Induction burners

CanuckRV · 11-26-2021, 11:33 AM

Thank you all for all your help with my trying to bring my 1997 Roadtrek Popular up to date.
My next thought is on induction burners. it seems that a lot of the builds I see are using them, but in my mind they seem like they would burn a lot of amp hours. Am I missing something? How big of a battery bank would you need?
Thanks as always.

Winston · 11-26-2021, 01:50 PM

First, you'll need a good sine wave inverter, probably a minimum of 2,000 watts. And a 200ah battery, particularly if you're runing AGM/lead-acid (the high peak currents cause considerable voltage drop in lead-acid batteries . . . so its the current capability more than the amp-hour rating that mandates 200 ah for lead-acid.)

We've had a twin-burner induction cooktop in the van for 5 years. We like as much as a gas range top . . . better . . . and, in fact, have switched out our home cooktop to induction.

Yes, electric stoves of any kind use lots of current . . . but generally for comparatively short periods of time. So if you follow the above guidelines, you should be ok.

booster · 11-26-2021, 02:27 PM

Depending on the watt rating of the induction burner, even 200ah of AGM might not be enough to run the burner once the batter SOC gets lower and a big burner may have trouble all the time. Different brands of battery will have different ability to give high current and usable voltage. When our 440ah Lifeline bank gets to about 40% it gets a very large voltage drop at startup of things like the microwave and AC when tested for that. Depending on the low voltage cutout setting in the inverter and if the appliance if it has a stricter one the start may never get through. .4C is probably close to what you could run continuously from good AGMs at relatively high state of charge. I think a lot would depend on which batteries you would get and how well you will be able to keep them charged.

Use patterns for power and for recharging, along with what types of recharging you have will dictate a lot of what you do. If you are a large power user and like to stay for more than a day or two, you are going to need a lot of batteries. If you are a lite power user and drive regularly, you will need very few batteries. Big power users normally would have large lithium banks and large amounts of engine alternator charging to be able to recover all the battery capacity they use.

Personally, I would not change from a gas cooktop to go electric in a van that was already setup for propane and gas is so much more energy dense than batteries are. Same with heat and hot water heating unless you go to vehicle fuel fed units. If you take out the propane, you would also lose the ability to use the big van tank to run a gas grille and/or camp stove outdoors, which would be a big loss for us as that is what we do 90% of our cooking on, with the rest in the microwave which we do run on batteries.

One other option, that we did for a few years, is to have smaller battery band but a large alternator. That way, even at idle, the alternator will supply enough or nearly enough to run the microwave or cooktop. They are usually short in a microwave and moderately short in a cooktop depending on what you are cooking. As long as campground rules allow it, that way works well and is not terribly incovenient. Not good for that midnight hot snack, though, as you would wake up your neighbors, especially if they are in tents. Same for early morning runs.

hbn7hj · 11-26-2021, 05:24 PM

Gotta agree with Booster on this. If you have propane, keep it. You are looking at thousands of dollars and a lot of work to go totally electric. A new build is probably required, not a retrofit.

RossWilliams · 11-29-2021, 12:30 AM

We have an induction stovetop we use with an 800AH battery bank. That is obviously a lot more battery than you will need just for the stovetop.

As always, what you will need depends on how you use it. As long as you are using it in short bursts you probably won't have any problems. If you are planning on putting on a pot of stew and simmering it all day then the induction unit probably is not a good choice. But if you are making coffee and frying some eggs in the morning then the induction will meet your needs. You will need to make sure your batteries are not run down as far as you might otherwise. Trying to get 1000+ watts from a battery that is already close to being discharged is not going to work.

rvsprinterguy · 12-02-2021, 05:04 PM

We take a single-burner induction "hob" with us, but only use it when shore power is available. We could use it in the boonies by running the Onan, but it's thermodynamically unsound to use propane to generate electricity to radiate heat for cooking. Burning propane directly for heat is the most efficient use.

I've noticed induction cooktops in new high-end Class Bs. They must have very robust battery banks that are way beyond anything I'd try to retrofit in my old Sprinter.

Davydd · 12-02-2021, 05:26 PM

Our portable electric induction single burner. We have enough battery 576ah and 3,000w inverter to run it at anytime. We don’t need shore power or running a generator. We have no propane but we still carry sometimes a portable gas grill using those 2lb. Propane bottles set up on a picnic table. I like to use my Dutch oven and charcoal as well.

RossWilliams · 12-02-2021, 06:41 PM

"it's thermodynamically unsound to use propane to generate electricity to radiate heat for cooking. Burning propane directly for heat is the most efficient use."

That is likely true, but its important to remember gas cooking wastes a lot of energy around the pan. Induction heats just the pan.

I would not really count the induction stovetop as the major use of our battery capacity. The convection oven, the microwave, my CPAP and likely the refrigerator and furnace fan all take more capacity given our use.

rvsprinterguy · 12-02-2021, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davydd

Our portable electric induction single burner.

That is a very nice looking fold-down table! A table in that location seems to be a common feature in new builds, but I haven't seen any before that close into a pocket like yours does.

Davydd · 12-03-2021, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvsprinterguy

That is a very nice looking fold-down table! A table in that location seems to be a common feature in new builds, but I haven't seen any before that close into a pocket like yours does.

Totally custom design. The table rests on a swing out support underneath instead of those cable in the way supports above you find in many designs. ARV also uses pull out drawers for support but I opted for open storage inside not filled with drawers.

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