Cinj
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I've seen Lee on a YouTube video recently and noticed he had an induction cooktop. Does anyone use one and what kind of solar setup would one need to power that without running batteries down too low? Thanks for feedback.
Induction cooktop and solar
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Surly Biker
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I’ve been using an induction cooktop full time for a couple years. Clean, quiet and super efficient. They are 1800W, but can start and run at low settings. I actually used a 1200W inverter with mine.
Like any AC appliance, they require some investment in battery and electrical system. A simple meal might use 20-30Ah if stored power.
Like any AC appliance, they require some investment in battery and electrical system. A simple meal might use 20-30Ah if stored power.
jimindenver
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They are a load. You can run it just off of batteries. Just off of solar panel output when the sun shines or a mixture of both.
They are a load with a draw like a microwave. I have seen them range between 800 and 1800 watts. I do believe the induction cooker will cycle once temperature is reached. Some use a reduced wattage at lower settings.
My 1185 watt system with 435 watts tracking the sun can produce pretty close to 1000 watts at peak. I could run the smallest induction cookers during peak hours of the day. Any other time of the day or with a more power hungry plate the best I can do is have the solar reduce the take from the battery and replace it later. That is how most people run their microwaves. High draw for short periods.
So you are talking more than 2000 watts of solar to run a 1800 watt load at peak output. So it is only practical for the largest of RV's.
So now that we know you will likely need a battery bank to run it, you have to decide on how big. The decision is going to take in to consideration what and when you want to cook. How high of a temperature and for how long. Even where and at what time of year. You can take in to account a big solar system but only if you are cooking in the peak of the day. Straight up you will need a 400 Ah bank to boil water on high for a hour and that's just the 1800 watt cooker for one meal. My big system would reduce the take by 50% and need a few hours to replace the rest.
So how much solar do you need? As much as you can fit on the roof.
Four 6 volt or two 4-D 12 volt batteries. Three 100 Ah 12 volts could be used for a smaller draw cooker, shorter times or reduced temperatures. Two 6 volt batteries can not give up their power fast enough to run big loads.
as always, some back up means to charge when the sun doesn't shine. In fact, it might just be easier to run a generator while you cook.
They are a load with a draw like a microwave. I have seen them range between 800 and 1800 watts. I do believe the induction cooker will cycle once temperature is reached. Some use a reduced wattage at lower settings.
My 1185 watt system with 435 watts tracking the sun can produce pretty close to 1000 watts at peak. I could run the smallest induction cookers during peak hours of the day. Any other time of the day or with a more power hungry plate the best I can do is have the solar reduce the take from the battery and replace it later. That is how most people run their microwaves. High draw for short periods.
So you are talking more than 2000 watts of solar to run a 1800 watt load at peak output. So it is only practical for the largest of RV's.
So now that we know you will likely need a battery bank to run it, you have to decide on how big. The decision is going to take in to consideration what and when you want to cook. How high of a temperature and for how long. Even where and at what time of year. You can take in to account a big solar system but only if you are cooking in the peak of the day. Straight up you will need a 400 Ah bank to boil water on high for a hour and that's just the 1800 watt cooker for one meal. My big system would reduce the take by 50% and need a few hours to replace the rest.
So how much solar do you need? As much as you can fit on the roof.
Four 6 volt or two 4-D 12 volt batteries. Three 100 Ah 12 volts could be used for a smaller draw cooker, shorter times or reduced temperatures. Two 6 volt batteries can not give up their power fast enough to run big loads.
as always, some back up means to charge when the sun doesn't shine. In fact, it might just be easier to run a generator while you cook.
you can buy induction cookers that run on 1500w at high heat.
My primary cooktop for the last 10 years has been a portable induction cooktop. I can tell you a few things about them.
Only purchase a unit that has an all glass top where the controls are underneath the glass. I had one that did not have that feature and the plastic on the control panel area fell apart.
Even with an all glass cook top do not use a large skillet or pan that is so wide it overhangs the control panel as that too can cause damage. Not too big of a problem if you are a solo traveler with a smaller fridge freezer as you are not likely to be cooking in large quantities the way people do who like to put stuff into the freezer for eating later.
You can't use really small pans on them, the diameter must be larger than 4" except if you are using one of the plates you put on top of them for using non magnetic cookware. But that comes with the risk of burning yourself on the plate.
Some of the units have a limited number of heat settings. That can be a real pain in the keester for cooking as they tend to be too hot or too cool and it just is not easy to cook on those types. Get one that has a lot of settings and hopefully also gives a readout in degrees of heat versus just numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. On my current unit which has a range of 6 settings #3 is the sweet spot for just right for the majority of things such as eggs, pancakes, soups, hamburgers, but sometimes they brown too fast and I have to turn it down to #2. I use #6 for quickly bringing water to a boil and #4 or #5 for a higher heat browning of meat or fast stir fry things. So basically you don't really have to use it above #3 unless you are in a hurry to heat water or brown stuff. So perhaps that means you are generally going to be cooking at about 1,000 watts or less on a 1,500 watt unit which is what I have always owned. I have never had a 1,800 watt unit.
