Induction Cooking and AC on DC

[rslifkin]

At this point, for electric propulsion, I think it depends on a combination of your cruising grounds and your expectations. If you're not cruising in places that require a lot of motoring and you're ok with the limitations of either motoring very slowly or having a fairly short motoring range, then it works. As batteries improve, it'll get better. We're not at the point where it works for everything yet, but that doesn't happen overnight.

[LargeMarge]

2003, we converted a 1996 Ford CF8000 commercial truck to our concept of an ExpeditionVehicle.
.
We cook with induction hot-plates.
Our reasons:
* we can use one or more.
* with an extension-cord, we can move one to the porch
* we can move a couple-three to the picnic-table
* we have redundancy.
.
We are outside most of our day.
Based on our experience, we prefer pot-latches outside with our caravan chums.
Cooking inside seems... quarantine-ish.

[molly1]

Just adding my 5c worth.
I have a 2 plate induction cooktop and sit it on top of my gas stove. I havn't needed to refill the gas bottle in 2 years. To power the induction cooktop and the small electric oven I have 720amps of batteries ( 6 x 120amp AGM) and 2 x380watt solar panels. Also a wind generator. I barely ever run the generator and the motor does it's bit when motoring.
The induction cooktop is great. No excess heat or fear of a gas leak and much much quicker. My only issue is finding a cooktop that fits in the existing space that the gas unit occupies.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Jammer

1. Typically you can run a gas galley for two months on 20# of gas with no dependence on shore power or impact on generator usage, number of solar panels needed, etc.
2. Some cooks can't stand electric ranges.

Correction to #2: "Cooks can't stand electric ranges"...and yes, I've used induction. It's better than resistance but still not as good as gas.

I think a lot of it comes down to the type of cooking you do. If you do short quick to cook items, electric induction is very much viable. You aren't using a lot of KWH, so capturing enough can be done reasonably.

If you do more cooking that is slow and simmering, it starts to become more of an issue. Keeping enough KWH of propane onboard for a month or two is easy.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Happ

Sailing Uma on YouTube went electric several years ago. Since they “SAIL” almost always it works well for them. Their first version they bought used a motor that was previously on a forklift. The second version was a unit with a sail drive. They are currently using one that has some regeneration of power at speed. They have crossed the Atlantic and spent quite a bit of tie in remote areas ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE! They did purchase a small portable gas generator they occasionally use since their is very little light to charge the batteries through their solar panels. They say they are very happy with their choice.

Translation...if you don't motor, electric motors work great.

Actually, if you have a dingy that doesn't plane, an electric trolling motor is a simple and reliable solution.

For the mothership if you are actually motoring, not so much.

[pmx]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I [...] have the wonderful (but very expensive) Cristel Strate cookware, which IIRC is also what you use on your boat. Great combination.

You show a very sure taste !
Pierre.

[Statistical]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Correction to #2: "Cooks can't stand electric ranges"...and yes, I've used induction. It's better than resistance but still not as good as gas.

I think a lot of it comes down to the type of cooking you do. If you do short quick to cook items, electric induction is very much viable. You aren't using a lot of KWH, so capturing enough can be done reasonably.

If you do more cooking that is slow and simmering, it starts to become more of an issue. Keeping enough KWH of propane onboard for a month or two is easy.

No some cooks is correct.

Plenty of cooks love induction including some 5 star chefs.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Translation...if you don't motor, electric motors work great.

If you're not in a schedule, electric works great.

He went away from the basement and left this note on his terminal: "I'm going to a commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time shorter than a season."

- Tracy Kidder, "Soul of a New Machine"

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Happ

Sailing Uma on YouTube went electric several years ago. Since they “SAIL” almost always it works well for them. Their first version they bought used a motor that was previously on a forklift. The second version was a unit with a sail drive. They are currently using one that has some regeneration of power at speed. They have crossed the Atlantic and spent quite a bit of tie in remote areas ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE! They did purchase a small portable gas generator they occasionally use since their is very little light to charge the batteries through their solar panels. They say they are very happy with their choice.



Dragonfly Trimarans offers induction cooking and electric propulsion as options. If you can make it work it is a great way to go.

