Electric induction hobs

Often stay on sites with EHU, so other half has been thinking about cooking with electric hobs.

Have found a Vango Sizzle double hob with 800w per hob. Also found a single hob Streetwise hob wit a power rating of 2000W which says can be used at a lower rating when on campsites

Has anybody experience of using these? I am concerned they would trip the electric on campsites.

By my calculation the Vango will take about 4amps per ring, so not many sites offering that low level of ehu. (800 watt / 240 volts).
The streetwise @ 2000 watts will consume about 9 amps going at full output.
You may need to update your pots and pans to ensure a steel base.
Be aware that people with pacemakers need to be very careful of the magnetic fields used for cooking.
Microwaves cookers need a surge of electric when firing up, I don’t know if this is applicable to induction hobs but I have read of several motorhomers using them satisfactorily.
We have a full 4 ring hob at home and find them to be very satisfactory. Instant heat adjustability and quick to cool after use. Very fast at boiling water (subject to power output). I believe that they are cheaper to run but not really relevant on a campsite.

Davy

Absolutely spot on in my opinion also Ian - even down to the little single burner and griddle pan, which is in many ways, just as good as a bbq!

We have an induction hob at home and the boss would never for a moment consider going back to gas or electric hot plates, but the facilities in the van are more than adequate.

(As a bit of a bbq fanatic (see the other thread ) I'm perfectly happy with the griddle pan when we're on holiday!)

We have a single Swan brand induction hob which is quite compact and slim, stores easily in a small slip cover I made for it. 

It's an earlier version of this:
https://shop.swan-brand.co.uk/products/swan-touch-screen-induction-hob-1

I use it a lot, generally outside under the awning which is where I do most cooking so as to avoid grease and smells inside the van - we cook a lot of fish and seafood. We also have a Tefal electric frying pan which we've had for years and portable gas barbecue. 

The induction hob is ideal for our needs. You can control by wattage or temperature - it is brilliant for simmering but equally on high power will sear scallops in seconds. It also has a timer so is great for perfect boiled eggs. We have enough suitable saucepans with the right base so no problem there. The only thing it's not great for is stir frying if you like to toss the food as every time you lift the wok off the surface it detects it and beeps then resets if you don't replace it after a few seconds;  it's OK as long as you just keep it in place and stir with a spatula. For everything else it's great, I even bring it out to use at home from time to time. It's one of those gadgets for the van I've never regretted buying, unlike the pile of others now languishing on the shelf in the garage.

Just my take though, like so many things it's a matter of personal preference.

PS Forgot to mention, although ours is max rated at 2000W, it's unusual (scallops apart!) to run it at such high power. We have used it on French campsites without blowing the power. I assume therefore that when set to lower wattage ratings the power is actually reduced, unlike microwave ovens which when on lower settings are just timed on and off in pulses.

Re the comment about special pans you can buy adapters for non ferrous pans. I do not know how well they work as I have never used an induction hob but have thought about getting one for the van but also decided that it was something extra to store. Having found a rice cooker very useful I now have a mini Instant Pot which combines a rice cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker and electric sauce pan and takes up no more space than the rice cooker.  For slow cooking when on the move I am experimenting with making a "hay box" from a cool bag and Thininsulate fabric plus the cushions and blanket already in the van.

Thanks for comments. We have an induction hob at home which is excellent hence the thinking of one for the van.

We travel light so space not really an issue for us. Main concern was the power output and potential of tripping the electric.

Normally summer taken up with music festivals (no EHU) and then midweek on EHU so would not use then. More for spring and autumn trips when on EHU for heating mainly.

Will put on the back burner (pun intended) for now.

We used to use one in our home built camper, I found that it makes the saucepans vibrate a tiny amount. If the hob was not absolutely level the saucepan would walk its way across the induction hob and would have fallen off without intervention. This has the potential to be dangerous if you consider the hot contents.

Great for cooking outside and easy to store inside our grill.
The few I've had work on 2 power level's and then pulse. So for example 1600w would switch between 1600 and 800. On low current hook up we just needed to knock the power down as soon at it was switched on.