Nuwave Pro Chef Induction Cooktop, Commercial-Grade Portable Burner

I've been using a butane camping stove in my RV, and after it was stolen I decided to try this to see if it is feasible option than having a dangerous gas stove. Before this purchase I tried a Waring Professional two-burner with a 500W small burner and a 1300W large burner. My test with it was that no matter whether I had it turned high or low on the small burner, it still used the full 500W as opposed to less wattage when it was turned down low. For comparison sake, It took 30 minutes with the small burner to get the water simmering. Alternately, this NuWave Pro induction hot plate uses less watts if you turn it down, and more watts if you turn it up. Below are some experiments that I conducted to test how much it would do with how little time or watts. Theoretically the lowest setting is 900W, and I used this lowest setting for all the experiments. Note that this is the Commercial NSF version as compared to the non-commercial home version that has the lowest setting at 500W. So the range of the 900W setting starts with 100W when it is on low (100-F); Medium-low runs at about 650W (175-F); Medium runs at about 1000W (275-F), and I did not test Medium-high, High, nor the Max/sear settings because it accomplished what I needed at these lower settings. I used two cast iron enameled pots -- one about a gallon, and the small one is about 3 cups. Test #1: Large pot, 2 cups of water, Low 900W setting, used about 1000W consumption when set at Medium/ 275 degrees F, 5 minutes. Result - water was simmering. Test #2: Large pot, 2 cups of water, Low 900W setting, used about 650W consumption when set at Medium/low 175 degrees. Result - the water was tepid, hot enough to wash face and hands with. Test #3: Same large pot of 2 cups tepid water, Low 900W setting, turned it down to custom 120 degrees F and added five more minutes. Used about 400W of power bouncing between 50W, 250W, 550W, 700W. Result - water got scalding hot -- too hot to put your hands into, but not quite simmering. Test #4: Large pot with 1 qt (4-cups) of water, Low 900W setting, Medium temp 275-F, three minutes, power consumption rate about 1050W. Result - water very hot, almost simmering, good enough for washing/ rinsing/ sanitizing dishes. Test #5: Small pot with 1-1/2 cups of water, Low 900W setting, Medium temp 275-F, three minutes, power consumption rate about 1030W. Result - water very hot, hot enough to make tea but needs to cool before drinking. /// Although I love this induction cooktop, there are a few oddities worth noting as a matter of fact. - Note that on the bottom of the unit it is rated NSF (for restaurant/ commercial applications), and also even states "COMMERCIAL AND HOUSEHOLD USE" but this is contradicted in the Owner's Manual where it states on page 10, lines 6 & 7 - "This appliance is not intended for commercial use. "This appliance is for houehold use only . . ." Note that the cover of the manual is specific for this professional appliance. - The other odd thing is that I read the entire manual specifically looking to see if it could be used on a plastic picnic table or wood carving block, etc. and it is completely silent on the issue. I know that many hotplates and slow cookers get hot enough on the bottom that they cannot be used on such surfaces without some kind of stone or fireproof trivet. I was a little peeved that they did not address the issue. Then I looked again at the bottom, and it is completely plastic that would melt if heat came out of the bottom, so apparently it is safe on any surface presumably due to the electro-magnetic field directing the heat upward only. It would have been nice for them to say so. In conclusion, I am not going to purchase another butane or LP gas burner unit (well maybe for backup), but I am going to use this exclusively as the primary cooking appliance (and my microwave). My system: I have a 7KwH 24V battery and a 2000W inverter with about 400W of solar power. I use a little more power than those solar panels produce, and run a 2000W gas generator for one to two hours per day to make up the difference. I have to be conservative with my electricity usage (run my frig/ freezer two times a day for 4 hours), but this cooktop will work perfectly in my RV setup. I would suggest this unit over the non-commercial unit for everyone -- for home, RV, and pro.

