Wow - Induction Cooktop

[windcastle1]

Neutral/Ground
If your neutral and ground connection are connected together on your vessel you will trip the Dockside GFI breaker if your marina uses them.

[MVNightWatch]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We use two NuWave cooktops which can be purchased online or at Walmat for about $80 each. Walmart also has other kinds, we purchased two square units from them because they fit better on the 62 for about $89 each.

My NuWave button covers fell apart after 2 years of use. Now the unit doesn’t always work. Won’t turn on, or goes into Sear mode. I’ll not buy them again.

[Scot McPherson]

induction cookers turn your pot into the heating element...I.e. far less wasted energy and faster heating as a result.

[Scot McPherson]

yes the induction cooker must be ferrous in nature. It uses magnatic induction not electrical induction. Similar but not quite the same. Great for cast iron, great for stainless that is magnetic (not all stainless is not). Wont work for aluminim or copper if it doesn't have a ferrous plate in the bottom.

[zboss]

One way you can save on power is using a pan that is just big enough. If you are using a pan that is larger than needed you are using a lot of extra power to initially heat it and keep the temp up.

Since its just the two of us, we downgraded our pans by one size. Makes them easier to store as well.

[marty9876]

Folks get uneven heating on their induction cooktops? We moved into a new house with an induction cooktop and it's pretty uneven. I'm trying to figure out if it's the pans or the cooktop - we don't use cast iron (yet!) and got come new pans and it's better just not great. I think warped pans and induction is a bad combination.

[FlyingScot]

You can buy a Honda 2.2k OSHA approved which has the neutral
and ground bonded together. You can also make a
cheap plug for under $10 to do the same and plug into the second outlet on your Honda. Then plug your Honda into your shore power.
Don’t run the Honda without proper ventilation.
Your oil will also get contaminated from the exhaust gasses hastening wear.
Don't cheap out on electrical items unless you like fires on your boat.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Not true. Works on aluminum coffee pot. Any conductor can be made to have an eddy current. There will be some shapes, thickness that are better.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_heating

Can you tell us the make/model of the induction cooker and aluminium coffeepot that works?


Your own link says:

"In induction cooking, an induction coil in the cook-top heats the iron base of cookware by magnetic induction. Copper-bottomed pans, aluminum pans and other non-ferrous pans are generally unsuitable."

The more directly relevant Wikipedia page https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking is more explicit


For nearly all models of induction cooktops, a cooking vessel must be made of, or contain, a ferrous metal such as cast iron or some stainless steels. The iron in the pot concentrates the current to produce heat in the metal. If the metal is too thin, or does not provide enough resistance to current flow, heating will not be effective. Most induction tops will not heat copper or aluminum vessels because the magnetic field cannot produce a concentrated current; "all metal" induction tops use much higher frequencies to overcome that effect.

[az_r2d1]

Probably aluminized steel. Aluminum by itself won't work.

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by windcastle1

Neutral/Ground

If your neutral and ground connection are connected together on your vessel you will trip the Dockside GFI breaker if your marina uses them.

Yes but the selection switch should break the connection for each neutral and live cable

[Oceanflyer]

Originally Posted by Ferrari

The power source was not relevant to NFBR's experiment which was to compare the efficiency of induction to gas in a given practical situation.
The results clearly show the advantage to Induction with the added benefits of
"no waste cabin heating / gas moisture"
Power and Gas costs and availability were not part of the experiment and remain to be assessed by individual preference and requirements.

good one

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Fuss

Yes but the selection switch should break the connection for each neutral and live cable

Actually the selector switch should break all the wires (live, neutral & protective earth). The earth wire has to be switched at the selector for ABYC compliance.

[az_r2d1]

Originally Posted by LargeMarge

We have six 305Watt photovoltaic panels, 1830Watts total.
Our banks are full by 10am.
We have two portable induction tops. Not in use, we unplug them, and slide them into slots we designed in the kitchen cabinets. As you might expect, this frees the 'kitchen' countertops for crafts, drawing, maps... and a visual sense of openness.

Because these are portable, the majority of our cooking is outside the cabin.

Since we switched to induction, our only use for propane is the barbecue.
All our induction cooking for twenty-four hours costs less much than an hour of sunshine.

Our pans and pots are heirloom cast-iron, so the transition was simple.

Sounds like your battery banks are undersized. How long to charge the batteries if they are at minimum charge?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by marty9876

Folks get uneven heating on their induction cooktops? We moved into a new house with an induction cooktop and it's pretty uneven. I'm trying to figure out if it's the pans or the cooktop - we don't use cast iron (yet!) and got come new pans and it's better just not great. I think warped pans and induction is a bad combination.

It is your pots & pans. Start with a cast iron Lodge skillet to find out how it’s supposed to work without spending too much. After that you can decide to go for the best (= Le Creuset) or save $$$ by selecting a knock-off

[Skip JayR]

Interesting topic ... and impressed by the test results. Never experienced in my life yet induction, even not on land based cooking.

On the boat I live I still use gas (propan), and the costs are huge, in my understanding. I don't know how it works for some of you guys outside of Europe. On the European continent we have a crazy EU regulation for the propan gas bottles to exchange. As re-filling is prohibited, we must buy a "new bottle" every time in exchange for the "old one" we overhand back to the shop.

Its a stupid rule in EU in my understanding, that for every year, the "new bottle" is stamped to extend the use (compared with the old bottle), I have to pay 6-8 Euros/year. E.g. I bring back a bottle, which was stamped to be used till 2024. The shop gives me a bottle, which is stamped to be used till 2027. Then I have to pay for 3 years x 6-8 Euros = 18-24 Euros, just for the new bottle without the filling. When I bring the bottle back, I wont get the money back. - Filling itself costs ~18 Euros for a 16kg volume. So in total I pay around 36-42 Euros. As I need a new bottle (of 16kg) every 2 months, it becomes expensive over the year. 250-300 Euros (inclusive one reserve bottle. (Rec.: Never happened to me, that I got a bottle from the shop which was stamped earlier than a bottle I brought back, only then I would get money back 6 Euros/year.)

Obviously its worth to think about alternatives, e.g. Solar + Induction as the energy outpoot seems efficient, beside the other benefits like "smell" and proof/re-certification of whole gas installation every two years (on recreation yachts).

Has anybody a cost calculation (excel sheet) abt the total investment and repayment, e.g. inclusive mounting solar panels, inverter / converter (for land based 230/240V connection and solar), stoven (Rec.: Mostly (99% I cook in my gas stoven.), induction pans & pots and batteries.

I just remember, that the DELOS crew invested last year in a big litium battery bank to switch from Gas to Induction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvDCLtN22jY

Blog article of S.V. DELOS about their battery refit here.

Maybe also interesting to learn from long-term cruisers some infos what kind of induction and electric BBQ the DELOS crew uses here.

(Rec.: I have no direct link or bondages with DELOS. Just interesting to learn from such guys, right ?! )