Electric Cooktop In Coach???

[luvrbus]

Jim, the two 2 burner induction tops I have been looking into draw 20 amps on 240 volts and 1 requires a vent and the other doesn't.Here are the 2 I am checking out Diva model DDP2 and the Fagor 1FA30 they both have 2800w for 1 burner and 2000w for the other burner.They are nice but pricey.About the 30 amps some of these guys run 2 Ac's from 30amps but I never could make it work if both Ac's tried to start at the same time it would flip the breaker's 1 ac and the hot water heater would do the same  good luck

[WEC4104]

The portable induction models I have seen are typically 1200-1500 watts (at 110 VAC) for a single "burner". That makes me think a two burner unit will push you well over the 20 amp mark, leaving insufficient amps for the A/C unit on a 30 amp line.  You can check the specs on the specific model you are considering, But my seat-of-the-pants says two burners+A/C is doubtful.

[Sam 4106]

Moderator edit:  Content removed as per Sam's request.

And, there are exhaust fans that work for kitchen odors too.
If an RV kitchen can't accomadate cooking for 9 people, how is Bigdouginoregon with 8 kids or pacnw with 6 kids going to manage?
Thanks, Sam4106

[boogiethecat]

Thanks Sam, you did the good thing
Gary

[Sean]

I'm not planning on a built in oven... just a two burner cook top. Would the two burner induction units or princess heat units run just off the 30Amp shorepower or would I also need aux. power from inverter or generator to keep from turning off the A/c while using the cooktop???

I see several have already chimed in on this.  My answer is:  it depends.

Most individual induction hobs are rated at 1500 watts (sometimes less).  A few are rated as high as 1800 watts, which is the full draw of a 15-amp circuit.  So, conceivably, if you ran two burners at the same time on full power, they could be drawing up to 30 amps if they are both 1800-watt units.

In practice, however, the unit will not be drawing the full current all the time.  Induction hobs are generally time-regulated rather than power-regulated, just as microwaves are.  So if you select, say, half power, what you get is a hob that cycles on for a second, then off for a second, etc.  Again, conceivably both hobs can be in the "on" part of the cycle together, and, if they were 1500-watt hobs, you'd be drawing 25 amps when that happens.  If your AC is also running at that moment, drawing (typically) 13 amps, you'd be over the magnetic trip limit for the circuit.  If even one of the hobs is running when an AC unit tries to start, you will almost certainly trip the 30-amp breaker.

If you are stuck with a 30-amp service at a campground, then you'd need to adjust your cooking habits accordingly.  You can probably get away with running a single induction hob at any setting along with the A/C, so long as you set the A/C to run full time and not cycle on and off -- the starting current will get you every time.

Note that you must equip your coach with a 50-amp service if you have more than one electric heating appliance, such as a water heater and a cooktop.  But just equipping the coach that way doesn't mean you'll find 50-amp connections when you need them.

If you are serious about an all-electric coach, you might think about a load-sharing inverter, which makes all of this moot.  We cook all the time on battery power alone, and regularly run the whole coach on 15- and 20-amp circuits.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[H3Jim]

I have a 4000 watt load sharing inverter.  When I am boondocking in a campground woiht no hookup that does not allow genrators before 10 am (such as the Silver Strand in San diego) I cook breakfast.  I will run all at the same time my microwave, coffeemaker, toaster and induction hob.  I have never had issues (or at least electrical ones).  Although the induction hob is just a one burner, so I  probably have not rever really been pushing the limits.

[gus]

OK, I stand humbled by the info on induction burners. I admit that I know nothing about them other than what I have read here.

However, there is always a however; it still requires electric power and, apparently, lots of it or/and a huge battery bank.

What this all boils down to is many bucks and new wiring not to mention all the conversion work. His gas is already plumbed!

Plus, it is not independent like LP.

[PacNWNomad]

And, there are exhaust fans that work for kitchen odors too.
If an RV kitchen can't accomadate cooking for 9 people, how is Bigdouginoregon with 8 kids or pacnw with 6 kids going to manage?
Thanks, Sam4106

I have three burners in my travel trailer. No microwave, no oven. I do have an outdoor drop down two burner stove, but I've only used it once. We managed just fine last year (June - mid Sept). We've done fine so far this year, too. I may get a large electric covered skillet, and am definitely getting a (Zojirushi) rice cooker.

Interesting about cooking with induction. I do prefer cooking with gas, it's easier to adjust the flame to maintain the proper pressure on a pressure cooker (which I use a lot).

