Induction cooker

halfcrazy

Re: Induction cooker

I just paid $3.509 per gallon for my fill up. I used 62 gallons this summer for cooking and some DHW. I am have since in the last 3 months forced the DHW to be electric. I use the propane to back it up when rarely needed. I now plan to go Electric with the cook top. I may have to add another kw or 2 of PV but for under a buck a watt I think that pv panels make sense here.

waynefromnscanada

Re: Induction cooker

halfcrazy wrote: »

for under a buck a watt I think that pv panels make sense here.

Well I added an extra KW PV this late Summer, at an exceptionally good price, and today was cloudy and cool with a need for some heat in the house. There was enough light through the clouds and showers to power the mini-split and warm the place to comfort level. Just call me happy.
Sorry Nova Scotia Power Inc, your loss is my gain. PV is most definitely becoming an economic positive.
If I had been told way back when I was first getting my feet wet in solar, that I'd one day be powering all the things I now do - - there's totally no way I would have believed it! And when I look back at what I paid for my first panels compared to today's prices - - it sickens me - - But that's life.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

as expensive as the propane is it is still expensive to install what is needed to go all electric with solar and some can't pay the amounts needed upfront for the large solar install. those with little $ have to go with what they can afford at the time even though they pay much more in the long run with the gas. if i had the $ i would have a huge solar installation with lots of land to place it on, but i would not just depend on that electric as i would make provision for cooking by other means for those times of low solar production. wood stoves, nat gas, and propane are options for that backup as well as generators. all these backups are fossil fuels to chris' dismay, but with enough $ one does not have to deal with the realities of life many of us deal with. btw chris, your generator will need more fossil fuel soon.

see that wayne your posting while i was writing made it seem like i was criticizing you so i had to pop chris' name in there as to who i meant. i type too darn slow.

westbranch

Re: Induction cooker

Right Niel, Redundancy ( for/ during a failure) can cost more , but one also needs to factor in potential costs of damage from a failure against the cost of the redundancy.
For cooking it is quite low, the growlies vs the nag factor, while in heating it has a much higher potential for cash outlay...
when I can afford it I go for redundancy.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

yes, it does boil down to how much money one has doesn't it? and thank you for making my point go even further as that's what i was saying all along that chris doesn't quite understand being, well to do, that everybody can't do as he suggests.

btw, i am announcing my resignation as moderator over disputes with naws' policies aimed at moderators due to chris olson's money meaning more to those at naws than the efforts we moderators do at keeping the forum free from misdirections and false claims. let the free for all begin as we've been stripped of our power.

and now i say that wood burning stoves are another good option for cooking that doesn't require the vastness in pv to cook with. as far as heating goes that's the same thing, just bigger stakes.

waynefromnscanada

Re: Induction cooker

niel wrote: »

btw, i am announcing my resignation as moderator.

Niel, I'm VERY VERY sorry to read of your resignation as a moderator. You will be missed. I want to thank you for all the help you gave me over the years and hope things go well for you in the future. May health and contentment follow you.
Peace be with you Niel.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

thank you wayne. i do intend to stay on here at the forum as a regular member if naws and chris' monetary hold over naws allows me to as i wouldn't miss this fiasco for the world. i do feel for my remaining counterparts bill and marc if they stay as mods.

general speak,
gee, what on earth will i do with all of this new found free time? i know a few are smiling at this as this is what they have been pushing for for many years, right nitwhit? they will get theirs in the end.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

and now to institute my last act as moderator i shall go in and downgrade my status.

silvertop

Re: Induction cooker

halfcrazy wrote: »

I was thinking I may swap the gas range out for a Gas oven/Electric cook top unit but then I just read the post above and decided that's just what I will do. I will make a nice plywood top and buy a couple induction cooktops. Boy I sure despise paying the propane bill and with the price of PV now I sure wonder if one can make the financial argument for more electric cooking or water heating. I need to go find my calculator now..

