We are building an open source precision cooktop and want to know what you think

[trfl]

About 7 years ago, we posted here about LoafNest (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). The encouragement, suggestions and discussions were received here were surely a large factor in its modest success.

As a tiny two-person company, we feel grateful to have gotten that support. Now we are back with our next idea and we hope you would find it interesting too.

 

We are building an open source precision cooker. You can maintain very precise temperatures using the direct pan temperature sensor, or the probe sensor (for liquids, sauces) or both in combination.

 

See this link if you are technically inclined. Or this consumer friendly page for more details.

 

We are proud about these aspects:

• Affordable: Estimated retail price below $150 with a target of $100. About 10-15 times cheaper than similar products in market. We aim to make precision cooking affordable to everyone.
• Open source : which means no lock-ins or dead devices. If you bought it, it is yours for ever. See the Github page.
• Real controls : Real buttons and knobs for all basic functions. No touchscreen or need to use apps for basic function (Who thought touchscreens were a good idea with greasy/wet hands in the kitchen?)
• Unrestricted : no paid apps, subscriptions or other restrictions. If you are a programmer, you can modify the program using the opensource code.
• Extendable, repairable: option to extend with stirring, circulating attachments or a cabinet for use as a bread proofer, fermentor or dehydrator [these attachments are in our roadmap].

 

We would really love to hear what you think about this. Any criticism, comment, suggestion or support will be highly appreciated. After all, as an open source product, we are all building it together.

[gfweb]

Price is almost too good to be true!

 

Color is important if its on the counter. Stainless or black fits anywhere. Orange is terrible for me. Even red would be better. I wouldn't buy orange.

 

I love the real knobs (as opposed to WiFi control)

 

A magnetic stirrer might be interesting.

[trfl]

52 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Price is almost too good to be true!

 

Color is important if its on the counter. Stainless or black fits anywhere. Orange is terrible for me. Even red would be better. I wouldn't buy orange.

 

I love the real knobs (as opposed to WiFi control)

 

A magnetic stirrer might be interesting.

Yes, we are really trying to price this aggressively because we do want to make precision cooking accessible to more people. We do not have investors or shareholders to make happy, we would be happy just not lose (much) money!

 

Color is easy to change. May be we will make multiple versions if there is sufficient interest. For now we chose the symbolic color for the Netherlands (where we are based). We also though since it is a different kind of appliance, it should look a bit different too.

 

Yes, the device will have WiFi in case we want to add some fancy features in the future (e.g. rice ready when you get back home). But for all basic interactive cooking, you would be able to use the just the buttons and knobs.

 

Magnetic stirrer would not be feasible, but we plan to include an automatically stirring spatula. We are working on some ideas and will share when they are mature enough.

Thank you for your encouragement. May be we will make a stainless steel version just for people like you who prefer that.

[rotuts]

@trfl

 

multiple colors would be nice.   Id not want the color to stand out, in my case.

 

white or off white might be an option .   or a light grey.

 

you get the idea .  everything I see looks good.

 

Id suggest that the heating area not be ' too small '  based on the various ordinary pots

 

people might use.

[trfl]

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Id suggest that the heating area not be ' too small '  based on the various ordinary pots people might use.

 

Thank you for your reply. The heater would be 20 cm / 8 inch diameter. We think it would be right size that is not too large for a small saucepan and not too small for a frying pan or stockpot.

[paulraphael]

It looks like a cool idea.

 

How powerful is it? What's the stirring mechanism you're proposing?

 

I just bought one of these, at the upper end of the price range you mention. On the plus side, it has a magnetic stirrer, which is important for my purposes (pasteurizing ice cream). It lets it cook with no chance of scorching or unevenness, and minimal evaporation. And it's very precise. On the minus side, it's probably not repairable, and it's underpowered. Wattage isn't listed anywhere, but I'm guessing it's around 200W or so. I bring a pot up to temperature on the stove and use the hot plate to hold it for 30 minutes or so. 

[trfl]

9 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

It looks like a cool idea.

 

How powerful is it? What's the stirring mechanism you're proposing?

