Converting to an induction stove top

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rslifkin said:
I keep debating whether to bring the Instant Pot we hardly ever use from the house to the boat. I figure on the boat it might get more use, as the lid locks on. So if we've got a travel day where we'll be arriving late, the Instant Pot could sit in the galley sink running off the inverter (where it won't go flying under way) and food will be ready on arrival.

As far as the microwave, we use it, but not a lot. At some point I'll upgrade it to one of the nicer convection microwaves which will give us enough of an oven for most purposes, I think.
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We got an Instant Pot for home... since our most recent stovetop pressure cooker had crapped out... and decided we like it. When IP came out with a smaller 3qt version, we got one for the boat... and it works for us pretty much exactly like you're envisioning. (I never worked out how to use a stovetop pressure cooker while underway; never had gimballed stove top, fiddles, etc.)

OTOH, the 3qt IP is small (to fit our storage areas better) so won't do huge meals... so we still also use our larger slow cooker from time to time, ditto riding in the sink if necessary.

On the last boat we had a Sharp R820 combo microwave/convection oven, and it would -- and did -- nicely deal with Thanksgiving turkey (breast) one year. The original Sharp combo oven on the current boat just crapped out, so I replaced it with their newer model... which, as it turns out, also now includes an air fryer capability. (Whatever that is.) Haven't even used the new Sharp model yet, since I just finished the install a couple days ago...

Our current Kenyon electric cooktop isn't induction, but they make 'em... I think it'd be a nifty upgrade, but so many other things will be needing my attention in the near term I can't see replacing a working unit yet. Especially since that would probably also mean replacing our nesting cookware. But maybe one year I might get a round tuit...

-Chris
 
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First let me say, cooking while underway isn't too smart. A rouge wave can really mess with the galley.
If the next owner of my boat complains, 'It doesn't have a induction top and oven.' I think I'll let him/her do the conversion. I am happy. Maybe I will get a new Sharps microwave/convection oven. I currently use the microwave to reheat coffee ..... oh, and heat canned veggies.

Per running the microwave on the inverter, yes, I can do it for less than a minute. I only have 3x4D house batteries and an 1800 watt inverter.

I am still trying to figure out how a stove top pressure cooker can crap out. My pressure cooker is from the 1960s. I replaced the gasket many years ago and the gasket cost as much as a new pressure cooker. Maybe I will go high-tech, replace it with a instant pot..... maybe not. The standard pressure cooker are pretty much low tech. If the gasket is good and you can find the weight, one is pretty much 'good to go'.

I am not a "preppie" but if necessary, cooking, with prior planning, I can leave the dock today and survive for at least a couple of months. (meatless meals, not yummy)
Once a year, I change all my canned goods, giving the old stuff to a man who takes them to one of the islands for distribution.
 
Big thumbs-up for the Instant Pot. Strong preference over stove-top pressure cookers, which I have used for many years due to spending a lot of time at >8000 ft elevation in Colorado. I used to use a crock-pot and would often bring one on long deliveries with crew. Toss a bunch of stuff in it in the morning and set in the sink so crew could eat lunch/dinner whenever they desired. Instant Pot displaced crock pot. There are some very good cookbooks on Amazon.

My boat cookware is Le Creuset porcelain enamel cast iron, so about as induction-ready as it comes. I originally purchased as they have two 'bail' handles instead of long handles that are difficult to store. Even with that, I cannot imagine not having an oven. Perfect for me would be a propane oven and induction burners. Alas, not made. Too bad I can't find a propane counter-top oven.

We do a lot of cooking underway. Our boat is slow so we spend a lot of time underway - mealtimes are an exciting event aboard Weebles with much thought, planning, and anticipation.

Peter
 
I'm curious why you'd rather have a propane oven than an electric one? I often hear complaints about poor heat control with gas ovens, even in a household setting. I've seen people go for gas stove / electric oven combos in houses for that reason.
 
rslifkin said:
I'm curious why you'd rather have a propane oven than an electric one? I often hear complaints about poor heat control with gas ovens, even in a household setting. I've seen people go for gas stove / electric oven combos in houses for that reason.
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I have 800W of solar and 700AH lithium battery storage. I have that because I could never get my head around idea of running a generator that much. For me, a real head-scratcher when I see boats with roughly same number of generator hours as engine hours (or more!!!). It's getting borderline feasible to run limited AC off battery/solar. But no way would resistive heating elements qualify. Propane oven solves that problem.

But you are correct (as usual), the normal compromise for dual-fuel ranges was exactly the opposite: Gas hobs, electric ovens.

Peter
 
OldDan1943 said:
First let me say, cooking while underway isn't too smart. A rouge wave can really mess with the galley.

I am still trying to figure out how a stove top pressure cooker can crap out.
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Not too many serious rogue waves on lots of the AICW.

