Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

Electric Cookers

Norfolk Jim

Norfolk Jim

Messages
399
Location
Norfolk
Vehicle
Looking to buy
Advice please on electric cookers.

We are going to be on Outer Hebrides for couple of weeks soon and with 907 refills getting like hens teeth we are looking at the option of small electric cookers for where we have hook-up. I'm no electrician but understand volts x amps = watts so if on 10 amp EHU max wattage cooker is going to be around 2.3kW.

I've not yet bought my first Cali (yes I know still looking but hoepfully soon the right one will come up) and so have a 3 way Dometic fridge which obviously when off grid uses gas to operate. Therefore thinking always using EHU when avilable to save on gas.

Don't want to spend a fortune but any good suggestions???? Even the small gas bottles used in portable cookers are seemingly thin on thr ground!
 
We use a Remoska (it is not Russian!). Available from Lakeland. Can cook everything in one. They Roast, Fry, Bake, boil. Use 400 watts. Easy to clean.
 
We use a Remoska (it is not Russian!). Available from Lakeland. Can cook everything in one. They Roast, Fry, Bake, boil. Use 400 watts. Easy to clean.
Oh Thank you - looks a little bit expensive!! I'm thinking of more an actual hot plate so pans can be swapped over etc.

Thank
 
We’ve recently bought the Vango Sizzle double induction hob. Only used it on EHU hookup twice so far and haven’t tripped the campsite power. Works very well.
Be aware though, that you need ferrous (ie steel) saucepans. Obviously no good with aluminium. Although you can buy steel plates to sandwich between aluminium pans and the surface of the hob.
 
We’ve recently bought the Vango Sizzle double induction hob. Only used it on EHU hookup twice so far and haven’t tripped the campsite power. Works very well.
Be aware though, that you need ferrous (ie steel) saucepans. Obviously no good with aluminium. Although you can buy steel plates to sandwich between aluminium pans and the surface of the hob.
Thank you - I shall have a look but I think most of our pans are ali from camping days - having said that pans are cheap enough to change - thank you
 
Oh Thank you - looks a little bit expensive!! I'm thinking of more an actual hot plate so pans can be swapped over etc.

Thank
£170 for the standard size, cooks everything. Depends on one's budget I guess. Happy hunting.
 
After years of abuse frying etc on our back porch our old Tefal Everyday induction hob has finally become a little temperamental.
We’ve replaced it with an excellent new IKEA one. More basic, as doesn’t have the presets for milk , boil, stir fry etc., but cheaper and easier to clean, as has a one piece glass top with inbuilt touch controls.
Just be careful not to slide pan over the touch controls!

 
I've been using a 2kw camping hob for the first 3 summer holidays, all ok.
The last two summer holidays I have switched to a cheap gas hob, the usual one that you buy online and they give you spare 227gr cartridges with. I will never go back. It takes the same space, it weights less, it costs nothing, cartridges available everywhere and most importantly, even on the lowest setting, it cooks almost twice as quick since the heat is available immediately and doesn't have to bring the base of the hob to temperature first.
No need to plug in to extensions cord etc.. you can leave it outside and nobody will steal it, being less than 20 quid worth. It works with any type of pot/kettles. One cartridge lasts me between 5 to 7 days, cooking 2 meals a day and coffee in the morning.
I know the EHU you pay electricity already, sometime included and you want to make use of it. But for 2 quid a week cost of a cartridge the extra faff is not worth it, in my opinion.
 
Definitely a Remoska ...

but an induction hob is an excellent second best.
Thanks - they look good but we only want an actual cooking ring rather than a pot type item which takes up more space. Also a bit more money than we'd like to spend!
 
I've been using a 2kw camping hob for the first 3 summer holidays, all ok.
The last two summer holidays I have switched to a cheap gas hob, the usual one that you buy online and they give you spare 227gr cartridges with. I will never go back. It takes the same space, it weights less, it costs nothing, cartridges available everywhere and most importantly, even on the lowest setting, it cooks almost twice as quick since the heat is available immediately and doesn't have to bring the base of the hob to temperature first.
No need to plug in to extensions cord etc.. you can leave it outside and nobody will steal it, being less than 20 quid worth. It works with any type of pot/kettles. One cartridge lasts me between 5 to 7 days, cooking 2 meals a day and coffee in the morning.
I know the EHU you pay electricity already, sometime included and you want to make use of it. But for 2 quid a week cost of a cartridge the extra faff is not worth it, in my opinion.
We do frequently use one of those cookers especially for cooking steak outside but if weather is bad I'd rather not use one inside as I wouldn't find it safe enough, plus the canisters for these around here are in short supply at most camping outlets - i.e. Go Outdoors. Where they are available the price is silly.
 
