New Induction Cooktops

[Dan Murphy]

We recently swapped out our Dometic for a residential fridge and now we have completed the conversion to induction cooking also in our continuing effort to rid our coach of the propane tank. We don't do very much boon docking and don't see it in our future either so I plan to pick up some more space by removing the big  ole tank.
We can still overnite and use the jenny if we must do without a cord!
My friend Jack is a cabinet guy and he did all the engineering all I did was demo work! Together last Thursday we removed the old stove and installed a framework and a mounting for two new cooktops. We used 2 units and put them on separate electrical circuits so we could power both on high if ever needed.I ran a circuit from the other side of the coach that never has much of a load along with an existing circuit on the kitchen side.
Jack took measurements and made the framework at home and stained it so we were ready to install on Thurs.He does great work!
It took us about 4 hours and that job turned out beautiful and Kris really loves her new cooktops. 

[Edward Buker]

Dan,

Beautiful job and upgrade. We have not used an induction burners/cooktop and it may be nice to update us all after a time on how it is all working out. Another big advantage over propane is that you are not pumping wasted heat into the coach like the propane burners do. It is hard enough to cool these coaches when it is sunny and hot, induction should help that issue.

Later Ed

[Dan Murphy]

Ed
We had used just one induction burner on top the counter for the entire winter season while in Fl and it was great! My wife liked it so well that is why we decided to do a full install.
We also talked to several HR owners at a rally that had done the conversion and all had good reviews.
The burner we used is made by MaxBurton and it not expensive. You might try one and find out how easy they are to use. They could also be used outside for cooking also.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dan,
Good looking installation. Nice Job!  Are the induction units hard mounted or do they sit in the openings so you can move them if needed?
Steve

[Dan Murphy]

Steve,
The units sit on top the cherry mounting plate that you see my friend Jack holding up. The large holes are for ventilation and the smaller indents are for the feet of each unit so they stay secure. They can be moved and we even take one unit outside to cook sometimes.

[Dave Atherton]

Dan, that looks real good. My wife Pat bought one last year and is still in the box. We
Have the same thoughts,  use less LP gas. We even bought the stainless cookware also.
We have been waiting to hear from someone that plan on using your setup. Have you
tried using off your gen set dry camping. Everyone tell us you will do more cooking with
Less LP gas running gen set and using magnet hot plate. People tried to run off a invertor but
Bad results. Can you keep us posted now everything works out.
Dave Atherton Retired Cat Mechanic

[Joel Ashley]

I looked into these devices last year, and need to comment that you must be very careful which ones you seriously consider.  There's some junk out there, and some very good ones.  Do your research, and for heavens sake don't order any from a TV ad.

Joel

[Bill Sprague]

The one Dan used is on Amazon and gets good reviews. 

http://smile.amazon.com/Max-Burton-6400-Digital-Induction/dp/B00IVBRU58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436888762&sr=8-1&keywords=max+burton

I've considered one for a long time.  One of my intended purposes is to use it outside with a Lodge cast iron griddle instead of a BBQ.  One of these days I'll try one.

[Dan Murphy]

Update,we have used the induction burners for 6 days and here is what I've discovered;

Shore power===no problems full power to both cooktops 20amp, 30 amp, or 50amp. One may want to use caution about other circuits being used if not on full 50 amp shore power.
Generator===no problems full power to both cooktops no loss still can boil an inch of water in pan @2min
Inverter===only one burner powers on and it seems to burn the batteries up fast but could still be used for a grilled cheese sandwich i guess. I don't think we will plan on using the cooktop on the inverter unless it is an emergency. This may not fit some lifestyles but does us no harm.

One of the circuits does not power on when inverter is used but that is just as well. I wish my wife's hairdryer would adhere to this rule!

I really don't know if using the burner on the inverter which is MSW will harm it but I guess we will find that out the hard way.Like I said before they are not expensive.The burner can be easily replaced.
Time will tell if the change is a good thing.For now it appears to be an improvement over the propane.

