Induction cooker

Marcel,

This is the first I've heard of it, and google doesn't know about it either! Can you point to some info?

General rule though - cooking using battery power, with or without an inverter, is close to impossible unless you have a big lot of big batteries. Heating, whether by induction or element or microwave or.... takes a lot of energy, more than any sensible sized battery can deliver. If you are relying on solar to charge the battery.... well..... "tell 'im he's dreaming"!!

We'd be very interested to hear more about this cooker. Can you give us a link please?

Cheers

John

Iman,

Not entirely sure what you are referring to but I have an induction cooktop in the kitchen at home and a single hotplate for the caravan. Best cooking device I have ever used because of the speed to heat, no heat on the glass surface and immediately responsive to controls. I couldn't say how much it would draw from your battery but if you are on a powered site it's the ducks nuts. I bought my single hotplate from a camping show and the guy was saying it was developed for RVs. I think it would be good if you had an acre of solar cells on the roof.

Skull

been looking at this myself for cooking in the poptop camper when weather is bad.What size inverter would be needed and is it feasable to boil water heat tin food etc without totally draining battery(aux 80 AGM)Thanks,
Mary

I bought one of these and love it for both at home and in the caravan...

http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Appliances/Induction-Cookers/New-Wave-Portable-Induction-Cooker

NOTE: This will only work with induction compatible cookware. To test if your cookware is induction compatible simply place a magnet on the underside of the pot or pan and if the magnet sticks then it is induction compatible.

Here's all you need to start cooking anywhere. If you're on the road, enjoy camping or need your long-term guests to have their own food-prep area, this is the unit for you.

With no flames, smoke and pollution, induction cooking is environmentally friendly, safe and efficient.

How does induction cooking work? This high-tech appliance converts digital frequencies into magnetic fields within the cooking vessel, which in turn heat your food. Not only does this make cooking faster and safer, cleaning is much easier with the high quality heatproof black micro-crystal glass plate and stainless steel surround.

The process relies on electrical currents within the material to produce heat. Heat is developed directly and instantly inside the pan within one second. This is much faster than any other method. That watched pot will boil quickly no matter what the old expression says.

With 10 power levels, various temperature settings (ranging from 60 C to 240 C) and a 3-hour timer, cooking has never been so easy!

regards,

Heather

"Weighing just 1.5 kg, the Ecoheat boasts twice the cooking speed of conventional electricity or gas, and is designed to run on 800 watts and draw only 3.5 amps.

Used in conjunction with a 1 kva generator or an 85 watt solar panel and inverter, the Ecoheat can also be fitted with a barbecue plate for a quick and easy barbie."


Probably comes with snake oil too! This thing might be fine running on mains power or a generator, where (if this hype is at all accurate) it will pull 3.5 amps. Running through an inverter from a battery it will pull about 80 amps from the battery. Run from an 85W solar panel?????? no!!!!

We have a single induction cooktop bought from ebay, Aussie seller and was around $79 from memory. Has ten power levels from 200 to 1800w, ten temp settings (you dial up 120deg and it will keep cooking at that exact temp.) The 1800w inverter in the Oka runs it easily even at full power.
As has been said they are very quick, will boil water far faster than a 2.4kw electric jug, no hot surfaces but a magnet must stick to the cookware.
I looked at the Ecopot one at a show recently and they are having a lend of you, asking $250, only 800w output and no temp setting only a few power levels.
Weighs all of 1.5 kg and we use it when we want to cook outside without a fire or inside if we run out of diesel for the Webasto.

It certainly looks like a very good product if you are in a van park with mains power

But if you are bush and relient on batteries then I cannot see why one would cook on anything but gas.

If you read the posts on this forum about solar and batteries, 80% say it is for running the fridge and most have challanges keeping the batteries for an extended period. I know also that when the batteris are drained down to 60SOC it takes quite some time recharging when you have only an alternator or solar.

This product, never mind how good or conveneint, still takes a lot of charge from the battery.

I spent 10 years arranging the testing and approval of domestic electrical products for a major European manufacture. When I see many products such as these offered on Ebay and the like, the alarm bells start to ring. I would question are these products safe and importantly approved for sale in Australia. A favorable customer review does not mean it's safe or approved.

Induction cooking is the most efficient compared to gas or conventional elements. However, the nature of their operation means they do produce strong magnetic fields which may interfere with other electrical and electronic equipment such as pacemakers. The major manufacturers do provide warnings regarding pacemakers even though the STRAY magnetic fields of equipment made by them are of a relatively low level. The products from the internet suppliers is unknown.

When buying over the internet, do your homework and ask for approval information, Approval Number and Supplier Code. The approval number can be verified by the respective State offices and supplier code on the ACMA website.

Cheers
Racey