Well done! I have been using induction cooktops for a few months now and love them. The biggest adv is no reliance on gas, space, no flames in canopy, and a timer. Safe as!
I get so tired to clickbait titles. The title said this was about induction cooking and house sustainable it was for some reason. But now it is about three other types of cooking also which we already know about. Coleman stoves or anything that has a flame outdoors becomes a disaster it's a wind is blowing because it is non-stop trouble. I just hate having my time wasted when I thought the video was going to be something else. 👀
Great and complete review. We've been using induction in the house for over 11 years and would not go with anything else. I recommend using culinary parchment paper over the cooktop to keep it absolutely clean, and that will not have any effect on performance. I was happy to see the outdoor comparison under wind conditions.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video. I agree, the induction is a great way to cook and now having the ability to use it 'off-grid' is awesome. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to give this a go. Cheers, Nathan.
The biggest advantage for me when cooking outdoors with induction is that it is not affected by wind. If it's too windy when I want to use the gas hob on the barbie, I switch to induction. ☺
I have a 13inch cast iron skillet and my biggest problem with cheap induction cooktops are the size of the actual induction coils which mostly are not the size of the white perimeter painted on the stovetop. Because they heat up so quickly and usually not over the entire pan surface, they can cause warping of your pans. You will find that everything cooks much quicker on the centre of the pan where the outer circle remains raw. That is because there is no coil under the outer part of your pan. The biggest induction coil I could find is a 9 inch one in the Breville Control Freak. That is really a nice single plate, but at $2100, it is very, very expensive. The only other solution is stainless steel pans which has a aluminium core for heat conduction, which will cause a more even cook for things like steak and bacon. I would love your thoughts on my comments, as you might have a solution I have not found yet. Ps, your home stovetop would have the same issue with pans, unless you use stainless steel ones. Which brand failed you twice? I would be curious to know.
Oh my, I can do this! I'm building out my van and had already planned on a 3000watt inverter tied to 300ah of Lithium giving me 3600 watts of available power. Couple of induction cooktops like those and I'm set! Thanks Mate!
I found that using a bbq mat that you use on public bbqs to cook food on , I put it on the induction cook top and it saves any scratches to the glass top of the induction cook top and helps to keep the induction cook top clean and protects them as well. I like the induction cook tops during high fire risk times of the year when camping.They are handy when staying in a powered camp site, and give you options when out bush as well.
I'm running a 280ah litium cell with a 3000w inverter with the twin plate Westinghouse induction, works great ! Can also run a sandwich press, coffee machine, air frier etc. Charging is managed via a 30/60amp DC DC charger, 30 in idle and 60 at speed above 60ks an hour. A typical 2 X pot cook up runs about 40-50amps, spag bowl for example, single cookup, bacon and eggs about 25 amps, hardly use my solar, as I get higher rate of charge driving, and I do more traversing then base camping. However can get 2-3 days being sensible without charge. However can also run the car for an hour or go for a drive for a couple hours. I love it. Built my own battery using prismatic cells. Lost power at home for a week due to storms and I just wanna lead from the car inside, kept my lamps, tv and fridge running the whole time, ran the car at idle for about an hour a day, however was gas cooking during that time as I had it. It's a 10+ year investment. I still carry a butane cooker as an emergency. I was running 2 X 100ah AGM, so by doing this I now have 250ah usable as oppose to 100 and also shed about 35kg of weight. Well worth the time and effort to investigate.
Awesome mate, that sounds like a great setup you have there. Those results would be somewhat similar to the results I got during my testing. Like you said the solar and charging setup would be heavily based on each individual style of driving/camping and time doing each. I agree with Lithium being an investment, it's just a large amount of 💰 upfront for most... can be hard to justify to those who only camp a few times a year. Cheers, Nathan.
Great video, one thing missed which is one of my biggest reasons for going to induction cooking is the ability to cook anywhere anytime regardless of fire bans. Never having an issue of if you can stop and cook is a huge factor. definitely good to see your tests in a real world situation outside to see the difference with open air.
We have used the ruclips.net/user/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
I am surprised that some people still take generators out to the bush to enjoy the serenity. They really are unnecessary now, and every one else hates them. You may as well be playing death metal, or doof doof music. My 240AH LFP + dcdc charge controller + inverter costs approx $1k AUD now. Some price as your genny, but without the noise.
I love my little induction cooktop. I like it for easy cleanup. I just keep a spray bottle of distilled vinegar and spray it lightly after each use. It also heats up extremely fast. I use it at home. I do have 400 watts of solar with two lithium batteries on my 24' Ho-Lo trailer. I want to get the Bluetti solar generator. You are definitely on to something here.
For sure mate, they are great units and provide so many benefits over tranditional gas, albeit with a few con's too. The Bluetti unit has been great so far to power these units no problems. Cheers, Nathan.
We’ve been using a Duxtop 8100 for a few years. It can cook by watts or by temperature. We rarely use it on high, usually on watts and it cycles up to 660 watts and immediately drops as read on our Bluetti EB70. We are currently upgrading our power system but we traveled 100 days across the United States with two 400 watt systems with 200 usable amp hours of battery storage each. One in our van and one in our cargo trailer conversion. We charged the Bluetti from the solar panels with a 2000 watt Xantrex Prowatt inverter. I frequently heat with low watts and then once it’s hot switch to temperature control. We use it for 75% of our cooking and we use a gas grill for the rest. For really high heat we use a single burner Coleman stove. After our system upgrade to 600 Ah of EnduroPower Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and 1200 watts of solar we won’t need the propane anymore. Good job on your video. Very thorough.
I had no idea about induction cooking. The only reason why I'm looking into it right now is because I purchased a battery electric vehicle. So literally all of your negatives as to why not to get induction cooking is negated because I have a Ford Lightning with the big battery pack. Thank you so much for this video! This is a huge bonus for those of us that are going to overland in our electric vehicles.
I'm a fan. My wife and I are building a skoolie. We didn't want a dedicated stove taking up counter space. I thought about these induction units, and you just convinced us. Great comparison and review. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Outstanding!!!
Awesome, great to hear. We are trying to setup something up to use induction in our up coming van too, but great to hear that you are using this long term without issues. Cheers, Nathan.
I am planning to use induction cooktop with blue etti for my trip around Australia. I tried it once so far and it works just fine, I am planning to stay at one place for 3-4 days minimum so that I can charge from solar while I am cooking. Great video!
Awesome, I reckon it will work well for your application. Just think about a backup plan if you do happen to come across poor weather from time to time. It does require some decent solar to recharge. Cheers, Nathan.
The one thing people forget to mention in regards to propane is that it should never, ever be placed in a closed vehicle. Interior temps in a closed truck can get very high, and what can happen is the over pressure valve starts releasing propane inside your closed truck. No bueno. Lithium batts have their temperature issues as well, but I would prefer them over propane any day. That said, we actually have both on our truck but the propane tank is mounted externally.
Another tip. To just boil water, a $35 collapsible kettle works amazing. 900 watts power draw. Easier to get out and use than induction and a pot, for a quick roadside boil. I boiled water in a saucepan until I upgraded after seeing someone else do it. Got mine from Snowies.
Definitely and personally I don't use the induction cooktop for a roadside coffee/tea stop. I still and always will carry my JetBoil for this. The JetBoil is super quick and easy to use and boils that water in no time and uses very little gas.
It’s not just cooling down the water , why ? It’s cool to pack and put away and no gas leaks, try microwave and no Saipan washing up if soup or milk is used in the cup. Try eGO for a chainsaw you can put away cold with no spill or leak
Nathan, I am really enjoying working my way through your reviews, for some reason you seem to answer all my questions. This is fast becoming my favourite channel 👍 I am really looking forward to 2022, a new Landcruiser 78 series & subsequent fit out. I had been agonising over what to do regarding cooking as I don’t want to carry gas inside the Troopy & don’t like hanging bottles off the vehicle either. You also made me think about throwing my bluetti into my Troopy as a backup to the in vehicle Lithium system, I won’t always do that but at least I have the option. At the end of the day, some part of my meal nearly always gets cooked over the camp fire anyway, so the induction might just become an easy was to cook the sides or extras.
Awesome mate, I’m glad to hear that your enjoying the channel 👍 I try to research my topics in an attempt to answer as we questions people may have on a particular area. For sure, the Bluetti systems are great and work very well and would be an awesome backup system if required. And I also agree, this won’t replace open fire cooking, but it sure compliments it well and works perfectly for our family setup 👍
As a 200 owner have valued your content, just upgraded my setup to 200ah DCS battery in the rear deleting both front battery’s installed a safari twin burner induction cooktop with a Victron battery protect will disconnect all accessories at 20% for vehicle startup (have a jump start pack just in case tech fails) had a driveway test cooking dinner and breakfast used 50% battery. COVID restitution finish next week 1/11/21 so us sydney folks can get back out on the tracks again, won’t to see how long to recharge from 50-70% battery use as this setup charges direct from alternator
Awesome, sounds like you have an awesome system there. Upgrading my vehicle batteries to lithium might be something I look into I the future as well, there are so many benefits to this. Glad to hear you guys are finally free again, all the best with the testing and your adventures on the tracks! Cheers, Nathan.
Do you have the dcs twin in the front or a dcs 200ah in the rear. Just wondering as if the rear are you just running cable to the front for the engine/alternator?
I bought a pair of single burner induction burners a few years ago and mine have digital temperature settings that you can use to choose which temperature you want the pan to heat up to and the unit will cycle on and off automatically to maintain that temperature. I haven’t used them for camping yet, but plan to in the near future. I have a pair of Anker 2048 watt hour power stations and 1000 watts of solar panels to keep them both charged up, so I think that I’ll be okay with my electrical setup.
Great video again. For me the cost alone rules it out as you’re looking at approx $3k to get started. That is a helluva lot of gas bottles etc not to mention that when I’m camping I’m not rushing, so boiling times etc become irrelevant. As with everything though, each to their own 👍
For sure, lithium has still got a fair way before it becomes a common item in our setups. Saying this though, using a unit like the Bluetti provides many more benefits than just induction cooking. So those who are looking for a portable dual battery type setup, the little extra could be worth it. Cheers
The investment in lithium batteries isn't just for induction cooking though. It's generally also to power your fridge/s, led lights, drone batteries and all that other stuff too. Lithiums, if used right, should also last over 10 years vs other battery technologies where you get around 2 - 3 years life out of them more often than not. It is a shame the investment up front is as high as it is even though it has come down over the last few years.
@@seansmart2981 This is true and the same thing apply's to the portable Bluetti system. It's not just a system for high powered appliances like induction cooking. It can power almost anything AC powered, along with all the small power draws from regular portable devices and camping equipment.
