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A month of cooking on induction
We have cooked on gas and on electric elements for years. This is our first month with a Westinghouse full induction cooktop in place of the gas. We had trialled induction on a small scale first. We bought a portable hotplate last year (also Westinghouse), as a spare in our kitchen — on the bench at home, and in the back of the car on road trips. Induction still gets confused with the electric cooking most people remember, a metal hotplate or a coil glowing red, sometimes under glass. Induction works differently — it makes the pan itself the heating element, so nearly all the energy goes into the pan rather than into the kitchen, and the glass beside the pan stays cool enough to rest a hand on. Here is what a month of it has been like. What stands out is how fast and how responsive it is. It comes on instantly, goes off instantly, and changes power the moment you ask. It boils faster than the gas did. CHOICE's testing has induction boiling a litre of water in about half the time gas…
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Did going all-electric cause our mould?
We spent 2025 and 2026 getting off gas — heat pump hot water, a multi-head air conditioner replacing the ducted gas heater, and finally an induction cooker. Then we found mould on the bed slats. Was it due to electrification? We first found this same mould, on these same slats, in December 2024 — fourteen months before the air conditioners went in, while the gas ducted heater was still doing all the heating. Whatever causes it was here first, and it was here while the gas was. Gas cooking turns out to actually make it worse. Burning gas makes water: roughly 1.6 kilograms of water vapour for every cubic metre burnt. That is on top of the water coming out of the food or boiling water, which happens whatever you cook on. Going induction removed the extra moisture. Not to mention the benzene, which is a known carcinogen. What did change is the ventilation. The old ducted system leaked, and those leaks quietly brought in outside air. Reverse-cycle doesn't leak. Better heating, staler air.…
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Off the gas for good
91.16 cents a day for a pipe we no longer used. Cancelling it took a chatbot, a $9.13 fee, and a question about whether the house was being demolished.
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Rebate for replacing our gas stove
The rebate is worth about $200. I'll get $120. You cannot claim it yourself — and the app only accepts documents from your phone's photo gallery.
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Installing our induction stove
The crew arrived at seven. By lunchtime the gas was capped, the old Smeg was gone, and 40 amps of new circuit ran from the switchboard to the kitchen.
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Quotes to install an oven and induction cooktop
I thought connecting an oven was an afternoon and a few hundred dollars. The first quote was $3,014 — so I went looking to understand why it's such a big job.
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Oven bought in March, arrived in July
The docket said “ETA 3 weeks”. It took 106 days, six phone calls, and an oven posted back to the warehouse because nobody read the email saying hold it.
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Our last gas appliance
Our Smeg 90cm oven and cooktop. We’re replacing it with a Westinghouse 90cm oven and induction cooktop, from The Good Guys. Then we can finally get off the gas.
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Goodbye gas — disconnecting the ducted heating
Goodbye gas! I finally organised disconnecting the ducted gas heating at our home. If only we could see the burnt gas pouring into the air, all the time, and not just when the condensation highlights it (as in the photos). Pumping carcinogens and greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe. It’s nuts. It was costing us up to $528 per month to run the heating in winter. Our replacement air conditioning will be closer to free, thanks to our solar and battery. We recently also replaced our gas hot water with a heat pump. Our one remaining gas appliance is our stove top. Once that’s gone, we will save $35 per month just for the connection fee. And no more gas! We’re replacing the gas heating with some split air conditioners. For those who might say “what about in a blackout”? Note the power point connection on the old gas heating. Our old gas hot water heat pump had one too. They both needed electricity to run. In fact, in addition the gas consumed, the heating used about 1kW of…
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ICE vehicles also benefit from charging points
I’ve come across a few ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles that could benefit from charging points. Bear with me here. This ambulance, parked outside a nursing home, was running the engine, with no-one in it, I presume to keep the air con running, on what was a pretty hot day. Perhaps they were keeping the vehicle cool for a patient they were collecting. Fair enough. But, of course this leaks fumes (and noise) into the car park and reception, which isn’t great for health. I noticed that it has a power socket at the rear of the vehicle. I’m wondering if they could plug that into an electrical supply, if there was one at the parking spot (but wasn’t one handy here). This rental van I’m guessing has refrigeration, parked outside a butchers in Emerald. They made use of the external power socket, creatively plugging in from the shop. No noise or fumes. I wonder if it would be handy to have more accessible power points for these ICE vehicles? Or better yet, have electric vans that can…
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Creekside car camping in the Snowy Mountains