I’ve been a big fan of induction cook tops for many years now. They’re efficient, save a lot of money, are easy to use and are very safe. That’s just the very basic, simple ones. This NuWave PIC Pro Chef is fully featured and simply the “Cadillac” of induction cook tops—and its price reflects its value. I believe the PIC Pro Chef is NuWave’s top-of-the-line induction cook top. For those of you who don’t know about or understand induction cooking, it’s very simple. Underneath the glass cook top, there are copper coils that create an oscillating magnetic field. The magnetic field speeds up the molecules in the cookware, heating the pot or pan, etc., cooking your food. The cook top itself does not produce any heat. Your cookware, getting hot (like rubbing your hands together quickly) is what cooks your meal. The cook top eventually gets hot because the hot pan or pot you’re cooking in transfers some of its heat to the cook top. You can imagine the efficiency of this cooking method. There are no flames to transfer most of their heat to the air, making your kitchen hot. Even with electric-coil cook tops, most of the heat is transferred to the air. With an induction cook top, all of the heat is created by the vessel you’re cooking in, so none of the heat goes to waste. Because the cook top doesn’t generate any heat, it’s VERY safe. In fact, you can cook a meal at the highest temperature with a paper towel stuck between the surface of the cooktop and the cooking vessel. You must, however, have induction-ready cookware made of, or containing, a ferrous metal such as cast iron, steel or some higher quality stainless steels. These cooking vessels are magnetic in that they attract magnets. When you shop for induction-ready cookware, take a refrigerator magnet with you to test if a cooking vessel attracts the magnet. Some cookware will say “induction ready” on an attached label, or will have the squiggly line symbol on the bottom. In reality, induction cook tops can heat any type of vessel, including glass, as long as an induction disk is placed on the cooktop. This induction disk heats up just like induction-ready cookware does, essentially becoming a “hot plate.” I do not recommend using induction disks because they reduce the efficiency of your induction cook top and lengthen cooking times (which, of course, negates some of the advantages of induction cooking). Here’s what I like: When you remove the PIC Pro Chef (PIC stands for Precision Induction Cook top) from its packaging, you’re presented with a gorgeous, sleek, rectangular, black glass appliance. Placing it next to my Nutrichef infrared cook top, which is also a gorgeous, sleek, rectangular, black glass appliance, the two complement each other and make my kitchen look very impressive (even futuristic). Of course, the PIC Pro Chef is portable and can be used outdoors, in dorm rooms, RVs, campers and any other inconvenient location. It’s amazing to see how quickly an induction cook top will boil water. I bought this new PIC Pro Chef Induction cook top to replace an older NuWave model I’ve had for many years. The older model did not have as many features as this newer model. • Multi-stage programmable cooking lets you program it to quickly heat up a dish, then have it simmer for a number of minutes, then switch automatically to a lower heat to keep it warm until you’re ready to eat. • Timer Function to start and stop cooking automatically. • Delay Function delays cooking programs until a future start time. • Lock Function to prevent unintentional button presses. • Wattage Control Button toggles watts used between 900, 1500 and 1800 watts. This allows you to use fewer watts to keep from blowing a fuse or breaker if another high-wattage appliance is running on the same electrical circuit. Or, just to lower costs. • Fahrenheit to Celsius L.E.D. readout. • Easy Start. The PIC Pro Chef is preset to start cooking automatically at medium high (375° F) for one hour when you press the Start button (just for convenience and can be cancelled any time). • Highest and Lowest. The NuWave PIC Pro Chef can achieve higher cooking temperature than any other induction cook top (575° F) on Max/Sear and the lowest warming temperature (100° F) on Low than any other induction cook top. Other induction cooktops are usually in the range of 140° F to 425° F, making the PIC Pro Chef the most versatile induction cook top on the market. • Pre-programmed cooking temperatures include: Low (100° F), Medium Low (175° F), Medium (275° F), Medium High (375° F), High (425° F) and Max/Sear (575° F). • Pressing “+” or “-” will increase or decrease temperature in 5° increments. “+” or “-” also adjusts cooking time. • Large L.E.D. display for time and temperature. What makes the NuWave PIC Pro Chef great is its precision. You can follow the most complicated recipes exactly because you can cook at temperatures in five degree increments rather than hazy, inexact temperatures like “Medium” or “High,” where you don’t know exactly what temperature you’re cooking at. This means less under or over cooking for you. In professional kitchens, every piece of cooking equipment (from deep fryers to cook tops) allow you to dial in an exact temperature. Your frying temperature, for example, can be so precise, chicken frying in a pan can have the surface of the oil as still and smooth as glass. This is why restaurants can fry food day after day without changing the oil. The oil just doesn’t get brown and dirty. The only quirk I’ve been able to find with the PIC Pro Chef, is that there is no “Off” button. There is a “Start” button, which is the equivalent of an “On” button, and a "Pause/Clear" button, but no “Off” button. To turn off the PIC Pro Chef, you must unplug the appliance. Alternatively, you might have a wall socket that can be turned on and off with a light switch. In that case, the light switch will be your “Off” button. The NuWave PIC Pro Chef is a five star product. It goes beyond my recommendation because it is the stuff of the future and of excellence. Enjoy (I know you will).