@@seansmart2981 I agree with you, with the exception of the 2-3 years for other battery types. My last AGM in my 79 lasted 8 years & I only swapped it out as I was heading remote remote & figured it was due to expire. What I did though is researched different types of AGM’s & actually wired it up to my Redarc BCDC as a lead acid as the battery specified a slightly higher Absorption voltage than other AGM’s I’d seen. So not all AGM’s are created equal. It ran every day 24/7/365 for 8 years with my Engel & other gear constantly drawing off it. After I pulled it out of my truck I gave it to a friend who killed it fast due to a poor charging regime. At the end of the day, power & water, they dictate ur levels of comfort, so I agree, a good lithium system will transform any set up & the financial pain will be forgotten when ur the dude in the outback powering everything with ease & then some. 👍
I put my cost at around $1k for the big solar panel, the Renology 50 Ah MPPT, 200Ah lithium battery. The 4000w inverter was another $150 but it may be insufficient for water heating so I may need a bigger one, plus another $600 200Ah lithium battery.
I find the induction way better because it works really well when it's windy. & it's much faster & cheaper to run in the long term. It's good for cooking in the van, without the risk of CO2, or CO poisoning.
For sure mate, I agree with you. There are soo many benefits long term and the fact that your power source provides benefits past just the induction cooking, it can do so much more.
I have a quartz single burner and a three burner lp stove oven in my camper. It looks good, stowes easy and makes water for tea in 4 min and change. I can get a new inbox induction for $25 on the Trader site, but I’m gonna wait
I’ve used induction as my primary home cooking system for quite a few years now, with a pair of gas burners for power outages… which are frequent here. In addition, I use an Emerill Legasse brand “instant pot” which has a sous vide function I often use, and an air fryer top. The “EG” has largely replaced microwave for fast heating, functions as a toaster, and does steaks and chops using the air fry top. These two items could easily do virtually all my cooking….. But I’m single. I once did all my cooking in an electric skillet for several years, and could of course do the same with induction. You could easily use a Dutch oven on one. I’ve used it for brewing beer, and related processes we can’t talk about. For about $10 us, you can buy a disk that will allow you to heat ANY pot.
Hey mate, thanks for sharing your experience and I'm glad to hear that induction cooking has been working out in the long term situation. I too use induction at home and loving the versatility and efficiency of the system. Cheers, Nathan.
Excellent review and I agree with your conclusions. I could live with a single induction plate and you don't need 2000wh of storage to support a 2000w plate, you just need the power unit to support 2000w output for the duration of cooking - 15 mins at 2000w means 500wh so a 1000wh battery could be enough. In a RV I suspect a small microwave (600w ?) would be better than a second induction plate, especially for hot drinks. Thanks
For sure, you definitely don't need 2000wh of storage, it would just depend on how you plan on using the setup and your access to power to replenish the usage. Yes, a small microwave would definitely be handy, however as you could imagine, not suitable for me in the back of a touring wagon, hence why I didn't include one in the test. Cheers, Nathan.
A very informative and detailed review. I've been thinking about moving to induction cooking on my boat, and this video with the demos and test comparisons you showed has been very helpful in thinking through some of the issues i'll need to consider. thanks :)
And such a good point about wind! I remember days when it was very windy that it was taking me ages to just cook a meal, induction just don't care about wind.
You can try Instant Pot pressure cooker for efficient cooking, simmering and steaming with electricity. They have also air fryer covers, so baking and roasting is an option too. I am testing off-grid lifestyle and considering electric kettle, induction single hob, contact grill to replace my old sandwicher, pressure cooker with air fryer cover and my old blender. In the future I might expand, food processor would be nice. I have 2.3 kW of solar and ac200max with 2x b300 extensions, so full stack, and it is more than doable. For winter a good backup power generator might be useful, depending on location.
Cooking with the towel over the hob bleeew my mind. I’ve had a standard solar set up with fridge, panels, agm and gas cooker in my 4wd for 15 yrs, it’s cheap simple, very very reliable and you’re not relying on electricity and electronics to do everything, especially in the outback, but I’ve been binge watching videos on panels, lithium, induction and inverters and I’m warming up to it very quickly and will fit out my new off road camper with this system, but I’ll keep old system in the fourbee until I’m happy with reliability, then upgrade it. Top review and comparison and I’ll probably go with two single hobs as well, might need more research on twin hobs..
Awesome mate. Yeah I hear your concerns and rightly so. You don't want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a broken inverter or something silly like that. Saying that, the advancements that technology has made is mind blowing and awesome! All the best with your off road camper 👍
Just watched the video. Thank you. Yesterday I ordered my first induction hotplate. After doing some hours of research I opted for the single-burner am z chef, in part because of good reviews, and in part because of the compact thinness. We'll see how she does. I noticed that most people's experiences are that these induction devices typically don't last very long. There are a few exceptions, but they are exceptions. Usually people end up replacing them within a little over a year, on average. One reviewer had tried various models, replacing one after another over a six year period. At that point he went back to an old-style, more reliable electric stovetop. Some induction units offer temperature control down to five-degree increments. Others are ten, twenty, or forty degrees. Some offer power settings down to 200 or 300 watts, and mention compatibility with lower-wattage power stations, like the Jackery Explorer 300. I don't know how quickly those can boil water, though, at the low-wattage settings.
No problems, glad you enjoyed the video. You bring up some good points here and I guess this is some of the unknowns when it comes to using this technology in this industry. It's still relatively new and determining whether it will work with off-grid setups and vehicle travel is something that is still being investigated. I'll be travelling full time soon with induction cooking and hopefully I'll be able to do a follow up coming in the future regarding it's long term suitability 👍
I own 3 different types of induction cooker and have been using these on the bench continously for a yr now. Tips: Dont be at all concerned with temp control Do by a cooker with a low minimum power for simmer, eg the Ikea has a minimum 100w, some are 200w which is too much for simmer. Dont buy a cooker that a has long period beween power pulses. Eg, the Westing house hasa boom bust simmer, were the simmer dies in the off priod, then the power pulse boils it over. Once again, the Ikea unit has short cycle times and your simmer is much more consistant. Do buy heavy base induction cookware, eg the pots and pans at Ikea are relatively cheap, and very well made. The heavy base gives much more consistant results.
I've been doing this also i love it got tired of dealing with gas. I just wish they will build some that run off dc voltage so you don't need and inverter
I got a portable induction top while replacing the kitchen at home and am a real convert. I now use one in the house and have one for the van I am building admittedly I am in the UK where solar isn't good especially if carrying kayaks too, but I do tend to use sites with hook ups and carry a small back up slimline stove with the aerosol style gas cylinder. One thing you didn't mention was that simmering is easier in a breeze with induction. I often can't keep the side sliding door open with gas especially if trying to simmer. Correction you mentioned it right at the end.
For sure, I hear you. We also use induction at home and it's definitely a good thing. There are so many benefits, however it's just that power management that has to be considered when setting up a system for portable and RV type use. I'm glad to hear that you have got a system working well for you, albeit with a alternative back up (as I do). Cheers, Nathan.
The other option that wasn't discussed is using a small portable generator, either for the twenty minutes that you're cooking, or as emergency backup for charging the bluetti. Mine cost me $600 and pushes 3000w continuous or 3500w surge, which could have both hotplates running simultaneously while charging your bluetti at the same time. Personally I hate generators while camping, but the option is there.
Great reporting. One of the best I've seen and I've seen MANY. What I'm about to write is not meant in any way to criticize or dispute anything that you've presented here. This was a very high quality production, but although I don't make videos, I am a geek that loves to experiment and I also do all the cooking in my home, so I think I may have some worthwhile things to add to all the good data that you've presented. Here goes. I have a USA version 120 volt NuWave PIC Gold cooker. It can be set for 600, 900, or 1500 watts and has about 6 preset temps as well as adjustments at 10 degree F intervals. So, not exactly like yours, but I think they work similarly. The first thing I would say is that, to get the fastest boil time you obviously need the wattage and temp set high, but in addition, you have to have a pan that covers the entire coil or coils under the glass. If I measure the wattage use of my cooker boiling water at 1500 watts/ 375 F in a pan that only contacts 5 inches of the glass, it will only be using 5 inches of the coil underneath and the measured wattage will only be 580 watts of draw from the power supply and that translates into less energy going towards heating the water. If I immediately replace that pan with a pan with a 9 inch flat bottom surface, the wattage jumps to 1500 watts and that's nearly 3 times the energy going into the water. That is important to know for two reasons. Firstly, it may mean that if I have a very under powered inverter or solar generator I may still be able to do SOME cooking if I use small diameter cookware. My cooker allows down to 4 inches and I expect that that may even draw less that the 600 watt low setting on the control panel. The other thing is that, if you boil in a 4 inch hiker's type pot on a gas burner, you will probably beat the heck out of the induction cooker with the same pot, but if you pour the same amount of water into a 9 or 10 inch pot for the induction cooker set at it's max setting, it will probably beat a gas burner using a 4 inch pot by a significant margin. All of the temperature control ( with the exception of the 1200 USD cookers) is done by sensing the temp of the glass and making some inferences about the probable temp of the contents of the cookware. What that means for a user is that the material and construction of the cookware will have a lot of influence on the sensitivity of the cooker's temp regulation. For instance, stainless steel is said to dissipate and spread its heat very quickly and efficiently, whereas cast iron retains its heat and doesn't really heat that evenly ( I know that's counter to what you usually hear about cast iron, but I've seen it proven with FLIR cameras on electric coil stoves that clearly show the coils under the pot, through the pot, after some period of time) But I digress. What that means is that a stainless pot it going to keep the glass at a temperature that is closer the the temp of the contents because it passes the energy more freely to the contents then cools down and triggers the next on cycle. These cycles will tend to come closer together and yield good close temp control. The cast iron, on the other hand, lags more in passing its stored heat energy on to the contents and therefore takes longer to cool down to a temp that lowers the cooktop to a temp that will trigger an on cycle. Basically long pulses of energy then a long wait for the next pulse. This translates into wide fluctuations in the temp of the actual contents. Less than Ideal cookware material is probably to blame for the whole "you can't control it as well as a gas burner" rumor. When you turn down the burner under a cast iron pan it takes forever before the stuff in the pan cools down and when you turn the heat back up it comes up slow. Same same! The only other thing that I'd add is that you should always pre-heat your pan if you intend to do shallow frying because the induction coils can heat the metal so abruptly that it can warp or cause its ceramic or Teflon coating to dislodge fro the underlaying metal. A minute or two at 150 F will allow all the materials, the ferrous and the non-ferrous to expand together. Lot of words, I know, but I hope I didn't waste anyone's time. You sure have a beautiful country, BTW.
Excellent video and very informative, as others have mentioned, replacing the gas bottle that would last a week of cooking with a big lithium set that lasts 1.5 meals and takes up more room when including the solar and the additional cost too makes this a non starter for most, though for a dedicated camping trailer with onboard lithium and solar having both the gas and induction would give all the benefits. Thx for all your hard work, For the 4x4 only I will stick with the gas and for the trailer will add the induction.
