Induction cooking off a battery bank is the fastest-growing change in overland kitchens, and most of the advice about it is wrong. This is what the numbers actually are, what size inverter you really need, and what it costs to put back what dinner used.
Why bother
The usual pitch is ‘no more propane.’ That undersells it, because propane is not actually hard to get. The real reasons are smaller and more practical.
Wind. A propane burner in a desert crosswind loses most of its heat to the air. An induction hob does not care about wind at all — the heat is generated in the bottom of the pan, not under it. If you have ever tried to boil water at a windy camp and given up, this is the single biggest difference you will notice.
No flame. Nothing to blow out, nothing to catch, nothing to ignite inside a canopy or a wedge. Under fire restrictions, a flameless cooktop removes an argument before it starts.
One system instead of two. You already carry a battery for the fridge, the lights and the fans. Cooking off it means no second fuel system — no tank, no regulator, no fittings to check, no partially full canisters rolling around a drawer for two years.
It is faster. Induction puts roughly 85% of its energy into the pan. An open flame manages about 40%. Water boils in about half the time.
The number that catches almost everyone
Inverters are sold in VA, and VA is not watts.
A unit badged ‘2000’ is a 2000VA inverter, and its continuous output is 1600 watts. A portable induction hob on its top setting pulls 1500 to 1800 watts. Buy the 2000 and you are running at the ceiling every single time you boil water.
This is the most common and most expensive mistake in an electric-cooking build. People buy an inverter rated at the same number as their hob and wonder why it shuts down.
| Badged | Continuous watts | Will it run an 1800W hob? |
|---|---|---|
| 1600VA | ~1300W | No |
| 2000VA | 1600W | No — not at full power |
| 3000VA (12V) | ~2400W | Yes, with headroom |
| 3000VA (24V) | 2400W | Yes, with headroom |
For induction cooking, buy a 3000VA unit. Not because you will use 3000 watts, but because 2400 continuous gives you room to run a hob and something else without thinking about it.
What it asks of your battery
Here is where the system voltage decides how hard your build is going to be. An 1800-watt hob, through an inverter running at about 90% efficiency:
| System | DC current at 1800W | Cable (short run) | Fuse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12V | ~156 amps | 2/0 AWG | 200A Class T |
| 24V | ~78 amps | 2 AWG | 100A |
That is the entire argument for 24V, and on a cooking build it is a strong one. Half the current means half the cable, smaller fuses, less heat, and a tidier install.
But be honest about the catch. Going 24V means a 24V battery bank and a DC-DC converter to feed everything that is still 12V — lights, fridge, fans, radio. If your rig is already 12V throughout and working, stay 12V and size the cable properly. If you are building from an empty bed, start at 24V and do it once.
Either way: this is not a lithium-optional build. A lead-acid bank will not deliver 156 amps without its voltage collapsing, and the inverter will cut out on low voltage halfway through dinner.
How much energy a day of cooking actually is
Less than people expect, because cooking is short bursts, not continuous draw.
| Task | Energy | At 12V |
|---|---|---|
| Boil 1 litre of water | ~0.13 kWh | ~10 Ah |
| 30 minutes of real cooking | ~0.35 kWh | ~27 Ah |
| Coffee and breakfast | ~0.2 kWh | ~16 Ah |
| A full day, two meals | 0.5–0.7 kWh | 40–55 Ah |
A 100Ah lithium bank holds about 1.28 kWh. So cooking alone is roughly two days on a 100Ah bank — before you account for the fridge, which on a hot desert day will want 40 to 60 Ah by itself.
Practical answer: 200Ah is the comfortable number for cooking plus a fridge plus lights, with a day of margin if the weather turns and the solar underperforms.
Putting it back
This is the part people underestimate. Cooking is cheap to do and surprisingly quick to replace — if your charging is sized for it.
Alternator. A 50-amp DC-DC charger moves about 690 watts into the bank, so a full day of cooking comes back in roughly 45 minutes of driving. If you are moving camp most days, the alternator alone covers cooking and you will barely notice the draw.
Solar. 200 watts of panel in good desert sun returns about 1.0–1.2 kWh across a day; 400 watts returns 2.0–2.4 kWh. Either covers cooking. Neither covers cooking plus a fridge in July without help.
If you sit still for days at a time, size the solar. If you move most days, size the alternator charger. Most people need some of both, and most people over-buy solar and under-buy the DC-DC charger.
What to buy
Five parts. Four of them you may already own.
1. The inverter
- MultiPlus 12/3000 — inverter, 120A charger and 50A transfer switch in one box. The one most people should buy. If you ever plug into shore power or run a generator, this replaces three components.
- Phoenix 12/3000 — inverter only, 6000W surge. Right if your charging is already sorted and you do not want another charger on the wall. Note it is hardwire in and out, with no outlet and no GFCI on the case.
- MultiPlus-II 24/3000 — the 24V answer. Half the current, half the cable. Best choice if you are starting a build from nothing.
- MultiPlus 12/2000 — 1600W continuous. Good for coffee, tools and a microwave. Not enough for a 1800W hob at full power — listed here so you can see what you are choosing between, not as a cooking recommendation.
2. Alternator charging
Orion XS 12/12-50A puts back a day of cooking in about 45 minutes of driving. The 70A version does it in half an hour if your alternator can feed it.
3. A monitor you trust
SmartShunt 500A. Voltage is not state of charge, and guessing is how people end up with a dead bank and a raw dinner. The 500A rating matters here — a 3000W inverter can pull past 250 amps, and a smaller shunt will not read it.
4. Distribution and fusing
Lynx Distributor and Lynx Power In. At 156 amps continuous, your fusing is not optional and a terminal block from the auto parts store is not adequate. This is the part of the build that catches fire if it is done badly.
5. Solar, if you sit still
SmartSolar MPPT 150/70 for a serious array, or the 100/20 for a couple of panels.
The honest limits
You cannot cook for a crowd. One hob, one pan. If you are feeding eight people, propane is still better.
An oven is out of reach. Air fryers and small ovens pull 1500W for twenty minutes or more — that is a kilowatt-hour per use and it will dominate your whole energy budget.
It is not cheaper. A propane setup costs a fraction of this. You are buying convenience, wind immunity and one system instead of two — not savings.
The install is real work. Heavy cable, correct lugs, proper crimps, the right fuse in the right place. If that is not your thing, pay someone. A 156-amp circuit done badly is a fire in a vehicle you sleep in.
Questions
If you are working out what size you need for your own rig, tell us what you are cooking on and what battery you are running and we will tell you straight — including when the answer is that your current inverter is fine and you do not need to buy anything.