Ryan

Exactly what we did, I told the wife to be sure not to run the oven without removing the plywood top as the back burner is the oven vent but I don't foresee us running the oven either. Wife wants two Sonys induction cooktops eventually sunk into our island. I cooked lunch on it today and found for me I need to start on low ( I'm an inpatient cook ) because it cooks faster. We load shift as needed using all the electric we can. While this induction cooker was running 840 Watts, we had the Sonys 110v dryer running on High Power 1490 Watts. These two ran on the big inverter 3000 Watt and the house ran on the 1500 Watt inverter. It was too cool for line drying soo glad we found this other product!!!! I'm really looking forward to Array # 4 I got the XW MPPT inside wired and now need to backtrack out and get the Array built !!!!

halfcrazy

Re: Induction cooker

Yes I am thinking "If" one has to have a nice generator anyhow might as well up the anti a little on the PV and Wind and do things like cooking with electric if it is practical for them. I mean if the system can support the cooking ay 75% of the time the other 25% may cause the generator to start but then it was probably going to have to start soon anyhow so kill 2 birds with one stone. That said if it is cold and I don't have spare electricity I would fire up the wood cookstove

mike95490

Re: Induction cooker

propane in Northern Calif is $2.30 today.

icarus

Re: Induction cooker

Propane for me is about $1/lbs. a 100# cyl cost me just about $100, about $5/gal. Anything i can do to reduce the demand is a bonus, and at under $1/watt adding PV (and battery capacity) is increasingly more advantageous. As I have often said, i would have gone with conventional fridge over the LP variety if I were building from scratch. To run my current fridge on resistant electric would require another 3-400 watts of PV.

For me water heat is not much of an issue since we gmt most of it from wood, and in the summer we really don't need much, (we hqve a nice cool lake and a wood fired hot tub. Cooking in the summer is still LP and is still used in the winter.

The bottom line, is there is no right answer that is the same for everyone,

Tony

westbranch

Re: Induction cooker

Just musing a bit.... seems to me that the switch over from wood fired coffee percolator would/will match up with the spring
solstice and thus with the greatest increase of PV power, so it might work (after a few seasons ) for us to use an induction type cooker. will just have to test the waters so to speak. I like it better than the propane option as less copper pipe to install and no gas leaks...

niel

Re: Induction cooker

me, i think a microwave is just as good if not better. it can cook larger items without having to heat the water to a boil first before it transfers the heat to the food as microwaves heat the food from within making it more efficient. sure this too is a large drawing electrical appliance, but in the long run it will use les power than an induction cooker. it can also cook more food at one time. don't forget there is often a meat, potato, veggies and maybe even pie that an induction plate would need to address separately whereas a microwave could cook more than one item at a time and sometimes all of the items at one time. as an add to this it will also boil water quickly for anything you prefer to be cooked in water. if you've got the excess watts to burn off grid, this is the better choice. so why do you need an induction plate?

halfcrazy

Re: Induction cooker

Niel
My biggest issue is the Wife does not like cooking in the microwave. She prefers the crock pot or the likes. I am buying her an electric toaster oven this weekend and will follow up with an induction plate. My theory is the inverter is more than capable of all these loads combined. The battery is large enough to. So I might as well use the excess PV and not buy fossil fuel. If my batteries are low I have 3 options. Cook with Gas, Start the generator and cook with electric (Probably needed if the batteries are low anyway) or fire up the wood stove or brick oven fired with wood. So my biggest thing is simply to stop paying for propane at least as much as possible. I already have a Kenmore fridge and 2 big freezers that are electric so no gas needed there.

Ralph Day

Re: Induction cooker

No induction cooker here. I've got a single electric element, but it's squrilled away somewhere...so many things, so little counter space. I couldn't justify yet another thing on the horizontal surfaces.

If I ever built again part of the kitchen would be a large cupboard with a shelving system on a conveyor belt. You turn the crank and the appliance you want comes to the hatch, pull it out, use it, put it away and shut the door. Mixer? Boom, it's there. Toaster? Boom it's there. But that's in my dream kitchen (it also cleans itself and prepares food by itself) Hey, I need a Hazel (did I just date myself or what?)

