I have been cooking with pressure cookers for 30+ years now. I had an old Mirro cooker (8qt) that I used for over 20 years. I had to buy a few gaskets over the years but it kept on working. The only reason that I had to purchase a new one is that I had cooked a chicken in it late in the evening and put the cooker out in the garage (it was winter) overnight. Believe it or not, a mouse got into the garage and chewed out the pressure check valve. I could not get a replacement because the cooker was so old!!! I bought the new one and I read the directions. Imagine my disappointment when I read that the cooker would not get hot enough on a ceramic top stove. I have had a ceramic top stove ever since they were invented and have used other pressure cookers on them with no problems whatsoever. Guess what? There was no problem with this one getting hot enough on the ceramic top either! It gets hot, gets to pressure and works just fine! Not sure yet if it will last 20+ years like the old one did, but I hope so!