Induction Cooking and AC on DC

[kmacdonald]

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

[kmacdonald]

It's almost as ludicrous as electric propulsion.

[Dogscout]

[more]

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?

Depend. for me boat don't need to have oven. i have gas cook but i use portable induction cook in cockpit, because less heat salon, easy to clean and less mess. but i cook all fast meal .in summer i eat pasta,spaghetti daily, a file minion and fish on wooden grill(50/50 boat beach). never cook more of 5-10 minute.
i now ordering catamaran. i don't order oven (1000€ less) gas cook coming with boat

[rslifkin]

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?

Not at all. Sometimes one solution just fits the boat better. Other times, either could be implemented easily enough and it's just preference.

In my case, I've got all electric cooking. I haven't gone as far as being able to do all of my cooking on battery power, however (don't think I could fit enough solar to do it within practical means). The boat was built from the factory with an electric stove (in the mid 80s no less). Makes sense, as it has a generator and a big enough electrical system to support the stove. My boat also has no good place for a propane locker that wouldn't either consume useful space or be in the way. So electric cooking just fits better in this case.

I can't say I've ever wished for a propane stove on the boat. Running the generator for a bit in the evening to cook dinner when away from shore power is no big deal, as that also gives the water heater power for a bit so we'll have hot water for showers before bed.


On a small boat with simple systems, propane may make more sense as it would require major electrical changes just to support cooking.

[Adelie]

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?

For some people it is to prove that it can be done to themselves or to others.

For some people it is a monetary choose, they buy a cheap boat with a broken engine and all electric is the cheap way to get going.

For others who believe in global warming it is an ethical choice to try and cause less harm.

Some do it to avoid fuel smells in the boat.

And there are folks that do if for multiple reasons.

It is not trying to force a square block in a round hole, it is choosing an unconventional solution to a need.

Does it hurt you that other people are figuring out how to make an electric galley work? Or electric propulsion?

[rslifkin]

On the electric propulsion topic, the one person I've seen do the conversion did it because of having a boat with an engine that was in need of either serious work or a repower. So he figured why not put together an electric setup and see if it can be made to work sufficiently. So far, it's worked quite well for him. Only downside is that it doesn't have as much range as a tank full of diesel so longer trips take a bit more careful planning as you can't just motorsail the whole way if the wind is light.

[alctel]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

It's almost as ludicrous as electric propulsion.

I did it on my old boat.

It actually worked fantastic, and stretched my propane use out 3 or 4 times as long.

Why do you think it wouldn't work? All you need is a (cheap) induction plate and a decent sized lithium bank (with enough charge sources to fill it back up, for reference I had 500 watts of solar)

It doesn't even use as much power as you'd think.

If it was super rough, or I was low on power I used my propane stove (cos of the potholders)

Originally Posted by Adelie

Does it hurt you that other people are figuring out how to make an electric galley work? Or electric propulsion?

If you'd ain't burnin' dinos then you ain't a real 'merican

[Statistical]

The two advantages are

1) Higher efficiency means less heat in the galley.
2) Not having to fill those damn bottles.

The second one really depends on where you are cruising. Stay in the same country and where you have access to a car and it is not a big deal. There is no international standard for LPG though so travel a lot and filling tanks can be a pain and time consuming. Both finding places to fill (often far from marinas) and the cluster frank of different fittings used around the world.

Compared to electric propulsion an electric galley is a much easier problem to solve. A pound of propane has 6.26 kWh of energy. Most people think of heat as BTU but they are both just units of energy so using kWh allows us to compared to electricity directly.

So a 20lb bottle has 125 kWh of chemical energy. Now an induction cooktop is about twice as efficient so roughly comparable to 62 kWh of electrical energy. That sounds like a lot but it depends on how often you fill the tanks. If you refill a pair of bottles every 4 months (so 60 days per bottle) that is ~1.0 kWh (1,000 Wh) per day.

If you can get 5 hours of insolation at your location at 80% efficiency that is an extra 250W solar panel. Alternatively it would mean running a 5 kW generator (and charger) an extra 8 hours a month. Obviously that is just an example. How much you need depends on how quickly you need to refill the bottles now.

I still have propane on my boat but after lithium house bank install is complete I may consider removing it.

[more]

Originally Posted by Statistical

Compared to electric propulsion an electric galley is a much easier problem to solve. A pound of propane has 6.26 kWh of energy. Most people think of heat as BTU but they are both just units of energy so using kWh allows us to compared to electricity directly.

So a 20lb bottle has 125 kWh of chemical energy. Now an induction cooktop is about twice as efficient so roughly comparable to 62 kWh of electrical energy. That sounds like a lot but it depends on how often you fill the tanks. If you refill a pair of bottles every 4 months (so 60 days per bottle) that is ~1.0 kWh (1,000 Wh) per day.
I still have propane on my boat but after lithium house bank install is complete I may consider removing it.

on europa boat we have usually camping gaz bottle 2 or 3 kg. 1 kg 12,8 kwh
i use 50-60 day 2 kg say 26 kwh because gas is only 40 % efficiency i use 10,4 kwh energy 208 wh daily. induction cooking is 80-90 efficiency i spend 260Wh daily. in summer 42 watt solar panel in winter 160W

[Adelie]

I measured efficiency of butane, induction and microwave.
Butane - 50%
Induction - 76%
Microwave - 46%

I came up with a chart to estimate daily electrical use based on how long a bottle of propane normally lasts you.

The weaknesses are that I tested butane, not propane and that I have not yet test propane oven against a convection oven. I expect the propane oven to be even less efficient compared to convection but have not yet done the testing.

[Dockhead]

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?

Depends on the boat. On a little boat with little power -- yes. On a boat with plenty of power -- not at all.


I have both gas and induction. One whole year I didn't bother to fix a bad solenoid in my gas system and was perfectly happy with induction alone.


But we have a 2.5kW second alternator on the main engine, and a 3kW inverter. And a 6.5kW heavy duty low speed generator.



I can cook a meal off the batteries via the inverter, but much easier is timing generator runs to coincide, or do it while motoring.


Works great. And lots of people are doing it like this.


I don't think I'll have gas at all on the next boat.

[bensolomon]

I have both cng and induction. Also use an electric water boiler on the inverter for coffee. Fitting a 330 W solar panel to cover needs, but so far alternator alone while at anchor in between plug-ins has been fine.

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Statistical

The two advantages are

1) Higher efficiency means less heat in the galley.
2) Not having to fill those damn bottles.

...

Safety is the No.1 reason. Avoiding this:

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Adelie

I measured efficiency of butane, induction and microwave.
Butane - 50%
Induction - 76%
Microwave - 46%

I came up with a chart to estimate daily electrical use based on how long a bottle of propane normally lasts you.

The weaknesses are that I tested butane, not propane and that I have not yet test propane oven against a convection oven. I expect the propane oven to be even less efficient compared to convection but have not yet done the testing.

Did your calculation for butane involve the energy to extract, refine, transport, compress the fuel? I don't see how 50% is possible. The real figure is well below 5%. Your comparison of efficiency is a good example of apples to oranges and the numbers listed are meaningless to anyone regardless of their beliefs or opinions and have no practical value.


I have a solar oven which is a lot more efficient and I use it in january with below freezing air temperature.