Induction Cooking -- Tips?

[Hunky Dory]

Induction stove tops have to use pans with iron content. The iron molecules moving at great speed in the pan create heat in the pan, the top does not heat. Cast iron works great. Look on the bottom of new pans, they will indicate if they can be used on induction. 99% of all pans do not work at all.

[Pelagic]

We have been using this Elba 4 hob induction cooktop for 4 months now and will never go back to gas except for the BBQ at the stern
http://www.elbaphilippines.com/store...45-004_IS.html

My partner loves it and the new cookware, which remains looking like new and the galley stays far cooler and cleaner when cooking.

Each hob has 9 power settings and within 2 weeks my partner had the temps dialed in for her various cooking needs.

She learned to adjust to a far shorter heat up period than with gas and seems to have found the right rhythm for temperature control.

This size was a drop in replacement for the gas which kept my options open and while 3 hobs is the most she uses at one time, the extra flat space is useful for nonconductive utensils .

I think the key is getting the best induction ready cookware you can justify and getting used to fine adjustments on power when doing delicate cooking.

I am generally a clutz when cooking, but now make the best scrambled eggs ever, with wash up a breeze.

[Montanan]

What are the benefits of Induction cooking?

How does Induction work?
Induction cooking uses the changing transfer of magnetic energy, rather than a flame or electric element to create a quick, efficient way of cooking. Water boils much more quickly, temperature is controlled easily, and pots stay mostly cool while cooking.

Conserves energy: Induction cooking uses 90% of the energy produced compared to only 55% for a gas burner and 65% for traditional electric ranges. Induction cooking provides an extremely fast boil, 50% faster than gas or electric. Induction heat is more powerful, and heats hotter and faster than gas or electric. A different comparison: (A typical induction cooktop is 84 percent efficient, while a gas range is only 40 percent efficient, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.)

Safe: The cooking surface stays cool even during the cooking cycle. Induction cooktops are extremely safe because there's no open flame or exposed heating element as compared to gas or electric.

Easy to clean: The surface of an induction cooktop does not heat, therefore overflows and spills do not stick.

What cookware is compatible with Induction cooktops?

Not all pieces of cookware can be used on induction cooktops and stoves. Since induction technology uses the power of magnetism, the cookware piece itself must be magnetic and have a flat bottom, that is to say made of iron or steel. For this reason, cookware made from aluminum, copper or glass, including Pyrex will not work on its own.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by GRIT

A little off topic...

I'm planning to go induction on our new build. Could one of you two fine gentlemen tell me if there is any interference with the autopilot compass, VHF, or SSB, whilst using induction?

Thanks.
Paul.

I'm not sure what the RFI might be, likely depends on many issues as to the nature of the item onto which the induction is occurring, very specific to the pan or pot.

I found this warning on an induction cooker manual:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: RADIO INTERFERENCE This unit has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to Part 18 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.This unit generates, uses and can radiate radiofrequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this unit does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the unit off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the radio and/or television receiving antennae.
• Increase the distance between the cooktop unit and radio or television receiver.
• Connect the cooktop unit into an outlet or a circuit different from that to which the radio or television receiver is connected.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by GRIT

A little off topic...

I'm planning to go induction on our new build. Could one of you two fine gentlemen tell me if there is any interference with the autopilot compass, VHF, or SSB, whilst using induction?

Thanks.
Paul.

Panasonic states this warning regarding their induction cooktops.

Safety Precautions To Follow When Using the Induction Cooktop. - KY-R647EL


Note:

This appliance emits magnetic lines of force. Keep away anything affected by magnetism:

Radios, TVs, hearing aids, etc. may be susceptible to noise interference.

The records of cassette tapes, automatic turnstile tickets or bankcards etc. may be erased or damaged.

Electro magnetic wave generated by the induction products such as induction rice cooker or portable induction cooktop may damage the Induction Hob.

[CarlF]

While the numbers on the stove seem to have no rational - they are repeatable.

I have found the only workable solution is to develop a chart of a successful setting for each cooking task - by trial and error. 7.5 - fried eggs, 3.5 - stew pot simmer. It's frustrating at first but it sure beats trying to judge the flame height on a propane burner.

The other great advantage of the induction stove over my old boat propane stove is that it can boil a big pot of water vigorously enough to make proper pasta.

[rsn48]

It was stated above that RV's have gone to induction cooking which is partially true, but if you are boon docking then either you have to use your generator while cooking, or at some point to replenish batteries.

The more you are on the hook rather than moored and don't like the sound and smell of generators, then using fuel cell technology and or solar power can help out, depending on how much induction cooking is done in a day.

I have Efoy but when on the hook, I will be using the propane stove, oven and barbecue. When moored, I'll use the induction plate and a small convection oven and maybe barbecue.