Sailing UMA, sigh. They used shore power for virtually all of their charging during their time in Norway. Big kudos to them for deciding on all-electric and (mostly) sticking to it. They are an inspiration.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by markiobe

The issue with electric propulsion, if you're going a long way offshore, is not the propulsion but energy storage. If you want to have significant range for safety purposes then it's virtually impossible with current tech battery energy density.

The argument of "safety purposes" doesn't really make sense to me when you consider a having a slightly faster sailing boat will be even safer. How fast can you sail in 10 knots of wind? I am making 8-9 knots. Would it not be safer to have a boat that can avoid storms and reach safer harbors, or a stronger boat that can more easily weather storms instead?

There are lots of ways to make boats safer that are more economical. Further, each year numerous boats are abandoned and lost because of issues with the engine, in a sense this reliance on the engine makes the boat less safe for many.

Having a new life raft, and multiple locator beacons is likely to do far more for improved safety, yet many people put their money toward fuel and engines often leaving with outdated actual safety equipment. This argument is really about justifying the same behavior one is familiar with which brings me to...

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Correction to #2: "Cooks can't stand electric ranges"...and yes, I've used induction. It's better than resistance but still not as good as gas.

Yes, they don't like it because it's not what they are used to. Just as solar ovens have limited adoption despite considerable advantages, you can't expect to get the same results from the same behavior. It requires learning, changing and adapting which is the real reason for opposition. I doubt anyone can tell the difference by the taste of the food, it is just the technique of cooking has to be learned again.

If you do more cooking that is slow and simmering, it starts to become more of an issue. Keeping enough KWH of propane onboard for a month or two is easy.

The opposite of what you said is actually true. Electric slow-cookers are really a cheap and effective way for anyone to cook onboard using minimal power, often less than the solar panel output. I can cook a meal using 5 amps at 12 volts in 45 minutes.

Originally Posted by rslifkin

... If you're not cruising in places that require a lot of motoring a

to be clear: there is no place in the world that requires motoring. This was proven in the age of sail. A big issue with electric propulsion is most systems are < 50% efficiency (many such as oceanvolt are in the 20-30% range) from battery energy to forward thrust.

This is simply because the propellers are way too small and pushing a small volume of water fast. With this abysmal propeller efficiency the wright brothers never would have taken off. Boats like PlanetSolar manage 80% or better efficiency which is really a different level of performance and completely different experience. I managed about 50% efficiency and at 120 watts move 2 knots.

There is a reason a sculling oar has 4-5 sq ft of surface area for a 30ft size boat. If you used a canoe paddle the speed you can go is significantly slower even with more effort. It is reasonable to consider a doubling in performance (half the energy requirement) of typical electric propulsion systems when making the calculations compared to typical setup such as mentioned "sailing uma" who use a very tiny propeller.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Statistical

No some cooks is correct.

Plenty of cooks love induction including some 5 star chefs.

Are these 5 star chefs with a promotional deal with an induction cooktop company?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Jdege

If you're not in a schedule, electric works great.

Depends on your definition of "schedule" is.
- Taken to the extreme, sure. The old square riggers didn't even have an engine.
- If you want to run the ICW to see the sites along the way at a leisurely pace over 3-4 months getting south before winter sets in...not so much.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by seandepagnier

The opposite of what you said is actually true. Electric slow-cookers are really a cheap and effective way for anyone to cook onboard using minimal power, often less than the solar panel output. I can cook a meal using 5 amps at 12 volts in 45 minutes.

So 60w for 45min...ummm...if you want slightly warm uncooked food, great.

That would correspond to the warming setting. Great to keep cheese dip already heated warm in a small crock pot.

If you actually want to do a slow cooker meal, you are looking at something along the lines of 400-600w (high setting) for 2-4 hours depending on the meal. Yeah, you can build a solar system that can handle it but that's going to be a big part of the daily electrical budget.

Usually we save the slow cooker for when we are on shore power. Set it on the back deck so it doesn't heat up the cabin (unless it's cold and the it stays inside to heat up the cabin).

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Are these 5 star chefs with a promotional deal with an induction cooktop company?

Not all of them. I think it’s more common in Europe as it was adopted over there earlier than the US.

I find it depends a considerable amount on the induction unit how well it behaves compared to gas - some of them are annoyingly fiddly to adjust.

[pt49]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Is going all electric supposed to prove something? Isn't it like trying to force a square block in a round hole?

It's called going "Woke".