Hi guys just a simple question i have a 5kw sunsynk with 10 panels 550 watts canadian solar and 1 hubble battery i have been using gas hob for 10 years now as well as gas geyser so my system is way enough to power my home for me and my wife my question is thisas i am at home the whole day and cooking is on my resumè lol i want to know if there is any kind of hotplate induction plate to cook onnto save the gas for geyser purposes as i dont use more than 30% of the power thats available in daytime any suggestions thx
If you are trying to reduce your energy cost (gas) then I would investigate solar water heating first. This has to be the low hanging fruit option for any energy saving…
Best thing ever.
Max ±2000w, fits nicely on a inverter during LS.
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Of course they exist. This one is even on special today.
In my experience though, cooking uses very little gas. Hot water uses a LOT of gas. In fact, for the volume of hot water my family uses, gas worked out more expensive than just using electricity. I switched back to electricity and eventually I switched to a heat pump.
For just two people, gas should be cheaper than electricity (the saving on the standing loss makes up for the higher energy cost).
Anyway, cooking on solar energy is quite fun. Also look into a slow cooker 
Pressure cookers if you are less worried about taste are also great. Very quick.
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Last time I looked into one, the food wasn’t ready yet.
Joking aside, slow cooking can produce some great results with minimal effort. Pressure cooking too, but I do care about the taste, so I avoid them by all means.
I also have one of those midea induction tops from takealot and its fantastic, it boils a kettle faster than the gas burner. We also have the slow cooker and it only uses 2 - 300w so for a stew or oxtail you can leave it cooking all day and your inverter wont even feel it.
Yup, on my old inverter (the 3kVA) the pressure cooker was a bit borderline (it cycles on and off, and when it is on it draws 1.5kW), but on the 5kVA it is no issue. We’ve cooked many a lunch on a Sunday with a 4 hour outage due to stage 6.
My wife inherited an old “Tedelex” slow cooker, one that still has a proper clay pot, and runs around 300W on the low setting if I recall. That is a proper “slow” cooker. Probably horribly inefficient as well
Yeah the instantaneous draw of the pressure cooker is not ideal, but assuming one can deal with that, the time it needs to do its thing (and total energy use if you have to use batteries at night) is short so it leaves a lot of headroom for other stuff that needs to be staggered to fit with your inverter’s capacity.
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Over the past few years I have done all my reheating from frozen with a sous vide.
Far superior to a microwave or even a slow cooker. At about 1.2kW-ish it dangles in a water bath or pot of water and it is a self-contained pump and heating element with a very accurate temperature setting.
So nothing ever burns and your (sealed, pre-cooked) meal is gently heated to the exact temperature and can be eaten at the same quality 2 hrs or 6 or more hours later. I find a slow cooker much more harsh on the food’s outcome.
Take a frozen TV out of the freezer in the morning and it’s always ready when I am.
Where it really comes into its own though is steak or hams. There is only about a 5 degree C spread in internal temperature between a medium rare and a well-done steak.
I like a medium steak, the enzymes that make meat tender kick in at around that temperature and denature at higher temperatures. If the temperature is exceeded the enzymes don’t kick back in, when the temperature is lowered again.
This means that you can take something like brisket to a melt-in-the-mouth level, whilst still being medium done.
Or cook a huge Christmas ham to a turn for 18hrs.
Of course, there is no browning or charring effect for steak, but that is achieved by a two-minute searing in a hot skillet after the process.
Well now! Who said you can learn about cooling techniques on energy talk. Soon the wives will join as well. Better start a new category soon!
Well, there are also uses when brewing beer.
The starch-to-sugar conversion process inside the malted grain relies on two different amylase enzyme temperature rests.
Where the wort must be held at a certain temperature for a length of time. To overshoot that temperature is to ruin the beer as it will fail the iodine-starch test.
I have made some half-decent beer to go with those steaks.
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Induction Cooking - man, I can drop eggs on your plate faster than you can take a seat.
Slow Cooker - tasty food, off course!
Pressure Cooker - tasty food, off course! And I use it to make soup too. My “beesstert” dish AND soup, divine!
Camping Gas stove - with the cast iron pan/pot, steak is divine.
Counter Top Convection Oven - works like a charm.
It all depends on your recipes, spices, the taste depends on the humans skill using the appliance.
(sorry, but had to … don’t blame the tools)
And every single appliance above … can run on the 5kva easy. And they are all, light enough not to worry the batts too much.
Eye Level Convection Oven - I braai choppies in it, “lost” the indoor braai (it generates income see). Keep door open for when guests come for a braai. Chop-chop and one is done, cheaper than a wood fire.
Normal Oven - got 2, getting rid of one. Why a normal oven some may wonder … cause it is there 
I don’t have recipes, I have guidelines. “Ek moer net by tot dit lekker is.” Dirty Keto off-course. All starts with tomatoes, onions and garlic, what shall we add today?
My point … we have ALL the above and the cooking is loved by the entrie family, and guests even during LS sometimes.
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Hey, how come nobody has mentioned the air fryer (click it, all the appliances make an appearance in this one) yet?
We have no has in our house - Hybrid Geyser (Solar/Electric 200w) and full electric stobe/oven.
The extra induction plate is fantatsic and when I upgrade the stove I will go induction hob any day.
5kw Victron Multiplus works fine for us.
Regards
M
But TTT did mention it, just not by trademark:
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Plonk is right, I forgot the airfryer. Convection oven, total different appliance, although both work with hot air … just like me.
AF, we “laat waai” with anything meat, BIL can bake cake in it, recently I started experimenting making eggs in it … AF can cook just about anything, not just chips.
Heard 2 nights ago, add water in the bottom, keeps certain foods juicy … and it keeps it cleaner. Ours now has a little front removable door, just like a oven … just like some models of table top convection ovens … mmmm. Confusing.
MW, my Mother uses hers to bake cake, even milktart. If you know how, you know how.
All the above works on a 5kva … and is light enough on the batts if used wisely.
Ja. I’m the power police in my house, and I permit the use of an air fryer.
They have other attributes too. They are quick. They save on oil (and a saving on anything these days is not to be sneezed at).
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