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by rha9

I have used induction for years at home and it is great, far superior to gas. Never thought about converting on the boat. Curious what kind of electrical set up you have (gener
ator, inverter) and what model cooktop and oven you have installed. My home induction setup uses 240V so that would be a problem I think.

following

[Paul L]

So how much power do these induction units use in practice. Say a 30 min cooking session with a pot and a frying pan. I assume a 2,000 watt unit would maybe run at 50% duty cycle??? 2,000w x .5 ÷ 12.5v x .5 hr = 40amp hrs. Is this close to actual use?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CarlF

While the numbers on the stove seem to have no rational - they are repeatable.

I have found the only workable solution is to develop a chart of a successful setting for each cooking task - by trial and error. 7.5 - fried eggs, 3.5 - stew pot simmer. It's frustrating at first but it sure beats trying to judge the flame height on a propane burner.

The other great advantage of the induction stove over my old boat propane stove is that it can boil a big pot of water vigorously enough to make proper pasta.

OK, so you have the same issue?



If the temperatures numbers simply do not correspond to degrees C, and are repeatable (as they seem also to me to be), then it's no problem -- I'll just get used to it. I'll start calling them degrees N (degrees Nuwave).


I agree with you about the boiling, and altogether about the way the device concentrates way more heat than a gas stove can produce, when needed. It's great to be able to get a pan searing hot in a few seconds, boil a big pot of water, almost instantly change the temperature in the pan, etc etc etc. I haven't completely gotten the hang of it yet, but feel this is a great leap forward. I think I'll be wanting to cook like this in my land houses, too.

[CatNewBee]

I have installed a 4 burner variable surface induction hob on our Lagoon last year, operated on lithium batteries, victron 5kVA inverter and solar. Works great, we like it. (see thred in the signature below for details).

We do not have a temp setting, it is obvious that it cannot be precise, because there is no sensor inside of the pot or pan, the temperature inside depends on many factors, like using a lid or not, the content inside, the material and thickness of the bottom etc., but it has lot of protection sensors and recognizes sizes and locations of the pots and pans.

It has over-heat protection, that turns off the area if a pan has nothing inside and starts to overheat, it recognizes, when a pott over-boils and spills contents on the hob, so it shuts off, it has a separate timer per area, you can adjust the areas in over 10 steps, there is a turbo mode for quick boiling, it can limit the total energy draft by settings and it can show the kWh used for the last cooking session when turned off. You can combine pair-wise 2 fields to one single area too.

Using the timers you can perfectly operate the hob unattended, while doing other work.

[saghost]

Originally Posted by Paul L

So how much power do these induction units use in practice. Say a 30 min cooking session with a pot and a frying pan. I assume a 2,000 watt unit would maybe run at 50% duty cycle??? 2,000w x .5 ÷ 12.5v x .5 hr = 40amp hrs. Is this close to actual use?

I don't have numbers for you, and obviously it'll depend on exactly what you're cooking. Having said that, I think your estimate is high, likely by quite a bit.

Think about it this way: how long would you run the microwave at full power to cook your food?

Most microwaves are around a kilowatt, and induction is more efficient at delivering the energy to the food (in most cases - you do have to heat the pan as well, which the microwave doesn't, but the heat delivered to the pan part is more efficient.)

[mako]

I like induction too but you need redundancy onboard. Anything with a computer chip onboard is going to fail eventually. Even my Sears electric stove at home failed because of the electronics.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Paul L

So how much power do these induction units use in practice. Say a 30 min cooking session with a pot and a frying pan. I assume a 2,000 watt unit would maybe run at 50% duty cycle??? 2,000w x .5 ÷ 12.5v x .5 hr = 40amp hrs. Is this close to actual use?

It would be an interesting project to measure it. Someone should do that. A Kill A Watt or something would be needed.



It's less than what you say, according to my subjective impression. My NuWave has 2000 watt, 1300 watt, and 800 watt settings. I use 2000 watts only for moments at a time, to either really sear something, or to get stuff boiling or initially heated up.


For sustained cooking, I turn it down to one of the lower settings, and my impression is that even at the lower settings, the duty cycle is less than 50%, even with large pots of food.


I cook whole dinners off battery power and the inverter, and my not all that big 450 a/h * 24v battery bank hardly notices it.


Subjectively, it seems to use like 1/3 the power that the previous ceramic hot plate used, although that doesn't seem to accord with general information about the efficiency of induction cooking. I think we would need to measure it in practical real life to know for sure.



The previous ceramic hot plate produced lots of heat in the cabin, got quite hot itself, and the whole pot and area around was hot; the induction plate stays cool and even the pot doesn't get hot. That gives at least a subjective impression of great efficiency. It would be nice to have an objective measurement.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by makobuilders

I like induction too but you need redundancy onboard. Anything with a computer chip onboard is going to fail eventually. Even my Sears electric stove at home failed because of the electronics.

Sure, but is it more likely to fail, than any one part of a gas system? Gas system failure of one kind or another is high on my list of most frequent field repairs; I started carrying a box of spares including solenoid valve.


And for a long time, I've been carrying a hot plate to use in case of gas problems, and it has always been a top most often used backup device


So, I guess a built-in induction stove is going to be much more reliable than a gas stove cum gas system, and carrying an induction hot plate like I already carry is no big deal . . .