New Range Top replace stove/oven. types and Induction/gas

Want to pull the stove/oven reclaim storage below.  Looking at range tops I see 3 differentiations, Piezo/spark and conventional/sealed burners.  I understand what the piezo is but how does spark work?  Is it still similar or is it somehow different?  Sealed vs conventional, The conventional is s lift off top to burner?  Sealed no lift off I suppose, but that is advantage to sealed, as they are more expensive.  All the tops have the high output front burner and the lower rears,  no issue there.

Another option is the induction/gas.  Induction on one side and 1 or 2 gas burners to the side.  Need a magnet to see if I would have to get all new cookware, but any thoughts on this combo?

Rethinking the spark vs. piezo, the piezo is the loud audible click, and maybe spark is just turning to a position that electrically makes the spark?

Piezo is still a spark - the "piezo" refers to how the spark is generated. Usually a push button or rotary dial to generate the spark via piezo-electric effect.  Other ways to generate a spark include a battery-operated sparker, a 12v powered solid state sparker, or old fashioned flint & steel mechanical sparker. Other than the need for power (battery or wired 12v), I see little difference among them.  Piezo is very long lasting and durable, though.

Sealed vs Open: See https://learn.compactappliance.com/open-burners-vs-sealed-burners/

PancakeBill said:

Another option is the induction/gas.  Induction on one side and 1 or 2 gas burners to the side.  Need a magnet to see if I would have to get all new cookware, but any thoughts on this combo?

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Do you have a link to the induction/Gas cook top?...I'm curious about the power requirements. I'm thinking each burner could require 15 amps to run.

The most important question is - what does Jolene want?  Personally, I love the range and oven with separate convection/microwave.  Sometimes the range, propane oven, and microwave/convection oven are in use simultaneously.  On the other hand, I know some people who love their induction range and others who love their propane range with just the microwave/convection oven.  It depends on what kind of cooking you do and how much, which makes it a very personal decision.  Some manufacturers assume people don't cook much in their RVs and therefore provide minimum cooking appliances.  I prefer more.  I use the propane oven when boondocking, for example.  When it's really hot outside and I don't do much baking, I can do what needs to be done with just the propane burners and microwave/convection oven which doesn't put out as much heat as the propane oven.  But the propane oven sure is nice when it's cold outside and baking something in it warms the coach nicely (no, we don't use it for heating which is a no-no).  As to added space, I gave up storage where the oven is but we have a washer/dryer combination unit which gives me a huge storage space above the w/d to compensate.  It's all in what you like and your lifestyle.

ArdraF

The easiest replacement is a cooktop of the same brand & model as the stove/oven. It should have the identical footprint and connectors so it fits right in the countertop without mods. Then just make a cabinet below it.  That's how I did it when we replaced ours (it was an Amana).  The old Atwood/Wedgewood made both stoves and cooktops in the same configuration, but it appears the new Dometic stoves & cooktops are not the same footprint. Maybe get one from a used parts place?

Of course, if you want to go to induction instead of LP, that's not possible.

Ardra, What Jolene wants is me doing 100% of cooking instead of 90%.  She likes the idea of the induction, and neither of us has been a fan of the oven, but love the convection.

I am thinking the spark must be either 12v or a replaceable battery, with just a slight twist of the knob vs the twisting around like piezo.  Our piezo works fine on the current stove.  I am not a fan of the loud noise of piezo.

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/True-Induction-Double-Gas-Burner-And-Induction-p/ti-1-2b.htm

this unit has 1 induction and 2 gas burners, both 6500 btu. requires 1600 watts, so a little less than 15 amps I guess. 

Hmm, as a 30 amp coach, we could handle it, but summertime maybe not so much? 

Yes a drop in replacement would be way easier.  I may have to do some corianders counter work with the induction.

I have seen this unit in a class C, a Chateau.  It also had res fridge.

PancakeBill said:

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/True-Induction-Double-Gas-Burner-And-Induction-p/ti-1-2b.htm

this unit has 1 induction and 2 gas burners, both 6500 btu. requires 1600 watts, so a little less than 15 amps I guess. 

Hmm, as a 30 amp coach, we could handle it, but summertime maybe not so much? 

Yes a drop in replacement would be way easier.  I may have to do some corianders counter work with the induction.

I have seen this unit in a class C, a Chateau.  It also had res fridge.

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I bought my wife a stand alone. Just to try out the induction cooking. She thought the concept was cool. But the only pot that we had that would work on it....was the one that came with cook top. (We have 2+ sets of cookware plus the cast iron)

The cast iron ought to work,  the pot just has to hold a magnet.  I haven't checked what we have yet, but the thought of picking up more cookware doesn't put us off. 

Other than that, how do you like the induction form of cooking?

PancakeBill said:

The cast iron ought to work,  the pot just has to hold a magnet.  I haven't checked what we have yet, but the thought of picking up more cookware doesn't put us off. 

Other than that, how do you like the induction form of cooking?

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I'm quoting the DH "No the cast Iron didn't work" But I just googled it and it should..That said She may try it again....When I'm not around to say "I told you so"... ;D

She liked cooking on it...but it is a pain to get out and setup each time. So it was packed for a pending move to AR. Our S/B cook top has 5 gas burners but I would have considered a mixed of induction and gas.
 

Because our Beaver was originally a very expensive coach (we bought it when it was 10 years old), it came with a very high-end gas cooktop, a residential unit made by a foreign company marketed as Gaggenau.  It literally costs >$1k and has 120V electric ignition.  It is a very fine, 2-burner cooktop and now it sits totally unused with the propane tank valved off.

The reason is that we do >99% of our "stovetop" cooking with a countertop induction burner.  Because I'm a high-tech geek, we bought our first induction burner 8 years ago when we began full-timing.  We got so "attached" to it that, when it broke after nearly constant use, we were able to buy an even more capable one for less money!!

We currently have this unit: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FLR0ET8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are several reasons we selected this particular one; this same company does make less expensive models. However, this one is a full 1800 watts and has 20 separate power levels all the way down to 10% of full power.  Lots of induction burners can't regulate to less than ~30-40% of full power which makes it difficult to simmer foods well.  This one has such a low power level capability that I can easily melt butter with it.

As for cookware, we own some stainless steel pots that pass the "magnet test".  These days there are lots of them available.  And cast iron will also work.

The 1800 watts of our induction burner provides more power to the pot than does the larger burner on our gas cooktop AND it doesn't also heat up the room.  So there is no longer any benefit to using gas other than to get a second burner and we have gotten quite adept at keeping things warm in the convection oven, for example, so we can juggle things on the single burner.  We could always buy a second one, if we wanted, at lower cost than doing a remodeling and removing the gas cooktop.

Furthermore, if you consider a built-in induction burner you will be forced to use one that runs on 120V.  There are only a few 2-burner models of those, the leading ones being those marketed by True Induction, which are used in number of new RVs.  The problem I have with those units is that they "share" the power between both burners and NEITHER has the power of my 1800 watt countertop unit.  So, for example, if you want to boil water for pasta using one of the burners, the other has virtually no power "left over" to keep your sauce warm.  IMHO I'd rather have two counterop  1800 watts ones plugged into separate circuits so I can cook without limitations.

That's why, so far, we have left our gas cooktop in place even though it hasn't been used in more than a year. If someone has a better suggestion, please let me know!

Joel (AKA docj)