Induction Cooktop Retrofit

[Gordon1152]

Thanks TurnerFam! Yep, same panel in ours ...

[LandKO]

We moved from a TT that had an outdoor kitchen (which I used a lot), to a Class C that did not.
I still wanted to be able to cook outside, preferred electric over gas or charcoal, so we bought a 2 place Portable Induction Cooktop.
https://www.amazon.com/Inducto-Induc...04737591&psc=1
I have a folding table that I set the cooktop on and are satisfied (so far) with using Induction cooking.
2 points about Induction cooking. 1. You will need pots and pans that are magnetic. Stainless Steel or Aluminum pans will not work. We found a set of pots and pans at Walmart that are made for Induction cooking (they also work on the propane stove inside the camper).
2. There is a learning curve with Induction. It not like cooking with gas or electric burners. I found several websites that offer sample settings for cooking various items. My Cooktop allows for cooking using Temperature or power (wattage) settings. It takes a bit to learn how to use it.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by jabrabu

I have a newer Chateau, and it has 2 gas burners and a single induction cooktop. The cooktop is a True Induction TI-1B:
https://www.amazon.com/True-Inductio...on+ti-1b&psc=1


The cooktop just drops into the opening, so you can easily remove it if you want to take it outside, but the receptacle it plugs into is under the sink so it's a bit of pain to get to that.


I like having both gas and induction options. We usually camp with electric service available, but not always.


I actually do most of my cooking using either a WeberQ grill or an electric skillet, and I don't use the RV stovetop much at all.

Hmm I think The Home Depot sells your range at least it looks very similar (and has the same model #).

[Gordon1152]

Thanks LandKO! I appreciate the input ...

[howzball]

Aside from all the electrical I'm curious if your 36.1 is like ours and the current propane cooktop is underneath two removable solid surface counter top pieces?
I've been seriously considering this Exact same project for a while now and figuring out how to make it look nice is my biggest hold up. I want it to be flush mount on the top of the counter top but, those removable sections sort of make it difficult to figure out.

Maybe your plan was to set the induction top directly in the current propane cut out?

Was you plan to leave your counter top as is or replace a section/all of it?

I swapped out our tank style water heater for an instant style so that freed up an entire 15/20 amp 120 volt circuit. My RV guy says running a new circuit from the panel to the stove was pretty easy considering we have the center 1/2 bath that connects the bed and kitchen.
Our plan was to just utilize that old WH circuit.

Our Palazzo is a 2015 and we've never used the propane cooktop once, we got the portable induction unit to use outside and loved it so much we ONLY use it now.

[Gordon1152]

Thanks howzball! It sounds like the galley setup of the two units and experience with induction is identical; and I'd like to think that it can be installed with the upper edge of the cooktop flush with or in close proximity to the underside of those panels so they can still be used. The "how" of that I was hoping to flesh out a little with this post, but having already replaced the double bowl sink with a single bowl and having opened a line of communication with the sink / countertop manufacturer, I'm not real concerned that it's going to be a problem.


I have a few more projects in the works before I make a purchase and then remove the old propane unit which I think will reveal a lot about what's the best approach. I'll keep you posted, or you me if you get to it first ... deal?

[Paulred]

For those who are considering an induction cooker, i suggest trying it first, and cheaply. I use a Nuwave cooker. I made an insert that sits on top of the gas grill, cut so I can use the gas or the cooker. It easily comes off if I need several gas burners. I am also one who seldom boondocks, so I use the cooker more than the gas. Plus, electric is included in camp fees, propane is your own coin.

I don't like gas ovens. I find heat control very iffy. And besides, no one ever puts their head in an electric oven and bakes themselves to death.

For years I use a tabletop convection oven. Big enough for a chicken or small pizza. It died and I switched to a Nuwave oven.

Not that I am a shill for Nuwave, bit I found their convection oven quite good. It even bakes cakes, as well as cooks quickly from frozen.

I use inexpensive pans from the dollar store as this makes cleanup much easier.

This is a low cost option before you go to the trouble of rewiring and installing the induction cooker.

[Gordon1152]

Thanks for the input Paulred! We're already commited to induction via the single burner portable and the induction specific cookware, but I'm sure there are folks that would like to look at you setup if you'd care to share a link to the model or some pics ...


Is it this one?

[mhs4771]

You need to understand how these 120V Two Burner Inductions work.
We have a True Induction Two Burner in our Redwood. When using a single burner you can get the full 1500 watts of power, which is the max you can get out of a typical 120V unit. When using both burners the available power is split between the two burners, so you can get 500 watts on one and 1000 watts on the other, or if you try to run both on High, each will only get 750 watts.
Now if you were to install a 240V outlet and install a 240V Induction then you could use full power on both, provided you were plugged into power that would support it.

[Paulred]

That is the oven. Note if you are cooking stuff for more than a few minutes I find it good to start cooking with the food foil wrapped then take it off part way through.
As for the cooker cast iron works great as does those copper non stick fry pans.

[Gordon1152]

mhs4771 do you find that to be an issue in your cooking often? The power management design has been brought up by others in induction discussions, but I don't recall anyone saying don't do it just be aware ...

[LandKO]

Originally Posted by The power management design has been brought up by others in induction discussions, but I don't recall anyone saying don't do it just be aware ...[/SIZE

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An example of the issue of power management discussed above is cooking a spaghetti meal (using one burner for the sauce and the other to boil water)
I had to fix the sauce first and then turn off that burner because the water in the pot on the other burner would not reach full boil if the second burner is on. The restricting factor being the available wattage with 120v. It wouldn’t be an issue if it were a 240v unit.
That being said, you learn how to manage your methods for cooking multiple items.

[Gordon1152]

Copy that ... Thanks LandKO!