Electric Stove Preferences?

[Jobe5217]

I am replacing my electric range in the near future. Does anyone have an opinion on the coil stove top vs. the smooth surface for boiling wort? I would like a propane burner in the future but lets ignore that for now.

I have a coil currently and I am not that impressed. I have seen the smooth surface that seem to have an "extra high" or "boil boost" setting... or something like that. That sounds like a good thing but I am not sure.

 

[ivegot2legs]

Some people knock the glass top, saying it gets dirty or scratched. I've always liked mine, but I don't use it for boiling wort.

 

[mb82]

Hate my parents smooth surface. It is slow to warm up and cool down so when you turn the temp down it will stay hot for a minute or two. It is a pain to keep clean no matter what they do. This is the second one they have had and they were hoping the new one would be easier, nope. If going with electric I prefer coils. The quick boil is a little faster but even that is not worth the pain of cleaning.

 

[BrewCrewKevin]

You haven't considered gas? My last house had a gas stove- my new house has glass top. Can't wait until I can switch back to gas!

 

[Gameface]

Not to not answer your actual question but when I've moved into a place that didn't have gas water heater, dryer hook-up and stove I've had it installed. I much prefer gas for those things. Typically it's been around $100 per appliance hook-up added for me.

 

[whoaru99]

Haven't used a glass top/smooth enough to make a strong conclusion, but I do know there are big differences between coil tops. My old coil top has good Calrod burners with nice, tightly spaced coils. The stove at my GFs place has the same size burners but the coils are much more openly spaced - it doesn't heat nearly as good as the stove at my place.

All that said, for general cooking I do think gas is better. Easier to control the heat and faster change in temps if you need to.

 

[Beernik]

I love my smooth glass stove. Five burners: one extra large, one rapid heat, one warmer, and two small ones.

I bought it after my coil stove, literally, burst into flames.

I don't think you want a glass stove for boiling wort. If you have a boil over, you will be scrubbing the surface FOREVER trying to get it clean. That much heat for that long might discolor it too.

And to answer the question why not replace it with gas... The cost difference starts around $150 for base models and goes up from there. Then you have to install the plumbing for it. And if you have kids, all the control knobs are in their reach because they are on the front instead of the back.

 

[ChuckO]

My big problem with a glass smooth top cooking surface is the inability to use cast iron pans. It requires a smooth bottom pan to avoid scratching the glass surface and to promote effective heat transfer, so my old cast iron fry pans are out.

 

[seph]

I would rather have gas, but I have a glass top stove, and I prefer it to the coil stoves that I've had in the past. I have boiled wort on the glass top, and it works good. The extra large burner is good for the boil pot. But I wish my pot had a thicker bottom because it will start to wobble when it starts heating up.

I have a turkey fryer now and use that on brew days. The el-cheapo turkey fryers are worth looking at if you want to use gas for brew day. You can get them with a 30qt pot and burner for $50...

 

[seph]

My big problem with a glass smooth top cooking surface is the inability to use cast iron pans. It requires a smooth bottom pan to avoid scratching the glass surface and to promote effective heat transfer, so my old cast iron fry pans are out.

We use cast iron on our glass cook top. We haven't had any issues with scratching...

We even use a razor blade (paint scraper) to get any cooked on material off of the surface. Works great.