Cadco PCR-1S Professional Cast Iron Range, Stainless

I am into the "Slow Food" movement, and I like to make bone stocks that slowly simmer for 24-36 hours. Unfortunately, the burners on my gas stove often go out when they are left on low, and so I cannot leave a stock pot simmering all night for fear that we will all die of gas ingestion in our sleep. A crock pot will not work for me because I live at high altitude and we do not have enough air pressure to slow cook some things without a pressure cooker. I got this hot plate because I needed one electric burner for this purpose.This is GREAT for my needs. It has infinite heat settings and can be turned all the way up to bring something to a boil, or turned all the way down to keep something just warm. It is housed in a high quality and attractive stainless steel base that stays remarkably cool and doesn't damage the laminate countertop beneath it; even at it's highest setting, it is not too hot to touch, and the underside is warm, but not warm enough to damage anything. This hotplate is extremely stable and I have no fear that it will tip over. I really like that it is low profile and attractive looking because it is out on my countertop all the time. I also like that the burner provides such even heat. The cord is short, but that is a good thing, because long cords on this type of appliance can be a fire hazzard. The short cord is a safety feature.The only thing that some people will not like is that it heats up slowly. I don't mind this because I purchased it for slow cooking, but be aware that it takes 30 MINUTES TO BOIL WATER IN AN 8 QUART POT. It takes this long at 8000 ft alt, and will take a bit longer at sea level. If you are in a hurry, this is not the burner to use. Once it gets completely heated, it is fine for high temp cooking.However, this is exactly the thing I wanted, and it is exceptional for my purposes. It gives me the best of both worlds - a gas range with an extra electric burner when I need it.

Just what I needed to do my canning on heats up great and does the job

I waited a while before writing this review. When I say I love this thing it is an understatement. I saw people trying to say the heat goes up and down too slowly. I disagree. It actually stabilizes the temp which is perfect for pressure cooking. I use this for the All American sterilizer 1915x and it is PERFECT for the job. It is very stable, meaning it supports heavy cooking equipment with ease, it concentrates the heat where you want it and nowhere else. The stainless steel is very nice looking. Low profile means portability. Power chord is thick and short and stable like it should be... I haven't had trouble with water droplets or fingerprints, although I make sure to wipe it down after use. I want this thing to last and I am certain I'll get my money's worth out of it. I gladly add my five star review to the pile.

I use this for canning because I have a glass stove top and it works great.

The hot plate has a coated iron plate top which emits a nasty smoke when first heated, but after the first use it is odorless. I started by boiling water for tea - it brought the flat bottom tea pot to a boil fairly quickly. This was reassuring, because I had worried that the unit might be underpowered. The control knob is the usual roughly calibrated thermocouple control, with a scale from 1 to 12. The unit cycles power on and off to come to temperature, lighting the red light when power is on. This means that it can be "on" with the light off, if you happen to look at it at a moment when it is in the off part of its cycle. That's a hazard, because it means that looking at it across the room to check whether it is on or off can lead to an assumption that it is off when it is on. The unit would certainly profit from both a power light and a power-cycling light, and one would be reasonable to expect such in a unit with the word "professional" in its description. Aside from this one cannot help but be impressed by its solid construction and stainless surface. In my test, in its scale of 1-12, a slight boil is at 8, medium boil at 10, and hard boil at 12, the maximum. It should be ok for frying, though I haven't tested it for that yet. Its square outline makes it more efficient in a crowded surface area, compared to round outlines. I'm satisfied with it, despite wishing it had a power switch and power-on indicator.

Capable of holding low temperatures for warming food or slow simmers.Heats up reasonably quickly, and can boil water faster than more economic cast iron burners, but not as fast as coil burners.Holds its temperature by cycling on and off, however the cast iron element prevents sudden rises and falls in heat resulting in a steady temperature.The burner only turns on when you turn the dial, not when you plug it in.Remains too hot to carry safely 45 minutes after turning off (From max heat).I absolutely love this burner. I use it for rendering tallow which requires low temperatures to prevent burning. Economic burners cycle on and off at high heats which results in boiling. I also use it for my pressure pot which again, gets the perfect temperature. It would be great if it boiled water faster, but it's by no means frustratingly slow.Make sure you take it outside for the first burn. Instructions say turn to max for 10 minutes, but it'll be closer to 20-30 before the smoke clears.

Got tired and cold using a propane burner outside, so found the Cadco PCR-1S and some reviews that said it worked for their All American 925's. Bought it and tried it with my 921 and it worked perfectly. I'm at 4000 ft so had to keep the pressure at 15 and it was set to maximum power for 75 minutes. It held the pressure perfectly with no adjustments required. Nice strong base and big flat plate to hold the canner securely. Yes it does over hang the burner plate by about 1.5 inches all around, but otherwise good fit. Also, make sure you have nothing else connected on the same fuse, or you WILL blow the fuse.

So far I'm very impressed. Bought it for canning, as I have a glass top stove. Holds my 16qt Presto beautifully! Only suggestion I have canning related is it takes a while to warm up, so start it early.

The best hot plate that I have ever used...

Well based on limited usage it worked great.We bought this unit for pressure canning after much research and have been quite pleased.We have a 23 quart Presto and this Cadco hot plate handled the job just fine.Sure maybe it will take a little longer getting up to pressure but no problem maintaining the necessary heat.We have a ceramic top stove and didn’t want to take the chance of damaging the stove.Yes I would recommend this hot plate.