 

I just bought one of these, at the upper end of the price range you mention. On the plus side, it has a magnetic stirrer, which is important for my purposes (pasteurizing ice cream). It lets it cook with no chance of scorching or unevenness, and minimal evaporation. And it's very precise. On the minus side, it's probably not repairable, and it's underpowered. Wattage isn't listed anywhere, but I'm guessing it's around 200W or so. I bring a pot up to temperature on the stove and use the hot plate to hold it for 30 minutes or so. 

Our device will have 1500 W power, mainly restricted by the wall outlet in US. May be we will make a 2000W EU/UK version if there is demand. So in that sense, we make this more suitable for cooking. The precision would be around 0.5 C / 1 F which is sufficient for most cooking uses.

So in that sense our device is more directed towards cooking whereas the one you have more towards lab use.

We are thinking of a few stirring mechanisms, but most likely it would be something like 'Stirmate (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)' (may be we will collaborate with them if they are open to it). We have a 9V power outlet which should be able to plug in a stirrer, or a sous-vide water circulator or a fan or something else.

 

P.S. Signup on the mailing list if this is interesting for you. We would most likely end up crowd funding it and you may be interested.

Edited Thursday at 04:06 PM by trfl (log)

[rotuts]

@trfl

 

please continue to post your progress here.

 

many of us would enjoy seeing this item evolve.

[rotuts]

@trfl

 

BTW , Im pleased how you are approaching this :

 

something for an actual person's or ' family ' kitchen 

 

functional , but well engineered for its purpose .

 

fairly priced ,  few to no bells and whistles that miss the primary point.

 

open to further expansion by interested parties.

 

I hope you do well .

[gfweb]

Regarding color...the big appliance makers don't do color until a product has been available for a long time.  They probably know a thing or two.

[trfl]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@trfl

 

BTW , Im pleased how you are approaching this :

 

something for an actual person's or ' family ' kitchen 

 

functional , but well engineered for its purpose .

 

fairly priced ,  few to no bells and whistles that miss the primary point.

 

open to further expansion by interested parties.

 

I hope you do well .

Thanks for the kind words. 

 

In a way, we make products mainly for ourselves (for using at home). That is how we made LoafNest (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)and we think that is why it got the acceptance it did. After all, if we do not want to use a certain product, why would someone do and pay money for the privilege? 

 

It is a lot easier to sell buzzwords, bells and whistles and most large companies do that. We are tiny (literally a wife-husband couple running the whole show). We have no external shareholders, ambition to make millions or even a specific quarterly result. So we are trying to fill that niche gap for a functional product that is not overly marketed or locked in for commercial interests.

 

We can only hope this is also recognized by the market and that this product will be a modest sustainable success.

[trfl]

57 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Regarding color...the big appliance makers don't do color until a product has been available for a long time.  They probably know a thing or two.

Sure, color at this stage is completely open for discussion. May be we will make a couple of colors and during crowdfunding stage let everyone choose (or do multiple colors if there is enough interest).

 

[Smithy]

I don't have much to add to what's been said so far -- the design looks good and at that price point I'd sure be interested -- but I will say "me too" regarding that color. I find that particular color of orange very unattractive. Blue, yellow, even black or stainless steel or red would appeal much more to me!

 

The knobs and gauges are great. I've become leery of items that require a remote signal to run. A remote connection can be handy (say, start from your phone while you're away) but requiring one is a dealbreaker for me.

 

I would advocate a larger disk if you can manage it. 8" diameter seems a bit small for the uses I can imagine. Can you make it 10" or, better still, 12" but have a pot size adjustment so it doesn't heat unnecessary surface?

[trfl]

3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I don't have much to add to what's been said so far -- the design looks good and at that price point I'd sure be interested -- but I will say "me too" regarding that color. I find that particular color of orange very unattractive. Blue, yellow, even black or stainless steel or red would appeal much more to me!

 

The knobs and gauges are great. I've become leery of items that require a remote signal to run. A remote connection can be handy (say, start from your phone while you're away) but requiring one is a dealbreaker for me.

 

I would advocate a larger disk if you can manage it. 8" diameter seems a bit small for the uses I can imagine. Can you make it 10" or, better still, 12" but have a pot size adjustment so it doesn't heat unnecessary surface?

