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DIY Induction Cooker Setup for a Total Beginner

jwells

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Joined
Mar 3, 2022
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Hi everyone, I just discovered Will Prowse's DIY Solar geni setup. Very well thought out and planned. He gave excellent info. I am very thankful but I don't think 500w is enough to power a 1800w induction cooktop. Or am I wrong? Total newbie here. I tried to adjust the setup. Please let me know if I am on the right track. Thank you in advance. The solar cooker takes 1800 Watts and the flow is 110/115v. This means I will need a acdc converter correct?
If I wanted to run this unit for lets say two hours I would need 1800 watts x 2 hours = 3600 wh. So In my solar setup I will need at least 4000 watts for the solar panels right?

Easy Setup Premade:
BLUETTI Portable Power Station AC200MAX, 2048Wh LiFePO4

plus Solar Panels

DIY Setup:
Solar Panels: 5 x 400 watt solar panels = 2000 watts Solaria Brand. https://a1solarstore.com/solaria-400w-solar-panel-mc-4-powerxt-400r-pm.html

12V x 33amps = 400 watts

40 amp Solar Charge Controller:

Battery: Lossigy 12V 400AH

Inverter: Ampeak 2000W Inverter
https://www.amazon.com/Ampeak-2000W-Inverter-Outlets-Converter/dp/B0716WT8D5/?th=1

Fuse Block: https://www.amazon.com/Jtron-12-32V-Holder-Warning-Automotive/dp/B075L88PCR


Isiler Cooktop https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Induction-Countertop-Temperature-Stainless/dp/B07FDXPTNP/
 
1) You should find out if it is 1800W of power consumption or 1800W of cooking power (input power will be >1800W).
If it is power consumption then the power input for the inverter will be higher than 1800W due to conversion loss, it will be about 1800W/.85 = 2.118KW, so you will need higher than 2000W inverter, you should not try to use inverter at 100% rating, I would suggest to use up to 80% of inverter power rating, running the load for 2 hours = 4.236KW-hr. You will need the batteries that can supply the power you need for the duration you need when no Sun, at the same time you need SCC that will be able to charge the battery back up to fully charge again the next day from what you pull out from the battery. Your battery: Battery: Lossigy 12V 400AH = 4.8KW-hr.

2) "12V x 33amps = 400 watts" where is this figure coming from?

3) "40 amp Solar Charge Controller: " for 12V system, that means the expect PV power input to be about 480W (for 40A of charging current) which in 5 Hours it will produce 2.4KW-hr.
4) "Solar Panels: 5 x 400 watt solar panels = 2000 watts" you are talking about 2000W (you will not get that in real world setting) of panel and I do not how you come up with 2000W of panels. so with 5 hours for typical usable Sun will produce 2000Wx 5Hr = 10KW-hr per day (not from 40A 12V SCC). Since you will be using about 4.236KW-hr per day, you will need to get SCC that can put that much power back into the battery the next day, so if you have 1000W of panels, you will produce about 5KW-hr of power per day, you will need 80A 12V SCC for 12V system.
5) Notes: in real world you will not get the amount of power you expecting in calculation.

Notes to others, please check my math and my explanation since English is my second language.
 
12v battery on a 40a SCC will only be able to use 480w of panel. Half your panels are going to do nothing. You either need to step up to a 24v setup OR get a second 40a SCC for the other half of your panels. Those panels are going to be about 8a @ 51v and I think that limits you to 2s strings without over-volting the controller. 5 is also a horrible number since it doesn't divide evenly. You'd be better off getting 4 or 6 panels for a 2p2s or 2p3s setup. You can do some creative overpaneling with that and you'll have to plan on not getting perfect performance.

If you did 6 panels, have 2s facing SE for morning sun, 2s facing due south, and 2s facing SW for afternoon sun. Put the SE and SW strings on one SCC (since they both won't be maxed out at the same time) and the south 2s on another SCC (to maximize it's potential).

For best results, get 60a SCC's so you're not kneecapping the panel production too badly.

That inverter is Modified Sine wave, not healthy for electronics. You'll save some money now by scrimping on the inverter and you can put that toward a new induction top and anything else that the MSW might have eaten. Spend the extra for a quality Pure Sine inverter and the appropriate fuses. Remember, Fuses are cheaper than fire!

