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Induction cooktop in Patio

2810 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  anand3g
Hi,

I'm a new first time home owner of east indian descent. The 13 year old home that I purchased has an induction cooktop. Since gas is more conducive to all indian cooking, I plan to replace this with a gas cooktop.

That leaves me with a 4 burner induction cooktop that I can't use in the kitchen. Instead of discarding it, I was thinking of using this cooktop in the patio as a small outdoor kitchen area. As we all know, Indian food is full of strong aromas and smells that tend to seep into furniture and difficult to get rid of. So cooking sometimes in the outdoors makes some practical sense.

My question is, can I use this induction cooktop and hook it up to a normal electrical socket in the patio? Or does it need special electrical wiring to get it to work?

Regards,
Anand.
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Is the patio enclosed? I doubt whether an induction cooktop can we used in a wet location. I would sell it. Induction cook tops assume you have the correct pot/pans is about the best cooktop ever. I don't own own one, after using my cousins I will put one in my kitchen the ability to go from a bare summer to hard boil almost instantly makes cooking a breeze and not much heat in the kitchen in the summer .
As with a full range, cooktops are 220V, induction or not. The other poster questioned whether or not your patio is covered. While I assume it is, weather exposure should not present issues peculiar to induction. A fully exposed electric cooktop of any variety is probably not advisable. But if it were exposed, you're not cooking in the rain, right? As you probably know, induction heat is created through friction of a pulsating magnetic field. It doesn't care where it is, water can be wiped off, and a bit of moisture does not interfere with the inductive process. If you have a source of electricity near, it could be a quick and easy job for an electrician. If I was doing the same thing at my house, I could just feed the existing indoor 220V for the cooktop a few feet to reach my patio - very simply. Your indoor gas cooktop will need power for ignition, but it's a light load and chances are it could be tapped from another circuit nearby. Wherever the power originates from, count on requiring 40 or 50 amps. Since you said four burner, I'm guessing 40 amps. Most codes will require a GFI. Sometimes that can be accomplished with a GFI breaker in your panel, but a small subpanel with GFI adjacent to the receptacle might be called for.

My advice is contrary to that of jimn01. For the reasons you stated, it makes sense to you. You won't get much for your induction cooktop on the used market, but they are costly to buy new. Perhaps you have the ferrous cookware already. It could be an economical outdoor cooking solution. On the other hand, if you have a larger budget and have fabricate a cooking island to accommodate a cooktop anyhow, and gas is nearby, you might just spring for a gas-powered outdoor cooking method. I'd consider a four burner gas cooktop (or full range) next to a gas grill as part of an outdoor cooking station. Decent stainless steel gas cooktops are easily found new for $700 USD, and if you're into seeking a take-out used unit, the floor's the limit on price. Your gas hookup could be cheaper than the 220V electrical, depending on distances involved. Either way, you can permeate the neighborhood with the tasty odors of Indian cooking from your patio!
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Thank you zippinbye and jimn01!

So I guess I'd need an electrician to get the hookup done outside. Yes. patio is covered, and no cooking in the rain. Will take the precautions as with any applicance and associated water hazards.

I don't have a gas drop outside, and from an initial assessment, extending the gas drop to the patio seems to be an expensive affair, hence I started looking at electric options. I will possibly look at having a full gas range with sink and a small outdoor patio fireplace with the next patio remodel, but that's a couple of years away.

Thank you for your advice! It was very helpful.

Regards,
Anand.
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