Thanks for taking the time. I am happy that color is the biggest detractor and surely something we can easily change.

 

About the size of the heater, a larger heater as you would say require 'zones' to make it fit all sizes of pans. This is of course possible, but would add to the complexity and hence cost. Also, a larger one will have a much lower power density because of the large area with limited (1500 W) power.

 

I think we will most likely stick with the 8 inch size for the first version and there is always room for the improvement in the future versions.

[trfl]

I made an another 'artist's impression' of the product in Aqua color. Not that I like this better, but just to show everything is possible at this stage.

[cdh]

Great idea!  I like the premise and wish you luck!

[Smithy]

15 minutes ago, trfl said:

I made an another 'artist's impression' of the product in Aqua color. Not that I like this better, but just to show everything is possible at this stage.

 

That's a much nicer color!

[gfweb]

Aqua?

Not for me.

Stainless or black, please

Edited Thursday at 09:22 PM by gfweb (log)

[rotuts]

off white , but by not too much

 

grey , on the lighter side.

 

that color wound need sunglasses.

 

polarized.

 

 

[trfl]

Here we go!

[rotuts]

@trfl

 

Ill be getting that one.

 

nice job.

[chromedome]

On 3/27/2025 at 9:56 AM, trfl said:

About 7 years ago, we posted here about LoafNest (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). The encouragement, suggestions and discussions were received here were surely a large factor in its modest success.

As a tiny two-person company, we feel grateful to have gotten that support. Now we are back with our next idea and we hope you would find it interesting too.

 

We are building an open source precision cooker. You can maintain very precise temperatures using the direct pan temperature sensor, or the probe sensor (for liquids, sauces) or both in combination.

 

See this link if you are technically inclined. Or this consumer friendly page for more details.

 

We are proud about these aspects:

• Affordable: Estimated retail price below $150 with a target of $100. About 10-15 times cheaper than similar products in market. We aim to make precision cooking affordable to everyone.
• Open source : which means no lock-ins or dead devices. If you bought it, it is yours for ever. See the Github page.
• Real controls : Real buttons and knobs for all basic functions. No touchscreen or need to use apps for basic function (Who thought touchscreens were a good idea with greasy/wet hands in the kitchen?)
• Unrestricted : no paid apps, subscriptions or other restrictions. If you are a programmer, you can modify the program using the opensource code.
• Extendable, repairable: option to extend with stirring, circulating attachments or a cabinet for use as a bread proofer, fermentor or dehydrator [these attachments are in our roadmap].

 

We would really love to hear what you think about this. Any criticism, comment, suggestion or support will be highly appreciated. After all, as an open source product, we are all building it together.

 

I remember you! Glad to hear that the LoafNest was a success, however modest (I gave you a quote for the campaign). 

 

I am on record here on the site (probably more than once) as saying that induction would be perfect for seniors (for safety/convenience reasons), if only someone would build an affordable induction hob with a simple dial rather than [expletive] touchpads. I'm not nearly as exacting in my use of induction as some of the others here on the site, largely because I have no meaningful use-case for sous vide, but a unit with better control than the two I currently use (both of them increment the power in 10 steps, so I'm often choosing between "a bit too fast" and "a bit too slow."

 

At this point app-controlled/IoT devices are a hard no for me, and I'm an open-source guy by inclination (Ubuntu Linux is my OS of choice since 2007), so you check the right boxes for me on that front, as well.

Several people here on the site bought an induction hob called Paragon, which also aimed for precision at a low price (perhaps some owners could weigh in on similarities and differences?) but sadly didn't make it commercially. Hopefully you fare better with this device.

[gfweb]

Wasn't paragon about $2000?

 

 

[Vapre]

3 hours ago, gfweb said:

Wasn't paragon about $2000?

 

 

Gracious, no. I think it was an order of magnitude less in the neighborhood of $200.

[gfweb]

24 minutes ago, Vapre said:

Gracious, no. I think it was an order of magnitude less in the neighborhood of $200.

 

What am I thinking of? There was some crazy-priced induction thing that several bought for less off ebay.