Induction Cooktop?

[81duck]

Just about to build out our galley cabinet. Sink on left, grey tank underneath, fridge or storage on bottom right. Trying to decide if we need a cooktop. I love to cook outdoors so that will be the main "kitchen" but seems like it would be nice to be able to heat up things (non smelly things) inside. We'll have a small microwave in upper cabinet.

So do you have a cooktop?
If yes, what do you use it for?
How often do you use it?

If you don't have a cooktop...

Do you wish you had one?

Thanks for your input!

 

[brownvan]

We have a PIC Flex that we are testing out on a 1000W inverter and run it on the 600W-900W levels. Our house battery capacity is small so we can only get about 45 min of runtime maximum before we are at 50% SOC but the solar panels will get us back pretty quickly to full charge during the day. Usually we will use it in the morning and the evening and repeat. Works even with the big cast iron pan which is nice for a large meal. Conceptually, it is really awesome because we aren't combusting fossil fuels to cook a meal and I could see alot of value doing this on long trips and not having to mess with combustibles. So far most of the cooking has been outside the van on a folding table running it on an extension cable from the inverter. At 900W (High) it boils 5 cups of water in 9 minutes (at sea level).
Would I leave my dual-burner Coleman at home? Probably not just yet since we cook quite abit and like the dual burners. If I had 200-300 Ah or a lithium setup I would probably fully get onboard with the Induction cooktop. One recommendation is to maybe consider a portable induction cooktop so you can use it outside your van for cooking smelly things.

 

[sparkplug]

Sounds quite similar to my layout.

This was it a couple of days ago. Since then I've put a metal box around the cooker just for my peace of mind (it's not required in the manufacturer's fitting instructions)

Have yet to test the theory in terms of cooking 'smelly' food but I have an opening window in the rear of the van and a fan which can be positioned to draw that air through to the front of the van.

My MaxxAir is above the cooker and will be set to 'extract' and on days when it's not raining the sliding door will provide extra ventilation.

Hopefully that should take care of most cooking smells. Will let you know.

So to answer the questions:

What do I use it for? Anything and everything. Cooktop, grill and oven gives me every choice possible.
How often do I use it? Well, I only turned the gas on yesterday but I've already used it twice

It's 6:35am here right now and I'm tempted to go and make my coffee in the van

Once the excitement's worn off I'll probably only use it when I'm actually away in the van, but probably at least once per day for a hot meal when on the road.

I steered away from Induction simply because of the battery drain issue.

Oh, and because I wanted an oven and grill too....

 

[Colorado_Al]

I had a cooktop but ended up removing it when I remodeled. I cook outside on a dual burner propane Coleman and I was never using the cooktop.
Good idea to get a portable and see how it goes

 

[hein]

We have a large inverter and battery bank and have used the nuwave induction cooktop. We choose not to build in a stove top to maintain counter space and provide some flexibility with what (and where) we use to cook. We also have a microwave, single burner butane stove and carry a Smokey Joe BBQ.

We now are using the Instapot mini (800 watts) for most of our van meals. Super efficient, quick and no cooking smells since it is a pressure cooker. Only releases a little bit of steam when opening it after food is cooked. Easy to combine and cook all ingredients at the same time.

All the best,
Hein
DIYvan

 

[sprint2freedom]

Get a portable induction cooktop for best of both worlds. Cook inside or outside (with an extension cord). Put it away and you regain the counter space. Reduced construction effort vs. a built in. Easy to replace or leave at home if it breaks or you end up not liking the model you start out with. Easy to carry inside if you're staying in a hotel or at a friend's house.

Mine gets used almost daily, but the full countertop gets used about 3 times a day so I wouldn't want a built in.

 

[vanski]

I’ve been using the butane style portable stoves with success since 2012. Cook inside, cook outside... only complaint is when trying to use when it’s very very cold. Like low teens to negative temps.

 

[SSTraveler]

I removed my propane stove top and installed a Tru Induction Mini Duo, https://www.amazon.com/True-Inducti...5&sr=1-1-791c2399-d602-4248-afbb-8a79de2d236f. I picked it because it's 1800w total, it manages the power between the 2 burners. We actually find that the 5 setting is the highest we ever use the burners on, so that's up to 900w for a single burner or up to 1800w if running both burners. It's so much nicer to cook on.

 

[MsNomer]

I have a portable induction cooktop in a drawer. I think I used it about 6 months ago. With the microwave and the instant pot, we just don’t need it.

 

[Davydd]

We have a portable induction cooktop and we use it both inside and outdoors. I think it is easier to use than the mostly common Coleman propane grills. Stores away in a galley drawer instead of a permanent counter mount.

 

[81duck]

Thanks so much everyone, lots of good ideas to ponder. Sounds like portable is a good solution. I'm a bit concerned about counter space for prep even though we could probably put a cutting board over a built in cooktop. We'll have 400 ah of lithium so hopefully no huge concern over power.

Hadn't thought of the insta pot idea, so will also investigate that.

