Induction cooktop?

[valschae]

Hello everyone,

I am getting ready to pick up the beast in Fresno on Oct. 12. My only source of cooking will be an induction cooktop and a microwave. Peter is putting an inverter (Magnum 2000 watt pure sine wave) in my baby. Any recommendation please?

I was thinking either this one
True Induction P3D Single Burner Induction Cooktop, Energy Efficient
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049IEHGC/ref ... LVQY4TR2X4

or this one:
Big Boss 9148 1300-watt Induction Cooktop Compatible with Induction Cookware, Red
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Boss-9148-130 ... 3851760011


Thank you very much in advance!

Valerie

[daveb]

What size battery bank are you planning to install? Or are you planning on shore power/gen applications?

Both cook tops look nice.

[valschae]

Let me find out the battery size from Peter in Fresno. I am not planning on being plugged in. I will have 2 solar panel ( 135 W an 100 W).

Thanks
Valerie

[boywonder]

Those cooktops are power-suckers.....1600W and 1300W.....probably only viable while on shore power.

Similar power consumption as a microwave, although these probably require much longer run time to cook food, so you'll need a lot of battery capacity when off of shore power.

[boywonder]

If you are not going to be plugged in, consider a propane stove......

Looking at the 1300W cooktop and your 135W solar panel for simple math.....these are about 10 to 1 difference, and solar gets max rated only with bright sun directly overhead.

That being said, if you cook for 18 minutes it will take the 135W panel 180 minutes (3 hrs) just to replace that power in the batteries.....with the sun directly overhead.....reality isn't that good.

Also, more simple math......Let's assume you have 200 amp hrs of battery capacity. We don't want to discharge more than 50%, so 100 ah usable energy.

1300 watts from a 12V battery is around 100 amps (P=VA)....so running the cooktop for an hour will completely discharge your house batteries....well, discharge to 50%......

Reality is that you probably also need lights, microwave, etc.....so that shortens the amount of battery time you have even further....

[DCHitt]

You can always idle the engine while cooking....

[valschae]

Batteries: 2x 90amps and 1x 200amps so 380 amps total.
I just took the propane system out... Can't deal with it for personal reasons.

Thanks
Valerie

[1der]

Originally Posted by valschae

Batteries: 2x 90amps and 1x 200amps so 380 amps total.
I just took the propane system out... Can't deal with it for personal reasons.

Thanks
Valerie

What type of van do you have and where are you located?
Are the two 90 Ah for the engine or are they comprising a second house bank? Having two 90's and a 200 on one bank is not normal.

[WVvan]

If you have a battery separator installed don't forget about the option of running your engine while using the cooktop. Last I checked, before the recent drop in gas prices, it costs me 5 cents/minute to run the engine while parked.

[daveb]

Originally Posted by valschae

Batteries: 2x 90amps and 1x 200amps so 380 amps total.
I just took the propane system out... Can't deal with it for personal reasons.

Thanks
Valerie

Plan on a generator if you're using those. As mentioned, w/o shore power or a gigantic battery supply, the run time needed to operate an appliance that pulls that amount is huge. At least a microwave heats quickly. When using high amp appliances you can run the engine to offset the draw but similar to solar, most alternators only trickle in what is quickly drawn out of a single 200 amp hour battery by high amp devices. That's the reason most stoves are fuel powered as compared their to electrical counterparts in the camping world. I just would not be able to justify the cost of adding a high amp alternator just to run a stove when propane or butane fuels are able to be used at a minimal cost. I know it's probably not what you want to hear. You might ask what size alternator is in the vehicle. Usually the engine draw pulls a percentage of what the alternator puts out leaving only a little extra for other devices and charging of the secondary battery or batteries.