Hi Manish, That was an interesting review, thank you. Although the likelihood of me stumbling upon an induction cooker in the UK is low since most houses come pre-equipped with hobs, I am curious about one other thing: When using a normal hob (which I seldom do), more than the flame, it is the heat within a pan that is difficult to handle. When stirring something in a pan, for example, the heat within the pan is so intense to the hand that I can hardly continue holding the stirring spoon. Does heat from the hob rise up the same way when cooking on an induction cooker, or is it concentrated at the bottom of the pan? Also, does the outer surface of the pan remain cool when food is being cooked? Is it possible to remove a pan from the hob without using gloves?
Geetha ----- Original Message ----- From: "Manish Agrawal" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 5:12 PM Subject: Re: [AI] Induction Cooker Hi, Aman (my wife) and I did get an opportunity to use an induction cooking range for a few weeks some time ago (don't know the make or model)....thought will share my experience with the group. While it is true that the cooking stove was actually very safe and Aman would not freak out every time I went near the stove while she was working, we did face the following problems (some of which can be addressed with small tweaks to the stove): 1. Aman just couldn't find any good way of cooking reasonable chapatis on the stove. Typically, you would partially cook a chapati on a pan (tava) and then directly over the flame. In this case, there is no "flame", so, you've got to figure out a pan-only way of cooking a good chapati. Aman couldn't do that, although my mother claims that it can be done. Even Aman's "paranthas" (which are completely cooked on the pan) did not come out right on the induction stove - the way do on a regular gas stove -- maybe because we had a round bottom tava and not a flat one (next point). 2. We had several existing Indian cooking utensils - but they were all unusable because they were all round-bottom. The induction stove is a flat surface and any round bottom utensil is not stable (and is quite a hazard to use). 3. As a blind person, I couldn't use the stove at all (not even to make some tea - just about the only thing I can make on a stove) because the surface of the stove was completely flat with circular drawings on the surface indicating where the utensil needs to be placed. Since I could not see the circular drawings, I didn't really ever get my utensil placed right where it needed to be. This problem can of course be solved with practice or with some of the models being produced today where you can place the utensil anywhere on the surface and there are no circular drawings. 4. The stove we had had several circular push buttons on the wall to turn individual "burners" (circular drawings) on/off. Since there was no flame and no heat, the only way of indicating that a particular burner was switched on at a time was a small light next to the button. The light was so distant and small that even Aman (who has low vision) found very hard to see. The temperature controls were next to each such button and those being turned to a specific point didn't tell if the burner was on or off. 5. The final problem I see in buying an induction stove in India in the near future is because in Delhi we have very frequent and potentially long power cuts. I am not sure if an induction stove can run on an inverter. In summary, I think most of the above problems can be solved by making a better designed induction stove/utensils and I can live with less than perfect chapatis to get the safety of no "flame", but I am not sure what we can do about the power cuts that seem to become worse every year. BTW, if you are a cleanliness freak, the flat surface of the stove was amazingly easy to clean and spilled food or milk that inevitably boils over the top didn't start burning and create a horrid burning smell in the house. my 2' cents Manish -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of harish Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:51 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AI] Induction Cooker Dear Vaishnavi Thanks so much for the investigation. This should indeed be a wonderful device for the blind and a good candidate for nomination for the NCPEDP design award. It would certainly be out of the blue recognition to them, folks at Chennai need to check on its accessibility and nominate it accordingly. When main stream products take the extra step in accessibility we should reward the effort enthusiastically. I would also urge our members to support this product in their own little ways. Harish. ----- Original Message ----- From: "V. Jayakumar" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Cc: "Senthil Kumar" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:12 PM Subject: Re: [AI] Induction Cooker Dear Harish, I deserve the needle in the haystack award for this find! There is a talking induction cooker already available for Rs 3000. Made by a Chennai export-oriented company called Shadows Ltronix - they are open to adapting and customizing their unit range to suit specific needs -so this particular model SLS-2030 can be tweaked further! Details via links at eom. Strangely, models available abroad advertising accessibility seem to use tactile features only, though talking microwaves, kettles etc are easily available. For eg this model from http://www.independentliving.com/prodinfo.asp?number=201106 : This 12" square cooktop only heats when a pan made of stainless steel, enamelware or iron meets the surface which makes it safe to touch without getting burned. You can cook and warm foods almost as quickly as with a gas stove adjusting the settings from 120 to 420 degrees. There are 3 temperature settings, L/M/H for keeping foods warm and a 99 minute timer. The unit has an auto shut-off and overheat protection functions. The control panel can be tactually marked making it accessible as well as safe, fast and energy efficient. This item includes a covered frypan. Since you've already figured the accessible blog for AI, perhaps you could start an AI Accessible Tech blog (Called @ India!) with consumer feedback and reviews from Indian disabled community. The AI group is very tech-savvy - this knowledge should be shared with the outside world, don't you think? For eg, this link explains the accessible induction cooker safety features across models is a very simple, readable way: http://www.fredshead.info/2006/09/using-flat-cooktop-stove.html Hope this helps! Links follow*... * Vaishnavi* ACCESSIBLE PRODUCT REFERENCE LINKS FOR FURTHER CUSTOMISATION *http://www.accessible-devices.com/appliances.html<%20http://www.shadowsltro nix.com/pcat-docs/2030.pdf> http://www.accessible-devices.com/SaferCooking.html http://www.accessible-devices.com/cooktop.html<http://www.fredshead.info/200 6/09/using-flat-cooktop-stove.html> http://www.accessible-devices.com/kitchen.html * LINKS: TALKING INDUCTION COOKER SLS-2030* Product Leaflet (Inaccessible Image Pdf)<%20http://www.shadowsltronix.com/pcat-docs/2030.pdf> Shadows Ltronix Chennai Contacts <http://www.shadows.net.in/contact-us.htm> * SLS 2030* # Power : 2000 Watts, Power Range 200W - 2000W # Temperature range: 60C-280C, 5 modes of cooking # 24Hrs booking function, booking function for auto On & Off # Quick cooking, consumes less power & time # Non fire cooking no smoke, high heat efficiency and no radiation # Smooth surface and easy to clean *Found this model after seeing image in classifieds ad below! *Home appliances for sales. Talking Induction Cooker for sale in Chennai. 06-Jul-2010 | Tamil Nadu > Chennai TALKING INDUCTION COOKER SLS-2030 - Rs. 2999 For More Information about Induction cooker contact Raji Chandran: Mobile: 9841828875 / 9841828879 Email: [email protected] -------------------------------------------------- On 7 July 2010 00:30, <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On 7/6/10, Kotian, H P <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello All > > > > I just heard about this induction cooker. I am told it is available in > our > > Indian market for Rs. 1,700 upwards. > > > > I suppose it is well suited to the blind and there is good scope to make > it > > talking as well. > > > > Anyone using it? Please share your experience. > > For more: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooker\<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Induction_cooker%5C> > > > > Harish Kotian > > > Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
