induction cooking?

[Matt Hixson]

Just wondering who out there is using and induction cooktop? I see Amazon has a deal on the Jackery 1000 right now and it looks like this thing might be able to power a single burner induction stovetop I have.

Anyone have experience with such a setup?

 

[Dave in AZ]

Just wondering who out there is using and induction cooktop? I see Amazon has a deal on the Jackery 1000 right now and it looks like this thing might be able to power a single burner induction stovetop I have.

Anyone have experience with such a setup?

I have been experimenting. Doubt the Jackery 1000 is enough inverter... Most induction cookers that are worth using are 1800W, anything less is very weak and a super small heat ring. And because it is induction, it needs more than 1800W to cycle on and off as they do. Recommend at least 2000W inverter unless you want a weak, disappointment of a cooker.

I am sure people will reply that they make do with less... I can also use the smallest gas burner on my house cooktop, and never go above medium flame... doesn't mean it's fun or a good setup. Before you believe someone telling you how great it is at 700W, buy one yourself for about $100, and try it at home plugged into wall with a killawat $10 meter. After 30 or 40 meals at less than 1000W settings, come back and THEN tell me how wonderdul it is to cook over a candle or a sterno... it's not. ;)

 

[grubworm]

i have an ecoflow delta 2 that is the equivalent of the jackery 1000 and runs my induction burner just fine. boiling water, it pulled right at 1000 watts (its an 1800w unit) and according to the readout, that has over an hour of usage at that rate. i didnt max out the burner, but the setting i used boiled 2 cups of cold water in 2 minutes, so that gives you an idea of power consumption
i use 3-ply viking pots for liquids and carbon steel pans for meat and both work great on the induction

our camper has a 280ah battery with a 3kw inverter and that will run the burner full power for quite a while, but the delta 2 will do a good job and i figure i could get 5-6 meals cooked on before having to recharge. plenty good...it aint like im trying to cook an entire turkey with it

 

[Matt Hixson]

Just did a little test. This is very similar to the NuWave cooker I have. I set it to the lowest wattage of 600W and a Medium setting which the display claims to be 275F. I plugged it into a Kill-A-Watt and at those settings it was pulling ~850W. So, yes. Your advice sounds spot on with what I'm seeing.

I'm also considering a Goal Zero Yeti 1000x. With 1500W output and surge capability to 3000W that sounds more up to the task than the Jackery.

 

[Dave in AZ]

Just did a little test. This is very similar to the NuWave cooker I have. I set it to the lowest wattage of 600W and a Medium setting which the display claims to be 275F. I plugged it into a Kill-A-Watt and at those settings it was pulling ~850W. So, yes. Your advice sounds spot on with what I'm seeing.

I'm also considering a Goal Zero Yeti 1000x. With 1500W output and surge capability to 3000W that sounds more up to the task than the Jackery.

Good test. Matt, look at the Pecron e1500LFP, I have one and love it, on sale this week for $599. 2200W inverter, boost to 4400w. I have the duxtop LS9600 burner, looks similar to grubworms above. I've been cooking on it for every meal for a couple months, using my Pecron, to learn the ropes. I'm mostly using a 10" carbon steel pan, or a 12" carbon steel wok. The slightly thicker pan is much better for searing and heat transfer. I do mostly wok cooking, so demand high heat... boiling water or heating soup or other liquids is the easiest task you can do with these though, not demanding at all, and med power does suffice for that. Like grubworm, my 1536Wh Pecron will give me 4 or 5 meals. Using an electric kettle is 100% efficient for hot water though vs about 70% for the induction per my ongoing calcs.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Many induction hobs will have a max rating of 1800W
It may be better to look at something with a rating around 2000w continuous rating. The flex load ratings are usually only good for major spike events, like a compressor kicking on for an AC, not long enough to sustain cooking a dish

 

[cug]

I'm using induction cooking and I'm never going back.

But, and that's a big but for some folks, there are certain circumstances that make induction cooking perfectly viable:

• We run two 100Ah batteries and a 2000W inverter that can easily support the needed power for an 1800W induction plate.
• We do drive pretty much everyday, we don't stay in a single place long. Which means we recharge the batteries pretty much every day.
• We can re-charge at 55A if neccessary (One Redarc Manager 30 and one Redarc BCDC25).
• We use solar while in a single place, we CAN put out a solar blanket (we don't own one, but we do have the connection and charger to run one).

I've done the calculation of how much power you really need a few times here on the site, so not going to repeat it here. Just be aware that you DO need a lot of adhoc power (think at least 2000Wh power station or 200Ah LFP batteries or so). You don't need massive capacity since most cooking that's beyond bringing water to a boil happens at 25 to 40% settings of an induction plate.

Our setup:



It's a bit more sophisticated nowadays, but still. Results:



Add a travel oven to heat up leftovers ...

 

[cug]

Oh, and the other good thing:

You now have enough power to do other things as well. We boil water with an electric kettle, use a 12V heater fan to warm the water and battery compartments when there is a chance of freezing temperatures, indoor and outdoor lighting etc. Also, charging eletronics is easy now, there is enough power avilable to run a "charging station" for laptop, phones, tablets, drone, camera, etc.

Oh, and cooking in wind is no problem anymore.

For me, it's one of these things that make life so much easier when out and about. I don't have to worry about various fuels. I need diesel for the truck and the diesel heater and that's it. Everything else happens automagically.

My horror scenario would be:

• Propane for cooking
• Iso-butane for gadgets like Thermacell mosquito repellent or a Jetboil
• Disel for a cheapo diesel heater
• And gasoline for the car ...

Too many tamagotchies to take care of.

 

[grubworm]

ok...i hooked the same induction burner up to a 280ah lifepo4 battery with a 3kw pure sine wave inverter and it did boil water a little faster, but not enough difference that i'd sweat over it. i think the induction burners are pretty efficient, even when used at a lower power setting and i can use an induction burner in an enclosed area, so they are beneficial and very practical and will work with a smaller inverter

 

[cug]

From a real life perspective:

We just came back from a two months trip to Canada and Alaska. We've used the induction cooktop all the time. Same with the electric kettle. We also used the inverter to charge our electric toothbrush and a few other things that aren't 12V or USB capable. We often sat in the truck in the evening, getting photos off the cameras into the laptop and used the electrical system to charge the laptop and cameras.

Overall, it has been a HUGE improvement to the propane/ISO-Butane setup we had before. I can't even describe how big the improvement is, it's been so good.

The thing is: we don't go "camping" for the rustic adventure feel. We travel in a truck with a canopy camper. That's quite a difference. When we were "camping", we didn't care too much about the difficulties with propane or gas canisters, or liquid white gas, we just used them. But when traveling, every inconvenience becomes a potential for conflict. We need to make every task easy if it's happening regularly. The truck camper by itself is a massive inconvenience, adding other things to that is a recipe for disaster.

For us, it made the trip much easier.

We use 200Ah battery capacity and a Redarc 2000W inverter and never got under 60% during the whole trip.