You'd think a stove top pressure cooker would be bullet-proof, but our last one developed a bulge in the lid, around the pressure relief valve... probably some kind of metal fatigue I guess... so I decided I didn't trust it enough to continue using it. Can't remember how old it was at the time, maybe only 20 years or so... but I didn't want to deal with the potential for shrapnel...

-Chris
 
mvweebles said:
For me, a real head-scratcher when I see boats with roughly same number of generator hours as engine hours (or more!!!).
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Sort of a fact-of-life for some boats these days... we (now) only have AC fridges, so the generator comes on before we leave the slip, doesn't stop 'til after we're plugged back into shorepower. This genset came to us with almost 3x the number of hours our engines have.

My preference would have been for AC/DC fridges, but then I guess Sub Zero and other similar brands don't do that. Ideally we can get an inverter installed to address that, along with occasional power to microwave, coffee maker, etc. without having to start the generator first. And without having to run the generator overnight at anchor.

-Chris
 
RE: The oven


Is there some sort of replacement oven that would combine with a microwave and/or air fryer? Killing two birds with one stone.


The admiral will not part with her over.....:rolleyes:


As for cooking underway.. do it all the time with the slow cooker. Engine powers it thru the inverter, and works GREAT. Never an issue. Stays put with some rather large wakes but those are rare.
 
ranger42c said:
Not too many serious rogue waves on lots of the AICW.

You'd think a stove top pressure cooker would be bullet-proof, but our last one developed a bulge in the lid, around the pressure relief valve... probably some kind of metal fatigue I guess... so I decided I didn't trust it enough to continue using it. Can't remember how old it was at the time, maybe only 20 years or so... but I didn't want to deal with the potential for shrapnel...

-Chris
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There are at least 2 ways for the pressure to escape. One with the normal 'weighted' valve and then a second relief plug that will be forced out to relieve the pressure.
Always check to make sure the main is clear and will pass the steam normally when cooking and that the safety valve is also operative. Finally, dont over fill the pressure cooker. I did that once and consider myself VERY lucky it did not vent in a quickly, uncontrolled manner aka, the top blowing off.
 
OldDan1943 said:
There are at least 2 ways for the pressure to escape. One with the normal 'weighted' valve and then a second relief plug that will be forced out to relieve the pressure.
Always check to make sure the main is clear and will pass the steam normally when cooking and that the safety valve is also operative. Finally, dont over fill the pressure cooker. I did that once and consider myself VERY lucky it did not vent in a quickly, uncontrolled manner aka, the top blowing off.
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Yep... I've only been using them for about 60 years or so... When I saw bent metal, both valves in place, I decided that one was well past it's sell-by date... for whatever reason.

-Chris
 
ranger42c said:
Yep... I've only been using them for about 60 years or so... When I saw bent metal, both valves in place, I decided that one was well past it's sell-by date... for whatever reason.

-Chris
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Plus the old fashion stove top pressure cooker is not that expensive.
 
For those who are concerned about pots sliding around on a glass top induction stove (or cooking while underway), I did a little picture of what I will be using. It is a silicon pastry mat. Good to have on board if any baking is planned. It actually fits over the entire stove top and makes a good work area for kneading dough. They have to be clean in order to grip. If there is a dusting of flour left on it, that's bad. A clean mat holds a pot in place to over 30 degrees (but not the contents, of course; good lids are required).

I just tipped the stove top. Easier than tipping the boat. I've had my boat close to 30 degrees exactly one time and don't intend to ever repeat. There were bigger issues than the coffee pot landing on the floor.

A normal bad wake might be 10 degrees. Roque waves are about as common as sasquach and I'm just as likely to see one. For most conditions where I would want to be standing at the stove, a silicon mat will keep things in place.
 

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I got a chance to try my Dutch oven on the stove top today and found it interesting. Turns out that lower settings were required than what I had thought. Because the lower settings regulate heat by turning on and off intermittently, I couldn't really get a good idea of energy use. I'll have to actually leave the Kill-a-Watt on for 20 minutes once I figure out how to regulate temperature accurately and then determine what it is using.

The first interesting thing was using the induction hob upside down on the top of the Dutch oven. Just as a warm up, I set the stove top at #5 and the little induction hob upside down at #6. After about 3 minutes I took the upside down hob off, and the silicon mat was smoking hot! 600F. The mat had a light scorching. I turned it down to #2 and later to #1. With the heat coming up from the stove top, it looks like the lid doesn't need much heat. Maybe just a little to brown a pie crust.

I should have brought an oven thermometer to the boat. Shooting my IR thermometer into the Dutch oven would give the temp of the iron bottom or sides, but not the actual air inside. And shooting the outside of the oven didn't help much as it was always 50 degrees cooler and not evenly heated. I finally put a bread pan in, raised off the bottom, and got the temp of the bread pan to settle at about 325. That was with the stove top set to 330F and the upsidedown hob set to #1. It will take some familiarity to actually learn how to get the right temp. Sort of like with cooking on a fire.

