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Induction cooktops
#1
I have two induction cooktops. I got tired of hauling the first one back and forth where I’ve been working.
One is now $49 at IKEA and one was $39-29 at ALDI. (At ALDI they come in about once a year.)
I am going to compare them. If you buy one some day you might know more what to expect. 

With any induction cook top, you have to use a pan that a magnet will stick to the bottom. Cast iron cookware works just fine for me. It cooks faster than a microwave and the lid lifted and the pot can be stirred while cooking. It is low energy to use. Water boils very quickly. Nothing burns on the cook top ever. It wipes off if anything does spill.  Both turn off if it gets too hot for the pot, if you use the wrong kind of pot or if it has been on too long. It is easy to control the heat. If it is too hot and you turn it down the heat is instantly turned down - no waiting for a burner to cool off. 

I’ve had the IKEA induction cooktop for over a year now. I use it for everything and we put a generator in the van so it could be used traveling. I love it. The IKEA has a nice range of temp settings. It also has a warm setting which is real nice in some cooking applications. There is a timer. It can take a fair sized pan - too big and the edges don’t have any heat at all unless the pan is really warm. The controls are nearly invisible in some lighting situations.  

The ALDI induction cook top has easy to read very visible controls. It, too, has a wide range of temp settings but no warming setting. There is a timer. The burner is smaller so things on the edges might take more stirring to cook and you need smaller pans. This cook top is more compact and might fit in a rig easier. 

There are other induction cook tops out there... tell us about it. 
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
[-] The following 1 user says Thank You to Snikwahjm for this post:
  • rvpopeye (12-04-2018)
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#2
PUTTS was just talking about shopping for one Today...…….was going to look in Lake Havasu City
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
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#3
Yup, thanks for the report.


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YARC : Drunk in the Mud/Keeper of the Dingy/Ears [Image: L3000.gif]/Potluck Contributions Restricted
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#4
Costco has a nice one and it comes with a pan. I’m thinking it might be about $80.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
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#5
Does an induction cooktop work with solar, or do you need a generator?
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#6
How much solar and battery do you have?
Brian

2000 Roadtrek 200 Versatile "The Beast" (it has been tamed hopefully)  I feed it and it doesn't bite me.   Angel
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#7
I have one battery and 200 watts so I use it with a little generator.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
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#8
ANYTHING will work with battery and solar IF you have it set up to deal with it.

Kat uses a induction cooker with her system.
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#9
How much more solar and how many more batteries would I need???
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
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#10
The calculations were complex, but my guess would be twice as many panels (on a van roof that might have room for one more) and another battery, maybe two. That's part of why the inverter generator looked like an easier choice.

The induction cooker heats things up quickly, but it can run as high as 1800 watts--that can be 15 amps at 120 volts, which is no big deal in a kitchen outlet on a 20 amp circuit (unless you're running the microwave on the same circuit at the same time). But that is 150 amps at 12 volts. It might only be for a couple of minutes at a time, but still a big draw on batteries. And it will take a while for the solar to catch up the batteries. It would also require a much larger, more expensive inverter to cover that 1800 watts--about 10 times the price of the inverter we used on the solar setup we did install.

We were having to put together a system for a full-size van, including space on the roof for the exhaust fan. Somebody in a larger rig--small motorhome or camping trailer--might be able to get enough panels on the roof, and enough batteries in the bank inside, to do it with solar. In the space we had, the generator was the better choice.
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