Review on Unleash Your Culinary Power with NuWave PIC Pro: The Ultimate 1800W Induction Cooktop by Annie Thornton

I bought and tried the top of the range Duxtop, but it didn't meet my expectations for temperature control despite its 20 control levels. This NuWave Pro cost me more money, but it's worth it if you want temperature control closer to that of a kitchen induction cooker. I have a great induction cooktop in my kitchen so I know how much better induction allows you to instantly access the heat you want and maintain that temperature compared to traditional electricity or gas. I'm giving this one star because at this price point it should be easy to wipe off the slick top controls considering cheaper competitors have them. I wanted to take a portable single induction cooker. I would like to be able to simmer and adjust the degree of boiling depending on the food, even when cooking at different heights. This NuWave Pro is what I was looking for. I really miss the smooth touch controls on the Duxtop. They were easy to use and clean. The buttons on this NuWave Pro are not as convenient as the touch buttons. I don't like that this NuWave turns off when I lift the pot for about 30 seconds to serve, pour, or fill. I wish the power cord was long enough to reach the floor, but it's not, so my 12-gauge extension cord has to sit on the table to plug it in. To evaluate the temperature control I tested. I measured the temperature of the water and observed what happens on settings up to boiling point. This NuWave Pro worked much closer to my kitchen induction cooker than the Duxtop I tried. NuWave Pro doesn't give you direct control over the power levels (which is good), it uses the power level that corresponds to the temperature you've chosen and toggles that power level on and off to maintain your chosen temperature. There are 5 degrees between each setting and the temperature is maintained within this value over time (temperature drift on setting is slow and limited). During testing I found that not all settings are real. From my temperature measurements, sometimes two temperature settings next to each other have the same temperature (if the temperature hasn't changed, then the closest setting is the 5 degree change I expected), and sometimes the difference between the settings is greater than 5 degrees , but not more than 10 degrees. The 6 buttons that take you straight to typical cooking temperatures (Low, Medium-Low, Medium, Medium-High, High, Sear) are very useful and from there you can increase or decrease them in 5 levels as you wish. The temperature shown is just a guide to changing the settings up or down, and serves as a guide to quickly get to the exact heat level you remember worked well last time. It won't be very close to the actual temperature in your pot. I prefer the Duxtop touchpad controls, but the NuWave Pro wins overall in terms of temperature control and ease of getting to the desired cooking temperature. How much AC power it draws isn't very important from a cooking perspective, but I measured it. This showed me at what temperature level it would go from 600w on and off for temperature maintenance to 1000w on and off regulation etc. Draw approximately its 1800 W rated output with smaller pots. Of the 3 brands I tried, about 1300 watts is the maximum actually used for my 2 liter pan and about 1665 watts for my 8 liter pan. My 8 liter pot boils 6 liters in about 20 minutes. I haven't tried anything in the pan. Useful information when you are out and feed it from the inverter. I haven't had NuWave Pro long enough to know anything about long-term performance or reliability.