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CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

*** Update July 2019: ***

I've now owned the Breville PolyScience Control Freak for a year. I've written a review on it for my developing website. It's essentially a summary of what I posted in this thread. If you are interested, you can read it here:
https://sizzleandsear.com/equipment-reviews/review-breville-polyscience-control-freak-induction-cooker/
*** Update March 2019: ***
Temperature and Time Database (work in progress): https://sizzleandsear.com/precisioncooking/

 

As I mentioned in the Breville Smart Oven Air thread, I'm currently living in a basement suite without much of a kitchen, and it looks like I will be here for another year. This was getting me down, so when I spotted a Breville/Polyscience Control Freak on eBay that was soliciting "offers", I made a ridiculously low ball offer. To my surprise the seller came back with a counter offer of just $175 more... I pushed my luck and made another counter offer for $75 less... and what do you know, it was accepted! I've been eyeing this for a long time, but the $1800 price tag as always been a deterrent... until now :) Winning this item is what inspired me to cash in my Airmiles for the Breville Smart Oven Air. I figured that while I don't have a "real kitchen", the oven + the control freak would be the best kitchenette ever :)

 

Just got the unit in the mail so I haven't had a lot of time to test it out. But so far I'm happy. It was a "demo unit" for a butcher/kitchen supply shop, but was you can see, the cardboard is still around one of the knobs, so I don't think it was ever plugged in. 

 

I put it next to the Tasty One Top for size comparison. I bought that last year thinking it would a good cheap man's Control Freak.... it looks so sad and pathetic next to the Control Freak :P. The Control Freak is seriously a beast! It takes up more counter space than any induction unit I've seen, but it seems to be built solid. And the carrying case is also very solid! Not a caterer, so I'm not sure how much I will be travelling with it. But might come in use for small trips.

I haven't tested the probe yet. But I did pan control to 135F. The cooktop reading hovers between 134 and 135. I left my infared temperature probe at home, so can't measure pan temperature... but as you can see the water in the pan matches the pan read out! I also notice that it's not clicking on and off like the One Top... it's more subtle in its power changes. Also there are very fine bubbles at the bottom of the pot, and they encircle the entire diameter of the pot... doesn't look like a huge hotspot like on the One Top! 

I'm going to be playing with this over the next couple days, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I know there aren't a lot of these around, and it's hard to find answers on them.
IMG_0771.thumb.JPG.af8606c778e86fe19e7042c5d1987610.JPG

IMG_0775.thumb.JPG.9439fa05ac780f55ba3942c45e8a0e95.JPG

IMG_0776.thumb.JPG.f1631cfc9f8c5158c31fb3de891d2c13.JPG

IMG_0778.thumb.JPG.dcdfbd8ab36ab09522dfd53ee4b1fbb6.JPGimage1.thumb.jpeg.cdc7ecd7e1faf77f75836600d7d66275.jpegIMG_0782.thumb.JPG.f621097e4d2b0fcdcabe19de6ca0f14e.JPGIMG_0784.thumb.JPG.796b52ff2f7a746d3777ea6ed6473f5f.JPG

 

CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

*** Update March 2019: ***
Temperature and Time Database (work in progress): https://sizzleandsear.com/precisioncooking/

 

As I mentioned in the Breville Smart Oven Air thread, I'm currently living in a basement suite without much of a kitchen, and it looks like I will be here for another year. This was getting me down, so when I spotted a Breville/Polyscience Control Freak on eBay that was soliciting "offers", I made a ridiculously low ball offer. To my surprise the seller came back with a counter offer of just $175 more... I pushed my luck and made another counter offer for $75 less... and what do you know, it was accepted! I've been eyeing this for a long time, but the $1800 price tag as always been a deterrent... until now :) Winning this item is what inspired me to cash in my Airmiles for the Breville Smart Oven Air. I figured that while I don't have a "real kitchen", the oven + the control freak would be the best kitchenette ever :)

 

Just got the unit in the mail so I haven't had a lot of time to test it out. But so far I'm happy. It was a "demo unit" for a butcher/kitchen supply shop, but was you can see, the cardboard is still around one of the knobs, so I don't think it was ever plugged in. 

 

I put it next to the Tasty One Top for size comparison. I bought that last year thinking it would a good cheap man's Control Freak.... it looks so sad and pathetic next to the Control Freak :P. The Control Freak is seriously a beast! It takes up more counter space than any induction unit I've seen, but it seems to be built solid. And the carrying case is also very solid! Not a caterer, so I'm not sure how much I will be travelling with it. But might come in use for small trips.

