Tefal Everyday IH201860

Ridiculous, overly complicated, noisey, a pain – Im literally going to take this piece of junk out side and smash it into oblivion. The person who designed this is a moron. It has an annoying as hell “timer” that is bascially on ON beeping all the time and, it wont work. The user interface is overly complicated “without” and legitimate pay off or reasons. I cant even get it to boil water. Utter rubbish, do not buy this. Utter garbage Show details

Limited applications – Like others, I've been disappointed with this unit. It works well provided you want a good rolling boil or better. If you want a slow simmer, forget it. I was prompted to write this review because just now, I heard sputtering from the kitchen and found a pot of beans, cooking on the lowest setting, was boiling into a frothy mess and overflowing… Read more

onto the unit's cooking surface. I've no idea why it has such a limited heating range. My other portable cooktop is an old Environ unit, a brand which no longer seems to be available. It cost $49 but allows a true very slow simmer.

On the positive side, the unit seems well made and has performed without any problems for a year. It heats very quickly and is ideal for cooking jobs such as boiling pasta or steaming vegetables. However it's not much good for any tasks requiring gentle heat.

Surprisingly... bad – To begin, I'm not quite sure why I bothered writing this piece. This is for the Tefal Everyday IH, which I purchased from Myer as a DISCONTINUED (and ex-display) model at below cost price (still setting me back $89), following the slow but sure decay of my Kmart induction cooktop after 2-ish years of faithful service. The Kmart cooktop decided… Read more

that it will no longer accept my non-stick pans as well as this thin stainless steel vessel which it once did. Not quite sure when/why this problem started, as I rarely use the aforementioned cookware. The unit still recognises and energises all my stainless steel, carbon steel, blue steel, black steel and cast iron pots/pans. Anyway, it was time for a replacement, and I decided to spend a little more than $50 this time to see if a more reputable brand equated to better performance.

I had the choice between a couple of Phillips options, and a Breville "The Quick Cook", all for roughly the price range that I was comfortable with, but either due to negative reviews or lack of functions after browsing their user manuals, I decided on the Tefal.

And I must note first and foremost that the hob I bought didn't end up being the hob on their website, and was disappointed to discover some missing functions, such as temperature control. Nevertheless, it did include a Manual function, which is usually all I care about.

PHYSICAL DESIGN

One of the immediate likes for me was the way that the control panel was slanted, and the glass top was slightly elevated above the plastic extrusions, so that the plastic would not be melted onto any larger overlaying vessels I might have. This was one of the deciding factors for me. I make the occasional roast and I do like making gravy from the drippings on the roasting pan. You can imagine how annoying it is to put a large roasting tin over a flat induction hob and covering all the controls. The roasting tin, on contact, activates the capacitive-touch buttons, turning off the cooktop in the process. Lifting the tin in any way will result in the cooktop losing contact and ceasing to function also. It just does not work. A slanted control panel means I can place the roasting tin on top of the unit with full contact, without affecting the control buttons whatsoever.

The buttons on this unit are physical tactile switches. Meaning there is actually something to press. Sure, it’s not as nice or modern to look at than a fully touch panel like all the competing offerings, but it is functional. I often catch myself drooling over the nice touch panels too, but at the end of the day, physical buttons are more reliable. One of the constant issues I have is making soup or stock. Every now and again, the boiling liquid and expanding vapours under the lid will cause spitting around the pot. Having enough of this at the right spot will trigger certain buttons. Either causing it to increase power and you get even nastier spills, decrease the power which would be the best possible outcome, or in the most frequent case, trip the power button and turn off the unit.

When making stock or soup, I usually just put the unit on timer and walk away. There were many occasions where I came back to find that the liquid hasn’t really boiled for as long as I set it, with a few splatters across the power button explaining why. I won’t be having this issue anymore, although to be fair, I should have jammed the lid slightly ajar to let the steam escape, but anyway...

The LED display is a 2-character setup, and so there are several limitations attached to it. First is the timer function. You are limited to 99 mins of run-time (much like the Ikea model). I did stumble across getting it to “2H” once but I cannot seem to reproduce this, nor did I bother finding out how to. The other functions are even more cryptic thanks to the limited display. Your Manual mode gives you P1 through to P9, and all the other functions have the same limitation with a different letter preceding its power level. I’m sure if you have a User Manual, you can probably decipher this information, but the staff at Myer were unable to find me the original box or user manual, and it was sold to me as-is. I’m expecting one of the other functions provide some form of temperature control, but it is not as straightforward to figure this out when it is showing you codes instead of actual information. Anyway, might bother you, might not. You decide.

PERFORMANCE AND USABILITY

This unit delivers 2100W, which is a small but welcome upgrade from the 2000W units that I’ve been using. It sears well on my cast iron pan but it also does that thing where after reaching a certain temperature, the overheating protection causes the unit to stop (without telling you so, of course), and you’re wondering why that second side of steak is boiling instead of searing, and why the pan’s temperature is not increasing anymore. The only tell-tale is the absence of that vibrating sound typical with eddy currents energizing compatible cookware. That’s when you know to restart the unit in hopes that your steak can be saved.

As mentioned above, I don’t know what all the features do without the user manual. I would expect that the Manual mode would self-explanatory enough, and be designed to adopt a linear power scale of sorts, but I was deeply disappointed. Low heat on this unit is hopeless. Just last night, I was braising a whole ox tongue on a Chinese marinade sauce. Even at P1, the liquid was boiling like crazy. In fact, come to think of it, even when I’m steaming, P1 is able to hold a pretty decent boil.

