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tylerni7 t1_jba5rgd wrote

The distance will affect the field strength, which will fall off as the distance cubed.

However, this is NOT the same as efficiency: if the stove ran with no pan coupled to it, the power usage would be low (only resistive losses and some negligible energy from the field permeating the air).

So while things will get slower further away, the stove will also use less energy. Trying to estimate the actual effect is tough and depends a lot on practical things (like the specifications of the coil and its drivers and the magnetic permeability of the stovetop and surroundings), but it's probably fair to round it to zero in practice.

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jba6esg wrote

okay so placing a kitchen rag will affect energy cost less than 1%?

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black_brook t1_jba9f02 wrote

It will actually heat the pan more using less electricity once it bursts into flames.

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jba9vuo wrote

lol why would it burst into flames

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seckarr t1_jbaam37 wrote

Pan heats up. Heats up so much that it sets the rag underneath it on fire.

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jbabxvh wrote

why would the bottom of a pan get to 210C when cooking by induction? can you imagine cooking some piece of chicken at 210C in a pan?

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kore_nametooshort t1_jbackit wrote

Frying pans run much hotter than that. Much hotter than ovens for sure.

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upvoatsforall t1_jbafn1d wrote

They can get much hotter but if you don’t want to burn stuff you can cook at lower temperature. Some fancy new induction tops allow you to set the temperature of the pan. Non stick coatings burn off at around 500 F. So I keep a laser thermometer to keep tabs on the temp.

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NeverPlayF6 t1_jbaqw17 wrote

Just a heads up- laser thermometers are actually infrared thermometers that measure the IR emitted as blackbody radiation. Each substance has a emissivity coefficient that has a significant effect on the measured temperature. Most IR thermometers are set to a default of 0.95 which is fantastic, since that is the emissivity value of cooking oil... but if you're trying to measure the surface temperature of a pan, it could vary substantially.

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tjeulink t1_jbacrz5 wrote

thats a pretty normal temperature to cook chicken at. searing meat is done 315c. cooking chicken and other meats usually at 150-200c. usually when cooking meat you sear it first to lock in moisture and flavor.

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DriizzyDrakeRogers t1_jbajlac wrote

I sear steaks, pork chops, and chicken at 400-420F (around 210C) on my induction cooktop all the time.

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Calembreloque t1_jbantwr wrote

Do you think that induction cooks things without heating them up somehow? There's no direct flame but at the end of the day the principle is still to heat the bottom of the pan so you can cook its contents. A quick look online will tell you that induction ovens can heat things up to 350°C.

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black_brook t1_jbanm1e wrote

People often underestimate the temperature the frying pan gets to because the food is actively cooling off by the moisture in it changing phase to steam. The pan needs to be hotter than the food will actually cook at to compensate for this, and the bottom of the pan will be hotter than the surface of the pan which is in contract with food and having heat actively draw off.

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atomfullerene t1_jbaq4wy wrote

The pan has to be hotter than the chicken to heat it effectively

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[deleted] t1_jbaaorh wrote

[removed]

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jbabqvj wrote

you think the bottom of a pan will get to 210C when cooking by induction? can you imagine what would happen to the oil IN the pan at 210c?

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littledeadfairy t1_jbacc2z wrote

210 degrees C is considered medium heat lol. Have fun with your little kitchen fire.

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Calembreloque t1_jbangf7 wrote

Virgin olive oil (which has one of the lowest smoke points) starts smoking around 190°C, so if you use other oils (avocado, sunflower), strictly nothing would happen at 210°C. 210°C is a perfectly standard temperature for cooking. If you want your chicken to cook to 75°C (the safe temperature), your pan has to be much hotter than that otherwise it will take hours for your chicken to heat up.

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ErikTheAngry t1_jbafbx8 wrote

A thin silicone mat will work fine for what you want, and handle most of the temperatures you're going to be exposing it to (the pan is going to be hot, even if there is no radiant heat from the element itself).

They'll still melt if you go too hot, but for your average cooking, they're enough.

It's good for cast iron cookware. Shelters the ceramic top from the iron.

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dastardly740 t1_jbaj2ja wrote

The exception is probably when cast iron is used for searing. If all goes well, that should significantly exceed the temperature kitchen silicone mats can handle.

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takesalicking t1_jban3wk wrote

Why not aluminum foil? It's non-magnetic, thin, won't "burst into flames" or melt.

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ErikTheAngry t1_jbaoe0o wrote

It'll probably stop the mess, assuming it doesn't tear.

Though personally I'd be worried about fumes.. confined between the pan and the element the temps could be considerably higher than the surface of the pan itself (not unlike how the temps rise when you put a lid on a pot). Aluminum fumes are no joke, which start to be a concern around 600C. Of course at those temps, silicone would just be a bubbling mess too.

Foil won't do anything to protect the ceramic top from a heavy piece of iron though. The silicone mat will provide a bit of padding to help avoid scraping the ceramic, and it offers a little leeway in setting down the cast iron.

All while being reusable.

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jbajj8t wrote

i've seen some mats made for induction cooking on amazon. however, some reviews talking about them melting (which results not just in money loss of item, but very hard or impossible to remove stain on the expensive stovetop).

now, some reviews are likely to be from ill informed people with an electric stove. however, some claim to be certain that they have induction stove and they still melted, which worries me.

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brainwater314 t1_jbac7pj wrote

The slower heating allows heat to leak out while you're not using the pan because it's not hot enough yet, and I'd bet a rag is at least a couple mm thick and would reduce the heating speed noticeably, so I'd say it would reduce the efficiency overall by at least 5% if not 10% or 20%. One of those thin lint free towels would be a better choice.

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BitsAndBobs304 OP t1_jbadxk2 wrote

you mean microfiber? that has a melting point much lower than cotton

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brainwater314 t1_jbaepyn wrote

No, I thought the really thin dish towels were called "lint free". They weren't made of plastic and weren't microfiber cloth. They were more like the thickness of a t-shirt than a towel. They just didn't have the fluff that makes towels so thick.

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