Electric Cooktop In Coach???

[Highway Yacht]

I'm trying to get most of the things lined up for my conversion. I've already marked out the floor and have purchased my cabinets, countertop, fridge, shower, vanity, etc, all waiting to go in after I get finished with the insulation. As I've posted before, my main objection with my coach is to use it on some weekends and also a couple weeks a year at local camgrounds since I'm still 20 years away from retirement. I've found a super deal on a "240v Maytag Electric 2 Burner cooktop" that will fit right into my countertop in place of the gas cooktop. I would like to stay away from gas if possible and go totally electric since I have no plans to go the boondocking route anytime soon. I plan on using my coach with 30 or 50 amp shorepower 99% of the time. My question concerns going totally electric with 30 or 50 Amp shorepower. Will the 30 or 50 Amp shorepower give me the power I will need to run the coach totally electric? I plan on having two 15000 Btu roof airs and a 10 gallon electric water heater plus the fridge, microwave, and lights. Will this work or am I just day dreaming? I do understand that I would have to use some conservation by going this route like turning off one of the roof units to turn on the stove or take a hot shower especially if on 30 amp service but can it be done??? What I don't want to get into is having to turn off ALL air to cook or shower. Can anybody give me some insight on what I can and can't expect with a total electric coach on either 30 or 50 amp service??? Thanks..

Jimmy 

[luvrbus]

Jim, take it from someone that has a 240v cook top that is not the way to go if you want a electric cook top go with Seward Princess 110 V some campgrounds don't have 50amp service to use the 240v top.I have stacked inverters for 220v and the batteries don't last long when using the cooktop so when we cook it is the generator or a 50amp service and you will need 50 amp service for a electric coach   Good luck

[bobofthenorth]

What he said.  DO NOT lock yourself into 240 volt requirement for something as important as the cooktop.  In two years of constant travel I can count on two hands the number of nights we have had 240 V available without running the noisemaker.

[Damn Yankee]

My present coach has the setup your thinking about and I can't wait to tear it out! 30A will not run them. I have to run my generator to boil a hot dog. 50A will run them but the vast majority of campgrounds are 30A. In my previous coach I used 120V cooking appliances and it worked out very well. #1 is a convection microwave, #2 is a large George Forman Grill with different plates you can change for waffles or grilling ect... #3 is a portable Magnetic induction cook top that I am very happy with. here's a link http://www.nextag.com/portable-induction-cooktop/search-html  This is all I use for all my cooking (except for a small propane grill) When your done with them toss em in a cabinet or drawer for storage and it gives extra counter space too.

[johns4104s]

I am thinking you cant run a good sized oven without 220/240volts. ( Although you can go with a 110/120 volt microwave convection).But for cook top I am thinking to go with a double burner Induction top. I know they may be a little pricey but have you seen them work?

John

[Sean]

You have a couple of different questions here.

First is, can a coach be run on 30 amps?  The answer is, "yes, if it is designed properly to allow you to do so."  That's a big "if."  We regularly run our whole coach on a 15-amp circuit, and we can go more or less indefinitely on a 20 amp circuit if it's not too hot out.  But we invested in a load-sharing inverter and very efficient appliances.

Second is whether to have a 240-volt cooktop, and here, I have to advise against it as others above have.  If you really want to go all-electric, my advice is to get a pair of induction hobs, which will run on 120-volt, 15-amp circuits and are the most efficient type of electric burners.  You will, however, need steel pots.  Plenty of discussion on this topic in the archives.

Without doing unnatural acts like stacking inverters or using buck transformers, you can not run a 240-volt appliance without a 50-amp campground hookup -- 30 won't cut it, because it's the wrong voltage.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[luvrbus]

John, in your search if find a induction 2 burner that will work on 110v would you please let me know that is what the wife wants. good luck

[Hartley]

If you stay with the 30 amp restriction on the electrical design you will be much happier in the long run. That said, If you treat a 50 amp service as a simple pair of 30 amp services that are split into halves and not try to actually need 220 volts for any appliance you will also be happier.

The problem comes from various concepts of campground wiring issues. Some will provide a 50 am service that is actually 2-lines of 120 volts off the same phase of the main breaker panel. This is a simple 2- circuits and the only thing that you will find is that if you check the voltage between the hot legs of the plug you will not see any voltage. But either to neutral you will see 120 volts.