Well... it is not recommended to carry a gas bottle inside a vehicle. Where do you have it ? Out the back ? On your roofrack ? My 240AH lithium + dcdc charger + 2000w inverter costs about $1k now. Works great. For an entire overnight, cooking + breakfast toaster + kettle several times uses approx 80ah, or 1/4 of the battery charge. It takes less than 1hrs of driving to recharge my battery. I measured my solar blankets in full sun @ 17A, this means 5.7hrs of sun would replace that 80ah. But, I dont even take the solar, driving is enough to charge the batts.
@@nordic5490You can carry up to 9kgs inside the vehicle. So long as the cylinder is well maintained and the cylinder(s) are kept upright it won’t be a problem.
Been using induction for 3 years. As long you have power can use comping. Is best to call campgrounds in advance to see what can use. Most campgrounds do all induction and gas stoves. However most no longer allow wood fires.
I love my induction cook top inside of my house and it is just wonderful, so glad I got induction instead of a gas or electric range. But the elephant in the room or should I say campsite is that huge battery bank in your truck and the solar cells don't work in shade or cloudy days that we have in my neck of the woods. My two burner Coleman stove works off car gas that I can get any where while camping.
I am surprised that some people still take generators out to the bush to enjoy the serenity. They really are unnecessary now, and every one else hates them. You may as well be playing death metal, or doof doof music. My 240AH LFP + dcdc charge controller + inverter costs approx $1k AUD now. Some price as your genny, but without the noise.
I think going forward most people who are putting in dual batteries to run a fridge will run induction. You have just about everything you need with a 100+ Amp hour lithium battery and DC2DC charger. Just add a 1000+ watt inverter ($600) and a induction cooker $50 and you are done. Mine works great. Most people are adding the inverter anyway, as you have. You have duplicated you battery and inverter and introduced recharging power loss. But that’s because you already had the blueti. Great video.
For sure, no doubt these setups will become more and more popular as the become more affordable. I agree, my current in vehicle system isn’t quite up to the task with only a single AGM battery and personally I’d probably want something a little more than a 1000W inverter, but it would still do ok. You’re right, having the Bluetti has given me that opportunity, but also has the added benefit of being completely portable 👍
For background, we use induction at home and in powered campsites and propane in our caravan. We also use a 100 amp lithium battery for lighting and controls in the camper. This setup is used for multi month trips in the US. The startup cost of off grid induction ($2k power station) is impractical compared to a $100 stove and $50 propane tank. I wouldn't recommend it to my friends unless they camp a lot and have excess $. If lithium prices continue to fall, we will see all electric caravans and overland setups become the new norm. In the meantime, I'll continue to use my perfectly serviceable propane appliances.
For sure and this is true, everyone has their own needs and requirements and budgets. We can see that lithium technology is becoming more advance and cheaper as time goes on, so I would assume that electrical systems and things like induction cooktops are going to be the future of camping and overlanding. Cheers, Nathan.
Nice vid. The cost of induction for camping is a nonstarter for me since I paid $20 for my Coleman 425 at a thriftshop and I've still not exhausted my cooking options with it. Might be buying a travel trailer in the next year or so and can definitely see the advantage of an induction burner, especially if your at a campground with shore power since I've never been to one that meters your electric. We've already used an electric space heater so we didn't waste propane heating an RV.
I hear you! The initial costs are probably a little restrictive at the moment. Hopefully as batteries and electrical equipment improve and cost reduces, they will become more viable! Nothing wrong with propane systems. I still use my Coleman 533 Dual fuel stoves and they work a treat!
Excellent video 👏🏿👏🏿 I plan build my own campervan and was 50/50 on whether to use an induction hob or go gas. You've just made up my mind with this review to go induction. Will need a good solar and battery setup though as I live in the not so sunny 🇬🇧
Thanks mate, glad it was a helpful video! I'm finding it great at the moment and reckon it might be more of a 'standard' thing in the future, particularly as lithium and solar technology improves. Cheers, Nathan.
Very good video, thanks for posting. A good addition to the induction plate will be an Instant pot. I have a single plate induction and supported by 240 amps lithium battery bank charged by a DC to DC charger MPPT solar controller. In a cmpervan or enclosed camping set-up also the humidity that lpg brings into the space is an important factor to consider. People have to also be aware of the legal requirements of transporting gas bottles in a vehicle when making a choice of the cooking system to be used.
Yeah, they are awesome vehicles with some serious potential for re-designing the automotive market. I agree that induction will eventually become the standard. Cheers, Nathan.
Another excellent video. Each system has its pro's and cons. Another con for the induction system, will include cooking with a wok. A wok really needs a flame to spread the heat up the sides of the wok. I think the round contact surface area of a wok, is too small for efficient induction cooking.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, this is true. Again a lack of cooking skills and utilising woks meant that test didn't make it to the final video 😂 Thanks, Nathan.
You're right about the classic (and best) plain steel wok. The hob will just beep and shut down. You can buy a wok-alike with a thicker flattened base for induction but they're all alu with non-stick coating and pricey. Sadly you can't use searing temperatures or metal tools with teflon, it quickly degrades. The options are gas , camp-fire and charcoal barbie.
This isn't necessarily true. There are countertop woks that have indents so the wok fits right in. Flat-bottomed woks also exist for the case you have a flat top
Thanks for posting this. I appreciate you for doing this research. Good stuff! Sounds like induction is a smart way to go, as long as you have the power supply worked out.
great video! very exhaustive treatment of the subject. you can use an extension cord to extend the power if you have a built-in system. I can see the wisdom of having an all in one portable as well, great for power outages at home ☺️
On your first tests using the Jetboil - MSR make the Reactor and Windburner - which both use much better tech than Jetboil ( they use Radiant heat ). If you are not aware of them, then please do some research regarding them. They are NOT affected by wind at all, however Jetboil is. BTW I have 2 different Jetboil's and also both MSR Reactor and Windburner. For pure boiling water the Reactor is UNBEATABLE BY A MILE. Great video mate, and I love induction! - have Safiery dual Induction in my vehicle.
When using cast iron mine failed and also warped my fry pan. Low and slow start is required. Mine started at 1200w as default which was very annoying. This was a Kmart job and didn’t last. I no longer use induction either. I hat tempered glass to con on versus metal stove and feel more confident with that set up.
I love induction and have a commercial induction range at home, but I do go with gas out there. In the US, where I live, refilling those gas bottles is quite easy since most gas stations offer refills, so while you're gassing up anyways you can refill the LP bottles too. The second reason is power consumption: I have 500W of solar and a DC to DC charger that charges up my single 100Ah LI battery while driving. With the electric fridge and the battery powering lights etc. in my little offroad camper, I simply can't run an induction cooktop. We're often parked in one location for a few days and keeping my food cold is more important than cooking on induction. Last but not least, my camper has a gas powered heater - the areas we camp in tend to be cold at night, some quite cold and my wife just hates freezing and having condensation in the camper. So I put a Propex heater in which was designed for a VW Bus but since my camper is not even half the volume it can heat it to pretty much any temperature without condensation or much gas use. So I have a gas cylinder anyways (and it has a storage spot on the camper). So call me a convenience camper - I love going out into the woods for weeks at a time and normally we don't have to restock food for at least 10 days due to the electric fridge, but I do like my conveniences like a hot shower when parked near a water source or a cozy night when it's cold out. For that I happily bring a gas cooker - aside from me being a bit chefy and therefor sometimes cooking on 4 burners out there. Nothing better than sitting on top of a cliff with a nice glass of wine while having a good dinner and watching the sunset...
Very nice, sounds like a great setup and plenty of options there. It also sounds like you might have easier access to gas than we do here in Australia. Although plenty of places to refill, they can sometimes be a fair trek to access... Cheers, Nathan,.
Hi Nathan. A very detailed and honest review on what is becoming an increasingly hot topic. From what I have experienced, comments are being made ( both for and against ) induction cookers based on here say. Your vid is going to help clarify a lot of unknowns. Thanks for the huge effort in putting it together.
Thanks mate, I do hope this video can bring some awareness to the market and debunk some of those myths. It might not be for everybody, particularly with those high initial costs, but it might be worth looking at. Thanks again.
Induction suffers because in the main people do not understand it and realise its massive advantages, I have a single pan induction hob purchased many years ago from a budget German supermarket, I use it in our works hut everyday and it is fast and easy to use.
Yes, people don't like what they can't understand sometimes. Hopefully this video can enlighten a few people and help them to understand some of the benefits. Cheers, Nathan.
One very important pro for the induction cooktop that is worth mentioning is that it is illegal to transport propane in your vehicle,, when driving through a tunnel, in the US. Not illegal to transport an induction cooktop. :) So, if there is a tunnel between where you are and where you want to be, you'll have to either skip the propane or find a place to purchase it after you pass through the tunnel. Or just not worry about it, at all, if you have an induction cooktop.
I think it if you wanted a more efficient cooking system at home like me as I have a Frigidaire induction/convection range, why would I not want to still be cooking like that when we hit the road? Obviously, I’ve got the pots and pans I already need. Thank you for the great video.
I strongly recommend that you either: 1.) add a second alternator, because you are overloading the one you have if you are also charging the Bluetti while driving. Car alternators are designed for a relatively short period of high current loading immediately after starting the vehicle to recharge the starting battery. (a 4 minute heavy load on the alternator for the car battery recharge VS a 4 hour load from the Bluetti.) If you run a separate alternator for the Bluetti you can use a 24 volt truck alternator to take advantage of the fact that the Bluetti can handle the higher voltage input if you charge through the Solar Power charging port. and you can get twice the charging power with no increase in the current load on the extra alternator or vehicle wiring. 2) replace your existing alternator with a much more powerful one. I have seen 350 amp alternators used on RVs that charge lots of batteries for use inside the RV. 3.) find a technician who can add a power connection to the AC side of your alternator so you can run that AC into a small transformer to power your induction cooktop and completely eliminate the large power loss in the DC to AC sinewave converter; and be able cook your food while your vehicle is at idle.... With an induction cooktop the frequency of the AC power it runs off of is not as important as it might be for other equipment..
Hey mate, Yes a higher powered, slightly different designed alternator is on the cards, however I'll probably get the maximum life from this one first. I have noted that even when the vehicle is running, batteries charing and the AC inverter is on and charging the Bluetti, we are still bringing in about 15A positive. It's comforting to know that the alternator still has some capacity left in it after the heavy draw. I'll have a look at some options, but thanks for sending some ideas through, I'll definitely consider and research them. Cheers, Nathan.
I like the review, you touched on so many things that concern me about induction Cook top. I have a butan stove but now I'm going to invest now that you've educated me clear and precisely
Another thing to consider is some of us are using gas hot water systems for showers. So if the missus wants hot water and we have to carry a gas bottle, we’re cooking on gas.
I have a butane propane cooker with couple efficient low watt cooking devices like from dash. No more than 500 watts so jacket 500 is plus. I bought a organizer bag for this and a fold upmulti wood buttoning stove
I use a WALLAS XC DUO diesel cooker/heater, which is ceramic cooking, no gas onboard it uses the vehicles fuel tank, as there is no naked flame it is completely safe and the heat is dry so no condensation, they are expensive but I wouldn’t go back to gas. Oh and you can cook toast on it, They also do a diesel oven as well.
