What number am I thinking of?

I’m using Mikrotik and Ruckus. Would recommend both. I like that they are both at the level of reliability that I don’t think about them at all for months at a time. I update quarterly or less and they require no other attention from me. They also work well with my centralized data collection and alerting via LibreNMS.

OPNSense would be high on my list of alternatives when I reevaluate next time. And all Mikrotik would be a good option for me as well. Their Wi-Fi gear is not as strong as Ruckus or Ubiquiti, but they are super solid.

The Unifi ecosystem is a bit too centralized for me. I don’t want to create an account in order to use the hardware.

Matewan (1987) is a good movie covering aspects of this story. Great cast and an engaging story. The cinematography won an Oscar.

I’ve used a pretty cheap on (Duxtop or something like that) with a 6-8" heating coil. It worked fine on a well-conducting pan - 12" triple layer stainless-aluminum-stainless (like All-Clad, but a cheap version for restaurant use). It also did great with a 10" carbon steel pan. But I wasn’t doing anything that required maximum heat across the width of the pan. I think that’s a shortcoming for sure.

There are also reports of poor performance with larger cast iron pans, which makes sense - they’re not great heat conductors. So I think in part at least it depends on your cookware and what you’re cooking. Boil/simmer/fry in a larger highly conductive pan will likely be fine. Sear in a larger less-conductive pan maybe not so much.

Sounds like a crappy product. I’ve cooked on 2 Whirlpool/KitchenAid induction ranges (they’re the same company) and two cheap brands of countertop induction. All four were able to simmer easily and cycled on much more often and more briefly than you describe. And all were plenty powerful.

I did the most cooking on the KitchenAid and it could melt chocolate in a saucepan without scorching. I could hear it pulsing on probably for 1/2 second every 3-5 seconds. On the next setting hotter it could maintain a simmer in silly small quantities. And it could still boil a big pot of water for pasta in a couple of minutes. Pot handles stay cool and spoons don’t get burnt if you leave them hanging over the side. Loved it. I miss that range.

The only thing I had more trouble with was making caramel. The sides of the pan don’t get as much indirect heat compared with radiant or gas, so it wanted to crystallize at the edges. I had to use a thick tri-ply pan for that and still kept a blowtorch on hand to add a little side-heat.

The easy clean is really due to how the induction coil heats the pan but not the cooktop surface. With the surface only heating indirectly it’s really not possible for stuff to burn on nearly as badly. At least when compared to a conventional radiant electric. The surface just doesn’t get as hot.

I went from induction to a house with a gas cooktop and miss the induction a lot.

We still quote this game in our house at random moments. “Willie know what to do!” and “Klayman, up here!”

Moldova!

Královec!