My induction cooker requires a certain diameter size pot bottom and checks to see that one is there by some kind of sensor. I am wondering if there is any way to 'fool' the sensor, as I have a small pot that is the required size, but doesn't get picked up.
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3I don't recommend trying to hack this: any metal ring will heat up quickly because you're putting a large amount of energy into it. Buy an interface plate designed for this purpose, or replace your pot with one of the correct size.– HobbesCommented May 1, 2020 at 9:41
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1That's not an answer, it's an explanation of my close vote– HobbesCommented May 1, 2020 at 15:33
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1@Elmy answers on other sites isn’t a close reason.– StephieCommented May 1, 2020 at 17:54
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2Are you certain that your pot is induction compatible? Not all pots are– Caius JardCommented May 2, 2020 at 9:02
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1I had to off center my 5 inch sauce pan to the right 1/2 inch for it to work on a 7 inch induction burner.– BobCommented Aug 12 at 16:54
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4 Answers
If you have a large pot that does work, you can put the small pot inside the large one. Bear in mind:
The more flat the base of both pots, the better the contact surface and the better the result
some pots and pans start out flat based but when heated the base bows out to be convex because the walls of the pot don't expand (not as hot) as much as the base does. This will spoil the contact surface
Don't use extreme power modes; the temperature of the empty large pot will be considerably more than if there was food in it absorbing some heat. Some pan structures and surface coatings can be damaged by extreme heat
This is a considerable waste of energy as you're paying to heat the large pot but not all of the heat in it is transferred to the small pot
if the substance you're cooking in the small pot has a lower cooking temperature than another substance in your kitchen, putting that other substance in the large pot will aid heat transfer. For example if you're melting chocolate at 113F in the small pot, putting some water in the large pot will help transfer heat
Alternatively, see if obtaining a second small pot and putting hem side by side and cooking half the substance in each works out. The small pot must be induction compatible
For some things it's just a bad idea to hack (except, say, in an apocalyptic situation). First, you should consult your manual and warranty to see what it says about the right size and type of pot and adhere to that if you don't want to damage the equipment, the pot, void the warranties of either, or cause damage to the surroundings or injury.
The engineers who design complicated things have an idea of how they want them to work, and eventually standards are worked out. There are probably standard sizes for pots for induction stove tops. The engineers design for that and then as a second line of defence put in sensors to detect departures from the standard.
Just get the right pot.
DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't suggest doing this!
It's likely that it's just a magnetic sensor. This is due to induction cooktops only working on ferric materials (hence why solid aluminum and copper pots/pans won't work on them). If that's so, then you could place a thin square of steel, or a block of it, and move it around the induction pad with a smaller pot in the center. If the cooktop picks it up, that's the spot that should work. You can then experiment with different sizes and thickness pieces of metal and see what gets picked up.
Induction-surface sensor HACK: Try increasing the size of the stove-top pot by placing coins, one-by-one, next to the base of the too-small pot until the sensor detects the greater surface area sitting on the induction element.
Good Luck
Note: I think that it's ironic if induction works at all.
