Induction Cooking info and experience.

[s/v Jedi]

You’re not gonna make sense out of these posts, with consumption figures all over the place. I recommend to do some easy no-brainer first steps that are okay even when you decide to keep propane (do anything to get rid of it though :thumb)

Here’s the first one, a simple, portable 110V induction cooktop… but high quality:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FLR0ET8

Next, if you cook/steam rice/oatmeal/veggies etc:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0849SDZX7

These two are highly rated, winners in the American Test Kitchen and don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Also, you mention baking bread. We bake all our own bread, both loafs and rolls. If you bake bread often then it is recommended to use a horizontal pan with two kneading pedals. We use a Zojirushi but it’s hard to get and expensive, but a search on Amazon will show many options at just over $100

All of these are very energy efficient. You will hardly notice the rice cooker and bread maker. The induction cooktop depends on what you do like others explain. I recommend a water kettle for it as well (need induction compatible).

Even if the induction takes too much from your batteries, you will still use it occasionally when you have shore power or it is a day too hot for propane in the cabin.

We used these appliances for 10 years on lead acid batteries before switching to LFP.

[rgleason]

Thank you for all of your responses. They have provided me with a path forward. I think some experiments with the items s/v jedi suggested is in order. It will give me the information needed and your responses indicate that this is a reasonable thing to consider.

What I"ve been thinking was to remove the gimbled propane stove, and replace it with 300-600ah of lfp + + bms+ inverter + wiring and a gimbled (1)induction burner and (1)cookpot.

This change might give us enough space and a good location for lfp and electric gear located in the protected cabin.

We do not have room for a lot of solar. About 300w is the max. I have modified a delco remy si28 bus 160a alt to be externally regulated down to about 100a with serpentine belt.

I have made a diagram for wiring this and s/v jedi has made suggestions to improve it, but the cost of the full lfp system is still quite high and the added inverter will drive this higher.

One consideration would be if the inverter will fit below the induction plate.

Also, currently my wife uses the stove part as storage and we hardly ever bake on the boat.

Another thing I considered was one of those Wallas diesel stoves that doubles as a cabin heater. Then the lfp setup below. We only have 18 gal diesel tank.

It would be nice to get rid of the 2 rusty 5gal propane tanks and hoses and safety gear, but I'd have to replace the propane cabin heater with a similar diesel, used spring and fall.

[GILow]

Next big question is 12 vs 24 volts. Induction cooking gets a bit easier at 24 volts.

[s/v Jedi]

With just one of these you can do it all… but remember you have to charge it before you can drain it with an inverter:

https://www.litime.com/products/liti...00a-bms-5120wh

They have equivalent in 12V. Good father’s day deal at the moment.

[Bobby Lex]

I use my portable induction cooker whenever I’m hooked up to shore power. It heats up and cooks so fast! Love it. I use propane while underway or whenever I am off grid.

One thing to consider is that you cannot safely use the induction cooker while underway. The surface is nearly frictionless. Your pot will slide off in an instant. Especially if the smallest amount of water gets on the burner. Then the pot will slide like it is on ice.

Bob

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Bobby Lex

One thing to consider is that you cannot safely use the induction cooker while underway. The surface is nearly frictionless. Your pot will slide off in an instant. Especially if the smallest amount of water gets on the burner. Then the pot will slide like it is on ice.

Bob

Just get a silicone mat to place between the burner and pan to stop the slipping. It doesn't effect the heating of the pan.

[Bobby Lex]

Originally Posted by Matt Johnson

Just get a silicone mat to place between the burner and pan to stop the slipping. It doesn't effect the heating of the pan.

I didn’t realize that. I thought the surfaces (burner + pot) were supposed to be in contact.

Thanks for the tip.

Bob

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Matt Johnson

Just get a silicone mat to place between the burner and pan to stop the slipping. It doesn't effect the heating of the pan.

Yes, or mount the hob in gimbals as you would with a gas hob.

[Statistical]

Originally Posted by Bobby Lex

I didn’t realize that. I thought the surfaces (burner + pot) were supposed to be in contact.

Thanks for the tip.

Bob

Wireless cooking.

The induction cooktop creates a rapidly alternating magnetic field about a quart of an inch above the surface. So it actually heats the pot/pan bottom from the inside of the metal.

Silicon mats work great. Also protect the cooktop from rough cast iron cookware.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Is there a way to bake bread for example?

Yes, plus roast duck and cakes using a remoska, brilliant appliance cooks at 180c which is the ideal temperature for many baking recipes.

Your biggest problem is firstly space for appliances in the galley and secondly for batteries and solar etc. At 31ft we have the same issues. Here is our solution. Induction 2 x 800w hobs, although there are supporters of two singles. Remoska 580w for baking and roasting including fish. These two together are an excellent combination. Add a small plastic electric kettle and toaster,1000w each and Breville Panini 750w. Finally 110w 1.5L slow cooker.

The figures below are based on a recent 10 day cruise using 600w of solar. So perhaps 1 - 1.5kWh of power used for cooking and tea plus some water heating via the kettle when the calorifier ran cold. The remaining output from 600w solar used for running the rest of the yacht. We manage with a 2kW pure sine wave inverter quite happily.

The secret? use small efficient devices like a small kettle so you don't boil too much water. Use pan lids to keep the heat and water vapour in the pan, thereby using less electric from a smaller panel array.

Potatoes boiling at 400w not the full 1500w rating for the single hob helped by using the pan lid.

Steak seared at 800w and then reduced to 600w.

Bass nearly ready for 20 minutes in the Remoska.

[rslifkin]

For things like coffee, separate appliances may be more efficient. I've measured our single cup coffee maker as using approximately 50 wh (0.05 kwh) to produce a 16 ounce cup of coffee (power draw is ~420w for a few minutes). I'd call that fairly efficient.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Some photos of systems and inductive cooking for boats when at sea might help.

Panini whilst underway to keep the hungry crew fed

Pete

[s/v Jedi]

Bread baking pictures

[Statistical]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

For things like coffee, separate appliances may be more efficient. I've measured our single cup coffee maker as using approximately 50 wh (0.05 kwh) to produce a 16 ounce cup of coffee (power draw is ~420w for a few minutes). I'd call that fairly efficient.

Yeah for boiling water the Brits have done it right with electric kettles. Incredibly high efficiency. First in that they have very high output so they boil fast which reduces losses and then it is boiling the water in a highly insulated container which reduces losses.

120V electric kettles are usually limited to around 1500W which means my dream galley would have a 240V outlet for higher power electric kettle.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Statistical

Yeah for boiling water the Brits have done it right with electric kettles. Incredibly high efficiency. First in that they have very high output so they boil fast which reduces losses and then it is boiling the water in a highly insulated container which reduces losses.

120V electric kettles are usually limited to around 1500W which means my dream galley would have a 240V outlet for higher power electric kettle.

Our experiments showed a water kettle on induction cooktop to be faster. Even if a bit less efficient, removing an entire appliance is worth it and we did away with the electric kettle.

We also have a 240V 3kW induction plate and here it becomes scary fast.