The correct way for a 50 amp service is using 2-phases of the main supply. Across the hot legs you get 220 volts, each leg to neutral you get 120 volts.

Not all electricians actually know how to read the codes and wire stuff the correct way. That also said sometimes a campground owner will fudge and place 50 amp plugs where the original wiring was for 30 amp single service. ( they run the same hot leg to both terminals of the 50 amp plug.) This is NOT how it's supposed to be.

But if they are cheapos you will most likely find this in many places. They would have had to dig up all the underground wiring and replace it otherwise. $$$$$$ Just keep that in mind.

Each power post in a campground costs hundreds of dollars plus the cost of the underground lines and labor. If something has been buried for years and the needs change on the type of plugs provided, You can bet the cheapest route will be what is done.....

I installed true 50 amp service to 4 of my plugs. Each box has 20 amp@120, 30 amp@120 and 50 amp@ 120/240 .. The problem is that I spent all my money on the first 4 power poles and the large capacity main panel and have been floundering around trying to afford the extra plugs and wiring for the other 10 spots....

Stay with the 30amp as the base and you will be OK....

[TomC]

I wrestled with that same idea-since I detest propane and its associated dangers.  In the end I went with an RV type stove with 3 burners and a oven (which I'll use again) and a propane 35,000btu furnace (also will use again).  Both are cheap to buy, cheap to run, and can get them repaired (no repairs on them yet) most anywhere.
Also off center of most, I went with my bus being wired for straight 120vac-which means I can use 30amp or only one leg of 50amp plug.  I still have 6,000 watts of power which is enough to run two A/C's with power left over to run my two water heaters (one at a time), my refer, microwave, etc.  While on a 50 amp power pole, I have never tripped the breaker (I have on 30 amp).
I'd really reconsider cooking with electric, but would definetely stay away from 240vac appliances.  Good Luck, TomC

[BG6]

I've found a super deal on a "240v Maytag Electric 2 Burner cooktop" that will fit right into my countertop in place of the gas cooktop. I would like to stay away from gas if possible and go totally electric since I have no plans to go the boondocking route anytime soon.

Rethink.

What will that cooktop do for you that can't be done with a $20 griddle and $20 dual hotplate from Walmart? 

These can be set on top of your propane stove and run on 110V.  When you aren't in a position to use electric cooking, then you put them in the cabinet and have the propane.  This combination gives you the maximum versatility, not only for power source but it also means that you can have 4 burners, big griddle and hotplate all going at the same time, when you have something big going on. 

And it's CHEAP, simple and can be replaced anywhere there's a big-box store.

I've been using this system since I began fulltiming last summer, plus a microwave and a convection oven, and it does everything that I used to be able to do in the kitchen of my sticks and bricks house.

[FloridaCliff]

Jlink,

We are 100% electric inside and use propane only for outside cooking and backup on the water heater.

Over our many years of RVing and camping we have found that we almost never cook inside.  The exception to that is during inclement weather.  For those rare occasions I have a convection microwave and several variety's of hotplates/grills as BG6 stated earlier. They are stored in a kitchen drawer and out of the way except when being used.  This also has the added value of a very large preparation area in the kitchen not obstructed with the cooktops etc.

The other reason I prefer outside cooking is that when cooking inside, you are in a very small area and those odors will stay inside and absorb into whatever material is inside, regardless of how much venting you have or cleaners you use, they hang in there.

Of course this is all personal preference, just wanted to share another point of view...

Good luck in your choices,

Cliff

[johns4104s]

Luvrbus,

They have the single ones on e-bay for $100 each. They look great and I bet you could mount them so they would look like a double factory job. $200.00 for safer,faster less power cheap.

John

[luvrbus]

John,  we have the table top models we carry in the bus but I was looking for a unit that would cover the hole in counter top when I remove the cooktop she loves the induction cooking we have one in the house but it is 240v 3 burner   good luck

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Jimmy,

I also have the two burner 120v from Princess and we love it. Both burners on at the same time is never a problem on a 20a curcuit.

Good Luck
Nick-

For instance
http://www.google.com/products?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS312US312&q=Princess+2+burner&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=vNWuSfrpCYyVngfooJW3Bg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

[Sam 4106]

Hi FloridaCliff,
You do most of your cooking outside because you don't like the cooking odors, Do you do most ob your bathrooming outside for the same reason? LOL I really don't want to know, but I find some folks logic, shall we say, smelly.
Thanks, Sam 4106