of liquid to get boiling. With 5 gallons of water from 170 to boil it takes 16 minutes
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No offense meant here but the science behind how they work would suggest something was wrong with the plates used in that thread... The more magnetic the metal the more efficient the cooktop.. I'm not saying your setup doesn't work well without it, Just that it should work better with the more desirable grade of stainless for induction... I have the same bayou classic kettles as your using and a magnet doesn't even stick to them so they are less than ideal as far as efficiency for induction. If your thinking about investing all that effort in more supplemental heating elements I just think maybe another look should be given to improving what you already have is all...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking
 
cheesecake said:
I have compared my times with others using tri clad pots and there is no difference.

Here is the link to the plate
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=512717&page=2
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Did you read that thread? Where did it say it was used sucessfully and made no difference? The only reference I could see to someone using it was from anoldur and he said he wasnt able to use it due to an overheat error he kept getting with it? (To me that would indicate it was making a difference in heat output despite there being something wrong with the cooktop.)

here is a quote from the following article, http://blog.metrokitchen.com/what-makes-cookware-induction-compatible/


"How do you know if your cookware is compatible with induction cook tops?
The best way to be certain is to see if a magnet will stick to the cookware. If a magnet sticks to the cookware it is induction compatible. For any cookware to be induction compatible it must have a magnetic material built into it. Cast iron is a magnetic material, so it is good cookware for an induction cook top. Stainless steel cookware is popular cookware as it dishwasher friendly, looks beautiful over time and is much lighter than cast iron. Unfortunately stainless steel causes confusion when it comes to induction cook tops. The problem stems from the fact that all stainless steel is not magnetic. In order for stainless steel cookware to be induction friendly it has to have 18/0 stainless steel or another magnetic material built into it. Manufacturers that want their cookware to be induction compatible typically add 18/0 stainless steel to their cookware to make it induction capable. The design of your stainless cookware really will not matter. It can be disc bottom or clad in design, as long as it has 18/0 stainless steel or another magnetic material it will work with induction cook tops"

Again the 304 grade of stainless used in my bayou classic 16 gallon kettles is not magnetic enough for a magnet to stick at all so how can it work just as well for a magnetic driven heat source?
Is it possible "others" you compared times with were trying common copper clad 304 stainless kettles instead of steel clad which wouldnt work any better than the bayou if made of 304 or even 201 stainless?
 
And another thing on this subject... No one using anything but a bayou classic pot has showed 13 gallons at a boil. So again it must not be working good enough.
 
cheesecake said:
And another thing on this subject... No one using anything but a bayou classic pot has showed 13 gallons at a boil. So again it must not be working good enough.
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Apparently not good enough...
cheesecake said:
I have brewed 4 batches on the 3500 watt induction burner and it works great. But I also wish it would get my 13 gallons up to boil faster so I purchased a heat stick.
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all I did was mention that there are better options to make your induction top work better so you wont have to use extra heat sticks and you get all defensive.. You claim the other options dont work and misquote other threads you prove me wrong despite that fact that the simple science behind how they work says otherwise... Its like you just dont want to be wrong no matter how much you would benefit... Whatever man I see your mind is made up no matter how wrong your "experience" or should I say the experience of others? Whom you have no idea what they were using was..

Its not rocket science.. if a magnet sticks to it , It should work better for induction. depending on how many steel clad layers there are it could work even better. Just like the page I linked above indicates.
 
My mind isn't made up and if the plate throws a over heat error how is it better? The only other option is to buy a new kettle that is 3 times more expensive then a heat stick.

Now I have a question? Do you brew with a induction cook top?
 
The thread being quoted is mine. The over heating reason for the diffuser plate not work did not show that the plate was helping. It was just the opposite. Induction works well because it transfers the heat directly into the liquid. What the plate did was transfer heat back into the induction hob and cause it to over heat. Useful heat was being lost.

A thin wall pot is actually better at transferring the heat from an induction plate to the liquid. A clad pot will transfer heat over a wider area, but will also lose heat that would have gone into the liquid. The advantage of a clad pot is less chance of scorching when using it for cooking, but when used for boiling this not an advantage.

I'm guessing that the guy using a heat stick to compliment his induction is not insulating well or he's just looking for faster times. More is always going to be faster. This hob is only 3500W so bringing large amounts of fluid to a boil can be difficult, but I've been successful at boiling 14-1/2 gallons in my single wall Bayou pot that they claim is 304 stainless.
 
Mine is really not insulated and I want faster times it has no problem holding a boil. And I know if I insulated it it would heat a lot faster.
 
cheesecake said:
My mind isn't made up and if the plate throws a over heat error how is it better? The only other option is to buy a new kettle that is 3 times more expensive then a heat stick.

Now I have a question? Do you brew with a induction cook top?
Click to expand...

I do not but I have used them since they are designed to work with cast iron I would have to believe the fault was with the induction top there... I did order 2 of these 3500w induction tops for a friend who plans on using them to make maple syrup and beer and they havve been sitting in the box they shipped in for 2 years due to health and other issues that have delayed thier opening so we havent tested them with different kettles yet.

The induction plates that go into or under a standard non clad kettle should improve performance. I do not think because one person reported an issue with trying them on one induction top that means they dont normally work (Im not doubting his experience but I dont believe its typical.) Induction interface/ diffuser disks wouldnt be made and sold if they caused errors and didnt work right? Many different companies make and sell these and they have a lot of positive reviews by users on amazon. and at around $25 its not exactly going to break the bank.
 
