Help me choose my new cook system

[BigSkies]

I've been overthinking cooking for a while, and I've reached analysis paralysis. While there's nothing wrong with my current Coleman campstove, cooking with electricity is way cooler. And I'd like to get away from those disposable propane canisters.

I want to get something that is rated for no more than 1500W. While I know people have used 1800W accessories, I am fully confident in Murphy's Law's ability to blow a fuse in the truck at the absolute least convenient time. There's some good 1800W options, but a much shorter list of options when it's restricted to 1500W. I also prefer something where I can have the equivalent of two pots/skillets going at the same time, even if each one is cooking a bit slower.

I'm liking some of the griddle type options, but I'm getting hung up on my ability to boil water for things like pasta. I could probably solve this with a kettle, but I'm not fully sold on that idea yet.

Here's what I've narrowed it down to; but I'm open to other ideas I may have missed.

Greecho Induction Cooktop w/Griddle
Pros: Dual induction burners with griddle provide a lot of flexibility to cook in many different styles (boil water, use griddle, etc) without carting around extra skillets.
Cons: Reviews aren't great for quality or reliability

Blackstone Electric Griddle
Pros: Good size area for cooking. I've seen good reports on it from other forum members. The 17" version comes in right at 1500W.
Cons: I get hung up on the whole boiling water or cooking a sauce thing.

Weber Lumin or maybe the cheaper Weber Q series
Pros: The cook options of steamer basket and smoke chips are nice. I've had good experiences with Weber products in the past.
Cons: Expensive, and I still get hung up on the whole boiling water thing. It also comes in at 1560W, which is probably okay. But Murphy's law and all that.

Traeger Ranger. Ok, I'm probably not seriously considering this one as a stand-alone option, but it would be cool.
Pro: What would be cooler than smoking ribs out in the wild?
Cons: Expensive, bulky, and sub-optimal for any cooking that isn't smoking. It seems like a good smoker, but a mediocre bbq.

What else am I missing?

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[Cycliste]

I love cooking at home with a ControlFreak induction cooker, but it draws up to 1800 watts. If I bugged out for a California wildfire, I would bring this (1050 watts)

https://www.vermicular.us/products/musui-kamado

Otherwise, I use a backpacking MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe and in winter snow camping a MSR Reactor stove.

 

[JoulesVerne]

The most important thing for induction is the granularity of the heat adjustment. I bought a Duxtop with 20 settings (0 to 10 with .5 increments). Burnt food sucks and burnt pans are harder to clean.

https://a.co/d/foTHqUs

I paired this with a kettle and have been quite happy. A second burner would be nice in some situations but with a trade off in space.

 

[Forager]

I tried to limit my induction top to 1500W combined, but there just weren’t a lot of options. When you read the specs while
many small dual cooktops are rated for 1800W combined, individual cogs are only rated for 1200W and 1500W individually. Running one burner peak load won’t blow a fuse. For me, I know we are unlikely to run both burners at peak load (1800w total), so I decided to open up my search.

We bought a Cuisinart dual burner for $200 new through Amazon with a coupon (retails $220-250 at other outlets). I looked at the domestic but it was $350+ and didn’t have any features this one didn’t have. The 1800W theoretically will be nicer if we use it
at home for anything.

I bought a small (2 qt) instant pot to compliment the induction top. My wife uses a pressure cooker for something almost every meal of the week, so I expect we’ll use the InstantPot more than the second burner of the induction top.

 

[Visket]

Check out the NuWave Flex induction cooktop. Has a setting for max wattage 600/900/1200.

 

[swhme]

If you decide on the blackstone, let me sell you mine, never used. It arrived, it was WAY too big and awkward to think about including in my camping kit, but I didn't return it in time, so it's sitting on a shelf in my garage.

For now, I've gone back to mostly propane because of the variety of options.

If I'm camping with a big group, I bring this guy:
https://www.campchef.com/camp-chef-pro-60x-two-burner-cook-system/CC-PRO60X.html with a griddle on half of it. It's fantastic, packs up easily, but it's big and heavy, and you also need to bring a full size propane tank. Still, absolutely worth it when I'm trying to make breakfast for a dozen people.

I just picked up this one for camping with just a few people:
https://www.campchef.com/rainier-2-burner-grill-stove-combo-camp-chef/CC-MSGGX.html
Really looking forward to trying it out and seeing how many strips of bacon I can get on it. My dream is an electric version of the same thing.

I usually bring this little luxury-- it's really nice to be able to cook fresh bread or cinnamon rolls or proper baked potatoes at the campsite:
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-mini-smart-toaster-oven/
It's 1800W, I haven't tried running it directly off the truck, I use it through a Jackery battery

I also carry one of these with all my plates, bowls, cutlery, small tools, etc:
https://www.dockoutdoors.com/

Then a couple of Zarges cases with food, a couple pots, and larger kitchen equipment. I like the zarges boxes because I can stack them up for extra "counter space"

 

[obfuscurity]

At the risk of going OT I'd like to recommend a refillable propane container. I have the Ignik Gas Growler and love it.

 

[Joe schmoe]

I've been overthinking cooking for a while, and I've reached analysis paralysis. While there's nothing wrong with my current Coleman campstove, cooking with electricity is way cooler. And I'd like to get away from those disposable propane canisters.

I want to get something that is rated for no more than 1500W. While I know people have used 1800W accessories, I am fully confident in Murphy's Law's ability to blow a fuse in the truck at the absolute least convenient time.