We love the cooktops and they have made food prep more enjoyable for Kris. She readily agreed that if we have no shore power or could not use the generator she would "bite the bullet" and go out to eat! LOL

[Joel Weiss]

A very nice installation and a far more sensible one IMHO than the use of the TrueInduction 2-burner cooktop which is being installed as OEM in a number of new MHs.  That unit shares a single 20A circuit between 2 burners so neither can get full power if the other is on.  That wouldn't work at all for us.

We've been using a countertop induction burner for the entire 4+ years we've been full-timing and wouldn't be without it.  We find it is most useful when simmering sauces and other low-temperature applications even though people seem to think that boiling water is a big deal.  However, it should be noted that only the better induction burners can simmer well; some simply can't reduce their power enough to simmer without scorching.

One nice benefit of the SMC-era Beavers is that they used residential-quality gas cooktops.  Ours is a Gaggenau which is still sold and which has an MSRP >$1000; not the usual RV piece of junk by any means. We find that having a gas cooktop is quite helpful when have 30A sites.

[Joel Ashley]

Glad you mentioned True Induction.  After being made curious by an infamous TV infomercial for another brand (that you now couldn't pay me to order), and subsequently reading tons of reviews, I narrowed it down to this one awhile back, but have yet to order it:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049IEHGC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 Seems like a pretty good device for the price, and would be portable between house and coach.  They have several 2-burner units at different price points as well, but a single would suit our cooking styles just fine.

-Joel

[Joel Weiss]

The only advice I would offer about induction burners is to be sure that the device can simmer a pot properly without scorching.  There are a lot of inexpensive ones out there that function very poorly at this task because they can't control their power output precisely enough.  Quite a few, including some fairly expensive Max Burton's can't provide less than 40% of full power.

One question I would have is why would you go with a 1600 watt unit when there are 1800 watt burners available?  Regardless of how well induction burners couple their energy to the pot, the bottom line still is how much power they provide for cooking.  We have a 1500 watt unit now and when it dies I'll replace it with an 1800 watt one.  For some cooking tasks, size does matter! 

[Dan Murphy]

The only advice I would offer about induction burners is to be sure that the device can simmer a pot properly without scorching.  There are a lot of inexpensive ones out there that function very poorly at this task because they can't control their power output precisely enough.  Quite a few, including some fairly expensive Max Burton's can't provide less than 40% of full power.

One question I would have is why would you go with a 1600 watt unit when there are 1800 watt burners available?  Regardless of how well induction burners couple their energy to the pot, the bottom line still is how much power they provide for cooking.  We have a 1500 watt unit now and when it dies I'll replace it with an 1800 watt one.  For some cooking tasks, size does matter!

Joel

My DW informs me that our Max Burton is 1800 watt and does have  dedicated "simmer" and "boil" buttons that work very well. She says the simmer feature works very well.
So far we have had no problems with our induction burners.But each to their own.We are still all the same yet different!!

Dan

[Joel Weiss]

My DW informs me that our Max Burton is 1800 watt and does have  dedicated "simmer" and "boil" buttons that work very well. She says the simmer feature works very well.
So far we have had no problems with our induction burners.But each to their own.We are still all the same yet different!!

Not to quibble but even the Max Burton commercial model can't provide less than 500W when used in power mode.  It achieves its ability to simmer by running in temperature-control mode in which case it "pulses" itself on and off.  In contrast there are some induction burners that can provides as little as 10% of full power when running in power mode.  If yours works for you then that's great.  Our current burner is a Circulon which is no longer available but which does provide extremely low power at its lowest settings.

[Joel Ashley]

I suppose you may be right re. the higher wattage, but having not owned one before I was going by the many reviews, and what I'd be getting for the price.  It seemed that most owners were quite happy with the unit's performance/value. 

Given it sounds like the one I linked does relatively well, and is apparently much faster than what we're used to with electric coil or gas generally, it would come down to whether I thought the extra 200 watts was really worth whatever cost it meant - if it meant a couple minutes saved getting to a boiling point, how do I judge that in dollars.  I last researched this last year, so I need to refresh the effort, and I appreciate the observation, Joel.

-Joel A.