But the fact that the upside down induction hob worked too good made me think that it might not be required. Maybe insulation alone on the Dutch oven would work. Make a "tea cozy" out of welder's blanket and set that over the whole thing. It might take 15 minutes of upside down hob to brown a roast chicken.

So now it's just the 800# gorilla that's left: battery usage.
 
Forgot the pictures.
 

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rslifkin said:
I'm curious why you'd rather have a propane oven than an electric one? I often hear complaints about poor heat control with gas ovens, even in a household setting. I've seen people go for gas stove / electric oven combos in houses for that reason.
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The trend today in dirt houses with gas is gas cooktops and electric ovens for the reasons stated.
 
Seevee said:
RE: The oven


Is there some sort of replacement oven that would combine with a microwave and/or air fryer? Killing two birds with one stone.


The admiral will not part with her over.....:rolleyes:


As for cooking underway.. do it all the time with the slow cooker. Engine powers it thru the inverter, and works GREAT. Never an issue. Stays put with some rather large wakes but those are rare.
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Not that I know of but Breville makes a countertop convection oven that has an air frying feature. We have a two-burner induction cooktop, a small microwave on a shelf over the sink, with the Breville on the top of the enclosure for our two fridges. The Breville will roast a turkey breast, a whole chicken, and a prime rib as well as any dirt house oven. Or bake pies, cookies, or homemade pizzas.
 
Breville is an Aussie company doing well. Buy their products,it helps the dividends!
PS.Isn`t an oven an air fryer, or an air fryer an oven, that`s portable?
 
BruceK said:
Breville is an Aussie company doing well. Buy their products,it helps the dividends!
PS.Isn`t an oven an air fryer, or an air fryer an oven, that`s portable?
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I think an air fryer is basically a convection oven with more airflow to help drive more moisture out of the surface of the food (giving closer to a fried texture).
 
GoneDiving said:
The only silicone pastry mats I can find are all described as non stick which seems to be the opposite of what's being discussed. Are these the same thing?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Reusabl...349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0

FWIW, I could find silicone induction mats but they are only about 8" round.
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It looks like the same thing. They are non-stick to pastry dough but cling to glass and don't slide on a clean countertop.

The difference between the silicon dough kneeding mat and the silicon "induction" mat is the durometer rating, i.e., the softness of the silicone. Most of the induction "hot pads" and various silicone coasters are a harder silicon that doesn't grip as much. I have a little piece of very soft silicon that is used to keep things on the dash of my car. If the dash isn't dusty and the silicon pad is clean, it will keep a wallet or even a pair of sunglasses sitting on the dash (short of a head-on collision). I bought silicon coasters for the boat and while they are better than a cup on a bare surface, they aren't as grippy as I had hoped.

I just ordered a couple of these mats so that I would have spares or something to cut to size if I think that works better. Even the white printing on one side makes that side less grippy. But as you can see from my photo, it is still grippy enough for my purpose.
 
I got started on replacing my Seaward Princess 3 electric burner cooktop with induction. Seems NO ONE makes a direct drop-in replacement for the Seaward. I have read how others have designed filler panels.... I am lazy... I just want to pull out the old Seaward and drop in a new induction...So project is on hold...
 
What convection microwave did you acquire? We have been thinking of doing the same thing.


FWT said:
I am doing a new build, and the galley gave me cause to do a lot of soul searching. With a clean slate you can do what you want, so what do you want?

I too ended up choosing an induction cooktop. In part because its a boat for east coast use, so air conditioning is a must-have, which means a generator is a must have, and so I'll have the power to go electric in the galley anyway due to the other decisions.

But also a convection microwave. I don't know if that might figure into your plans, but its another thought to consider.

The idea of a dutch oven never occurred to me. Thanks for that thought.
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We had an old (20 years or so) convection microwave.... we just got rid of it and replaced it with a straight microwave.... the convection MW was only 800 watts.... we never used the convection part.... Admiral wanted a higher power MW.... keep MW power in your mind when you are shopping
 
What’s more likely to get used? Microwave or convection oven? At home i don’t have a microwave. On the boat, I have a sharp combined unit but I was thinking if replacing it.
 
bowball said:
What’s more likely to get used? Microwave or convection oven? At home i don’t have a microwave. On the boat, I have a sharp combined unit but I was thinking if replacing it.
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Same here
Dirt house never had but boat does
Used it about once a year as full time cruisers.
 
Ftbinc said:
What convection microwave did you acquire? We have been thinking of doing the same thing.
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New build of a Helmsman 38E.

At the moment it is spec'ed to be this:

https://www.cookwithkenyon.com/shop/silken2-2-burner-small/

That model has been used before on the boat, so it seemed easy and low stress. I have time to change if desired. The detail of exactly what model didn't command front-and-center attention for me yet.

You can see it in the more recent clips of the boat.

 
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