I -think- I know the answer to this, but the overcurrent protection on the 120v inverter isn't an actual; fuse, right?

On most of my power packs and other devices, the overcurrent protection is an automatically resetting device, maybe a PTC or similar, so you just remove the load, wait a bit then carry on.

If plugging too much wattage into the inverter blows an actual fuse, that would be disappointing.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I -think- I know the answer to this, but the overcurrent protection on the 120v inverter isn't an actual; fuse, right?

On most of my power packs and other devices, the overcurrent protection is an automatically resetting device, maybe a PTC or similar, so you just remove the load, wait a bit then carry on.

If plugging too much wattage into the inverter blows an actual fuse, that would be disappointing.

I think the only fuse is for the control circuitry. Inverter itself is resettable if you trigger the overcurrent limit. It's possible there is one on the HV line as well but I haven't seen the inside of the battery case detailed out at all.

 

[BigSkies]

I -think- I know the answer to this, but the overcurrent protection on the 120v inverter isn't an actual; fuse, right?

On most of my power packs and other devices, the overcurrent protection is an automatically resetting device, maybe a PTC or similar, so you just remove the load, wait a bit then carry on.

If plugging too much wattage into the inverter blows an actual fuse, that would be disappointing.

I’d be curious in understanding how it’s actually set up. I’ve heard some anecdotal accounts, but haven’t seen a real breakdown of how it works.

My personal experience with auto electronics is about 20 years outdated, so don’t assume I know what I’m talking about.

I’ll start with the assumption that mis-using it will create a highly inconvenient situation (Murphy’s law and all) and then improve my outlook with evidence.

 

[Joe schmoe]

I -think- I know the answer to this, but the overcurrent protection on the 120v inverter isn't an actual; fuse, right?

On most of my power packs and other devices, the overcurrent protection is an automatically resetting device, maybe a PTC or similar, so you just remove the load, wait a bit then carry on.

If plugging too much wattage into the inverter blows an actual fuse, that would be disappointing.

OK, so I actually looked it up. Page 214 of the online manual:

"If the 120v circuits overload, the power cuts off. Unplug devices before you turn the outlets back on."

I'm led to assume that you can try something and if it overloads, just unplug and don't do it again.

As an aside, the version of the owner's manual on the iPhone app does not. appear to be searchable, which makes it mostly useless.

 

[swhme]

I ordered the greecho after reading your initial post. The size is fantastic, it fits perfectly in the Zarges cases I use for my gear.

Taking it up into the San Juan mountains this weekend. Will report back on Monday. (bringing my Camp Chef as a backup this time, hopefully I won't need it next time...)

 

[shrink]

Traeger Ranger. Ok, I'm probably not seriously considering this one as a stand-alone option, but it would be cool.
Pro: What would be cooler than smoking ribs out in the wild?
Cons: Expensive, bulky, and sub-optimal for any cooking that isn't smoking. It seems like a good smoker, but a mediocre bbq.

I have a Traeger Ironwood, Big Green Egg, and DCS natural gas grill. These are in homes, of course, so not for camping, but you're absolutely right about the Traeger. When I started cooking with it, my first thought was, "Why does direct heat on this thing suck?" I've since supplemented with Grill Grates to make it tolerable. However, it does indirect cooking quite well. I have found cooking bacon on a Traeger is easy and delicious.

 

[BigSkies]

I ordered the greecho after reading your initial post. The size is fantastic, it fits perfectly in the Zarges cases I use for my gear.

Taking it up into the San Juan mountains this weekend. Will report back on Monday. (bringing my Camp Chef as a backup this time, hopefully I won't need it next time...)

I hope it works well! I'm starting to lean towards the Cooktron after some of the other commentary on this thread. It looks nearly identical to the Greecho, but has some better reviews. The downside is that it will go to 1,800W. I know that will cause issues at some point (particularly as my kids are getting old enough to cook on occasion), but I think a software reset is manageable.

 

[BigSkies]

Update:

I bought the Cooktron and tried it out at home last night. Here's the good, bad & nuances I found in one night of use. In no particular order.

• I used my home energy monitor to see that max output is closer to 1,700W instead of 1,800W. We'll see how the truck manages this.
• I hadn't thought through the need to still pack a skillet since it comes with the griddle. I obviously needed a pot and a skittle at the same time to cook chicken and pasta. I hadn't really thought this through.
• Part of the way it manages energy is by capping the output if you're using both burners at the same time. Each burner has a heat setting of 0-9, but the combination of both burners will never get above a total of 14. You'll want to use a skillet on a single burner if you want the highest heat output. Having two burners is better than one, but you need to be prepared that you can't use both at max power at the same time.
• The hottest my single skillet got on level 9 was 400 degrees. This is plenty for cooking most anything unless you're trying to sear a steak at 500 degrees. I expect this is a fundamental physics limitation of what you can get out of 1,700W.
• It's a good size for camping. Not to big; not to small. It is designed as an indoor appliance though, so it shouldn't be treated like a rugged piece of camping gear.
• This was my first time cooking with induction. I like it, but it will take getting used to. My stainless steel pot warmed up so fast I almost burned something. The cast iron skillet took a little longer to warm up, but kept heat better. My point of comparison is an old electric stove, so the ability to rapidly change temprature is a novelty to me. I might have to get a real induction stove for the house.
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