Cast Iron Induction Cookware Defect - LE CREUSET

  • Recently I purchesed a Miele full inducion cooktop KM 7684 FL. One of the first pot sets I tried was the Le Creusts I brought back from the US. All seemed well until I tried to cook a steak in their Cast Iron frypan. It was "neatly" half cooked! i mean like one half was perfectly seared, the other barely off rare.

    I conacted Milie to see if they had an issue with heat displacement on their cooktop, to which they advised nay. So I re-ran the cook and took a photo with my thermal camera that told the story. Unbelievabley, only half of the pan was hot on induction, the other not!. I guess when cast, the metal used was not from the same pour and inferior. So this is something new to me that would be very hard to experience if cooking on gas or a regular electric hot plates. Glad I have a thermal camera! (Im going to have to check the warrenty on those things) CS

    Edit, corrected cooktop model number

    Edited once, last by Card Shark: Corrected cook top model (January 23, 2023 at 5:15 PM).

  • Wow! That is quite a tricky fault to troubleshoot. So is the problem definitely with the cast iron? As in other pans work properly on the induction stove?

    I wonder if you'd pick up a temp difference over gas or coal.

    Masterbuilt Gravity 800 | Maximus Pizza Oven | GMG - Daniel Boone | Cyprus Grill | Big Steel Keg | Blackstone Griddle | Fire Pit | Weber Genesis |

  • Wow! That is quite a tricky fault to troubleshoot. So is the problem definitely with the cast iron? As in other pans work properly on the induction stove?

    I wonder if you'd pick up a temp difference over gas or coal.

    No I wouldnt think so Nar. Something new to be aware of on induction. It's certinally taking cookware quality to a new level.

  • So is the problem definitely with the cast iron?

    Yes, that's a full induction cook top. It doesent matter where you plan a pan. It sensces a presence and heats the area accordingly. Tried it in different areas, same result.

    Edit, should have been more specific on this, even though the cooktop does sense and transpose the setting when a pan is moved, in this case I was using the power flex zone on the right.

    Edited once, last by Card Shark: More specifics. (January 23, 2023 at 5:07 PM).

  • oooh, this really has me intrigued. Any chance you could heat the pan with nothing in it and take a thermal pic, and then do it again with a completely different pan? Fascinating.



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • It’s an interesting problem. Especially with the push to totally ban the sale of gas cooktops induction cooktops are supposed to next best when you use electricity. With the move from gas to induction you need new utensils for the induction cooktop and with your experience we need to make sure they work! A problem you didn’t have to worry with gas.

  • The induction cook top i took that on had no defined boundreis if thats what your erring toward.

    Yes, exactly, you have narrowed in on my thoughts. I am curious if it's a cast pan, how they managed to make it with potentially lower levels of ferrous in some sections of the pan?



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • The folks at Mielle suggest the same.

    I'm guessing that is the case, hence I was curious about another pan, but oh well, I guess this mystery goes unsolved.



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • I tried my solidteknics skillet on a portable induction cooktop (a $50 aldi unit). At the lowest setting, 400W out of the max 2100W, it appeared to heat it too quickly and I was worried it might warp.

    I'd like to experiment with that some more, using a cheaper pan though.

  • Considering most induction cooktops require 3 phase power, I'm not suprised they can ruin cookware on boost mode. I had to run 3 phase for both my cooktop and oven stack. Power usage goes to 3-4kWh whenever I'm cooking, worse if I'm using the cooktop and both ovens.

    I have the Asko hot plates (teppanyaki and grill plates) for use over 2 zones. I quite like them as they give a real good sear. Well made and has even heat distribution, though expensive.

  • This doesn't support the view offered by those banning gas cooktops etc that electric is more eco friendly than gas.

    Depends on your cooktop. When I'm using, yes the power usage hits 3-4kWh, but I'm not using the cooktop for the full hour. At most, I'm actually using the induction for 20-30min. Of course, that really depends on what you cook.

    Induction is cheaper than electric element cooktops, as you do not have wasted energy heating the element and loss to the surrounding atmosphere. Similarly, gas cooktops waste energy to atmosphere loss. Induction is cheaper than gas because it is more energy efficient to heat up your cookware, and does it faster. I think I read somewhere that gas heating efficiency was around 30-40%, whereas induction is up around 85%.

    In saying all that, gas is still cheaper than electricity (on a per unit basis) and technically more eco friendly. But as I have solar, it generates enough to cover my usage. Since updating my array, I have yet to import more than I net export.

    We just need to invest more into renewables to make electricity more eco friendly. I don't know why we don't make it mandatory for all new houses to have a 6kw array on the roof.

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