I wanted to test conduction cooking with a quality stand-alone single burner to determine how I might like it before committing to a full cooktop upgrade. I also wanted a nice looking single burner I could use as an extra cooking surface somewhere if needed - for example as a "hotplate" to keep food warm on a buffet. I really like the look of this cooktop, it is smooth and very easy to clean. Best of all, if something does spill on the surface, it doesn't "burn on" like a glass element cooktop would. This also stays cooler and not as scorching as a ceraminc hotplate - so I feel more confident using it outside of the kitchen doesn't present a huge fire hazard. I used this on a large pan to boil water for corn-on-the-cob. I also tried it outside to fry some fish I didn't want smelling up the house. I was very impressed by the rapid heating and wide range of temperatures this achieved. It far exceeded my expectations and went so far beyond the capabilities of the "stupid" side-burner on my outdoor gas grill. One thing i did learn from this, is that ANY TIME the induction cookplate is ON, there is also a FAN that runs. The noise is not that loud but it is noticeable if you listen for it, in some ways it is kind of nice to "hear" when it is ON or when it is OFF when you aren't standing directly over the hotplate. If I was using this outside on a picnic table or outside kitchen, I don't think I would even hear it.

This Nuwave cooker is great! It is my favorite cooking top-it heats so quickly and is easy to set the various temperatures. Its surface is very east to clean. I recommend it highly!

This review is really about trying to dispel some of the negative reviews that seem to be written by people expecting something unrealistically miraculous from a countertop appliance. I ended up returning the item because we decided to approach cooking in our new to us RV differently, however, if we revisit our cooking needs, this unit will be our first choice. I tested it with a flat-bottomed spun-steel wok and it worked great on the flat bottom, but the induction power dropped off quickly as the "sides" of the wok sloped up and away from the cooktop, which is to be expected from this kind of device. There was conduction of heat throughout the wok after it had been heating for a while, but it was not as effective as using a wok on a big gas burner, and a bit less effective than an electric burner, however the bottom heated evenly and got extremely hot. A gas burner is my first choice for woks, but this would be second. Temperature control: Well, the numeric readout was a bit hit and miss, which seems to depend on the volume of the contents being heated. Smaller quantities were trickier than larger quantities. As for trying to rely on the numeric readout, I wasn't fazed by it because I cook on gas by visually assessing my pan; generally, I boil, simmer, and fry and make adjustments to achieve those results. Speed: It is fast, period. 5 quarts of water took about 16 minutes to boil, 2 quarts took about 5.5 minutes. Temperature adjustments are instantaneous to the pan. The unit cools off remarkably fast, as in the glass cools down to the touch within just a few minutes. Because all the power goes into directly heating the pan and nothing is lost to heating the air, this device is quite power efficient and therefore cost-effective. Pans: I really don't understand all the whining on this. The standard steel wok worked like a champ. Generic clad (sandwich bottoms) stainless pans worked perfectly. Heating area: Again, more useless whining. I put a 12" generic clad stainless kettle on to test the 5-quart boil and the obvious ring of boiling bubbles was between about 3" out to about 10". In short, the 12" kettle had nearly full coverage and boiled the water quickly and effectively, so this would be ideal for making soups or pasta. For things like sauces, I didn't test, but it seems like it would work, but would likely need to be monitored more closely as the quantities get smaller. I didn't have an opportunity to test the low settings. The fan noise: OMG, this is such a bogus gripe! The unit is about 1/3 or 1/2 as loud as our 1000W microwave. In short, people need to have realistic expectations: This is not some perfect device created in heaven, it will not work with every single pan in the universe, it will not boil a gallon of water instantly, its controls might be coarser than the $1,400 Control Freak or a full-sized range, and it is not perfectly silent, BUT it is a very good, reasonable countertop appliance.

