Induction cook tops in most new Coaches?

We recently purchased a 2018 Miramar Class A and it came with the induction stove. My wife has always liked cooking on gas so initially we weren't happy but we both really like the induction stove now. It is instant on and off heat. However, I don't know how much it will draw from batteries as I have not used it off the grid yet. I would see which model induction is installed and then lookup the specs and see how much power draw it has. I don't think the induction stoves draw near as much power as an electric stove.

Burch

Are some of them diesel cooktops? I've see a few that are smooth glass on top like electric but are actually burning diesel fuel inside somehow.

Could be users on this forum are exceptional users of their equipment, going off grid and such. I imagine the vast majority of class A, or any camping unit, never set foot off the pavement of a hookup providing campground.

Having had electrical stoves before, I definitely would not want one in an RV. If you like it, then good for you.

But the cost of powering one is huge relative to gas. I suppose that as long as you are hooked up to electricity you just won't notice, but on the other hand, while dry camping it appears to me it will kill your house batteries very soon. That means you might have to run your generator a lot.

Of course, I could be totally wrong on this.

My wife still likes gas in general, house and RV and she lost the oven on this one (I don't think she cared about the fridge one way or the other).

The trend is definately all electric. A 2012 Tour we looked at had a 28 gal LP tank on the frame that served nothing but the cooktop. I laughed and said it probably still has the same fuel in it from the Dealer 5 years ago.

The diesel generator typically uses 0.4 to 0.6 gallons per hour when it is being used. It might be a bit more but still less than a gallon per hour even if fully loaded (cooking, residential fridge on a cooling cycle, all air conditioners on full, etc.).

Unless you are cooking 24 hours a day it shouldn't be a problem even when boondocking or off grid for a week at a time.

Your charger/inverter will have generator control to automatically start the generator when batteries are low then turn it off when charged. Reports I've heard are people run the generator in the morning (while cooking breakfast?) and in the evening (cooking dinner?) and run on batteries without problem the rest of the time. Total usage maybe 2 gallons per day. You can stay disconnected for a LOT of days that way!

Diesel generators are much more efficient than gas generators you are familiar with from your trailer and combined with the large (100 gallon?) fuel tank you have a LOT of capacity. Plus you can burn through a lot of propane particularly when it is also being used to heat the coach on a cool night.

Finally, induction cooking is more efficient than propane. The pans get hotter, faster but you still have the instant heat control that gas gives (if it is burning turn it down and get instant response). Induction is SO much nicer to cook with than the miserable, low BTU propane burners that my wife (former chef) insists that replacing our propane burners with and induction cooktop is a HIGH PRIORITY upgrade for us!

Induction cooktop is just OK I'll admit gas was better. However being done with LP trumps that!

Gonzo42 wrote:
Having had electrical stoves before, I definitely would not want one in an RV. If you like it, then good for you.

But the cost of powering one is huge relative to gas. I suppose that as long as you are hooked up to electricity you just won't notice, but on the other hand, while dry camping it appears to me it will kill your house batteries very soon. That means you might have to run your generator a lot.

Of course, I could be totally wrong on this.

You are wrong on this.

From what you wrote it is obvious that you are thinking of traditional electric stoves where you have elements that heat up. Yes, those are inefficient.

Induction doesn't work that way and it is VERY efficient! My wife (former chef) says it has all the advantages for her of gas cooking without an open flame (instant heat control) and induction gets hotter, faster than RV propane stoves.

At home when we upgraded the kitchen almost 10 years ago we put in an expensive state-of-the-art radiant glass cooktop. Now she hardly uses it and instead uses a portable pro-model (Berghoff) induction burner. If we were going to keep our bricks&sticks we would replace the radiant cooktop with an induction cooktop!

Two Jayhawks wrote:
Induction cooktop is just OK I'll admit gas was better.

Really? I'm not sure how gas is better.

We have a portable 1800W induction burner in the coach alongside the propane burners until we can replace them with an induction cooktop. We actually did a test where we measured the same amount of water into two pots and set them to boil. The induction burner brought the water to boil MUCH faster!

Why do you think propane gas is better?

At high altitude in the mountains, gas becomes less efficient and induction works better. During warm months, induction cooking puts much less heat in to the coach for the AC to overcome.

The new residential refers use very little power. My Whirlpool uses two to three amps with the compressor running. Same for the Induction cook top, it uses more than the refer, but is much better and safer than propane.