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Topic: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove (Read 3163 times) previous topic - next topic

Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

I have a 1997 U-320 and be did away with the lep and want to replace with an electric stove top. Anyone done this and what did you put in its place?

Sagre
Steven Green
1997 U-320

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #1 –
Assuming you have the typical cooktop with separate convection microwave (and not a gas range combo)

If you search this board for "induction" you'll see a number of different folks' versions.  There are some pretty slick installations our members have done  ^.^d

Be aware that you will likely have a single 120 VAC circuit for the new cooktop.  What does this mean?  You have a TOTAL of 15-20 amps that both induction burners will share.  You can boil or stir fry on 1 but not both at the same time.  If burner #1 is at full power, you might be able to simmer on burner #2.  If burner #1 is at 50% you can likely run burner #2 at 50%.  Also be sure you have/wire a dedicated circuit for the cooktop to maximize it's capability without impacting other circuits.

Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #2 –
I did it and put a induction burner in a drawer under where the stove was.  We could take it outside or put it on the counter when we cooked.  It also meant as long as we were not using it we had a whole counter open.  There is a 120 line under the top feeding the lighter system on the LP stove.
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #3 –
An induction stove top is in my future and I'm going to put in a 30 amp breaker and run a 10 gauge wire so I will be able to
run both elements.
Peter and Frieda Morin
1999 36ft. U320 Foretravel
Build # 5436
1998 Suzuki Sidekick Sport

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #4 –
I suspect the device will not run above 15 amps , unless you are talking a different device the the true inducruin
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #5 –
One you go to all electric then if you want to be away from a post or a generator you have to have a substantial battery capacity, a big inverter and lots of solar.  We kept the two burner LP stove and run it from an 11 lb LP tank.  There are 5 lb tanks as well.  We wanted to keep the option of using our LP fire pit as well.  Our 11 lb tank lasts about 3-4 months.

You may be able to run the LP cooktop (with some modifications) using the green grill gas cylinders.

We have an induction cooker too and it gets used on the picnic table a lot, once in a while inside.
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #6 –
As roger posted.  Serious power system needed to run a dual element induction cook top.  Gen on every time unless you add many thousands of dollars worth of batteries and inverters and solar to recharge this.

Coach was not made new for this kind of appliance. 

If you are in a area where running the gen cannot be done you cannot cook....
"Riding and rejoicing"
Bob
1997 U320 40' Mid entry, build 5132,  wtbi ce27, 4th owner
2007 Solara convertible
2 prodeco tech outlaw ss electric bikes

1095 watts solar
08 Ls 460 and a sc430
2000 Ford F-250 superduty 4x4

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #7 –
All right so I guess I'll have to be to the dissenter. it does not take a huge amount of electricity to cook with an induction cooktop.
Of course you have to consider your other electrical needs too. If you have a residential refrigerator for instance, you're going to need a lot more power. But it can be done.
I'm a pretty good cook actually gourmet I would like to think and I can do almost everything I need to do on one burner. There's also other ways to cook in the coach, including an instant pot, grill outside or the microwave convection. A decent set of batteries and a couple solar panels on top and that's all you need. Of course a little planning is necessary. It would be cool if you could do it while the sun's still up and your batteries are charged but it's not totally necessary. There's a guy that lives out of a minivan in Canada. He's got a 100 amp hour battery and one small solar panel on the roof. And he cooks on a single induction plate or a slow cooker. And he makes gourmet meals too. Don't think it's impossible to cook well in the coach well unless you use a lot of power. It's not. If you want a second burner all you have to do is pull it one out of the drawer and stick it on the counter.
Remember you'll rarely use full power on these induction burners. It's rarely needed to do that unless you're boiling water. And to boil a water and an induction burner it's fast.
What you need if you're going to be doing this off grid, is it decent set of batteries, AGM or lithium, some solar panels more of course is better but not necessarily so, a good inverter capable of handling several thousand watts, and an induction hot plate which you can get off of Amazon for $60 plus induction cookware. I also recommend an instapot or similar. The new ones have an air fryer built into the lid so that gives you even more options. And with an instapot you can also do slow cooking on it. Almost anything that you want to cook you can do it with that setup.
Check out foresty Forest on YouTube He's a pretty cool guy and he makes do with a whole lot less than what we have and does it well.

forestyforest
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #8 –
Living in the back of a mini van is hardly the same as living in a motor coach.  Hook up you induction cook top to a Kill-A-Watt meter and cook dinner and tell us exactly how many watts it takes in an hour cook your gourmet dinner.  And in the mean time your residential refrigerator used about 70 watts in an hour.  1000 watts maybe?  That is 80 amps out of your batteries in an hour.  If you have 3 8Ds in good shape that is more than 40% of your 25% long life cycle capacity. 