Ralph

H2SO4_guy

Re: Induction cooker

Niel,

I am sorry you are not to be a in the captains seat anymore, I sure hope you stay on, I know that you have helped me on some of my hair-brained ideas to save money in this solar 'Adventure' that I have been on. It is finally a reality that I am living off-grid having wanted to since the late 1980's, just wish I had done it sooner like most that do make the plunge. I got a deal on a brand new commercial induction hot plate (1800 watt) on Evil-bay. Don't use a microwave due to the radiation, so the induction is pretty neat. It has lots of limitations, namely I can't use the nifty copper-bottom cookware that I like so much. I will be on the hunt for some new (Thrift store variety that is) cookware and will be carrying a magnet so I can tell if it is a good candidate.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

halfcrazy,
i was not pushing anybody to buy gases. people assume and listen to those that went off the deep end. just because i said not everybody can accommodate the extra electric in their off grid systems does not mean i said they have to buy propane as i never said that. i said it is an economic issue for many that they can't always come up with the necessary $ to buy in solar to have lavish electrical loads. just because some of you can doesn't mean everybody can. it doesn't take lots of $ to cook with gas upfront, but you know it does cost a great deal to expand upon pv to the extent that they can utilize these kinds of loads at all times of the year and weather as an exclusive means of cooking.

i am not acting as hank hill here. people seem to love to twist what i say for some reason and take it out of context. how do you know i wasn't pushing wood stoves? that's a far better answer than gas.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

H2SO4_guy wrote: »

Niel,

I am sorry you are not to be a in the captains seat anymore, I sure hope you stay on, I know that you have helped me on some of my hair-brained ideas to save money in this solar 'Adventure' that I have been on. It is finally a reality that I am living off-grid having wanted to since the late 1980's, just wish I had done it sooner like most that do make the plunge. I got a deal on a brand new commercial induction hot plate (1800 watt) on Evil-bay. Don't use a microwave due to the radiation, so the induction is pretty neat. It has lots of limitations, namely I can't use the nifty copper-bottom cookware that I like so much. I will be on the hunt for some new (Thrift store variety that is) cookware and will be carrying a magnet so I can tell if it is a good candidate.

thanks for your concern and i'm glad i was of some help to you. unless naws take issue with me to ban me because i disagreed with them, i do plan on being around. i now won't have to put in the lengthy time i did before every day. it was not an easy task to do and i have great respect for bill and marc who shared in that task with me. they might be a bit mad at me that i left moderating or are scared because i stood up to naws in moves that i thought wrong and unfair to those of us that were volunteering all of this time and effort.

it does seem you have a misconceived notion of microwave ovens though. that isn't radiation like in radioactive isotopes. it is high powered radio waves in and around the 2400mhz area.

BB.

Re: Induction cooker

And not upset with/at Niel at all.

I understand why he choose to step down from moderating. It can be a huge time sink at times, and stuff behind the scenes that is not always fun. We all want the forum to continue and prosper going forward and appreciate that NAWS has funded the forum with their own time and money to keep the lights on here.

-Bill

Cariboocoot

Re: Induction cooker

niel wrote: »

it does seem you have a misconceived notion of microwave ovens though. that isn't radiation like in radioactive isotopes. it is high powered radio waves in and around the 2400mhz area.

Just to expand on that a little; this is where people get the basis for the notion that things like cell phones are dangerous. They can't seem to grasp the difference between a few hundred Watts of microwave emissions in an enclose 1 cubic foot space and a few milliwatts out in open air. It's roughly like thinking lighting a match is as dangerous as standing inside a burning building.

A couple of other electric cooking appliances that may suit (and let's be honest here; much of the choice has to do with the cooking quality rather than pure efficiency):

Crock pot; low simmer all day. Perfect if you like soggy food.
Air-cooker like countertop convection oven or T-Fal's "Actifry". Doesn't give that nice, greasy fry taste men all love though.

I've got all three, and they sit unused 99% of the time. Frankly I like my glass pots on gas flame. And as mentioned before I have used all the electric cookers as well.

waynefromnscanada

Re: Induction cooker

niel wrote: »

it does seem you have a misconceived notion of microwave ovens though. that isn't radiation like in radioactive isotopes. it is high powered radio waves in and around the 2400mhz area.

