Worktop double hot plate

My van has on board LPG tank rather than a gas bottle. It is becoming increasingly difficult to locate garages that supply LPG - my nearest one is +25 miles away. As a result I am thinking of investing in a portable double hotplate worktop cooker.

My colleague has a cheap one from Lidl/Aldi rated at 1500 and 1000 watts but, whilst it heats up the two plates are inordinately slow for even a basic sauce/meal. (To be fair it was only £19.99!)

Would appreciate any members experiences and/or advice as to an efficient make / model.

Many thanks


Paul

Vango do single and double induction hobs rated at 900w and 1800w which are purpose made for caravans/motirhomes and ideal if you have other electric items on the go at same time so as not to trip electrics. Called the Vango Sizzle.

Caraman wrote:My later model has Thetford's dual fuel hot hotplate.  The electric hotplate is rated at 1025W and the three gas burners at 1600W x 2 and 1000W x 1.  When we are on an un-metered EHU we make maximum use of the 1025W electric hotplate which we find OK but not as fast as the 1600W gas burners which have negligible thermal mass.  If you went for say 2 x 1600W electric hotplates they would draw about 13.3A which is getting close to the 16A maximum on most UK EHUs

Thanks Caraman I hav a similar set up to you with I electric and 2 gas burners on the cooker. I am looking at the power utilization of various units and it seems the induction hob is the way to go.

Paulmold wrote:Vango do single and double induction hobs rated at 900w and 1800w which are purpose made for caravans/motirhomes and ideal if you have other electric items on the go at same time so as not to trip electrics. Called the Vango Sizzle.

Thanks Paul I'll look at these they seem to be available at John Lewis. Thanks for your help

We have been using a single induction hob in the van for years, I can't remember if it's Swan or Tower brand. Also comes in handy indoors sometimes, especially at Christmas.

Lidl currently have one for £29.99, their own Silvercrest brand which comes with a three year guarantee*

https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-induction-hob/p10021906

* We have had occasion to use this in the past with a microwave which failed after over 2 1/2 years and they replaced it with a later model without question.

rogerblack wrote:We have been using a single induction hob in the van for years, I can't remember if it's Swan or Tower brand. Also comes in handy indoors sometimes, especially at Christmas.

Lidl currently have one for £29.99, their own Silvercrest brand which comes with a three year guarantee*

https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-induction-hob/p10021906

* We have had occasion to use this in the past with a microwave which failed after over 2 1/2 years and they replaced it with a later model without question.

Hi Roger, Thanks for your reply. I have been using a silvercrest twin hot plate unit (Not induction) this week and it is hopelessly slow to the point of being unusable. It may be ok for a single portion of soup but any greater quantity you would be waking hours if not days. I think perhaps an infra red or ceramic option may well be the way to go. Continuing the research ................

Thanks again

Paul

Apple wrote:

rogerblack wrote:We have been using a single induction hob in the van for years, I can't remember if it's Swan or Tower brand. Also comes in handy indoors sometimes, especially at Christmas.

Lidl currently have one for £29.99, their own Silvercrest brand which comes with a three year guarantee*

https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-induction-hob/p10021906

* We have had occasion to use this in the past with a microwave which failed after over 2 1/2 years and they replaced it with a later model without question.

Hi Roger, Thanks for your reply. I have been using a silvercrest twin hot plate unit (Not induction) this week and it is hopelessly slow to the point of being unusable. It may be ok for a single portion of soup but any greater quantity you would be waking hours if not days. I think perhaps an infra red or ceramic option may well be the way to go. Continuing the research ................

Thanks again

Paul

Hi Paul

As you probably know, induction hobs work on a totally different principle from the hot plate hobs, in that they actually heat the base of the saucepan, which of course must therefore be of the right kind of ferrous metal - check with a magnet as not all types of stainless steel work.  

I can't speak for the Silvercrest but the one we have is one of the best cooking devices I've used (and I do a lot of cooking!), even better than gas. It is completely controllable, both for fast heat at high power and for slow controlled simmering, timed cooking (perfect for boiled eggs to exactly the level of softness/hardness required) etc.  One thing it is not good for however is stir frying, as the minute you lift the wok off for tossing, it senses no pan and bleeps then cuts out as a safety function.

On the other hand, my father-in-law has an infrared hotplate hob and it's useless, I can't bear using it and actually take the portable induction hob with us when we visit!
If you've never used an induction hob, I'd recommend you try it sometime.  You never know, you might get on with it ok.  

rogerblack wrote:

Apple wrote:

rogerblack wrote:We have been using a single induction hob in the van for years, I can't remember if it's Swan or Tower brand. Also comes in handy indoors sometimes, especially at Christmas.

Lidl currently have one for £29.99, their own Silvercrest brand which comes with a three year guarantee*

https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/silvercrest-kitchen-tools-induction-hob/p10021906

* We have had occasion to use this in the past with a microwave which failed after over 2 1/2 years and they replaced it with a later model without question.

Hi Roger, Thanks for your reply. I have been using a silvercrest twin hot plate unit (Not induction) this week and it is hopelessly slow to the point of being unusable. It may be ok for a single portion of soup but any greater quantity you would be waking hours if not days. I think perhaps an infra red or ceramic option may well be the way to go. Continuing the research ................

Thanks again

Paul

Hi Paul

As you probably know, induction hobs work on a totally different principle from the hot plate hobs, in that they actually heat the base of the saucepan, which of course must therefore be of the right kind of ferrous metal - check with a magnet as not all types of stainless steel work.  

I can't speak for the Silvercrest but the one we have is one of the best cooking devices I've used (and I do a lot of cooking!), even better than gas. It is completely controllable, both for fast heat at high power and for slow controlled simmering, timed cooking (perfect for boiled eggs to exactly the level of softness/hardness required) etc.  One thing it is not good for however is stir frying, as the minute you lift the wok off for tossing, it senses no pan and bleeps then cuts out as a safety function.

On the other hand, my father-in-law has an infrared hotplate hob and it's useless, I can't bear using it and actually take the portable induction hob with us when we visit!
If you've never used an induction hob, I'd recommend you try it sometime.  You never know, you might get on with it ok.  

Thanks again Roger that is all extremely helpful and has given me even further food for thought.

Thank you again

Paul. 

I have just purchased the Vango Sizzle twin hot plate.  Have not tried it properly as yet but in the house it works a treat.  It's pretty small and has its own cloth storage bag so is ideal for van life.