Moving from propane to genset powered galley.

[jas]

At the end of refit and have decided to eliminate propane and accompanying Force Ten cooker in favor of 110V AC powered cook top with 2-3 heated elements, perhaps using induction system and cookware as well as a 110V AC conduction oven for baking etc. These two appliances need to be gimbaled with appropriate fiddles to avoid spilling messes in a seaway. Already have 110V microwave installed in cabinetry. Any suggestions and recommendations on what/where to purchase would be appreciated. S/Y WONDER, Wellington 44 cutter.

[tkeithlu]

Force 10 makes one. Available pretty widely, looks like $1600 US. Your decision, your way, but could I ask why that route? It seems rather inefficient to convert fuel to electricity to heat.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Your decision, your way, but could I ask why that route? It seems rather inefficient to convert fuel to electricity to heat.

To me, it allows some systems simplification. No more propane to store, worry about, etc. If you've already got a genset that can support your cooking needs and you need to run it at times for other purposes anyway, it's not a big deal to rely on electricity for cooking. My boat was built with an all electric galley, so I just plan any genset runs for battery charging and making hot water to coincide with when I want to use power-requiring galley appliances. That usually means a run in the morning and one in the evening for an hour or so, at the end of which I've got a re-heated tank of hot water, food, etc.

[BigNut]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

To me, it allows some systems simplification. No more propane to store, worry about, etc. If you've already got a genset that can support your cooking needs and you need to run it at times for other purposes anyway, it's not a big deal to rely on electricity for cooking. My boat was built with an all electric galley, so I just plan any genset runs for battery charging and making hot water to coincide with when I want to use power-requiring galley appliances. That usually means a run in the morning and one in the evening for an hour or so, at the end of which I've got a re-heated tank of hot water, food, etc.

SWMBO loves her electric galley. She is a pastry chef. We have 2 tabletop induction cooktops, a 110v convection oven and all the usual suspects otherwise.
With 2 Victron Multiplus (3+3kW) inverters and 1200ah LiFePO4 powering 3 separate 110v outlets. We do not need to run our 5.5kW genny to cook. We have 1200Wsolar, but have decided to upgrade to 2100W.
We do not have fiddles (we have a 42’ cat), but find all we need is a silicone mat between the cookers and the pot. No slipping.
The moveable cooktops means much more horizontal surface in the galley when they are not needed.
We only use propane for the BBQ on the rail. Propane runs only every 6-12 months [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

[tkeithlu]

Thank you. Good reasoning. I guess we never considered it, given that the admiral is A) an excellent cook (20 recipes for cheese cakes alone) and B) told me that we were going to have a propane stove.

[jas]

Thanks for all the replies. Simplicity, peace of mind and safety are foremost in my moving from propane to diesel via genset , solar, and wind. Just don't want the threat of explosion and need for more than one fossil fuel. I'm aware of the Force Ten electric stove but wanted to know if others had found similar units offering induction cook tops and convection ovens???? Thanks

[sailcrazy]

FWIW, we converted to all-electric about 16 years ago. The "admiral" prefers an electric stove. We match it with our AC refer, aircon, watermaker, water heater, and AC batt chgr. We run the genset 2x/day, morning and evening, for about 2.5-3hr/day. For us, it's worked well. Oh, our stove is a gimballed Force 10 model 65336 (230v), w/ ceramic cook surface, 3 burner(ea 1200w/5amp) + over(1300w/5.4amp). We use LP on the rail-mount BBQ only.

[roverhi]

If you are going cruising better have a non electric backup. When we were in the Marquesas an all electric boat showed up with a crew that were a lot lighter than when they left the US. Generation systems crapped out and they couldn’t cook their grain rich provisions and all the stores in their freezer. Said they had a shark following them with all the formerly frozen stuff they were chucking and the grains did them little good without a way to cook it.

[tekdiver]

Another great debate with some even better solutions. My new to me boat does not have a gen set thinking solar after we redo the camper canvas with flex solar panels running to lithium battery's for cooking on induction two burner stove and a convection flip up oven.

I can control weight better with batteries and can use an inverter to tie it all together

[alansmith]

Nuwave makes a very nice induction cooktop. Under a hundred bucks. My wife loves it. No heat... no smell... no condensation. I checked it with my voltmeter clamp with wires separated and it draws about 1800 watts on high.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by tekdiver

Another great debate with some even better solutions. My new to me boat does not have a gen set thinking solar after we redo the camper canvas with flex solar panels running to lithium battery's for cooking on induction two burner stove and a convection flip up oven.

I can control weight better with batteries and can use an inverter to tie it all together

Do your sums carefully. Electric cooking consumes considerable amounts of power. It is doable under solar alone, but without a propane backup you need need to be cruising exclusively areas of reasonable solar insolation and have room for a relatively large solar array. The only other option is to be regularly hooked up to shore power.

Power generation has to equal (actually slightly exceed) power consumption. Lithium batteries do not change this basic tenant.