Years ago I got a Max Burton unit to use with my pressure cooker, but was disappointed that its limited (10 level) controls would often either overpressurize my PC or else not be able to maintain pressure. This didn't happen all the time, but it happened often enough to be a major annoyance. Another major annoyance was the high pitched whine that the unit would emit -- which would become louder and louder as the power increased. I'm a musician and am hypersensitive when it comes to auditory stimuli, and this drove me nuts. Eventually, the Max Burton met with an unfortunate accident (I set it on fire) and I've been without a burner for a couple years.
Initially, I planned on buying another inexpensive model but noticed that pretty much everything out there (that wasn't $500 or more) had all the same problems. As it turns out, most manufacturers don't actually build induction coils themselves but import them from China, which is why all of the cheap induction hobs have the same (or extremely similar performance). The Vollrath Mirage Pro came to my attention and became the apple of my eye. But I wasn't about to pay that much money for a single portable burner. So I've done without, and kept watching eBay for used Mirages, hoping one would turn up at a reasonable price.
Last week I got a total steal on a lightly used Mirage -- $125!!! -- and couldn't wait for it to arrive on my doorstep. Now that it's here, here's my report.
First things first, the 100 levels of power (the main draw of the unit) gives exactly the level of control/precision that I'd been missing. My house's cheap gas range really only has 3 settings (barely on, all out, and 50% in the middle) and the Vollrath is a vast improvement. It gets hotter faster, goes lower and more gentle, and has tremendous range in between. Having a knob to control it is also much more natural than pressing buttons to change levels up or down. So glad to be able to once again bring water to a rolling boil and sustain it after adding frozen peas or a ton of dry pasta.
I'm happy to report that it doesn't emit that horrible high pitched sound that I've heard from the cheaper units. I can cook without noise-canceling headphones now. Praise Vollrath!
I'm also happy that the Mirage will detect my 1 quart All Clad saucepan (after hearing reports from some users that theirs would go undetected.
The build quality is tremendous. Steel all around, aluminum bottom, chunky knob... it feels solid and is hefty but not too heavy.
One thing I'm sort of disappointed in is that the hot spot of the induction coil isn't significantly larger than on my previous unit. It's just shy of 4.5 inches in diameter, which is a hair bigger than my old unit but I wish it was bigger. This caveat aside, the Mirage is clearly on a different level than the cheaper units (even the cheaper commercial ones). It's the best thing you can find without spending $1000 or more. I'm just glad I didn't have to pay the new price!
If you're interested in a more in-depth review of the Mirage, I just came across this excellent article on the Mirage from Century Life. Check it out.