After years of abuse frying etc on our back porch our old Tefal Everyday induction hob has finally become a little temperamental.
We’ve replaced it with an excellent new IKEA one. More basic, as doesn’t have the presets for milk , boil, stir fry etc., but cheaper and easier to clean, as has a one piece glass top with inbuilt touch controls.
Just be careful not to slide pan over the touch controls!

I did see that one and thought how neat it was at Ikea but realised an induction hob only works on steel/iron pans..................what do we use - yep you've guessed it aluminium. We have a wonderful set of trangia stacking pots with lids which I've owned for 45 years!!! Beauty is they stack in themselves so take up next to no room and they clean really easy....................
 
Thanks so much for all the replies. Looks like we'll need to either change our cookware and go for a small induction hob like the Ikea one or I did find this which has good reviews. It's quite neat and small enough to hide away.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies. Looks like we'll need to either change our cookware and go for a small induction hob like the Ikea one or I did find this which has good reviews. It's quite neat and small enough to hide away.
That would do the job :)
 
I did see that one and thought how neat it was at Ikea but realised an induction hob only works on steel/iron pans..................what do we use - yep you've guessed it aluminium. We have a wonderful set of trangia stacking pots with lids which I've owned for 45 years!!! Beauty is they stack in themselves so take up next to no room and they clean really easy....................
Hi Jim.
We had the same issue when we first bought our new cooker with an induction hob at home to replace the separate cheap built in oven and electric hob we inherited with the house.
Already had a full set of stainless steel saucepans and wok etc.
They wouldn’t work on the new hob, as made from the wrong kind on stainless steel!
Found out later the pots need to attract a magnet. So, correct stainless steel, cast iron or the ‘composite’ ones with a magnetic base layer added.
As a temporary fix we bought a couple of induction hob pan converters, as below.
These would take up very little space and could allow you to keep your classic pots?
Regards
Andy

 
Thanks so much for all the replies. Looks like we'll need to either change our cookware and go for a small induction hob like the Ikea one or I did find this which has good reviews. It's quite neat and small enough to hide away.
I have one very similar to this and it works well. I have a 1,600 watt Victron inverter and 240AH of Lithium batteries and no issues at all off grid as well. I also have a nice and compact electric BBQ that uses 1,200 watts for grilling steaks, fish, etc. I almost never use propane in the van at all and prefer to use electric for everything. To do that properly you need either EHU or a good setup of batteries, inverter and solar to get the job done. Winter could be a challenge with the solar, but having a "charge booster" helps to charge the leisure batteries from the alternator quickly.

That said, my mechanic/garage is working with VW Germany to modify the software for the VW BMC module so that we can bypass the need completely for a charge booster and take advantage of the full 170Amps or so the alternator can put out to charge them even faster if required.
 
We do frequently use one of those cookers especially for cooking steak outside but if weather is bad I'd rather not use one inside as I wouldn't find it safe enough, plus the canisters for these around here are in short supply at most camping outlets - i.e. Go Outdoors. Where they are available the price is silly.

As an aside, you may want to look here for gas canisters

 
I was looking at the one from IKEA. They do a small and large. The small looks like a perfect fit in the Cali.
 
Oh wow - thanks - that's quite a bargain!!
I'll bear them in mind if Go Outdoors doesn't get them in next week as I'd have to add £3.95 delivery onto WoW Camping figures :( making Go Outdoors cheaper with 8 for £12 offer. They are supposed to get them in enxt week.
 
They do the campinggaz canisters in Charlie’s £5.99 for a pack of 4 .Bought 16 similar called GoSystem a while ago for £3.99 pack of 4 when it looked like things were about to hit the fan. Had a look recently and seems they don’t sell the cheaper ones any longer. So it’s £5.99 or nothing.
 
They do the campinggaz canisters in Charlie’s £5.99 for a pack of 4 .Bought 16 similar called GoSystem a while ago for £3.99 pack of 4 when it looked like things were about to hit the fan. Had a look recently and seems they don’t sell the cheaper ones any longer. So it’s £5.99 or nothing.
Sadly no Chalrie's round here :(
 
After years of abuse frying etc on our back porch our old Tefal Everyday induction hob has finally become a little temperamental.
We’ve replaced it with an excellent new IKEA one. More basic, as doesn’t have the presets for milk , boil, stir fry etc., but cheaper and easier to clean, as has a one piece glass top with inbuilt touch controls.
Just be careful not to slide pan over the touch controls!

Whats the power consumption to run this hob? Can't find the specs on the website
 

Similar threads

Back
Top