Electric Cookers

[CrossedThreads]

So… inspired by the gas rage thread (and a now unsalvageable gas cooker) I thought I’d seek the collective wisdom of the forum on Electric Cookers.

We have a fairly run of the mill Bav 38 with the appalling techimpex cooker. It’s shot and needs replacing.

I’m open to investing in the equipment to go all electric (lithium, solar etc) but have only seen two potential cookers. The ocean chef and one from force 10. Has anyone seen any other potentials that can be gimballed for use in a sailing vessel?
Has anybody got one?
I’m aware of the counter top jobs etc, we have one of these but looking for something more “built in”
Thanks ?

 

[Arcady]

Techimpex? horizon | Marine Cookers

 

[Kelpie]

We bought a small induction hob and just sat it on top of the gimballed gas cooker. £80, job done. Still use gas occasionally if we run low on power.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Hi for a start don't listen to then here on ybw who got their head stuck in the sand , many boats now are using electric for cooking .
There are many oven build for just boats but like anything made for boats you pay through the nose .
Some boat I seen and we was about to do the same before we sold out last boats was to buy an normal oven and make it gimbal the same with the hob .
We used an induction hob for some years while at anchor and only used gas while in any seas.
On our lastest boats we not yet set up for electric and was shocked to find a small bottle of gas £42 come winter we be investing again if electric off grid

 

[Pete7]

We did briefly look at counter top ovens but many seem to need a large air gap around them. Though I have seen a picture recently of one fitted with a pair of large upside down Y stainless brackets to enable it to gimbal. Gas v Electric Galley - Page 13 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Thankfully the Ocean Chef is too wide which saved us a small fortune, but friends with the gas version say its superb.

One of the advantages of the counter top is you can easily see what is going on. Our oven at home is fitted higher so putting stuff in and lifting hot items out much easier.

Perhaps search the caravan market which might through up a solution since many now have mains electric.

Be interesting to hear what you decide.

 

[seajayare]

I have a GN Espace Lavante (gimballed 2 ring induction with electric oven and grill) about same size as standard small marine oven. just under 4kW connected load

 

[seajayare]

Watch as the brand new Levante 2 electric induction oven roasts a chicken in 1 hour 15 minutes – GN Espace – Yacht Galley Systems

 

[Offshore57]

We went all electric when we got our boat nearly 3 years ago, not that we foresaw the whole gas issues that have recently been highlighted, but as a personal preference we just didn't want gas on board. Ripped out the old gas cooker, pipes and two huge gas bottles. We have a double and a single induction hob, a combi oven / microwave and an air fryer.

 

[Lightwave395]

We bought a small induction hob and just sat it on top of the gimballed gas cooker. £80, job done. Still use gas occasionally if we run low on power.

We have similar, only use gas now when under way and the electric hob always when in a marina. When we spend time on board at our marina during winter we take a microwave with us but having a more lightweight kind of boat we don't have the space or power infrastructure to do much more. Still managed to save the cost of at least one gas refill whilst cruising May and June

 

[sailaboutvic]

We did briefly look at counter top ovens but many seem to need a large air gap around them. Though I have seen a picture recently of one fitted with a pair of large upside down stainless brackets to enable it to gimbal. Gas v Electric Galley - Page 13 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Thankfully the Ocean Chef is too wide which saved a small fortune, but friends with the gas version say its superb.

One of the advantages of the counter top is you can easily see what is going on. Our oven at home is fitted at higher to putting stuff in and lifting hot items out much easier.

Perhaps search the caravan market which might through up a solution since many now have mains electric.

Be interesting to hear what you decide.

Pete I think they need a 10cm gap around tho I have seen then much closer .

 

[Kelpie]

We have similar, only use gas now when under way and the electric hob always when in a marina. When we spend time on board at our marina during winter we take a microwave with us but having a more lightweight kind of boat we don't have the space or power infrastructure to do much more. Still managed to save the cost of at least one gas refill whilst cruising May and June

I found that by slightly bending the frame for the pan clamps, I could get them high enough to clear the induction hob. They pretty much lie on top of the glass, but weirdly they never get hot (stainless, I suppose?). In this position they work quite well with the flat bottomed kettle, but our pans a slight curve at the base and can ride over the clamps.
I could probably bend the frame a bit more, but tbh I've found a plate wedged in at the front does an excellent job. So we often use the induction when underway, unless it's seriously rough.

 

[Zing]

Techimpex? horizon | Marine Cookers

My choice.

 

[CrossedThreads]

My choice.

Looks ideal, seems like it would drop straight in the current gap. Did yours come with the boat or did you buy aftermarket? If so can you recommend a supplier?

 

[lustyd]

Watch as the brand new Levante 2 electric induction oven roasts a chicken in 1 hour 15 minutes – GN Espace – Yacht Galley Systems

How does one generate 5kWh on a cloudy December day in Blighty?

 

[RupertW]

Like others we only use gas underway or at anchor and a £40 induction hob that sits neatly on the 2 burner gas stove when at a marina.

Although we probably have sufficient battery power for very quick meals away from mains I’d have to up my 1000W inverter to 3000W to cope with the peak loads and I’m not keen to do that yet.

 

[lustyd]

The cooker linked above is 4kW, and you'd probably want a slightly bigger inverter if using it to full potential for extended periods (such as the roast chicken for over an hour mentioned).

 

[Buck Turgidson]

The cooker linked above is 4kW, and you'd probably want a slightly bigger inverter if using it to full potential for extended periods (such as the roast chicken for over an hour mentioned).

Yes, it is effectively a diesel powered cooker because the only way to use it away from mains supply is with a gen-set.

 

[lustyd]

To be fair, when I looked at the link they claimed only 1.02kWh was used, which makes sense as it's not full blast all the time - I was too lazy to correct myself as I assumed someone else would correct me . That's without veg or gravy though, and ignores the 4-5 cups of tea a British boat will need each day, and a second meal. 1kWh is 200W solar on the best day of the year in the UK, so in theory someone with 1kW of generation who doesn't use the boat out of season might get away with it, and with enough battery capacity might even convince themselves it's sustainable.

The logical next question is how unreasonable am I and others being? I don't need it to be infinitely sustainable, but I don't think it's unfair to expect a week at anchor in winter months, before returning to base for a charge. That's 14kWh for cooking alone, plus a few for house loads while sailing so we're only looking for maybe 20kWh in a week, which is 1666Ah. I think in winter that's going to be a struggle, but in the height of summer probably would work for large boats or boats willing to build out solar farms with the various trade-offs that entails (we quite like to sit in sunshine, for instance, and a solid bimini spoils that).

Given that there's nothing actually wrong with cooking on gas, aside from supply issues with one supplier and its dependents, I'm just not sure what the driving force is here. It's certainly not safer to have high voltage electric on board than gas, it's definitely not more convenient (assuming a good supplier), and it's about as far from cheaper as it gets. From an environmental perspective, this hyper consumerism is about as bad as it gets, replacing a working gas cooker with a whole boat full of stuff shipped around the world is not a good trade-off. In the med the extra heat in the saloon would be unwelcome, but hardly an issue in home waters.

 

[mjcoon]

How does one generate 5kWh on a cloudy December day in Blighty?

Just take more hours!

 

[lustyd]

Just take more hours!

There are only 2 or 3 useful hours in December though ?