The battery looks OK for what you're planning, although I wouldn't plan on doing any braising of large roasts on it. Try to keep the cooking to daylight hours when the sun is actively helping and don't try to make a stir fry and you should be fine. It's rated for 200a of discharge rate so right at the edge of what your inverter is going to call for. If you can you might consider a pair of the 300Ah versions for a couple reasons. First, with 2 batteries each one will be providing half the load of your inverter so you don't really risk tripping the BMS's inside. Second, it adds 50% more run time to get you through cloudy/rainy days when your panels just aren't putting out much.

Compared to the Bluetti it's pretty much a toss up. Be aware that the Bluetti can only take 900w of solar, so you're limited to 3 of those panels max.
 
If you really need to cook for hours at a time, you might want to consider using an instant pot or similar instead of stove top.
It really cuts down on the heat and moisture from the stove top and is a good bit more energy efficient as well.
We have an induction cooktop in our RV, but still use the instant pot when we need a long cook.
 
1) You should find out if it is 1800W of power consumption or 1800W of cooking power (input power will be >1800W).
If it is power consumption then the power input for the inverter will be higher than 1800W due to conversion loss, it will be about 1800W/.85 = 2.118KW, so you will need higher than 2000W inverter, you should not try to use inverter at 100% rating, I would suggest to use up to 80% of inverter power rating, running the load for 2 hours = 4.236KW-hr. You will need the batteries that can supply the power you need for the duration you need when no Sun, at the same time you need SCC that will be able to charge the battery back up to fully charge again the next day from what you pull out from the battery. Your battery: Battery: Lossigy 12V 400AH = 4.8KW-hr.

2) "12V x 33amps = 400 watts" where is this figure coming from?

3) "40 amp Solar Charge Controller: " for 12V system, that means the expect PV power input to be about 480W (for 40A of charging current) which in 5 Hours it will produce 2.4KW-hr.
4) "Solar Panels: 5 x 400 watt solar panels = 2000 watts" you are talking about 2000W (you will not get that in real world setting) of panel and I do not how you come up with 2000W of panels. so with 5 hours for typical usable Sun will produce 2000Wx 5Hr = 10KW-hr per day (not from 40A 12V SCC). Since you will be using about 4.236KW-hr per day, you will need to get SCC that can put that much power back into the battery the next day, so if you have 1000W of panels, you will produce about 5KW-hr of power per day, you will need 80A 12V SCC for 12V system.
5) Notes: in real world you will not get the amount of power you expecting in calculation.

Notes to others, please check my math and my explanation since English is my second language.
Hi Bud,
Thank you for answering the question and for sharing so much insight. Your math looks very good to me. Thank you for bouncing back with me it's helping me to understand.
To explain:
1) I went to the direct website for the manufacturer of the stovetop and it stated "
Voltage: 120V
Frequency: 50/60Hz
Material: PP
Power range: 100-1800W
So there is no direct clarification on whether it is power consumption or cooking power.

2. These figures come from a formula that I confused in Will's video. Voltage x Amps = Watts. I was trying to figure out the amps. So I divided Watts/Volts = 400/12=33.3 but this is not correct it should be Watts of Solar/Volts of Battery = Formula to determine charge for battery.

4. Incorrect formula that I used. *face palm*?‍♀️. I rewatched Will's video and saw how he calculated watts on a panel.

If I use a few cheaper battery and parallel connect them do you think it's still possible to run such an appliance?
 
If you really need to cook for hours at a time, you might want to consider using an instant pot or similar instead of stove top.
It really cuts down on the heat and moisture from the stove top and is a good bit more energy efficient as well.
We have an induction cooktop in our RV, but still use the instant pot when we need a long cook.
You are very right. Thank you for sharing this. Went on Amazon and saw that it runs at 1000w way less than 1800w.
 
12v battery on a 40a SCC will only be able to use 480w of panel. Half your panels are going to do nothing. You either need to step up to a 24v setup OR get a second 40a SCC for the other half of your panels. Those panels are going to be about 8a @ 51v and I think that limits you to 2s strings without over-volting the controller. 5 is also a horrible number since it doesn't divide evenly. You'd be better off getting 4 or 6 panels for a 2p2s or 2p3s setup. You can do some creative overpaneling with that and you'll have to plan on not getting perfect performance.

If you did 6 panels, have 2s facing SE for morning sun, 2s facing due south, and 2s facing SW for afternoon sun. Put the SE and SW strings on one SCC (since they both won't be maxed out at the same time) and the south 2s on another SCC (to maximize it's potential).

