Max Burton 6000 Induction Cooktop by Max Burton 6000 Series

I bought 2 of these for brewing 5gal and 10gal batches of beer ~2 years ago. Toolup was out of the normal ones, so they gave me stainless ones at the same price! (Way to go Toolup!)

After 15 batches of beer, these units still work great. Both sit back to back under one 15gal stainless pot. I use wood blocks to take some of the 90 or 135lbs of weight off. These cooktops are low cost because they use inexpensive igbt's in a clever self resonating circuit instead of mosfets like the $1000 ikea 4 burner cooktop. The benefit is low cost, the main drawback is the self resonance results in an audible squeal when you use them, especially above power setting 5 (1200W). (The other big disadvantage is you can't isolate the circuitry from line power, which is why this thing is made out of plastic and doesn't let you touch anything metal inside. This doesn't matter unless you take things apart and do some electronic 'enhancements.')

Brewing beer is about as demanding as it gets, and they hold up fairly well. I beat on these units hard, multiple hours at 1200W power. You will not get 1800W of power out of these units for anything but a short time, but 1200 or even 1400W is sustainable. I use a Kill-a-watt to measure input power, and you can see the power drop as time goes by on the max setting. I think you are limited to the amount of heat you can remove from the unit, so if you can help it get more air that may help. This is a good thing, you want a device to cut power back before it destroys itself.

This unit is a great first induction cooktop. The audible squeal is significant, so if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, it may be an issue. The only other cooktop I consider worth buying is Ikea's 4 burner cooktop for $1k, but it's 220V and in a completely different class.

Once you get used to the power and safety of induction, you won't want anything else...

I enjoy using the cooktop.......but only after learning to compensate for the controls. Water doesnt boil at 150F at my elevation above sea level.

I moved out of a home where we put a induction cook-top in the kitchen in 2007, and really missed it. Not ready to redo this kitchen, so a portable burner seemed like a good solution. This unit was rated well on Test Kitchen so I got it and it works as expected. The negatives are all to do with the fact that it is not built in high power. But if you are yearning for induction again or to try it this is a good cost efficient solution.

Thank for you product very good and easy usefull....

Good price