AnOldUR said:
The thread being quoted is mine. The over heating reason for the diffuser plate not work did not show that the plate was helping. It was just the opposite. Induction works well because it transfers the heat directly into the liquid. What the plate did was transfer heat back into the induction hob and cause it to over heat. Useful heat was being lost.

A thin wall pot is actually better at transferring the heat from an induction plate to the liquid. A clad pot will transfer heat over a wider area, but will also lose heat that would have gone into the liquid. The advantage of a clad pot is less chance of scorching when using it for cooking, but when used for boiling this not an advantage.

I'm guessing that the guy using a heat stick to compliment his induction is not insulating well or he's just looking for faster times. More is always going to be faster. This hob is only 3500W so bringing large amounts of fluid to a boil can be difficult, but I've been successful at boiling 14-1/2 gallons in my single wall Bayou pot that they claim is 304 stainless.
Click to expand...
so your saying that the heat is not generated by the magnetism of the stainless and is instead generated in the liquid? If that were true you could use an aluminum kettle right? the bayou kettle is almost completely non magnetic therefore how can it be as efficient of a kettle for such a task when every document and manufacturer of these things claims otherwise? The proof is in the scorching directly over the induction disc so many report to one degree or another..

If a thin magnetic disk was set inside of the bayou kettle it would create more intense heat in the same centralized area yes because its working better and a decent induction top should be built to handle that increased heat energy which would be more evenly dispersed and less likely to scorch from how I see it.

To keep it simple, the less magnetic the pot the weaker the induction effect.
 
AnOldUR said:
I'm guessing that the guy using a heat stick to compliment his induction is not insulating well or he's just looking for faster times. More is always going to be faster. This hob is only 3500W so bringing large amounts of fluid to a boil can be difficult, but I've been successful at boiling 14-1/2 gallons in my single wall Bayou pot that they claim is 304 stainless.
Click to expand...

Yes I use it to speed the brew day. I have a spare 20 Amp circuit. So I heat sparge water with the heat stick and once it's time to get things boiling it really helps.
 
cheesecake said:
Any link to the disc that goes inside? I have never seen one of those only the ones that go on the outside
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I dont have one... But it doesnt mean it wont work... All you need is a flat 410 or magnetic grade stainless disc or even a regular piece of steel to experiment... You could remove the handle from one of the commercial options also. in most other cooking applications it would be messy to do it this way plus defeat the non stick surface and that likely why its not popular.
 
augiedoggy said:
so your saying that the heat is not generated by the magnetism of the stainless and is instead generated in the liquid?
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What I said several time in the post you quoted is that the heat is transferred to the liquid.

From what I've read, with induction most of the heat is generated on the surface of the metal, so a thin wall is a more efficient use. The heating of the metal is faster and more intense and can easily be transferred into the liquid. More efficient, but not necessarily desirable for cookware where burning and scorching will happen. Think of it like using a HWD heating element. It could work fine for heating water or wort, but you wouldn't want it directly in you MLT.

I have no experience with using a induction ready plate inside a pot, but doubt it would work. I would think that any liquid under the plate would not benefit from the rolling nature of a boil and cause some serious scorching.
 
And what Ive been saying several times is that induction works with magnetic metal. Weaker non magnetic grades of stainless with very little ferrous metal in it will provide a weaker induction effect and generate less heat. A magnetic grade of stainless should make the induction top more efficient and generate more heat. I do know know what whatever liquid that manages to sit between the two flat and touching surfaces between kettle and the plate would react honestly or if that liquid would even stay there long with the boiling temps. For all we know even a thin plate on the underside of the outside used with thermal paste could be more efficient than just the 304 stainless.

Here is an article that states medium to heavy gauge thickness cookware is better for induction.. http://fantes.net/cookware.html#COOKTOP (as well as stating it should be magnetic)

We know the 304 stainless bayou kettles work for induction dispite most other 304 grade stainless listed or reported as not working so that leads me to believe that it may not be regular true 304 to begin with. The question still remains, How well is the bayou kettle working compared to magnetic cookware and could the suggestions above make it work better..
 
augiedoggy said:
The question still remains, How well is the bayou kettle working compared to magnetic cookware and could the suggestions above make it work better..
Click to expand...
I've thought the same thing about Bayou's 304SS claim. That aside, your question is a good one. I can achieve and hold a good rolling boil of 14+ gallons in my 62qt Bayou. Are any of you out there doing the same or better with a clad pot?

My thought is that for 3500W, you're not going to get much better.
 
Can someone please give me a link to adapt this odd plug into something I can use on my dryer? Im not so electrically inclined for re-wiring and such... It is a normal 3 prong female outlet
 
Looks like China is now making an anolog version of the avantco? http://www.amazon.com/3500-Commercial-Electric-Cooktop-Induction/dp/B016U5BHV4?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=pe_297650_187365240_em_1p_5_ti

81GpMGQhZSL._SL1500_.jpg
 
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Speaking of, I had to take mine apart for the fan that wouldn't come up to speed. Cleaned and lubricated, it works OK now, but still rough, I guess the bearing is shot. Time to find a replacement fan.

Anyone else have this issue?
 
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