Nice, I just had a look at these units and they look great! There really are the perfect overlanding device. The fact they use the same fuel as the vehicle is a huge advantage! And you can cook toast 😉 Thanks for sharing mate.
Good video. Well thought out. I was mildly shocked at the $3700 price tag for the power unit with solar array. Not in my future. You can buy a lot of LP gas for that. :(
Thanks mate. Yes, I understand, the power station are still very expensive with emerging technology and expensive components, however you do get more than just an induction cooktop popper supply. They are very universal and power so many different things. Hopefully here price will drop over time. Cheers, Nathan.
The one thing I wish I could find is a 12v, 15 amp low power induction cooktop. 180 watts isn't much, but with an insulated pressure cooker it would be enough to build up the requisite heat before dropping it in a thermal cooker to finish. Would also work with a cast iron griddle with insulative lid. Build up the heat in the mass and then cook in phases, with the stuff that needs the most heat (say frying meats) first and the less heat demanding tasks like frying eggs or pancakes or potatoes after
Love the in depth discussion on this the only issue im seeing with this particular setup is the effeciency losses from charging the lithium battery pack from the car using inverter a direct dc charge solution would be better
Thanks mate, glad it was somewhat helpful. Yes, this is true, and there are certainly more efficient ways to provide the power for these setups. I am now running induction full time in my camper and this is powered direct from the 600ah battery bank through a 3kVA Victron inverter 👍
@@XploringOz this makes the electrical engineer In me happy ❤️ but honestly great in depth video and definitely considering upgrading to induction in my setup also worth mentioning that those cooktops do not rate modified square inverters at all. Definitely needs to be pure sine
Pretty much all inverters above 1000w are sinewave now. Btw, then Induction cooker cct converts the 50hz ac to dc first, then converts that dc to between 25 kHz and 50 kHz. Ie, the cooker does not care about the incoming wave shape, as it is rectified and smoothed first anyhow. LFP charge discharge cycle efficientcy is very high, between 97 and 99% . My 2000w inverter is rated as 97% efficient at full load, and least efficient at small loads. Use big cables, and your system efficientcy is acutally very high, eg >90%. The biggest efficientcy gain is the improved enregy transfer to the pot or pan.
Not really a question for us: They do make 12V or 24V induction hobs as well as smaller size 700W units, they are all small, light and as safe as can be. With a bit of electrical knowledge you can roll out an extension cord where mains is near and cook perfect meals in the wildest storms. It pays to have a portable leakage breaker, also handy on the hair dryer where water can be near. Maybe you should look at the many gas explosion pictures where vans get blown into pieces just because of gas. I first came across induction in a Japanese hotel room desk where instead of an inkpot one could brew green tea with induction. Some people even pay for powered camp sites to charge their mobile phones. Power boards with USB built in and breakers is a must. If I would tow then phosphate batteries of lowest gravimetric dimensions would reside in the trailer. Knowing ohms law is rather beneficial and good meters at the right place are more important than bluetooth. Even a 3 phase to single phase adaptor can come in handy at some show ground sites. A good water pump with a membrane and good carbon filtering should add to survival training together with redundant comms equipment.
Early on you go into the drawbacks of storing relatively small gas cylinders. Sixteen minutes in, you introduce the elephant in the room in terms of the lithium battery system and solar cells. While I assume you use the Bluetti for more than cooking, a large, heavy, and expensive high amp battery generator isn't optional for induction cooking. And depending on how remote I was camping, I'd likely want a reliable, simple to repair gas stove backup to the electronic system.
We really need an accountant to do cost benefit analysis of both these technologies.Using feeling isn't going to cut it.Even going to Exmouth my 9kg gas bottle refill was 45 bucks.I think the biggest drawback is the initial cost of doing induction.For us who do 4 - 6 weeks camping per year gas is a no brainer.Maybe when we retire and have a lithium pack in our caravan and travel for longer periods lithium might be the ticket.A nice table at the end on screen would have shown the huge contrast in price between the different technologies.Anyway a real fire beats both gas and induction!
For sure, the initial cost is significant with any lithium type setup. There is no doubt that gas is heaps cheaper, but saying that the advantage here is that the Bluetti system is very versatile. It can be used for so much more than just induction cooking, it would be perfect for someone looking at purchasing a portable dual battery type setup with investing thousands into a permanently mounted system. Hopefully lithium, will continue to improve and become more affordable. And definitely, fire is still king! Cheers, Nathan.
If you have the internet skills and ability to construct a solution then you don't need the "offerings" from others! I've recently acquired a very nice 200Ah lithium battery for much less than local pricing for an 100Ah. I use Renology ffor my charging, their gear seems good and reliable, significantly cheaper and well-supported.
You can use these at home as well: arbitrage power if you have time of day power contract or soak up power from your home solar panels rather than exporting back into the grid. Of course the units wouldn't last as long if you cycle them everyday.
@@johnruciak For sure, these would work in those instances. Saying that the Bluetti has a cycle rating of 3000 cycles to 80%, so it would take discharging this battery everyday for years to have a noticeable effect.
Hey, it's not required. Just an interesting option that is becoming more and more affordable as tech improves and comes down in costs... Some people can and do purchase options like this and it's great to be able to see the difference/benefits...
I've got a pretty beefy setup in my 4x4 ute with 400Ah of lithium and a 3000w inverter. I've used my portable induction cooktop a few times and I'm very impressed. However, my concern with the uptake of these though is the potential danger of electrocution and severe burns, especially with open pots of water/fluid and the slippery nature of the glass tops. So many of these cooktops are also used directly on steel tailgates. Not many people bother with the huge expense of getting an AC sparky to wire vehicles with proper AC safety circuits RCD or whatever. I think it's only a matter of time before a pot or such is knocked over maybe by kids or a dog during a camp and there's a disaster which will bring in more stringent regulations with regards to electrical fit outs in vehicles. I note that a lot of these portable induction cooktops also have an earth screw on their metal chassis.
Yeah, I see your point with the electrical side of things. The danger of hot waster etc spilling, I mean of course is possible, but some of the portable gas stoves are terrible. I think there's probably a lot more to be worried about in remote Aussie bush 😆
I believe the risk of a tipped pot boiling water is just as great with camping stoves, especially single burner stoves, since pots of water are top heavy on camp stoves.
Funny, I was watching this because I am looking at the Westinghouse induction cooktop and then you bring out the bluetti. To top it off you charge it with a 1000w inverter while driving. Lol, I just brought a bluetti ac200max (with xtra batt) and a 2000w inverter (1400w mac charge on the bluetti) to do the same thing you thought of two years ago. Maybe I should watch a more recent video for more ideas😂
I own 3 different types of induction cooker and have been using these on the bench continously for a yr now. Tips: Dont be at all concerned with temp control Do by a cooker with a low minimum power for simmer, eg the Ikea has a minimum 100w, some are 200w which is too much for simmer. Dont buy a cooker that a has long period beween power pulses. Eg, the Westing house hasa boom bust simmer, were the simmer dies in the off priod, then the power pulse boils it over. Once again, the Ikea unit has short cycle times and your simmer is much more consistant. Do buy heavy base induction cookware, eg the pots and pans at Ikea are relatively cheap, and very well made. The heavy base gives much more consistant results.
You can get Instant Pot pressure cooker for efficient cooking and simmering and steaming with electricity. They have also air fryer covers, so baking and roasting is an option too.
When there is fire restrictions in National parks you can still use electric! Great review!
Absolutely, another great advantage to induction cooking 👍
Well done! I have been using induction cooktops for a few months now and love them. The biggest adv is no reliance on gas, space, no flames in canopy, and a timer. Safe as!
For sure, agree with you there mate. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Cheers, Nathan.
But reliance on inverter and battery. Pros & cons…
@@XploringOz 6iz5
I get so tired to clickbait titles. The title said this was about induction cooking and house sustainable it was for some reason. But now it is about three other types of cooking also which we already know about. Coleman stoves or anything that has a flame outdoors becomes a disaster it's a wind is blowing because it is non-stop trouble. I just hate having my time wasted when I thought the video was going to be something else. 👀
@@williamscoggin1509 then you wasted even more time typing this comment, and will probably waste even more time reading/replying to mine!
Great and complete review. We've been using induction in the house for over 11 years and would not go with anything else. I recommend using culinary parchment paper over the cooktop to keep it absolutely clean, and that will not have any effect on performance.
I was happy to see the outdoor comparison under wind conditions.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video.
I agree, the induction is a great way to cook and now having the ability to use it 'off-grid' is awesome.
Thanks for the tip, I'll have to give this a go.
Cheers, Nathan.
Same concept, I just use newspaper on the top, it won't catch fire and catches spatter. Works great.
Great idea, We’re gonna do that.
The biggest advantage for me when cooking outdoors with induction is that it is not affected by wind. If it's too windy when I want to use the gas hob on the barbie, I switch to induction. ☺
Definitely, I agree this is one of the biggest and best advantages for induction cooking!
I have a 13inch cast iron skillet and my biggest problem with cheap induction cooktops are the size of the actual induction coils which mostly are not the size of the white perimeter painted on the stovetop.
Because they heat up so quickly and usually not over the entire pan surface, they can cause warping of your pans. You will find that everything cooks much quicker on the centre of the pan where the outer circle remains raw. That is because there is no coil under the outer part of your pan.
The biggest induction coil I could find is a 9 inch one in the Breville Control Freak. That is really a nice single plate, but at $2100, it is very, very expensive. The only other solution is stainless steel pans which has a aluminium core for heat conduction, which will cause a more even cook for things like steak and bacon.
I would love your thoughts on my comments, as you might have a solution I have not found yet.
Ps, your home stovetop would have the same issue with pans, unless you use stainless steel ones.
Which brand failed you twice? I would be curious to know.
Induction adapter plates are commonly available. You simply place it on the cooktop and then you place your non magnetic pot on it. Works great.
Oh my, I can do this! I'm building out my van and had already planned on a 3000watt inverter tied to 300ah of Lithium giving me 3600 watts of available power. Couple of induction cooktops like those and I'm set!
Thanks Mate!
I found that using a bbq mat that you use on public bbqs to cook food on , I put it on the induction cook top and it saves any scratches to the glass top of the induction cook top and helps to keep the induction cook top clean and protects them as well. I like the induction cook tops during high fire risk times of the year when camping.They are handy when staying in a powered camp site, and give you options when out bush as well.
Thanks for the tip mate, I might have to give that a go moving forward.
Cheers, Nathan.