I am refitting a boat that has a 4-burner GE Profile glass cooktop (1988 vintage). My first thought was to install gas, but a friend convinced me to try induction so I bought this burner to try it. Wow. This thing is awesome. I'm going to redo the countertops anyway and will have them modded to recess 2 of these where the old cooktop is (I rarely use 3 burners bc I also have a convection oven). With any of the electric cooktops I've used -- including new high end ones -- there was always a lag between turning the heat up or down and an actual change in temperature. Stuff burned, or took forever to cook. There was also the lag waiting for the burner to heat up. This unit changes temperature immediately because the heat comes from the magnetic waves. Cut the waves and the temp drops instantly. Plus, the "high-medium-low" rheostats on most cooktops are imprecise, so you're always guessing. And some cooktops maintain temperature by "pulsing" power to the burner, so rather than holding a constant temp, it's constantly going on and off. The NuWave adjusts in 5-degree increments, and it holds that temp steady with no pulsing. There's an extra low that's great for simmering sauces without breaking them all the way up to extra high for searing steak. To get the most control use a light pan with low thermal mass that doesn't retain heat. I use my antique cast iron a lot (high thermal mass) and it's still very responsive, but the fastest changes come using my lightweight stainless steel pans. I did a lot of research and bought the Pro model because of its touch controls (some reviewers noted that the buttons on other models wear over time). Also, most dual burner configurations (NuWave and others) share the maximum 1800 watt output between the burners, so you only get max output when one of the burners is off. I like the styling except for that huge honking logo on the burner, but I'll live with it to get the performance. I've been cooking with this daily for a couple of months and I haven't turned my old cooktop (it's still there) on once. Fast, accurate and super easy to clean (boiled over pasta water and chili spatter wipe right off). 5 stars.

I tried a total of 4 burners. I wasn't planning on trying so many, but the first three didn’t seem to work as well as I heard they should. I am so glad I stuck with it. This is by far the winner for me. Of the four I tried, this one has the biggest burner at 10”. The first 3 could boil water but none could reach a rolling boil, even if I filled the pot with hot water. This one has my stock pot of cold water HARD boiling in 20-25 minutes. It easily reaches and maintains a rolling boil. It has 6 preset temps and I can also control it in 5 degree increments from 100-575. This is the first one I found where I could use the temp so precisely! All the others would only have preset temps with little ability to fine tune. With cold water and the timer I can hard boil eggs in 10 minutes and not worry about taking it off the heat. I have timed myself and found I can take a cold pan and make scrambled eggs and clean the pan in under 6 minutes!! That’s huge for me. I have a house full of mouths!! 😂 It has 3 watt settings. 900, 1500 and 1800. It stores your previously used wattage setting in its memory. When I turned it on for the first time it was set at 900 (good for those who blow the breaker at 1000). The ability to go from rolling boil to off and on again in a blink is just amazing! U don't have to remove the pan from the heat. U remove the heat from the pan. I know now that the lower priced ones I purchased first did not do induction burners justice. This is showing me what a GOOD induction burner can do!! One day I hope I can get a whole stove. Im using this to replace a broken burner on my range.

We have a natural gas stove and we live in Tucson AZ. We don't cook indoors in the summer. It only heats up the house and costs much more to cool the house. So we would either fix something cold, or weather the summer heat at the barbeque. No more! We can now use this induction plate and only heat the food in the pan instead of everything around it using GAS! As far as I'm concerned, this Nuwave Pro Chef Induction Cooktop is the gold standard and should be in the arsenal of any kitchen chef! Buy it! You'll be glad you did!

Only thing I can't figure out is the timer. Following the instructions in the user manual, but doesn't work (it's probably me combined with imprecise instructions). Otherwise works very well, it's light, saves space. I think it's on the rather expensive side, all things considered, but not outright overpriced...

works good so far