[luvrbus]

Pacnwnomad, aluminium will not work on the induction but my wife has stainless pressure cooker that she uses if a magnet will stick to a pot it will work on induction with presice heat regulation better than gas      good luck

[JohnEd]

I have gas through out.  Meets all my needs and then some.  Like was said....I want redundancy.  My gas furnace is redundant to my little cube heaters.  I never use the furnace when the pole is near.  Gas water heater has a electric element and I use that gas only when on the road or camped.  Elect. fry pan, microwave and hot plate are redundant to my 4 burner gas range and oven.  Never used the hot plate and rarely use the skillet.  Point being that my lifestyle is not changed/interrupted by travel or camping.  It is all GOOD.

On the really "off chance" that any are as ignorant as I was, let me relate:  One of the first things I noticed that caught my eye about my "new" RV was that I had these BIG loops of copper tube in my cabinets and storage spaces.  It was LP gas line.  I wondered that "they" would have been so stupid as to put all that EXTRA copper in the place where it would get bent and flexed and be in the way.  I SOLVED that PROBLEM many months later when I had some time on my hands....you know what they say about idle hands being the Devils workshop?    Well the exclamation of "I don't understand" should NOT lead to a decision and an immediate course of action.  Although R Regan used to say and do that with frightening regularity.  (that is not a political statement but a comment on senility).  Well genius here opted to pull out all that pesky copper and rerun all the lines and consolidate them by using crimp and ferrule connectors to branch out all the lines and make right angle corners.  See, I made it all really pretty and SOOOOO much more efficient.  Too soon old!  It took me many years to learn that the single lines from the gas manifold was done to eliminate any flare connectors and minimize crimps.  Seems that ferrule connectors WILL LEAK eventually and are ill advised in a vibrating/moving environment.  The EXCESS tubing was there to eliminate stress on the line due to connecting and disconnecting during the coaches life span.....now going on 35 years.  That's 200 bus years for S&S.  A wonder, I swear, that I have survived some of my more brilliant moments.   There must be a God in Heaven....there must.

Go with gas, at least as a backup, and make CERTAIN that it is installed correctly.  Propane and CO detectors are a must and fire alarms would also be nice as you have less than 30 seconds to depart.

Best of luck,

John

[H3Jim]

And I guess one more thing about induction.  I find it easier to cook with as you can set the temperature and it will hold that temp within a few degrees.  So that's way better than gas as well.  Once you understand what temperature certain foods / pots do well with, you can set it and forget it.  No need to fine tune the burner.  No worries about too hot or not hot enough.

As an example, a classic use of a double boiler is while making sauces, melting chocolate etc - you use the double boiler so your stuff does not get too hot and burn.  With an induction cooktop, you no longer need a double boiler to keep that from happening.  All you do is set the temp low enough not to burn, and you can leave it on for hours, and it will hold that temp exactly.  Chef's delight!!

I suspect that  using a pressure cooker would be much easier as well.  Once you figure out what temp to set it at to maintain the pressure, you'll never need to fiddle with it again.  Instant temp control.

[Sam 4106]

Hi H3Jim,
Do you know of a manufacturer that makes a steel or magnetic stainless steel pressure cooker? Both of ours are made of aluminum.
Thanks, Sam4106

[H3Jim]

Here's where I lame out.  No I don't, I don't even know if anyone makes one.

[luvrbus]

My wife bought hers at Target the Presto brand I think, Walmart will carry one too. make sure a magnet will stick on some stainless it won't.FWIW Target has a good selection of pans that work on induction tops and are not real expensive plus they sell the induction tops     good luck

[Sean]

Sam,

Here are a couple:
http://www.ikitchen.com/chde4ststprc.html?CS_003=740477&CS_010=chde4ststprc
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-6-Quart-Stainless-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B00006ISG6

The question, of course, is "will these work on induction?"  I have to say that I don't know.

While it is true that any steel pot to which a magnet will stick will work on induction, what is not true is that any pot where the magnet does not stick won't work.  (There is a long, complicated technical discussion of why, which I won't go into here.)

So I generally tell people who are interested in induction to take a magnet with them to the store, and stick to the pots that stick to the magnets, if you will excuse the pun.  That way, they will be certain the pots will work.

In the case of a specialized item like a pressure cooker, you may simply not find one that will hold a magnet, but most may very well work on an induction hob.  The only way to know for sure is to try it.  (And, no, generally the sales people in the store won't have a clue if any given pot will work or not; most will just say "hunh?" when you mention induction.)

Perhaps someone reading this thread who has one of these steel pressure cookers can volunteer to try it out.  I would take it with me to a high-end appliance store that sells induction cooktops, and tell the salesman you'd like to make sure your pressure cooker will work with the cooktop before you can think about buying it.

Sorry I can't be more specific;  we don't have a pressure cooker ourselves.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com