I'm running a 280ah litium cell with a 3000w inverter with the twin plate Westinghouse induction, works great ! Can also run a sandwich press, coffee machine, air frier etc. Charging is managed via a 30/60amp DC DC charger, 30 in idle and 60 at speed above 60ks an hour. A typical 2 X pot cook up runs about 40-50amps, spag bowl for example, single cookup, bacon and eggs about 25 amps, hardly use my solar, as I get higher rate of charge driving, and I do more traversing then base camping. However can get 2-3 days being sensible without charge. However can also run the car for an hour or go for a drive for a couple hours. I love it. Built my own battery using prismatic cells. Lost power at home for a week due to storms and I just wanna lead from the car inside, kept my lamps, tv and fridge running the whole time, ran the car at idle for about an hour a day, however was gas cooking during that time as I had it. It's a 10+ year investment. I still carry a butane cooker as an emergency. I was running 2 X 100ah AGM, so by doing this I now have 250ah usable as oppose to 100 and also shed about 35kg of weight. Well worth the time and effort to investigate.
Awesome mate, that sounds like a great setup you have there.
Those results would be somewhat similar to the results I got during my testing.
Like you said the solar and charging setup would be heavily based on each individual style of driving/camping and time doing each.
I agree with Lithium being an investment, it's just a large amount of 💰 upfront for most... can be hard to justify to those who only camp a few times a year.
Cheers, Nathan.
Great video, one thing missed which is one of my biggest reasons for going to induction cooking is the ability to cook anywhere anytime regardless of fire bans. Never having an issue of if you can stop and cook is a huge factor.
definitely good to see your tests in a real world situation outside to see the difference with open air.
For sure, a very important for those who live in certain parts of Australia.
Cheers mate, Nathan.
Still allowed to have a coleman / gas stove just no open fire cooking
We have used the ruclips.net/user/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Awesome, good to hear. My unit is still going strong after a couple of years now. No problems 👍
I am surprised that some people still take generators out to the bush to enjoy the serenity. They really are unnecessary now, and every one else hates them. You may as well be playing death metal, or doof doof music.
My 240AH LFP + dcdc charge controller + inverter costs approx $1k AUD now. Some price as your genny, but without the noise.
I have induction cooktops in my motorhome- Love it - works Great
Awesome mate, certainly has some great advantages 👍
I love my little induction cooktop. I like it for easy cleanup. I just keep a spray bottle of distilled vinegar and spray it lightly after each use. It also heats up extremely fast. I use it at home. I do have 400 watts of solar with two lithium batteries on my 24' Ho-Lo trailer. I want to get the Bluetti solar generator. You are definitely on to something here.
For sure mate, they are great units and provide so many benefits over tranditional gas, albeit with a few con's too.
The Bluetti unit has been great so far to power these units no problems.
Cheers, Nathan.
Nice to hear an Aussie who isn’t a hobo. Well done.
Haha, thanks mate. Hopefully this was helpful.
Cheers, Nathan.
one of the best all around tests I have seen..job well done mate!
Cheers, thanks mate. Appreciate the time taken to comment 👍
We’ve been using a Duxtop 8100 for a few years. It can cook by watts or by temperature. We rarely use it on high, usually on watts and it cycles up to 660 watts and immediately drops as read on our Bluetti EB70. We are currently upgrading our power system but we traveled 100 days across the United States with two 400 watt systems with 200 usable amp hours of battery storage each. One in our van and one in our cargo trailer conversion. We charged the Bluetti from the solar panels with a 2000 watt Xantrex Prowatt inverter. I frequently heat with low watts and then once it’s hot switch to temperature control. We use it for 75% of our cooking and we use a gas grill for the rest. For really high heat we use a single burner Coleman stove. After our system upgrade to 600 Ah of EnduroPower Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and 1200 watts of solar we won’t need the propane anymore. Good job on your video. Very thorough.
This has to be one of the most comprehensive and well put together reviews I have ever watched. Great work and thank you.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it! 👍
I had no idea about induction cooking. The only reason why I'm looking into it right now is because I purchased a battery electric vehicle. So literally all of your negatives as to why not to get induction cooking is negated because I have a Ford Lightning with the big battery pack. Thank you so much for this video! This is a huge bonus for those of us that are going to overland in our electric vehicles.
I'm a fan. My wife and I are building a skoolie. We didn't want a dedicated stove taking up counter space. I thought about these induction units, and you just convinced us. Great comparison and review. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Outstanding!!!
Thanks mate, I'm glad to hear that this video could help you out! All the best with your setup.
Cheers, Nathan.
I know I am a little late, but this is a great video. I am applying your information to a backup power plan. Thanks
Awesome, that's great to hear. Glad this could help 🙏
Just got a induction for this use. Mostly pan frying. Nothing boils as fast as MSR Reactor stove that I’ve seen so far. They are amazingly fast.
Great review! We have been living on the road for 12 months using only induction cooking and love it
Awesome, great to hear. We are trying to setup something up to use induction in our up coming van too, but great to hear that you are using this long term without issues.
Cheers, Nathan.
I am planning to use induction cooktop with blue etti for my trip around Australia. I tried it once so far and it works just fine, I am planning to stay at one place for 3-4 days minimum so that I can charge from solar while I am cooking. Great video!
Awesome, I reckon it will work well for your application. Just think about a backup plan if you do happen to come across poor weather from time to time. It does require some decent solar to recharge.
Cheers, Nathan.
One of the most comprehensive reviews on this topic I’ve seen.
Thank you!
Thanks mate, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope it was helpful.
Cheers, Nathan.
The one thing people forget to mention in regards to propane is that it should never, ever be placed in a closed vehicle. Interior temps in a closed truck can get very high, and what can happen is the over pressure valve starts releasing propane inside your closed truck. No bueno. Lithium batts have their temperature issues as well, but I would prefer them over propane any day. That said, we actually have both on our truck but the propane tank is mounted externally.
For sure, this is another major safety consideration, thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Nathan.
Another tip. To just boil water, a $35 collapsible kettle works amazing. 900 watts power draw. Easier to get out and use than induction and a pot, for a quick roadside boil. I boiled water in a saucepan until I upgraded after seeing someone else do it. Got mine from Snowies.
Definitely and personally I don't use the induction cooktop for a roadside coffee/tea stop. I still and always will carry my JetBoil for this. The JetBoil is super quick and easy to use and boils that water in no time and uses very little gas.
It’s not just cooling down the water , why ?
It’s cool to pack and put away and no gas leaks, try microwave and no Saipan washing up if soup or milk is used in the cup.
Try eGO for a chainsaw you can put away cold with no spill or leak
Yes immersion heating would but only for pure water so once you move past tea and coffee not great
Nuwave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop, 10.25” Shatter-Proof Ceramic Glass, 6.5” Heating Coil, 45 Temps from 100°F to 500°F, 3 Wattage Settings 600, 900 & 1300 Watts
Nathan,
I am really enjoying working my way through your reviews, for some reason you seem to answer all my questions. This is fast becoming my favourite channel 👍
I am really looking forward to 2022, a new Landcruiser 78 series & subsequent fit out. I had been agonising over what to do regarding cooking as I don’t want to carry gas inside the Troopy & don’t like hanging bottles off the vehicle either.
You also made me think about throwing my bluetti into my Troopy as a backup to the in vehicle Lithium system, I won’t always do that but at least I have the option.
At the end of the day, some part of my meal nearly always gets cooked over the camp fire anyway, so the induction might just become an easy was to cook the sides or extras.
Awesome mate, I’m glad to hear that your enjoying the channel 👍 I try to research my topics in an attempt to answer as we questions people may have on a particular area.
For sure, the Bluetti systems are great and work very well and would be an awesome backup system if required.
And I also agree, this won’t replace open fire cooking, but it sure compliments it well and works perfectly for our family setup 👍
As a 200 owner have valued your content, just upgraded my setup to 200ah DCS battery in the rear deleting both front battery’s installed a safari twin burner induction cooktop with a Victron battery protect will disconnect all accessories at 20% for vehicle startup (have a jump start pack just in case tech fails) had a driveway test cooking dinner and breakfast used 50% battery. COVID restitution finish next week 1/11/21 so us sydney folks can get back out on the tracks again, won’t to see how long to recharge from 50-70% battery use as this setup charges direct from alternator
Awesome, sounds like you have an awesome system there. Upgrading my vehicle batteries to lithium might be something I look into I the future as well, there are so many benefits to this.
Glad to hear you guys are finally free again, all the best with the testing and your adventures on the tracks!
Cheers, Nathan.
Do you have the dcs twin in the front or a dcs 200ah in the rear. Just wondering as if the rear are you just running cable to the front for the engine/alternator?
@@boxheadmr yes cables to the rear no front battery’s
Excellent review… the public is glad you get to the point in all areas in a very thorough and professional manner 👍🏻 cheers mate
I bought a pair of single burner induction burners a few years ago and mine have digital temperature settings that you can use to choose which temperature you want the pan to heat up to and the unit will cycle on and off automatically to maintain that temperature. I haven’t used them for camping yet, but plan to in the near future. I have a pair of Anker 2048 watt hour power stations and 1000 watts of solar panels to keep them both charged up, so I think that I’ll be okay with my electrical setup.
Great video again. For me the cost alone rules it out as you’re looking at approx $3k to get started. That is a helluva lot of gas bottles etc not to mention that when I’m camping I’m not rushing, so boiling times etc become irrelevant. As with everything though, each to their own 👍
For sure, lithium has still got a fair way before it becomes a common item in our setups. Saying this though, using a unit like the Bluetti provides many more benefits than just induction cooking. So those who are looking for a portable dual battery type setup, the little extra could be worth it.
Cheers
The investment in lithium batteries isn't just for induction cooking though. It's generally also to power your fridge/s, led lights, drone batteries and all that other stuff too. Lithiums, if used right, should also last over 10 years vs other battery technologies where you get around 2 - 3 years life out of them more often than not. It is a shame the investment up front is as high as it is even though it has come down over the last few years.
@@seansmart2981 This is true and the same thing apply's to the portable Bluetti system. It's not just a system for high powered appliances like induction cooking. It can power almost anything AC powered, along with all the small power draws from regular portable devices and camping equipment.
@@seansmart2981 I agree with you, with the exception of the 2-3 years for other battery types. My last AGM in my 79 lasted 8 years & I only swapped it out as I was heading remote remote & figured it was due to expire. What I did though is researched different types of AGM’s & actually wired it up to my Redarc BCDC as a lead acid as the battery specified a slightly higher Absorption voltage than other AGM’s I’d seen. So not all AGM’s are created equal. It ran every day 24/7/365 for 8 years with my Engel & other gear constantly drawing off it. After I pulled it out of my truck I gave it to a friend who killed it fast due to a poor charging regime.
At the end of the day, power & water, they dictate ur levels of comfort, so I agree, a good lithium system will transform any set up & the financial pain will be forgotten when ur the dude in the outback powering everything with ease & then some. 👍
I put my cost at around $1k for the big solar panel, the Renology 50 Ah MPPT, 200Ah lithium battery. The 4000w inverter was another $150 but it may be insufficient for water heating so I may need a bigger one, plus another $600 200Ah lithium battery.
