In much of Africa and Central Asia the kitchen runs on a generator — and that's where induction cookers "fail." The startup surge of an induction unit can hit 2-3x its rated power for a moment; an under-sized generator trips, the chef blames the cooker, and you eat the return and the review.
Size the generator, not the cooker
- Rule of thumb: generator rated kW x 0.8 = max combined cooker load it can start. A 5 kW generator safely runs ~4 kW of cookers, not 5.
- Start units one at a time, a few seconds apart — never all at once.
- For 3500W+ commercial units, ask the factory for soft-start / low inrush specs before you quote a job.
Two questions to ask the factory before you bid
- "What's the inrush (startup) current of this model, and does it have soft-start?"
- "What generator size do you recommend for N units running together?"
Quoting a job on unstable power?
Tell us the generator size and how many cookers run together — we'll spec soft-start units and confirm the inrush current so your install doesn't trip.
