The media could not be loaded. 061622 EDIT: 2-STARS because breville needs to do a heck of a lot better for the pricE (costing 10-times more than other burners). For the price: No leveling feet.. Flaky recognizing demeyere (top of the line pan specifically engineered for induction cooking). Like all the other induction burners I know of, the heating/induction part is a ring that causes a corresponding ring shaped hot-spot in all pans used (since induction heats the pan itself the ring shape gets heated).. I don’t know why everyone believes induction is good for even heat, because it actually makes it worse because it heats the pan itself in a ring shape (so the ring shaped hot spot ends up a hotspot). [[EDIT: the boiling ring in the video happened with cast iron STAUB, and top of the line thick aluminum demeyere Atlantis gets the boiling ring too.. The demeyere Atlantis, which is the thickest aluminum I’ve ever seen (and it still boils in a ring).. The control freak is finicky about using small pots.. The electronics seem excellent, and it is my favorite of the three induction burners I’ve used.. The ring of heat causes problems with rice because the boiling ring causes the rice to clump in the middle (ditto for oatmeal).. But I’ve found a way around this by stirring in the beginning until the rice/oatmeal is boiling hard & forming up, then I put the lid on to simmer and after a while it is simmering all over (not only in the ring shape). Also the boiling ring is less troublesome if you let a pot pre-heat longer (but this negates the quick heat advantage of induction).. The temperature control is very helpful for cooking eggs, but the heat ring is where the eggs tend to stick.. The hot-ring also will burb bacon is the middle leaving the ends medium.. You can still cook the bacon, but once again induction requires extra work and extra vigilance to cook the bacon evenly (once enough fat renders to mostly cover the bacon, then the bacon will cook evenly in the fat. Purely for cooking I wish I had a gas stove, but I like induction because it doesn’t heat up the kitchen.. 031922 EDIT: I got a new demeyere 1.1 qt ATLANTIS saucepan today (the line specifically designed for use with induction, mentioned below where the frying pan would intermittently get the not recognized error from the control freak). The sauce pan worked both times I used it today.. I believe the problem with the control freak is worse than other induction burners because it needs to add another heating element in the center for smaller pans (or they should just market it to caterers who use Honkin large pans for everything). Possibly the temp probe in the center is why the center doesn’t heat (maybe they could redesign it with infra-red probe pointing at the side of the pan.. So, for a home cook, cooking for 1-2 people, the control freak is problematic trying to cook with smaller pans.. For home use it really should have been one of those burners that work for different size pans (it’s supposed to work with pan bottoms 4.5”-10,” but it does a poor job when pans are close to the 4.5” & see the picture of the red pan where you can see the heat ring burnt on the food). Im having the same problem with thick clad pans, although not as bad (rice and oatmeal).. With clad pans the simmering part works enough to walk away and wait for the timer.. I’m ordering an induction disc adapter, to see if I can make this thing work for oatmeal and rice (the short video of oats show only the ring boiling, which is why you have to stir the whole time to make rice or oatmeal.. or half won’t get cooked).. So to get more even heat I’m risking another $40 on an induction disk advertised to not overheat induction units, by designing on a small air gap.. I guess I’ll have to wait and see if the control freak recognizes the disc.. I expect even if the induction disc works, it will probably take a long time to boil.. And it will take away the strengths of induction cooking (like heating the pan not the room, and probably precise control will be lost too). 031022 EDIT: Ive given up on using the CF with cast iron (and I’m now shopping for something else to use with cast iron, which most of my pans are).. Ive added pictures why.. The 4 sec video shows the problem with oatmeal, and exactly same problem with rice. The red pan was used to heat dipping cheese.. I stirred it the entire time, and got a ring of burnt cheese.. Heating cheese works much better on my 30y old coil burner electric stove; of course it will still burn if I’m careless, but I don’t have to stir constantly because the whole pan gets hot.. - instead of an “extra” hot ring. New info on the demeyere Atlantis (specifically designed for use with induction). I thought it was working when I moved the unit to another room. Turns out it works about 2/3 of the time. It’s a PITA when I’m cooking and sometimes/intermittently it just won’t work (CF error doesn’t recognize the pan). I’m keeping one of the control freaks, because [when the demeyere pans are recognized] there is nothing better for cooking eggs.. Bacon too. Anytime Im cooking something where I can use a aluminum/clad pan, the CF is my first choice (but that limits me to eggs, bacon, pancakes and grilled cheese). 030122 EDIT: One of my major complaints was demeyere Atlantis frying Pan (designed specifically for induction) was not recognized by the CF.. But now it recognizes the pan after I moved the control freak to another room.. Since someone else complained of this same thing in the Amazon reviews, I’m going to assume this is a flaky area (I’m afraid to buy more of that cookware). BUT: Cooking omelettes in my demeyere industry searing pan (5mm.. roughly 2x thicker than all clad), makes perfect omelettes (I don’t think it can be improved on.. so I wouldn’t buy their flagship Atlantis pan for omelettes (worrying the super thick bottoms might have so much thermal mass it might not work for omelettes). AND: The worst problem is the cold spot in the middle with any cast iron I use.. I tested it again with a much larger pan, and same problem (the rice in the middle wouldn’t have gotten cooked unless I stirred it).. [end]. Nobody would ever pay me to do a promo video video, because I seem to find all the problems. I’ve used the control freak for a month and there are several problems. I love some things about the control freak, way at the bottom (if you want to use the control freak for making omelettes, and not much else, then its the best thing in the world).. I hate that Amazon took away comments on reviews; - if anyone can explain or wants to compare notes: Q rum cook (and I’m a user of gee mail). Sorry, 2-STARS, because a premium price demands a premium product.. RE: warranty: - The seller said the units are the same, but if you buy one for home use then the warranty is for home use and void for commercial use (vice-versa for commercial use).. It is unclear how long the warranty is good for, and what it covers (apparently none of the issues below would be covered.. . SUPPORT=? I called for support feb9, it’s now feb15 (2022), thats 4-business days, and no response yet from breville support (they are inviting negative reviews).. Breville not getting back to me reflects on the product.. Yes, I always make sure the temp probe that touches the bottom of the pot is clean and dry. . CANNOT USE CAST IRON TO COOK RICE OR OATMEAL: (and maybe ng for anything except sauce where there is always liquid in the pot). 02222 EDIT: I have determined I cannot cook oatmeal or rice in “*ANY*” cast-iron pot, unless you want some cooked and some not so cooked.. This happens because cast-iron does not spread the heat out like a “clad” pot does. This is the reason I have observed both rice & oatmeal boiling in a ring around the edge of the pot, and both rice and oatmeal ends up clumped together in the middle where it doesn’t cook (unless you stir it several times, which both demands your attention & lets the