I bought an iSiler one from Amazon for $50 dollars... And let me tell you... I'm in love.
Thanks for the in-depth reviews it’s been really helpful thank you
I know it sounds unbelievable, but I have interviewed every single cook on earth, and each and every one, picked gas. Love your videos.
Haha, been busy! Cheers mate 👍
FYI: Induction cooking produces no carbon monoxide so can be safely used in enclosed areas.
Absolutely, another great advantage 👍
I find the induction way better because it works really well when it's windy. & it's much faster & cheaper to run in the long term.
It's good for cooking in the van, without the risk of CO2, or CO poisoning.
For sure mate, I agree with you. There are soo many benefits long term and the fact that your power source provides benefits past just the induction cooking, it can do so much more.
I have a quartz single burner and a three burner lp stove oven in my camper. It looks good, stowes easy and makes water for tea in 4 min and change. I can get a new inbox induction for $25 on the Trader site, but I’m gonna wait
I’ve used induction as my primary home cooking system for quite a few years now, with a pair of gas burners for power outages… which are frequent here. In addition, I use an Emerill Legasse brand “instant pot” which has a sous vide function I often use, and an air fryer top. The “EG” has largely replaced microwave for fast heating, functions as a toaster, and does steaks and chops using the air fry top. These two items could easily do virtually all my cooking….. But I’m single. I once did all my cooking in an electric skillet for several years, and could of course do the same with induction. You could easily use a Dutch oven on one. I’ve used it for brewing beer, and related processes we can’t talk about. For about $10 us, you can buy a disk that will allow you to heat ANY pot.
Hey mate, thanks for sharing your experience and I'm glad to hear that induction cooking has been working out in the long term situation.
I too use induction at home and loving the versatility and efficiency of the system.
Cheers, Nathan.
He must be on pay roll of induction power and Bluette
I want to see him strap that Bluette to his back and walk 1 to 2 miles to and outback area
Everything that he is using is high cost
Sorry mate I do not have $5000 to go camping
Excellent review and I agree with your conclusions. I could live with a single induction plate and you don't need 2000wh of storage to support a 2000w plate, you just need the power unit to support 2000w output for the duration of cooking - 15 mins at 2000w means 500wh so a 1000wh battery could be enough. In a RV I suspect a small microwave (600w ?) would be better than a second induction plate, especially for hot drinks. Thanks
For sure, you definitely don't need 2000wh of storage, it would just depend on how you plan on using the setup and your access to power to replenish the usage.
Yes, a small microwave would definitely be handy, however as you could imagine, not suitable for me in the back of a touring wagon, hence why I didn't include one in the test.
Cheers, Nathan.
A very informative and detailed review. I've been thinking about moving to induction cooking on my boat, and this video with the demos and test comparisons you showed has been very helpful in thinking through some of the issues i'll need to consider. thanks :)
Thanks mate, appreciate the feedback, glad it could be of help 👍
And such a good point about wind! I remember days when it was very windy that it was taking me ages to just cook a meal, induction just don't care about wind.
For sure, definitely one of the biggest benefits for me!
You can try Instant Pot pressure cooker for efficient cooking, simmering and steaming with electricity. They have also air fryer covers, so baking and roasting is an option too. I am testing off-grid lifestyle and considering electric kettle, induction single hob, contact grill to replace my old sandwicher, pressure cooker with air fryer cover and my old blender. In the future I might expand, food processor would be nice. I have 2.3 kW of solar and ac200max with 2x b300 extensions, so full stack, and it is more than doable. For winter a good backup power generator might be useful, depending on location.
Cooking with the towel over the hob bleeew my mind. I’ve had a standard solar set up with fridge, panels, agm and gas cooker in my 4wd for 15 yrs, it’s cheap simple, very very reliable and you’re not relying on electricity and electronics to do everything, especially in the outback, but I’ve been binge watching videos on panels, lithium, induction and inverters and I’m warming up to it very quickly and will fit out my new off road camper with this system, but I’ll keep old system in the fourbee until I’m happy with reliability, then upgrade it.
Top review and comparison and I’ll probably go with two single hobs as well, might need more research on twin hobs..
Awesome mate. Yeah I hear your concerns and rightly so. You don't want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a broken inverter or something silly like that. Saying that, the advancements that technology has made is mind blowing and awesome!
All the best with your off road camper 👍
Just watched the video. Thank you.
Yesterday I ordered my first induction hotplate. After doing some hours of research I opted for the single-burner am z chef, in part because of good reviews, and in part because of the compact thinness. We'll see how she does.
I noticed that most people's experiences are that these induction devices typically don't last very long. There are a few exceptions, but they are exceptions. Usually people end up replacing them within a little over a year, on average. One reviewer had tried various models, replacing one after another over a six year period. At that point he went back to an old-style, more reliable electric stovetop.
Some induction units offer temperature control down to five-degree increments. Others are ten, twenty, or forty degrees.
Some offer power settings down to 200 or 300 watts, and mention compatibility with lower-wattage power stations, like the Jackery Explorer 300. I don't know how quickly those can boil water, though, at the low-wattage settings.
No problems, glad you enjoyed the video.
You bring up some good points here and I guess this is some of the unknowns when it comes to using this technology in this industry. It's still relatively new and determining whether it will work with off-grid setups and vehicle travel is something that is still being investigated.
I'll be travelling full time soon with induction cooking and hopefully I'll be able to do a follow up coming in the future regarding it's long term suitability 👍
I own 3 different types of induction cooker and have been using these on the bench continously for a yr now.
Tips:
Dont be at all concerned with temp control
Do by a cooker with a low minimum power for simmer, eg the Ikea has a minimum 100w, some are 200w which is too much for simmer.
Dont buy a cooker that a has long period beween power pulses. Eg, the Westing house hasa boom bust simmer, were the simmer dies in the off priod, then the power pulse boils it over. Once again, the Ikea unit has short cycle times and your simmer is much more consistant.
Do buy heavy base induction cookware, eg the pots and pans at Ikea are relatively cheap, and very well made. The heavy base gives much more consistant results.
I've been doing this also i love it got tired of dealing with gas. I just wish they will build some that run off dc voltage so you don't need and inverter
I got a portable induction top while replacing the kitchen at home and am a real convert. I now use one in the house and have one for the van I am building admittedly I am in the UK where solar isn't good especially if carrying kayaks too, but I do tend to use sites with hook ups and carry a small back up slimline stove with the aerosol style gas cylinder. One thing you didn't mention was that simmering is easier in a breeze with induction. I often can't keep the side sliding door open with gas especially if trying to simmer. Correction you mentioned it right at the end.
For sure, I hear you. We also use induction at home and it's definitely a good thing. There are so many benefits, however it's just that power management that has to be considered when setting up a system for portable and RV type use.
I'm glad to hear that you have got a system working well for you, albeit with a alternative back up (as I do).
Cheers, Nathan.
The other option that wasn't discussed is using a small portable generator, either for the twenty minutes that you're cooking, or as emergency backup for charging the bluetti.
Mine cost me $600 and pushes 3000w continuous or 3500w surge, which could have both hotplates running simultaneously while charging your bluetti at the same time.
Personally I hate generators while camping, but the option is there.
"Personally I hate generators while camping" More importantly everyone around you hates them more. It's not only the noise but the exhaust fumes.
wow what an excellent professional review awesome job Nathan
Cheers mate, appreciate it.
Great reporting. One of the best I've seen and I've seen MANY. What I'm about to write is not meant in any way to criticize or dispute anything that you've presented here. This was a very high quality production, but although I don't make videos, I am a geek that loves to experiment and I also do all the cooking in my home, so I think I may have some worthwhile things to add to all the good data that you've presented.
Here goes. I have a USA version 120 volt NuWave PIC Gold cooker. It can be set for 600, 900, or 1500 watts and has about 6 preset temps as well as adjustments at 10 degree F intervals. So, not exactly like yours, but I think they work similarly. The first thing I would say is that, to get the fastest boil time you obviously need the wattage and temp set high, but in addition, you have to have a pan that covers the entire coil or coils under the glass. If I measure the wattage use of my cooker boiling water at 1500 watts/ 375 F in a pan that only contacts 5 inches of the glass, it will only be using 5 inches of the coil underneath and the measured wattage will only be 580 watts of draw from the power supply and that translates into less energy going towards heating the water. If I immediately replace that pan with a pan with a 9 inch flat bottom surface, the wattage jumps to 1500 watts and that's nearly 3 times the energy going into the water. That is important to know for two reasons. Firstly, it may mean that if I have a very under powered inverter or solar generator I may still be able to do SOME cooking if I use small diameter cookware. My cooker allows down to 4 inches and I expect that that may even draw less that the 600 watt low setting on the control panel. The other thing is that, if you boil in a 4 inch hiker's type pot on a gas burner, you will probably beat the heck out of the induction cooker with the same pot, but if you pour the same amount of water into a 9 or 10 inch pot for the induction cooker set at it's max setting, it will probably beat a gas burner using a 4 inch pot by a significant margin.
All of the temperature control ( with the exception of the 1200 USD cookers) is done by sensing the temp of the glass and making some inferences about the probable temp of the contents of the cookware. What that means for a user is that the material and construction of the cookware will have a lot of influence on the sensitivity of the cooker's temp regulation. For instance, stainless steel is said to dissipate and spread its heat very quickly and efficiently, whereas cast iron retains its heat and doesn't really heat that evenly ( I know that's counter to what you usually hear about cast iron, but I've seen it proven with FLIR cameras on electric coil stoves that clearly show the coils under the pot, through the pot, after some period of time) But I digress. What that means is that a stainless pot it going to keep the glass at a temperature that is closer the the temp of the contents because it passes the energy more freely to the contents then cools down and triggers the next on cycle. These cycles will tend to come closer together and yield good close temp control. The cast iron, on the other hand, lags more in passing its stored heat energy on to the contents and therefore takes longer to cool down to a temp that lowers the cooktop to a temp that will trigger an on cycle. Basically long pulses of energy then a long wait for the next pulse. This translates into wide fluctuations in the temp of the actual contents. Less than Ideal cookware material is probably to blame for the whole "you can't control it as well as a gas burner" rumor. When you turn down the burner under a cast iron pan it takes forever before the stuff in the pan cools down and when you turn the heat back up it comes up slow. Same same!
The only other thing that I'd add is that you should always pre-heat your pan if you intend to do shallow frying because the induction coils can heat the metal so abruptly that it can warp or cause its ceramic or Teflon coating to dislodge fro the underlaying metal. A minute or two at 150 F will allow all the materials, the ferrous and the non-ferrous to expand together.
Lot of words, I know, but I hope I didn't waste anyone's time. You sure have a beautiful country, BTW.
Excellent video and very informative, as others have mentioned, replacing the gas bottle that would last a week of cooking with a big lithium set that lasts 1.5 meals and takes up more room when including the solar and the additional cost too makes this a non starter for most, though for a dedicated camping trailer with onboard lithium and solar having both the gas and induction would give all the benefits. Thx for all your hard work, For the 4x4 only I will stick with the gas and for the trailer will add the induction.