A typical daily use for a coach with a residential refrigerator is somewhere around 2.8 - 3.0 KW.  You just added another 33% to the daily consumption and you haven't made breakfast, coffee or lunch yet.

An induction cook top used carefully is nice.  If you are trying to be off the grid it makes it much harder.  The numbers don't change with battery type or battery capacity or solar capacity. All things considered, an induction cooker uses a lot of power.
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #9 –
There will be a day when the most highly sought used Foretravel is one which has not had its beautifully engineered multi fuel/electric systems ripped out in favor of household appliances. 
"Not so  long ago we were a nation of risk takers, riding five million pounds of  thrust straight into space."  Joe Gresh
Chuck Pearson
1996 U295
2018 Can Am X3 TurboRS

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #10 –
 I cooked/Cheffed  for many years. I love the gas . Hate the electric .
 When my Wife rebuilt the kitchen,  I thought hard about drilling a hole in the wall of my house to add a propane line for a real stove.  Alas DW wanted a new flattop, glass, electric cooking device.    Now we need absolutely  clean, flat bottom pans.

  I love cooking on the bus.  Easy to estimate the temp and the gas to btu conversion is way beyond any electric system. IMHO.   

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #11 –
The great thing about these coaches, besides the initial build quality, is the way they can be customized to suit the individual owners tastes. Nearly endless upgrade/update opportunities are available. We like to cook with gas, but I wasn't happy with the OEM magic chef unit that came with our coach. I went through a fair amount of trouble to upgrade the cooktop to a Wolf 15" two burner and Tys loves the way it works. I never get to cook with it :o ... oh well, no complaints ;D

Here is a post which covers the basics;
Wolf 15" Cooktop Installation in 99' U270
Don
The selected media item is not currently available.
Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #12 –
Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 –
Living in the back of a mini van is hardly the same as living in a motor coach.  Hook up you induction cook top to a Kill-A-Watt meter and cook dinner and tell us exactly how many watts it takes in an hour cook your gourmet dinner.  And in the mean time your residential refrigerator used about 70 watts in an hour.  1000 watts maybe?  That is 80 amps out of your batteries in an hour.  If you have 3 8Ds in good shape that is more than 40% of your 25% long life cycle capacity. 

A typical daily use for a coach with a residential refrigerator is somewhere around 2.8 - 3.0 KW.  You just added another 33% to the daily consumption and you haven't made breakfast, coffee or lunch yet.

An induction cook top used carefully is nice.  If you are trying to be off the grid it makes it much harder.  The numbers don't change with battery type or battery capacity or solar capacity. All things considered, an induction cooker uses a lot of power.

Which is one of the reasons I don't have a residential fridge.
Also it doesn't take a hour to cook a great dinner on a induction hob.
Doing it in a minivan, with one battery and 1 solar panel, it can be done, and is done. You have to manage your resources.
'99 U320 40 WTFE
Build #5462,
1500 Watts Solar 600 amp Victron lithium
2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
Instagram bobfnbw
Retired

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #13 –
Bob,  I am glad you like your induction cook top.  We do to as well as our LP cooktop.  We like having both choices.

Most residential refrigerators use an average of about 70 watts per hour.  For most they are an essential appliance as is a gas cooktop or for some and electric cooktop.  Your choice.

Measure your induction cooktop power consumption over a week and let us know how much it uses per day.  It is the only way someone else can make an informed choice based on power use when thinking about switching from LP to induction.  Sometimes the choice is just a preference.
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 –
.  We kept the two burner LP stove and run it from an 11 lb LP tank.  There are 5 lb tanks as well.  We wanted to keep the option of using our LP fire pit as well.  Our 11 lb tank lasts about 3-4 months.

You may be able to run the LP cooktop (with some modifications) using the green grill gas cylinders.

I like your idea of small tanks, gives me something to think about, lots of good ideas come from this forum.
Peter and Frieda Morin
1999 36ft. U320 Foretravel
Build # 5436
1998 Suzuki Sidekick Sport
 

Re: Replacing the gas stove with electric stove

Reply #15 –
Thanks everyone for your replies, we boondock very little and when we do we have a grill for cooking outside. My wife is not a fan of gas due to a gas stove blowing up on her when she was a teenager. So we are just wanting to have a means of cooking inside when hooked to shore power. You all have been very helpful.
Steve
Steven Green
1997 U-320