UKC

We've recently downsized from a transit van to a caddy maxi. We had one of these in the old van which worked well. https://www.campingaz.com/uk/p-27581-camping-chef-folding-stove.aspx

In an effort to save space we'd like to get a single burner version. This is proving difficult as all the single burners we can find run off small canisters and we'd like to keep the big one (calor 4.5kg) as we sometimes go away for a month+ at a time.

Any suggestions?

Are you looking to have something portable like that or a fixed hob? Plenty of single burner fixed hobs you could use with large cylinders (not cheap though).

Cast iron single burner.

Seen caterers using that sort of thing but heavy duty rather than for lightweight or compact.

https://www.google.com/search?q=single+burner

https://appliances.calor.co.uk/lifestyle-5-8kw-large-square-cast-iron-gas-b...

Visit a proper camping and caravanning shop ( or look on the web) to get an idea of what is available, stove wise , far more choice than from climbing shops.

  No ideal solution but my  latest van stove is a double burner mounted in a wooden box that holds the cylinder as well as the pans etc. Can be used in or out of the van depending on weather. A safety feature is that it can be kicked out of the van if there are any fire issues.

Most double burners can use either propane or butane cylinders with a change of regulator . Camping gas is more readily available but useless  in winter, but you probably know already .

Just looking at fixed hobs, hadn't considered it because the unit needs to hinge up out the way but it could work.

If you want a single burner had you thought of induction? I know they are getting a lot more popular in the states for campervan builds, you can then potentially forego the lpg cylinder, fit an extra battery and still save a little space. I looked at a few but they don't make much sense for my build.

I would have a look at a specialist supplier for campervan parts, although single burner gas hobs are becoming less popular because they don't meet the DVLA minimum requirements for campervan registration.

Another option that could be worth looking at is modifying a small single burner camp stove, the cylinder compartment comes away from the burner on most of the 'counter top' designs I have looked at although depends on how much you trust your diy skills! 

What sort of battery would you run an induction hob off?

If your hob was 1.5kw, you'd be looking at 125A not counting for losses in wiring and the inverter, so probably a good 150A current at the battery?

I know you're probably only going to use full power for a few minutes at a time to boil water or fry meat, but still I would want to put that kind of load onto a lead acid battery repeatedly unless I had a pretty large bank of them... Boiling a pan of water would be like running your starter motor for five minutes. 

Even with LiFePO4, you're probably going to need a couple of 100 Ah batteries to handle that load, and if used daily you're not going to be able to recharge from solar, so you'd have to be running the engine daily?

Hahaha, that thing is enormous (for a small camper).  Did you check the specs?

It's perfect for what I need for my beer wort boiling, I'm using a standard beer keg as my vessel.

Cheers for the link

How about something like this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NJ-01-Camping-Burner-Portable-Outdoor/dp/B076YKDDY...

I'm sure it could be modified to sit neatly in a campervan configuration.

Oh no !    No more toast 

Ha! We actually ordered one. It would work but it's as you'd expect for the price and I'd rather get something a bit smarter.

We had the same problem in our van and found that the 'vintage' Tilley Trojan two burner was smaller than the single burner units I could find. 

However I don't think it would fit in with your idea of something smart!

https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/dometic/single/burner/hob/hb1320/#product-r...

Shiny and pretty.  Not cheap but I think it will use the big bottle. 

I had one of these in a caddy size van

https://camperinteriors.co.uk/products/dometic-smev-8821-combination-single...

I presume to pass DVLA nonsense. 

Personally I found the sink a waste of space but some people like them. 

Most of the American vans we looked at seemed to have 2-3 Lithium batteries and a reasonable quantity of solar panels, getting unbiased battery information seemed a bit challenging so working out a comparable AGM equivalent maybe a bit of guesswork but I was a little concerned about >150Amps at 12v!

I went for an underslung propane tank because I wanted a gas hob and oven, but the weight and expense probably could have covered an uprated electrical system. 

I wouldn't have thought so. An underslung gas tank is about £300 - £400? 

I think you would want at least 300Ah of LiFePO4 to run an induction hob, which is about £2k unless you take a punt direct from China. I did that for a single 100Ah battery at £400, and it worked out well, but not sure I would have wanted to throw £1200 at something so hard to return if faulty.

And that means at least 600Ah of lead acid... Which would put a serious dent in your available build/load weight as well as costing a fair bit.

Is it possible they had external hook up on the campsite to power the hob?  

That's the only sane way I can see of using one. 

I am not convinced by the doubling lead acid vs lithium, the only people who seem to make reference to it are people who sell lithium batteries; actually looking at lifespans of the batteries didn't seem to support those assumptions. 

Depth of discharge and rate of discharge absolutely matter for last acid capacity and lifespan. If you're going below 50% regularly you'll kill the battery pretty quick. And if you're discharging at a high rate, capacity is quickly reduced. 

I've gone through several 100 to 130 Ah lead acid batteries, and now I have a 100 Ah LiFePO4... Trust me the difference is huge.

What about a spirits stove? 
 

We had a 2 burner one in the sailing boat in late 80s. And now have a single burner one for the car. 
 

Origo something (1500?).

naturally not as quick as gas. But safer and is enough for making grub. We also use a small Jetboil-kind of cartridge stove for boiling water (tea, coffee and at the crag).

Funny! Would be keen to hear/see more about your Caddy setup. Stumbled over this outfit which supplies neat single-burner camper stoves:

https://camperinteriors.co.uk/collections/ovens-hobs-sinks/products/can-fc1...

Plus umpteen other options, icluding some neat sink-stove combos

https://camperinteriors.co.uk/collections/ovens-hobs-sinks

I have seen these used before. 

https://www.primus.eu/primus-onja-stove-navy-blue-p229013/

Otherwise I have a a small stove in our caddy, its a boat stove with a homemade stainless steel heat shield.

I have one of these https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan-motorhome/dometic-smev-pi2232-2-bur...

Cheers Phill