Well... it is not recommended to carry a gas bottle inside a vehicle. Where do you have it ? Out the back ? On your roofrack ?
My 240AH lithium + dcdc charger + 2000w inverter costs about $1k now. Works great. For an entire overnight, cooking + breakfast toaster + kettle several times uses approx 80ah, or 1/4 of the battery charge. It takes less than 1hrs of driving to recharge my battery. I measured my solar blankets in full sun @ 17A, this means 5.7hrs of sun would replace that 80ah. But, I dont even take the solar, driving is enough to charge the batts.
@@nordic5490You can carry up to 9kgs inside the vehicle. So long as the cylinder is well maintained and the cylinder(s) are kept upright it won’t be a problem.
Been using induction for 3 years. As long you have power can use comping. Is best to call campgrounds in advance to see what can use. Most campgrounds do all induction and gas stoves. However most no longer allow wood fires.
Very true!
I love my induction cook top inside of my house and it is just wonderful, so glad I got induction instead of a gas or electric range. But the elephant in the room or should I say campsite is that huge battery bank in your truck and the solar cells don't work in shade or cloudy days that we have in my neck of the woods. My two burner Coleman stove works off car gas that I can get any where while camping.
For overlanding I've found the induction cook top and, a 2000w yamaha full sine wave gene perfect, the gene has a quiet mode that does work.
I am surprised that some people still take generators out to the bush to enjoy the serenity. They really are unnecessary now, and every one else hates them. You may as well be playing death metal, or doof doof music.
My 240AH LFP + dcdc charge controller + inverter costs approx $1k AUD now. Some price as your genny, but without the noise.
best instruction video of gas v induction cooking ever on youtube , thanks
I think going forward most people who are putting in dual batteries to run a fridge will run induction. You have just about everything you need with a 100+ Amp hour lithium battery and DC2DC charger. Just add a 1000+ watt inverter ($600) and a induction cooker $50 and you are done. Mine works great. Most people are adding the inverter anyway, as you have. You have duplicated you battery and inverter and introduced recharging power loss. But that’s because you already had the blueti. Great video.
For sure, no doubt these setups will become more and more popular as the become more affordable.
I agree, my current in vehicle system isn’t quite up to the task with only a single AGM battery and personally I’d probably want something a little more than a 1000W inverter, but it would still do ok.
You’re right, having the Bluetti has given me that opportunity, but also has the added benefit of being completely portable 👍
For background, we use induction at home and in powered campsites and propane in our caravan. We also use a 100 amp lithium battery for lighting and controls in the camper. This setup is used for multi month trips in the US. The startup cost of off grid induction ($2k power station) is impractical compared to a $100 stove and $50 propane tank. I wouldn't recommend it to my friends unless they camp a lot and have excess $. If lithium prices continue to fall, we will see all electric caravans and overland setups become the new norm. In the meantime, I'll continue to use my perfectly serviceable propane appliances.
For sure and this is true, everyone has their own needs and requirements and budgets. We can see that lithium technology is becoming more advance and cheaper as time goes on, so I would assume that electrical systems and things like induction cooktops are going to be the future of camping and overlanding.
Cheers, Nathan.
Nice vid. The cost of induction for camping is a nonstarter for me since I paid $20 for my Coleman 425 at a thriftshop and I've still not exhausted my cooking options with it.
Might be buying a travel trailer in the next year or so and can definitely see the advantage of an induction burner, especially if your at a campground with shore power since I've never been to one that meters your electric. We've already used an electric space heater so we didn't waste propane heating an RV.
I hear you! The initial costs are probably a little restrictive at the moment. Hopefully as batteries and electrical equipment improve and cost reduces, they will become more viable!
Nothing wrong with propane systems. I still use my Coleman 533 Dual fuel stoves and they work a treat!
Excellent video 👏🏿👏🏿 I plan build my own campervan and was 50/50 on whether to use an induction hob or go gas. You've just made up my mind with this review to go induction. Will need a good solar and battery setup though as I live in the not so sunny 🇬🇧
Thanks mate, glad it was a helpful video!
I'm finding it great at the moment and reckon it might be more of a 'standard' thing in the future, particularly as lithium and solar technology improves.
Cheers, Nathan.
Well done. Very thorough review. I probably would just juggle pots and pans using one burner.
Very good video, thanks for posting.
A good addition to the induction plate will be an Instant pot.
I have a single plate induction and supported by 240 amps lithium battery bank charged by a DC to DC charger MPPT solar controller.
In a cmpervan or enclosed camping set-up also the humidity that lpg brings into the space is an important factor to consider.
People have to also be aware of the legal requirements of transporting gas bottles in a vehicle when making a choice of the cooking system to be used.
For sure, all good points to consider as well.
Thanks for sharing, Nathan.
Great and complete Video, exactly what I was looking for :)
Awesome, glad it was helpful. Cheers, Nathan.
The Rivian R1T EV truck has an optional “camp kitchen” which includes 2 induction hobs. It’s the future of camp cooking.
Yeah, they are awesome vehicles with some serious potential for re-designing the automotive market.
I agree that induction will eventually become the standard.
Cheers, Nathan.
I just bought an induction portable, I can see a big advantage of no open flame that could spark a bush fire in windy weather.
Awesome, for sure. There are some great advantages! All the best with your setup.
Cheers, Nathan.
Another excellent video. Each system has its pro's and cons. Another con for the induction system, will include cooking with a wok. A wok really needs a flame to spread the heat up the sides of the wok. I think the round contact surface area of a wok, is too small for efficient induction cooking.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video.
Yes, this is true. Again a lack of cooking skills and utilising woks meant that test didn't make it to the final video 😂
Thanks, Nathan.
You're right about the classic (and best) plain steel wok. The hob will just beep and shut down. You can buy a wok-alike with a thicker flattened base for induction but they're all alu with non-stick coating and pricey. Sadly you can't use searing temperatures or metal tools with teflon, it quickly degrades. The options are gas , camp-fire and charcoal barbie.
This isn't necessarily true. There are countertop woks that have indents so the wok fits right in. Flat-bottomed woks also exist for the case you have a flat top
Very well done, and you didn't mention you can run no bugs lightbulbs at night, with an extension cord and light hook up.
in regards to cool down test,
the glass is acting as a heatsink.
Thanks for posting this. I appreciate you for doing this research. Good stuff! Sounds like induction is a smart way to go, as long as you have the power supply worked out.
Awesome video, covering all of my questions about portable induction cooking at this point. Thanks for the effort!
Awesome, glad to be able to help.
Cheers, Nathan 👍
great video! very exhaustive treatment of the subject. you can use an extension cord to extend the power if you have a built-in system. I can see the wisdom of having an all in one portable as well, great for power outages at home ☺️
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it. For sure, that could be an option for a semi detached type setup.
Cheers, Nathan.
100%, is much rather use electricity vs propane. Great video.
For sure, completely renewable resource in a ideal situation as well.
Cheers, Nathan.
On your first tests using the Jetboil - MSR make the Reactor and Windburner - which both use much better tech than Jetboil ( they use Radiant heat ). If you are not aware of them, then please do some research regarding them. They are NOT affected by wind at all, however Jetboil is. BTW I have 2 different Jetboil's and also both MSR Reactor and Windburner. For pure boiling water the Reactor is UNBEATABLE BY A MILE. Great video mate, and I love induction! - have Safiery dual Induction in my vehicle.
When using cast iron mine failed and also warped my fry pan. Low and slow start is required. Mine started at 1200w as default which was very annoying. This was a Kmart job and didn’t last. I no longer use induction either. I hat tempered glass to con on versus metal stove and feel more confident with that set up.
I love induction and have a commercial induction range at home, but I do go with gas out there. In the US, where I live, refilling those gas bottles is quite easy since most gas stations offer refills, so while you're gassing up anyways you can refill the LP bottles too. The second reason is power consumption: I have 500W of solar and a DC to DC charger that charges up my single 100Ah LI battery while driving. With the electric fridge and the battery powering lights etc. in my little offroad camper, I simply can't run an induction cooktop. We're often parked in one location for a few days and keeping my food cold is more important than cooking on induction.
Last but not least, my camper has a gas powered heater - the areas we camp in tend to be cold at night, some quite cold and my wife just hates freezing and having condensation in the camper. So I put a Propex heater in which was designed for a VW Bus but since my camper is not even half the volume it can heat it to pretty much any temperature without condensation or much gas use. So I have a gas cylinder anyways (and it has a storage spot on the camper).
So call me a convenience camper - I love going out into the woods for weeks at a time and normally we don't have to restock food for at least 10 days due to the electric fridge, but I do like my conveniences like a hot shower when parked near a water source or a cozy night when it's cold out. For that I happily bring a gas cooker - aside from me being a bit chefy and therefor sometimes cooking on 4 burners out there. Nothing better than sitting on top of a cliff with a nice glass of wine while having a good dinner and watching the sunset...
Very nice, sounds like a great setup and plenty of options there. It also sounds like you might have easier access to gas than we do here in Australia. Although plenty of places to refill, they can sometimes be a fair trek to access...
Cheers, Nathan,.
Hi Nathan. A very detailed and honest review on what is becoming an increasingly hot topic. From what I have experienced, comments are being made ( both for and against ) induction cookers based on here say. Your vid is going to help clarify a lot of unknowns. Thanks for the huge effort in putting it together.
Thanks mate, I do hope this video can bring some awareness to the market and debunk some of those myths. It might not be for everybody, particularly with those high initial costs, but it might be worth looking at.
Thanks again.
You are amazing...this video is just what I needed to start camping in my Promaster City....so thorough! Induction is my choice. Thanks!
Awesome! Glad to hear this was helpful. Thanks for the feedback!
Cheers, Nathan.
Induction suffers because in the main people do not understand it and realise its massive advantages, I have a single pan induction hob purchased many years ago from a budget German supermarket, I use it in our works hut everyday and it is fast and easy to use.
Yes, people don't like what they can't understand sometimes. Hopefully this video can enlighten a few people and help them to understand some of the benefits.
Cheers, Nathan.
One very important pro for the induction cooktop that is worth mentioning is that it is illegal to transport propane in your vehicle,, when driving through a tunnel, in the US. Not illegal to transport an induction cooktop. :) So, if there is a tunnel between where you are and where you want to be, you'll have to either skip the propane or find a place to purchase it after you pass through the tunnel. Or just not worry about it, at all, if you have an induction cooktop.
Very interesting and not something that I've come across in my research, but handy to know. Another strong benefit for the induction cooking! 👍
I think it if you wanted a more efficient cooking system at home like me as I have a Frigidaire induction/convection range, why would I not want to still be cooking like that when we hit the road? Obviously, I’ve got the pots and pans I already need.
Thank you for the great video.
Exactly 👍
Cheers mate.
I strongly recommend that you either:
1.) add a second alternator, because you are overloading the one you have if you are also charging the Bluetti while driving.