Cast iron pans do work on induction but the rough cast iron pans will scratch the glass top, stainless steel is a better pan for them. You must use pans with a flat bottom that give good contact to the surface. Throw out your old warped pans.
The pans that work best for induction cooking have a thick bottom with a built up core material. You get much better heat distribution and much faster response time for doing things like boiling water. They downside is those pots do weigh more but you are saving on electrical power so that is likely worth the extra weight.
Remember if you use non stick cookware that the biggest enemy for non stick, the thing you do that will completely destroy non stick property, is to use high heat when cooking with them. You want the to last a long time just use medium heat or lower with them. If you want to use high heat then use uncoated stainless steel or carbon steel, or cast iron.
Nice safety features of induction cooking, if you forget and a pan boils dry the cooker will shut itself off. If you take a pan off the burner the cooker will shut off in just a few seconds. I do love having a timer function that shuts off the cooking as it means fewer burned meals or over cooked pasta. It makes things like flipping a burger after the proper number of minutes per side a little easier as an end of time bell goes off reminding you it is time to flip and restart the heat and timer.
I do love using an induction cooker but as I don't have roof top space for a lot of solar I won't be taking one traveling with me. Fortunately I do like cooking with a propane/butane cook top too but it will cost more for cooking fuel.
My primary cooktop for the last 10 years has been a portable induction cooktop. I can tell you a few things about them.
Only purchase a unit that has an all glass top where the controls are underneath the glass. I had one that did not have that feature and the plastic on the control panel area fell apart.
Even with an all glass cook top do not use a large skillet or pan that is so wide it overhangs the control panel as that too can cause damage. Not too big of a problem if you are a solo traveler with a smaller fridge freezer as you are not likely to be cooking in large quantities the way people do who like to put stuff into the freezer for eating later.
You can't use really small pans on them, the diameter must be larger than 4" except if you are using one of the plates you put on top of them for using non magnetic cookware. But that comes with the risk of burning yourself on the plate.
Some of the units have a limited number of heat settings. That can be a real pain in the keester for cooking as they tend to be too hot or too cool and it just is not easy to cook on those types. Get one that has a lot of settings and hopefully also gives a readout in degrees of heat versus just numbers such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. On my current unit which has a range of 6 settings #3 is the sweet spot for just right for the majority of things such as eggs, pancakes, soups, hamburgers, but sometimes they brown too fast and I have to turn it down to #2. I use #6 for quickly bringing water to a boil and #4 or #5 for a higher heat browning of meat or fast stir fry things. So basically you don't really have to use it above #3 unless you are in a hurry to heat water or brown stuff. So perhaps that means you are generally going to be cooking at about 1,000 watts or less on a 1,500 watt unit which is what I have always owned. I have never had a 1,800 watt unit.
Cast iron pans do work on induction but the rough cast iron pans will scratch the glass top, stainless steel is a better pan for them. You must use pans with a flat bottom that give good contact to the surface. Throw out your old warped pans.
The pans that work best for induction cooking have a thick bottom with a built up core material. You get much better heat distribution and much faster response time for doing things like boiling water. They downside is those pots do weigh more but you are saving on electrical power so that is likely worth the extra weight.
Remember if you use non stick cookware that the biggest enemy for non stick, the thing you do that will completely destroy non stick property, is to use high heat when cooking with them. You want the to last a long time just use medium heat or lower with them. If you want to use high heat then use uncoated stainless steel or carbon steel, or cast iron.
Nice safety features of induction cooking, if you forget and a pan boils dry the cooker will shut itself off. If you take a pan off the burner the cooker will shut off in just a few seconds. I do love having a timer function that shuts off the cooking as it means fewer burned meals or over cooked pasta. It makes things like flipping a burger after the proper number of minutes per side a little easier as an end of time bell goes off reminding you it is time to flip and restart the heat and timer.
I do love using an induction cooker but as I don't have roof top space for a lot of solar I won't be taking one traveling with me. Fortunately I do like cooking with a propane/butane cook top too but it will cost more for cooking fuel.
Cinj
Member
Surly Biker, jimindenver, and Maki2 - thanks to each of you for taking the time to share your knowledge to my inquiry; each response held information I used to come to my conclusion, which is I'll likely not use induction while traveling but stick with my original propane/butane as my fuel for cooking. Many thanks. Jimindenver, I'm going to your YouTube channel now!
frater secessus
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Excellent info in this thread, everyone.
lenny flank
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Heck, with enough panels and batteries, you can run an arc-welding shop. 
Cinj
Member
I suppose nothing's impossible
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