I haven't tested the probe yet. But I did pan control to 135F. The cooktop reading hovers between 134 and 135. I left my infared temperature probe at home, so can't measure pan temperature... but as you can see the water in the pan matches the pan read out! I also notice that it's not clicking on and off like the One Top... it's more subtle in its power changes. Also there are very fine bubbles at the bottom of the pot, and they encircle the entire diameter of the pot... doesn't look like a huge hotspot like on the One Top! 

I'm going to be playing with this over the next couple days, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I know there aren't a lot of these around, and it's hard to find answers on them.
IMG_0771.thumb.JPG.af8606c778e86fe19e7042c5d1987610.JPG

IMG_0775.thumb.JPG.9439fa05ac780f55ba3942c45e8a0e95.JPG

IMG_0776.thumb.JPG.f1631cfc9f8c5158c31fb3de891d2c13.JPG

IMG_0778.thumb.JPG.dcdfbd8ab36ab09522dfd53ee4b1fbb6.JPGimage1.thumb.jpeg.cdc7ecd7e1faf77f75836600d7d66275.jpegIMG_0782.thumb.JPG.f621097e4d2b0fcdcabe19de6ca0f14e.JPGIMG_0784.thumb.JPG.796b52ff2f7a746d3777ea6ed6473f5f.JPG

 

CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

*** Update March 2019: ***
Temperature and Time Database (work in progress): http://sizzleandsear.com/precisioncooking/

 

As I mentioned in the Breville Smart Oven Air thread, I'm currently living in a basement suite without much of a kitchen, and it looks like I will be here for another year. This was getting me down, so when I spotted a Breville/Polyscience Control Freak on eBay that was soliciting "offers", I made a ridiculously low ball offer. To my surprise the seller came back with a counter offer of just $175 more... I pushed my luck and made another counter offer for $75 less... and what do you know, it was accepted! I've been eyeing this for a long time, but the $1800 price tag as always been a deterrent... until now :) Winning this item is what inspired me to cash in my Airmiles for the Breville Smart Oven Air. I figured that while I don't have a "real kitchen", the oven + the control freak would be the best kitchenette ever :)

 

Just got the unit in the mail so I haven't had a lot of time to test it out. But so far I'm happy. It was a "demo unit" for a butcher/kitchen supply shop, but was you can see, the cardboard is still around one of the knobs, so I don't think it was ever plugged in. 

 

I put it next to the Tasty One Top for size comparison. I bought that last year thinking it would a good cheap man's Control Freak.... it looks so sad and pathetic next to the Control Freak :P. The Control Freak is seriously a beast! It takes up more counter space than any induction unit I've seen, but it seems to be built solid. And the carrying case is also very solid! Not a caterer, so I'm not sure how much I will be travelling with it. But might come in use for small trips.

I haven't tested the probe yet. But I did pan control to 135F. The cooktop reading hovers between 134 and 135. I left my infared temperature probe at home, so can't measure pan temperature... but as you can see the water in the pan matches the pan read out! I also notice that it's not clicking on and off like the One Top... it's more subtle in its power changes. Also there are very fine bubbles at the bottom of the pot, and they encircle the entire diameter of the pot... doesn't look like a huge hotspot like on the One Top! 

I'm going to be playing with this over the next couple days, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I know there aren't a lot of these around, and it's hard to find answers on them.
IMG_0771.thumb.JPG.af8606c778e86fe19e7042c5d1987610.JPG

IMG_0775.thumb.JPG.9439fa05ac780f55ba3942c45e8a0e95.JPG

IMG_0776.thumb.JPG.f1631cfc9f8c5158c31fb3de891d2c13.JPG

IMG_0778.thumb.JPG.dcdfbd8ab36ab09522dfd53ee4b1fbb6.JPGimage1.thumb.jpeg.cdc7ecd7e1faf77f75836600d7d66275.jpegIMG_0782.thumb.JPG.f621097e4d2b0fcdcabe19de6ca0f14e.JPGIMG_0784.thumb.JPG.796b52ff2f7a746d3777ea6ed6473f5f.JPG

 

CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

Update March 2019:
Temperature and Time Database (work in progress): http://sizzleandsear.com/precisioncooking/

 

As I mentioned in the Breville Smart Oven Air thread, I'm currently living in a basement suite without much of a kitchen, and it looks like I will be here for another year. This was getting me down, so when I spotted a Breville/Polyscience Control Freak on eBay that was soliciting "offers", I made a ridiculously low ball offer. To my surprise the seller came back with a counter offer of just $175 more... I pushed my luck and made another counter offer for $75 less... and what do you know, it was accepted! I've been eyeing this for a long time, but the $1800 price tag as always been a deterrent... until now :) Winning this item is what inspired me to cash in my Airmiles for the Breville Smart Oven Air. I figured that while I don't have a "real kitchen", the oven + the control freak would be the best kitchenette ever :)

 

Just got the unit in the mail so I haven't had a lot of time to test it out. But so far I'm happy. It was a "demo unit" for a butcher/kitchen supply shop, but was you can see, the cardboard is still around one of the knobs, so I don't think it was ever plugged in. 

