[bob1029]

> I recall electric stoves which take a few minutes to heat up & didn't get very hot at that

You should try induction sometime. Convective electric is very slow by comparison and I have struggled with it myself for many years. My current cooktop can take a 10" iron skillet from dead cold to smoking hot in under 30 seconds using the maximum setting.

Only caveat with induction is the distance to element & cookware material constraints, both of which can usually be overcome with little difficulty.