Car alternators are designed for a relatively short period of high current loading immediately after starting the vehicle to recharge the starting battery. (a 4 minute heavy load on the alternator for the car battery recharge VS a 4 hour load from the Bluetti.)
If you run a separate alternator for the Bluetti you can use a 24 volt truck alternator to take advantage of the fact that the Bluetti can handle the higher voltage input if you charge through the Solar Power charging port. and you can get twice the charging power with no increase in the current load on the extra alternator or vehicle wiring.
2) replace your existing alternator with a much more powerful one. I have seen 350 amp alternators used on RVs that charge lots of batteries for use inside the RV.
3.) find a technician who can add a power connection to the AC side of your alternator so you can run that AC into a small transformer to power your induction cooktop and completely eliminate the large power loss in the DC to AC sinewave converter; and be able cook your food while your vehicle is at idle....
With an induction cooktop the frequency of the AC power it runs off of is not as important as it might be for other equipment..
Hey mate,
Yes a higher powered, slightly different designed alternator is on the cards, however I'll probably get the maximum life from this one first.
I have noted that even when the vehicle is running, batteries charing and the AC inverter is on and charging the Bluetti, we are still bringing in about 15A positive. It's comforting to know that the alternator still has some capacity left in it after the heavy draw.
I'll have a look at some options, but thanks for sending some ideas through, I'll definitely consider and research them.
Cheers, Nathan.
I like the review, you touched on so many things that concern me about induction Cook top. I have a butan stove but now I'm going to invest now that you've educated me clear and precisely
Thanks mate, its great to get this kind of feedback 🙏 Much appreciated
Another thing to consider is some of us are using gas hot water systems for showers. So if the missus wants hot water and we have to carry a gas bottle, we’re cooking on gas.
For sure, that is a good point. For those already carrying gas for other reasons, it would be counter intuitive to switch to induction
How durable are the induction cook tops? Looking for something for backpacking. Electric is certainly the way to go, not needing propane is killer
I have a butane propane cooker with couple efficient low watt cooking devices like from dash. No more than 500 watts so jacket 500 is plus. I bought a organizer bag for this and a fold upmulti wood buttoning stove
Nice, there are so many products out there now. Its great to be able to find the products that suit our individual needs.
Cheers, Nathan
Thanks for the analysis of options available. I love the pullout shelf!
No problems mate, glad you enjoyed it.
It is a good storage design in the rear, works very well for car camping 👍
I use a WALLAS XC DUO diesel cooker/heater, which is ceramic cooking, no gas onboard it uses the vehicles fuel tank, as there is no naked flame it is completely safe and the heat is dry so no condensation, they are expensive but I wouldn’t go back to gas. Oh and you can cook toast on it, They also do a diesel oven as well.
Nice, I just had a look at these units and they look great! There really are the perfect overlanding device. The fact they use the same fuel as the vehicle is a huge advantage! And you can cook toast 😉
Thanks for sharing mate.
You need to get and induction wok heater/stove. I mean a typical Wok uses about 10 kw. An induction heater will use way less 600w to 1500w.
Good video. Well thought out. I was mildly shocked at the $3700 price tag for the power unit with solar array. Not in my future. You can buy a lot of LP gas for that. :(
Thanks mate. Yes, I understand, the power station are still very expensive with emerging technology and expensive components, however you do get more than just an induction cooktop popper supply. They are very universal and power so many different things. Hopefully here price will drop over time.
Cheers, Nathan.
The one thing I wish I could find is a 12v, 15 amp low power induction cooktop.
180 watts isn't much, but with an insulated pressure cooker it would be enough to build up the requisite heat before dropping it in a thermal cooker to finish.
Would also work with a cast iron griddle with insulative lid. Build up the heat in the mass and then cook in phases, with the stuff that needs the most heat (say frying meats) first and the less heat demanding tasks like frying eggs or pancakes or potatoes after
That would be a great idea. Hopefully a manufacturer will come on-board with an appliance like this 👍
Cheers, Nathan.
Just what I have been looking for. Very comphensive
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it 👍
Love the in depth discussion on this the only issue im seeing with this particular setup is the effeciency losses from charging the lithium battery pack from the car using inverter a direct dc charge solution would be better
Thanks mate, glad it was somewhat helpful. Yes, this is true, and there are certainly more efficient ways to provide the power for these setups.
I am now running induction full time in my camper and this is powered direct from the 600ah battery bank through a 3kVA Victron inverter 👍
@@XploringOz this makes the electrical engineer In me happy ❤️ but honestly great in depth video and definitely considering upgrading to induction in my setup also worth mentioning that those cooktops do not rate modified square inverters at all. Definitely needs to be pure sine
Pretty much all inverters above 1000w are sinewave now.
Btw, then Induction cooker cct converts the 50hz ac to dc first, then converts that dc to between 25 kHz and 50 kHz. Ie, the cooker does not care about the incoming wave shape, as it is rectified and smoothed first anyhow.
LFP charge discharge cycle efficientcy is very high, between 97 and 99% . My 2000w inverter is rated as 97% efficient at full load, and least efficient at small loads. Use big cables, and your system efficientcy is acutally very high, eg >90%.
The biggest efficientcy gain is the improved enregy transfer to the pot or pan.
Not really a question for us: They do make 12V or 24V induction hobs as well as smaller size 700W units, they are all small, light and as safe as can be. With a bit of electrical knowledge you can roll out an extension cord where mains is near and cook perfect meals in the wildest storms. It pays to have a portable leakage breaker, also handy on the hair dryer where water can be near. Maybe you should look at the many gas explosion pictures where vans get blown into pieces just because of gas. I first came across induction in a Japanese hotel room desk where instead of an inkpot one could brew green tea with induction. Some people even pay for powered camp sites to charge their mobile phones. Power boards with USB built in and breakers is a must. If I would tow then phosphate batteries of lowest gravimetric dimensions would reside in the trailer. Knowing ohms law is rather beneficial and good meters at the right place are more important than bluetooth. Even a 3 phase to single phase adaptor can come in handy at some show ground sites. A good water pump with a membrane and good carbon filtering should add to survival training together with redundant comms equipment.
I use a Wallis diesels ceramic hob . No condensation from gas combustion minimal solar array. Cheap to use
Nice mate, glad you managed to get a setup that works for you!.
Cheers, Nathan.
Early on you go into the drawbacks of storing relatively small gas cylinders. Sixteen minutes in, you introduce the elephant in the room in terms of the lithium battery system and solar cells. While I assume you use the Bluetti for more than cooking, a large, heavy, and expensive high amp battery generator isn't optional for induction cooking. And depending on how remote I was camping, I'd likely want a reliable, simple to repair gas stove backup to the electronic system.
We really need an accountant to do cost benefit analysis of both these technologies.Using feeling isn't going to cut it.Even going to Exmouth my 9kg gas bottle refill was 45 bucks.I think the biggest drawback is the initial cost of doing induction.For us who do 4 - 6 weeks camping per year gas is a no brainer.Maybe when we retire and have a lithium pack in our caravan and travel for longer periods lithium might be the ticket.A nice table at the end on screen would have shown the huge contrast in price between the different technologies.Anyway a real fire beats both gas and induction!
For sure, the initial cost is significant with any lithium type setup. There is no doubt that gas is heaps cheaper, but saying that the advantage here is that the Bluetti system is very versatile. It can be used for so much more than just induction cooking, it would be perfect for someone looking at purchasing a portable dual battery type setup with investing thousands into a permanently mounted system.
Hopefully lithium, will continue to improve and become more affordable.
And definitely, fire is still king!
Cheers, Nathan.
If you have the internet skills and ability to construct a solution then you don't need the "offerings" from others! I've recently acquired a very nice 200Ah lithium battery for much less than local pricing for an 100Ah. I use Renology ffor my charging, their gear seems good and reliable, significantly cheaper and well-supported.
You can use these at home as well: arbitrage power if you have time of day power contract or soak up power from your home solar panels rather than exporting back into the grid. Of course the units wouldn't last as long if you cycle them everyday.
@@johnruciak For sure, these would work in those instances. Saying that the Bluetti has a cycle rating of 3000 cycles to 80%, so it would take discharging this battery everyday for years to have a noticeable effect.
Far out camping got so complicated $5500 for a generator kit and panels to cook a few snags
I’ll stick to me $80 gas cooker and a few canisters
Hey, it's not required. Just an interesting option that is becoming more and more affordable as tech improves and comes down in costs...
Some people can and do purchase options like this and it's great to be able to see the difference/benefits...
I've got a pretty beefy setup in my 4x4 ute with 400Ah of lithium and a 3000w inverter. I've used my portable induction cooktop a few times and I'm very impressed. However, my concern with the uptake of these though is the potential danger of electrocution and severe burns, especially with open pots of water/fluid and the slippery nature of the glass tops. So many of these cooktops are also used directly on steel tailgates. Not many people bother with the huge expense of getting an AC sparky to wire vehicles with proper AC safety circuits RCD or whatever. I think it's only a matter of time before a pot or such is knocked over maybe by kids or a dog during a camp and there's a disaster which will bring in more stringent regulations with regards to electrical fit outs in vehicles. I note that a lot of these portable induction cooktops also have an earth screw on their metal chassis.
Yeah, I see your point with the electrical side of things.
The danger of hot waster etc spilling, I mean of course is possible, but some of the portable gas stoves are terrible. I think there's probably a lot more to be worried about in remote Aussie bush 😆
I believe the risk of a tipped pot boiling water is just as great with camping stoves, especially single burner stoves, since pots of water are top heavy on camp stoves.
Great vid mate👍 Reckon it's one of those finishing returns things, how often are you using/getting away etc.
For sure, probably not worth the expense or the hassle for the occasional camper. Really is a individual case by case basis.
Cheers, Nathan.
Funny, I was watching this because I am looking at the Westinghouse induction cooktop and then you bring out the bluetti. To top it off you charge it with a 1000w inverter while driving. Lol, I just brought a bluetti ac200max (with xtra batt) and a 2000w inverter (1400w mac charge on the bluetti) to do the same thing you thought of two years ago. Maybe I should watch a more recent video for more ideas😂
I own 3 different types of induction cooker and have been using these on the bench continously for a yr now.
Tips:
Dont be at all concerned with temp control
Do by a cooker with a low minimum power for simmer, eg the Ikea has a minimum 100w, some are 200w which is too much for simmer.
Dont buy a cooker that a has long period beween power pulses. Eg, the Westing house hasa boom bust simmer, were the simmer dies in the off priod, then the power pulse boils it over. Once again, the Ikea unit has short cycle times and your simmer is much more consistant.
Do buy heavy base induction cookware, eg the pots and pans at Ikea are relatively cheap, and very well made. The heavy base gives much more consistant results.
You can get Instant Pot pressure cooker for efficient cooking and simmering and steaming with electricity. They have also air fryer covers, so baking and roasting is an option too.
Wow, amazingly comprehensive video - thanks!