 

I put it next to the Tasty One Top for size comparison. I bought that last year thinking it would a good cheap man's Control Freak.... it looks so sad and pathetic next to the Control Freak :P. The Control Freak is seriously a beast! It takes up more counter space than any induction unit I've seen, but it seems to be built solid. And the carrying case is also very solid! Not a caterer, so I'm not sure how much I will be travelling with it. But might come in use for small trips.

I haven't tested the probe yet. But I did pan control to 135F. The cooktop reading hovers between 134 and 135. I left my infared temperature probe at home, so can't measure pan temperature... but as you can see the water in the pan matches the pan read out! I also notice that it's not clicking on and off like the One Top... it's more subtle in its power changes. Also there are very fine bubbles at the bottom of the pot, and they encircle the entire diameter of the pot... doesn't look like a huge hotspot like on the One Top! 

I'm going to be playing with this over the next couple days, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I know there aren't a lot of these around, and it's hard to find answers on them.
IMG_0771.thumb.JPG.af8606c778e86fe19e7042c5d1987610.JPG

IMG_0775.thumb.JPG.9439fa05ac780f55ba3942c45e8a0e95.JPG

IMG_0776.thumb.JPG.f1631cfc9f8c5158c31fb3de891d2c13.JPG

IMG_0778.thumb.JPG.dcdfbd8ab36ab09522dfd53ee4b1fbb6.JPGimage1.thumb.jpeg.cdc7ecd7e1faf77f75836600d7d66275.jpegIMG_0782.thumb.JPG.f621097e4d2b0fcdcabe19de6ca0f14e.JPGIMG_0784.thumb.JPG.796b52ff2f7a746d3777ea6ed6473f5f.JPG

 

CanadianHomeChef

CanadianHomeChef

As I mentioned in the Breville Smart Oven Air thread, I'm currently living in a basement suite without much of a kitchen, and it looks like I will be here for another year. This was getting me down, so when I spotted a Breville/Polyscience Control Freak on eBay that was soliciting "offers", I made a ridiculously low ball offer. To my surprise the seller came back with a counter offer of just $175 more... I pushed my luck and made another counter offer for $75 less... and what do you know, it was accepted! I've been eyeing this for a long time, but the $1800 price tag as always been a deterrent... until now :) Winning this item is what inspired me to cash in my Airmiles for the Breville Smart Oven Air. I figured that while I don't have a "real kitchen", the oven + the control freak would be the best kitchenette ever :)

 

Just got the unit in the mail so I haven't had a lot of time to test it out. But so far I'm happy. It was a "demo unit" for a butcher/kitchen supply shop, but was you can see, the cardboard is still around one of the knobs, so I don't think it was ever plugged in. 

 

I put it next to the Tasty One Top for size comparison. I bought that last year thinking it would a good cheap man's Control Freak.... it looks so sad and pathetic next to the Control Freak :P. The Control Freak is seriously a beast! It takes up more counter space than any induction unit I've seen, but it seems to be built solid. And the carrying case is also very solid! Not a caterer, so I'm not sure how much I will be travelling with it. But might come in use for small trips.

I haven't tested the probe yet. But I did pan control to 135F. The cooktop reading hovers between 134 and 135. I left my infared temperature probe at home, so can't measure pan temperature... but as you can see the water in the pan matches the pan read out! I also notice that it's not clicking on and off like the One Top... it's more subtle in its power changes. Also there are very fine bubbles at the bottom of the pot, and they encircle the entire diameter of the pot... doesn't look like a huge hotspot like on the One Top! 

I'm going to be playing with this over the next couple days, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I know there aren't a lot of these around, and it's hard to find answers on them.
IMG_0771.thumb.JPG.af8606c778e86fe19e7042c5d1987610.JPG

IMG_0775.thumb.JPG.9439fa05ac780f55ba3942c45e8a0e95.JPG

IMG_0776.thumb.JPG.f1631cfc9f8c5158c31fb3de891d2c13.JPG

IMG_0778.thumb.JPG.dcdfbd8ab36ab09522dfd53ee4b1fbb6.JPGimage1.thumb.jpeg.cdc7ecd7e1faf77f75836600d7d66275.jpegIMG_0782.thumb.JPG.f621097e4d2b0fcdcabe19de6ca0f14e.JPGIMG_0784.thumb.JPG.796b52ff2f7a746d3777ea6ed6473f5f.JPG

 

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