 

[Roamers]

I'm probably installing a 1000 watt inverter. Question on using less than full power on induction cooktop. Hypothetical 1200 watt cooktop. At a lower than full power level, say 50%, is the inverter going to see cycling between 1200 watts and 0, OR constant 600 watts, OR is it PWM (not sure what would show). Perhaps someone with a Kill-A-Watt could check. Looking at higher power cooktop for when shore power is available. Thanks!

 

[brownvan]

I'm probably installing a 1000 watt inverter. Question on using less than full power on induction cooktop. Hypothetical 1200 watt cooktop. At a lower than full power level, say 50%, is the inverter going to see cycling between 1200 watts and 0, OR constant 600 watts, OR is it PWM (not sure what would show). Perhaps someone with a Kill-A-Watt could check. Looking at higher power cooktop for when shore power is available. Thanks!

For the Nuwave PIC Flex:
Setting - DC Current Draw
600W/High - ~ 60A
900W/High - ~ 90A-100A

I'm running this on a Victron 12/1200 inverter with a single 135 Ah AGM. These current values were measured direct off my shunt resistor.

 

[MsNomer]

Hadn't thought of the insta pot idea, so will also investigate that.

Oh, you really should. It is a game changer.

I have the 6 qt for the house and 3 qt for the van. I bought the nonstick insert for the 3 qt, and even after making chili I can clean it without running water.

Simple Chili:

1 lb hamburger, browned and drained.
1 15.5 Oz can tomato sauce or stewed tomato or diced tomato
1 15.5 Oz can beans of your choice (pinto, black, red, etc)
1 onion chopped
1T Chili Powder or to your liking
Salt and Pepper

Pressure cook on high 30 minutes

 

[Roamers]

For the Nuwave PIC Flex:
Setting - DC Current Draw
600W/High - ~ 60A
900W/High - ~ 90A-100A

I'm running this on a Victron 12/1200 inverter with a single 135 Ah AGM. These current values were measured direct off my shunt resistor.

I'm a fairly electrical capable mechanical engineer. For those that are closer to electrical experts, would you interpret this that at the lower watt setting it is a constant 600ish watts and at the higher setting it is PWM? The spec says it has 3 wattage settings: 600/900/1300.

 

[Kajtek1]

Beware that with inverters heat exchange plays big role.
On my boat I had 1200W inverter, who would power my 1500W toaster for 7 minutes before going into limp, but SF Bay is famous for cold weather.
But 2000W inverter in coffined van space and 90F outside can overheat in couple of minutes under 1000w load.
So plan on proper inverter cooling.

 

[brownvan]

I'm a fairly electrical capable mechanical engineer. For those that are closer to electrical experts, would you interpret this that at the lower watt setting it is a constant 600ish watts and at the higher setting it is PWM? The spec says it has 3 wattage settings: 600/900/1300.

Below is from the owner's manual. I am not sure if these values are actually accurate.
For example, I had the unit set at 900W and on high it was pulling 100 Amps @ 12 volts
Best i can tell is that the draw is fairly constant but I wasn't watching the SOC monitor the entire time.

I suppose it's also possible that my brand-new induction cooktop is defective right out of the box and the wattage setting was malfunctioning...

 

[Nightpanda]

Below is from the owner's manual. I am not sure if these values are actually accurate.
For example, I had the unit set at 900W and on high it was pulling 100 Amps @ 12 volts
Best i can tell is that the draw is fairly constant but I wasn't watching the SOC monitor the entire time.
View attachment 148922
I suppose it's also possible that my brand-new induction cooktop is defective right out of the box and the wattage setting was malfunctioning...

Looks like you are ok. The formula for calculating is P/E=I (Power/Voltage=Current) 900/12=75
That is for the 12V side.
The note says: *based on line voltages registering 120V (900/120=7.5)
?

 

[4wheeldog]

I have a Revel with the 1300 watt invertor cooktop. It is very handy to have for a quick meal. But another advantage is that the space it occupies is still useful as countertop when not using the cooktop. If I were building out a rig myself, I think I would likely not build it in, but use a countertop model.
Because sometimes, I would leave it home.
We cook with a electric kettle, an insta pot and the cooktop, when we are not cooking outdoors. It certainly is more convenient than using any other fuel source.

 

[Airtime]

I'm probably installing a 1000 watt inverter. Question on using less than full power on induction cooktop. Hypothetical 1200 watt cooktop. At a lower than full power level, say 50%, is the inverter going to see cycling between 1200 watts and 0, OR constant 600 watts, OR is it PWM (not sure what would show). Perhaps someone with a Kill-A-Watt could check. Looking at higher power cooktop for when shore power is available. Thanks!

Depends on the cooktop, but I tested the Duxtop 1800W model, it used PWM for power settings 0.5 - 4.5 with peak power of 840W at any of those lower settings. For higher power settings 5.0 - 10.0 it was not PWM, but continuous power that linearly stepped up to 1800W at setting 10.0. Details in this thread:
Induction Cooktop Experiments