For best results, get 60a SCC's so you're not kneecapping the panel production too badly.

That inverter is Modified Sine wave, not healthy for electronics. You'll save some money now by scrimping on the inverter and you can put that toward a new induction top and anything else that the MSW might have eaten. Spend the extra for a quality Pure Sine inverter and the appropriate fuses. Remember, Fuses are cheaper than fire!

The battery looks OK for what you're planning, although I wouldn't plan on doing any braising of large roasts on it. Try to keep the cooking to daylight hours when the sun is actively helping and don't try to make a stir fry and you should be fine. It's rated for 200a of discharge rate so right at the edge of what your inverter is going to call for. If you can you might consider a pair of the 300Ah versions for a couple reasons. First, with 2 batteries each one will be providing half the load of your inverter so you don't really risk tripping the BMS's inside. Second, it adds 50% more run time to get you through cloudy/rainy days when your panels just aren't putting out much.

Compared to the Bluetti it's pretty much a toss up. Be aware that the Bluetti can only take 900w of solar, so you're limited to 3 of those panels max.
Thank you Red, I had no clue about needing the second 40scc. Overpaneling will cause issues as it causes a surge into the battery right? I'm over here thinking more is better. And didn't think about positioning either. But that's a creative idea to have them positioned in a way where as the sun is moving they are always collecting energy somehow.

Thank you for the heads up also on the quality Pure Sine Inverter. Better to burn a fuse than other important components.

It's probably better to be able to create my own setup and then have the bluetti for emergencies. I was looking more for long term for the setup.
 
SCC are rated with 2 numbers… for example the Victron 100/30. The first number is the Maximum voltage from the solar panels. So you MUST stay below that when connecting in series. Also note that panels will produce a little more voltage than the sticker says when it’s cold outside. The second number is the Maximum number of amps the SCC can charge with. Most SCC’s will tell you how many watts they support. For example the above Victron can support 440w @ 12v or 880w @ 24v. You can put more solar than these limits but the SCC will not use it. You are doing it to improve charging when you panels are not getting full sun… to make up the difference.
 
Overpaneling will cause issues as it causes a surge into the battery right?
As long as you don't exceed the ratings of your SCC at any one time it's usually not an issue unless you WWWAAAYYY overpanel. The big key, and I mean ZOMG!! important is to never, EVER over-volt your SCC. If it says it can take 100v (as the example above) then figure you need to keep it at about 80v because panels will produce more voltage when they get cold. Similar with the amperage, if it says it can take 30a, try not to put more than 30a into the SCC. A decent quality SCC will just restrict the excess amperage coming in, but it can only handle so much.

That's where the multiple SCC's come in. In the example above your SCC can only utilize 440w of panel, and since no panel ever sees full potential in the field, you could throw 5-600w of panel on there and probably be fine. The SCC will just clip the excess power to the batteries when you get great sun, the extra wattage will help produce in krappier weather.

However, since it can only utilize 440w @ 12v, if you throw 1000w of panel on there, it's going to send the first 440w of power to the batteries and the other 560w will just vanish, so you'll have spent all that time and money on panels that can't be used. By setting up multiple SCC's and strings, each string of panels can feed 440w to the batteries, so in effect you could get 880w out of your 1000w of panel, which after weather and sun angle and such is pretty darn good.

There's a sticky about charging from multiple sources that might be worth a read on that which should explain a little better what I'm talking about.
If I use a few cheaper battery and parallel connect them do you think it's still possible to run such an appliance?
That's an easy workaround for high draw devices and inverters. By having multiple batteries you get to split the load up which really helps when your BMS's have limits on what they can discharge. So, for your 2000w inverter (for example numbers) on 12v batteries you'll need to draw about 208a after efficiency losses. Most 100Ah LFP batteries only have 100a current limits, so the first time you take that cooker above Medium you're going to overload your battery.

Now say you had 3 batteries in parallel and you tried to draw that 208a, well each battery only has to put out 208/3=70a of current. That's well below the limit of the BMS on your battery and you should be fine. Connecting your batteries correctly will also help with that, see krappy MSPaint picture attached. Picture 1 is pretty much the worst way to do it, Picture 2 is the best way.

It sounds like you're getting the basics down pretty well, now comes the fine tuning. :)
 

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