It's unfortunate that so many scare stories have spread around the net. In reality, if you were to drill a hole through the door, or any other part of the microwave oven, and stick your finger in the hole, if you could stand the pain your finger would get burned same as if you held it in boiling water. In both cases, if you don't leave it till the finger is cooked, it will heal like any other burn.
There are MANY kinds of "radiation", some, like the deep IR radiation from your wood stove serves to warm your house, but will also burn your finger if you touch the stove. There's magnetic radiation from your induction cooker and it's those magnetic waves being radiated from the top of the device that heats the pan. There's also visible light radiation from light bulbs and the sun, enabling us to see. And then there's the dangerous ionizing radiation such as from nuclear bombs that cause genetic damage. That's a whole different kettle of fish, but those spreading scare stories don't bother to explain any of that. In fact, in their ignorance, they probably don't know the difference themselves.

Slappy

Re: Induction cooker

Neil sorry to hear that. Even I have learned alot from you. And I am airhead (old age). but enjoy your extra free time.have to add this thanks alot to all the mods here thank you for your time.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

exactly guys, but i must say the power levels coot mention aren't quite accurate as the spread is about 3w rf for cell phones and 500w-1000w rf for microwave ovens. radio waves can indeed cause burns no matter the frequency, but it does depend on circumstances, power levels, and even resonance which may go beyond the scope of some here understanding. i have gotten rf burns many times and they can smart a little. radio waves are ac power high enough in frequency that the power goes through the air and i was going to say radiate through the air which is also a correct way of putting it. this should not be confused with radioactivity.

niel

Re: Induction cooker

slappy,
i am glad that i helped you too and just because i am no longer a mod does not mean i wouldn't help anybody now. i kind of know what you are saying though about getting older as i'm not as sharp as i used to be.:p

ggunn

Re: Induction cooker

Cariboocoot wrote: »

Up here the problem is that grid electric, propane, and NG (where available) are all very cheap making any solar-sourced power the expensively bad choice!

How terrible for you!

westbranch

Re: Induction cooker

Cariboocoot wrote: »

Doesn't give that nice, greasy fry taste men all love though.

Then it sounds like you will NOT like the new french fry that McCaines has developed for Burger King... 40% less fat absorbed and 30% less calories than McD's boo hiss :grr

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/business/burger-king-introducing-a-lower-fat-french-fry.html?_r=0

niel

Re: Induction cooker

i don't know if many have noticed, but this thread is weird. it is in a sense a contrary thread where high powered electric appliances are being pushed, high fat high caloric foods are desired, and not having high utility bills are being looked down upon.

halfcrazy

Re: Induction cooker

Not sure I would say High powered is being pushed, Maybe more of a change in the way Offgrid systems are being built? I see it daily and the average off grid system has Way more PV than it used to. Maybe 10X more in cases. What I was saying or probably asking is does any one see the logic in having a auto start generator and say an electric cook top vs propane. My logic here is the Generator is needed anyhow, The cook top is needed so maybe with today's off grid systems it "could" be feasible to use more electric than we are used to or even think is proper. I see things changing fast and wonder if my old mindset is causing me to miss more obvious scenarios.

I guess what I am really asking is lets assume the customer has purchased an average off grid inverter (XW6048 ) and has say 6KW of PV. Now they bought a decent generator and store bulk diesel. So instead of having Propane as well on site they "Could" use electric for cooking. When the Solar is not capable the generator can be started and run the cooktop and charge the batteries?

NorthGuy

Re: Induction cooker

halfcrazy wrote: »

I guess what I am really asking is lets assume the customer has purchased an average off grid inverter (XW6048 ) and has say 6KW of PV. Now they bought a decent generator and store bulk diesel. So instead of having Propane as well on site they "Could" use electric for cooking. When the Solar is not capable the generator can be started and run the cooktop and charge the batteries?

This all depends on the situation. There are lots of choices, and it is always possible to find ways to make off-grid life better.

I do have natural gas available, so it not only feeds my furnace, cooktop, water heater, and drier, it also runs my generator. Although I admit, if natural gas prices go up dramatically, I'll be installing more solar, buying induction cooktops, electric driers etc. You got to adopt to what you have.