Also, like all other units, it can’t hold a simmer. It is the same on-off mechanism. But at least with other hobs, they don’t get it to a strong boil before cycling the coil off like this one. If I had to guess, the [simulated] power range of this unit would be between 400W to 2100W. I haven’t tried melting butter on this thing, but I kind of don’t really want to try at this stage.

Another issue is with the unit is the handling. You bring something to the boil, and you set a timer, and guess what? You can’t modify the power output afterwards without disrupting the timer. To modify the output after setting the timer, you need to press the function again (say, Manual), adjust to your new output level, and press timer again. The only saving grace is that the timer stores where you were up to last so you don’t have to reset it. But still, strange design that makes you wonder “just why?”

Another issue is the lack of response between button pushes. It’s not designed for the impatient soul like me. Want to switch from P1 to P9 or vice versa? You can’t rapidly press that + or – button. You have to be gentle, slowly, gradually, + wait a sec, + wait a sec. Yeah, it bugs me.

CLOSING REMARKS

Generally, I’m disappointed. I got the unit for $89, which is already below cost price (or so I’m told). I believe this unit retails for $139 when new. For the price of the unit, I expected so much more in terms of handling and performance, much less ending up sub-par to its $50 budget alternatives.

It really is good riddance to see this discontinued. Once again, this is not the current model (although this is the only Tefal unit I can find anywhere) and there is a chance that Tefal got their act together with the new one, but I wouldn’t bank on it either. At this stage, at almost 3 times the retail price of a Kmart unit, and the lackluster performance and control, I think Tefal has just killed itself from my books forever.

Poor Information – Bought this after reviewing similar products. It works perfectly except that you can not use this appliance for more than 2 hours. After 2 hours this product switches off, even when in manual mode (why would you then need to use a timer for up to 2 hours), this is supposedly a safety feature. The problem is, I bought this to cook bone-broth, out… Read more

of the kitchen, this can take up to 48 hours.So I now have an appliance that is totally useless to me unless I attend to it every 2 hours or so. I feel that this should be written somewhere on the box or on the manual that is noticeable, I would never have bought this product if I knew this. Trying to contact Tefal was an absolute joke, taking more than a week to actually talk to someone and the response was basically 'tough luck'

Almost perfect!!! – Fantastic function with great price..awesome!!! Fast cooking, adjustable power just with your needs, also low electric consumption. Previously i been used other brand portable induction cooker but Tefal working even better. Its just your perfect assistant in the kitchen. Its a highly recommended to purchase. I’m been using almost a year and looking forward years ahead to works with.  Show details

excellent product – Cannot believe how well it preforms .Just buy it.Read reviews and was sceptical but it preforms as the reviews say it does . Most kitchens will have some cookware that is suitable to use. Amazing product.extremely well priced with easy to understand instructions and controls that make it easy for a ten year old to use  Show details

Tefal you have exceeded my expectations – I did quite a lot of research before purchasing this induction cooker. EOFY sale price drop led me to purchase 2 of them. I am so glad I did. They have been in constant use, performing all tasks asked effortlessly. You don't need all of the extra features other brands offer. This is a simple, easy to use cooker that will do all tasks you could… Read more

need. A solid little workhorse ! Good looking with a bright display panel and easy to use controls. Thank you tefal.

Just do it! – Just do it! This is the better than my large electric home stove as the heat with the Tefal burner is almost instant. I bought mine in Meyers as the Goodguys were out of stock. So glad for product reviews as I almost bought a philips burner as this was all that the good guys had in stock. After reading the very poor product reviews on the philips burner and the very positive reviews on the Tefal burner I knew I couldn't go wrong.  Show details

You wont be disappointed I promise you! – The Tefal Everyday Induction is unbelievably good value, with near instant heat, easy to use controls and a nice wight and size. You wont be disappointed I promise you!!! Please Note: the only requirement is the pans you use to cook have to have a metal alloy that a magnet would stick to for this unit to work. Aluminum and glass pans will not work on this unit!  Show details

As usual another great Tefal product – With gas prices rising so fast, I bought the induction hob. With its' easy to use interface and ability to alter the power so quickly it is perfect for just about anything you would do on a range. I tested it against my gas hob and it was at least 50% faster, and virtually no wasted heat. It came with a small but useful Tefal frypan. I love it!  Show details

Fantastic! – This hob is fantastic. Quicker than my built in electric elements, easy to use, light & safe. I often have to turn it down, as it is too powerful for boiling water or steaming etc. My only negative is that it doesn't come in a double hob version - would have loved that. Highly recommended.  Show details

Renters delight!!! Love this product – Purchased from The Good Guys, came with a 20cm Tefal frypan included. Ok so the frypan is tiny and no good for anything more than about 1 egg. But the cooktop itself is amazing! First time using induction cooking and the heatup / cooldown time is simply stunning. Your pan is hot and ready for cooking in about 30 seconds after turning it… Read more

on.

Was originally going to buy the Philips model however got put off by all the bad reviews on this website. Took a gamble on the Tefal model, since there were no reviews at all, and it paid off! Cannot fault this product so far.

We are renting and our place only has an old ceramic cooktop that takes an age to heat up, and similarly takes forever to lose any heat when you want to drop back from say a boil to a simmer. This induction cooktop sits nicely on top of the builtin ceramic (which we'll never use again).