ᐅ The induction cooktop "Folklig" keeps turning on and off repeatedly.

Hello dear forum community,

I’m new here, so first of all, hello everyone.

For the second apartment I own, I decided to go with an IKEA kitchen and I don’t regret that choice. My 3.40 m (11 ft) kitchen run is great fun and looks fantastic!

Part of my kitchen is also the Folklig induction cooktop. Unfortunately, it’s causing some issues, and I’m very curious if others have experienced the same problems:

Usually, with (more expensive) induction cooktops, the heat is generated evenly. Not so with the Folklig. This cooktop switches on and off every few seconds. On the lowest setting, it’s only on for a very short time and then off for longer; the higher I set it, the shorter the off phases become.

From my online research, I learned that this on-off cycling is normal for cheaper cooktops at low settings. However, my Folklig does this up to and including setting 7 out of 9. When boiling water for pasta, you can clearly see it boil and then calm down in these second intervals.

Is this normal? How have others experienced this cooktop? I’m looking forward to your answers.

It has nothing to do with being expensive or cheap, but rather with power control. With induction, there are two common methods for controlling power: a) pulse modulation, where the cooktop controls power by switching on and off, and b) frequency control.

Unfortunately, no manufacturer specifies which control method they use or the exact frequency achieved.

There are also threads about this in the Chefkoch.de forum.

That’s clear to me. But with Folklig, the interval between on and off is so long that, for example, when boiling pasta water at level 7 out of 9, I can clearly observe the water constantly switching between “boiling vigorously” and “simmering.”

Even the induction cooktop my parents have, which costs three times as much, cycles on the lowest settings. However, only on those lowest settings and at shorter intervals than the Folklig, so the water continues to boil at exactly the strength I set.

Well, that might annoy me too.
I have an induction cooktop from Ikea, Nutid model, in use since 2008, so the control system was probably different back then.
By the way, when I cook penne, for example, I can observe the effect even at level 4, but not with spaghetti or linguine. This is probably because penne are heavier and rest on the bottom of the pot, while the lighter pasta floats or hovers due to heat convection. I’m not sure how else to explain it.

The predecessor was called HIN4T; you might find some useful reviews about it.