Roadpro 12v Frying Pan?

[One Awesome Inch]

I have been thinking about purchasing the Roadpro 12v frying pan.

Any experience with it?

Apparently it takes a bit of time to get it hot, but as usual some reviews on Amazon say its really fast at getting hot while others say it takes 'forever'.

I like the idea of using my solar/battery system to run this rather propane.

Specs say this frying pan uses 13 Amps /156 Watts. So does that mean if I use it for 15 minutes it will use 3.25 amps? I can live with that.

 

[jimindenver]

I have never had first hand use of them but you tube is your friend. In one instance pre cooked bacon and scrambled eggs were cooked and even the time lapse was painfully slow.

So lets look at what I saw in the design. 156w is pretty low not only to get up to cooking temperature but also to recover from having food put the pan. The base of the pan is just thin tin, so it could really cool down when food was added instead of being like a think pan that can hold some heat. (will also take longer to heat up too)

There is no on or off switch, the plug serves this purpose. That also means there is no temp control and the pan does not cycle in use. You would have to leave something in there a while, but it can burn it.

Considering it is built to a pretty low price point, I would imagine the performance can be improved first by replacing the plug with pole connectors and while you are at it, the wire too. Just replacing the plug on my 200w coffee pot improved it quite a bit as the plug wasn't going to last long with continued use.

So they are not the speed demons of the cooking world but they may be the faster of 12v cooking as there just isn't much out there in 12 volt cookware. The electric cook top we use is slow too but we compensate by turning it on and getting the pan on there before we start preparing the food. Even with a short heat up time you get a good sizzle when we add the food to the pan.

So if you get it, don't expect the quick turn around of a more powerful stove. Accept the limitations and learn to work around them and I think it will make a usable solution. It is nice letting the solar do the cooking and using as little energy as possible when it can't. The 12v pot is the same with a larger vessel, the 96w slow cooker got a good review but it is suppose to be slow.

I hope it helps.

 

[jimindenver]

I've been checking out more vids of the roadpro pot and pan. In one the person that did the eggs and bacon in the video that I mentioned did a follow up where they replaced the cord and plug. That greatly improved the pot dropping the time it took to boil water down from a hour to 15 minutes. The heat produced by the plug and wire is ;lost power that should be going to the pans.

I also got to see a few more vids of people using them. I would deem them as slow but usable if you upgraded the cord and plug. Lots of videos on the Roadpro oven.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Thanks for all that great information Jim. ☺

Now I'm just trying to decide if I should buy one of these or just get a simple coil style hot water warmer. Perhaps both. ?

 

[akrvbob]

It takes a very substantial solar power system, but Induction is a viable option for electric cooking. I know several friends who use induction cooktops. Both have 500 watts of solar and 4 golf carts. You'll also need a 1500 or 2000 watt Pure SW inverter.
Bob

 

[jimindenver]

I was on the hunt for a low wattage induction burner for a while, the lowest wattage I saw was 800w. Remember though that while the wattage is higher, the efficiency is higher too. Also once up to temp the cooker will cycle on and off like a regular stove. The little cook top does that too. Full power until you are heated up and then short burst to keep it hot. The road pros are always on.

The neat thing is they are all pretty cheap, especially the Roadpro pans. You don't have to break the bank to find out if they work for you.

 

[LeeRevell]

Any 12 volt cooking unit becomes a question of efficiency and economy.  You know it's basic AH rate.  Check it for a 110VAC heating unit via an inverter, which will cook faster.  See which works best in actual use.

 

[SternWake]

A 100AH battery, can provide 5 amps for 20 hours until battery voltage drops to 10.5 volts which is considered 100% discharged.

This does not mean a 100AH battery can provide 20 amps for 5 hours before it reaches 10.5 volts.

Mr Peukert and his effect steps in and says this 100AH capacity battery can only yield ~75 amp hours total capacity at such a high discharge rate.

If you do go this route, do cut off/ bypass the ciggy plug/receptacle and the original wiring to it. Thicker wiring will also help reduce cooking times.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_80nqemn57z_b

I make wide use of 45 amp anderson Powerpoles. The 30 amp and the 15 amp poles will both mate with 45 amp versions. The 30 amp ones are easy to crimp and one can just fit 12 gauge wire inside them. The 45's take more crimping skill, and can take 10awg wiring.

I've managed to get 8awg in to the 45's, but it is difficult and involved and some cursing and thrown tools are certainly a possibility. I crimp and then solder them. They have a specialty tool just for crimping their connectors which would make it much simpler.

But they barely get warm passing 40 amps. The best ciggy plug made would melt at half of that.

 

[SoulRaven]

RoadPro may have increased their reliability and usefulness in the decade I have been out of Over The Road driving but the few times I tried them they did not perform anywhere near as promised. I tried the stove, nope, I tried the little heater, nope and the skillet, nope. I bought mine at the major truckstops who refunded me on each purchase. 

They may have devised a way to improve their product but keep your receipt.