Car camping in my Tesla, beside a creek, off the beaten track in the Snowy Mountains. It took me a while to find the site. Earlier, in my search, I pulled off onto two tracks that ended up in someone’s property. At least it gave some local kids an excuse to run outside to see what the UFO sound was I did a three point just outside their gate. I waved and grinned. A cup of tea and a snack from my Teraglide drawer, sitting in my camp chair, watching the bush life. Until the bush life started eating me (just a few bugs), signaling time for bed. I again wished I had remembered to pack a collapsible stool, to help climb into the back of the car. Followed by the commando crawl to get on top of the Snuuzu mattress and Teraglide platform. This is the highest sleeping option, which gives lots of storage space and a very comfortable bed. The only down side is requiring more effort getting in and out. Once I’m in, it’s great with plenty of room to move. Please forgive the “Tesla Tripping – after…
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I wish my Model Y had V2L
I wish my Tesla Model Y had a power point, where I could plug in my induction stove to make breakfast 😞. What I need is “V2L”, which stands for “vehicle to load”. Unfortunately, my Tesla Model Y RWD does not have it. This omission almost made us switch to BYD, Kia, Xpeng or one of the many other EV car brands that provide V2L. Tesla’s CyberTruck, new Model YL, and Model Y Performance all reportedly now provide V2L. The Cybertruck has built in power points. The other two require an adapter plugged into the charge port. I can only hope that in the near future Tesla offers some retrofit option for my car. In the mean time, I just have to find a power point, in order to cook. If I had booked a powered site at this location, that would work fine. This morning, I just used the camp kitchen. My car’s massive (by camping standards) 60kWh battery provided air conditioning all night, and has run my camp fridge non stop, via the 16V outlet. It powers other mod cons, such as the lights, wireless…
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Sleeping in the Tesla — does it fit?
Sleeping in the Tesla, on a Snuuzu mattress, on a Teraglide platform. The obvious question: can I fit? Short answer: plenty of room to sleep, rollover, look at the sky, out the window, or my phone. I never banged into the glass or support arch. But, getting in is a bit tight. I had to shuffle through, like a recruit in a commando course. I also forgot to pack a collapsible stool, to step onto, high enough at the back to crawl in. The Snuuzu mattress is super comfortable. It has a few layers of foam, supported by an inflatable layer. With the back seats down, the Tesla floor slopes down towards the back, with a kink where the seats hinge. This makes sleeping uncomfortable, and slides the occupants slowly down to the boot. One way to rectify this is to add a slightly elevated floor, that is truly horizontal. That’s where the Teraglide platform comes in. Teraglide also has a basic model, without the drawer, that isn’t as high as ours. And there are car mattresses that aren’t as thick as…
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Savic test rides through the Dandenongs
While driving in our town of Emerald to get some Emerald Thai for dinner, I did a double take when I saw a Savic Motorcycles sign, randomly on the footpath. It turns out that they were running test rides today “winding through the beautiful Dandenong Ranges”. What a great idea! Test drives at dealerships and even EV shows tend to be within urban sprawls, which doesn’t offer much of a driving or riding experience. We’ve seen Savic at a few EV shows, including the recent Everything Electric in Melbourne (pictured). I wish I had known it was on, and that we weren’t recovering from a cold right now. Hopefully next time. Savic is an Australian company building electric motorcycles.
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Heat pump installation
We finally got around to installing a hot water heat pump, to replace our gas hot water system. We were paying about $40 per month for our instant gas hot water (plus $40 connection fee). Now we’re paying nothing, because the heat pump is just using our excess solar power. Without solar, I estimate it would be costing us $8 per month to power it from the electricity grid. There are a few incentive schemes around to replace gas (or other old inefficient systems) with a heat pump. An installer will factor these into their quote. The subsidies can be significant. In our case, the total price was $4480, but it was reduced to $1650 for us to pay, after subsidies were subtracted. A hot water heat pump uses the same principle as an air conditioner (which is also a heat pump). It “pumps” heat from one side to the other. In this case, it pumps heat from the outside air into the tank of water. The basic physics is that when you compress air in a confined space, it gets hot, and when you expand…
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Final day at Everything Electric Melbourne
Starting and ending with Jack Scarlett. Test drives, a panel talk about road tripping, EV conversions, and a flux capacitor, some of the highlights.
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Snapshots from Everything Electric Melbourne
Some random shots from Everything Electric Melbourne today. After a few years in Sydney, this is their first showing in Melbourne. It’s noticeably smaller, but understandable for the first appearance. Interesting panel talks. Informative staff at product booths. Huge variety of test drives available, including self driving Tesla cars. A few food truck offerings. They need more undercover seating (from sun or rain). We recommend the falafel wraps.
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A $25k BYD Atto 1 is closing in on ICE prices
About $25k for a new BYD Atto 1. Wow. EVs are now approaching the price of comparative ICE vehicles. Unfortunately, BYD couldn’t get their Atto 1 prepped in time for the show, but they did have the Atto 2 on the floor (pictured). At Everything Electric Melbourne.
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Camper vans and EV utes at Everything Electric
Checking out the Farizon electric van, decked out as a camper. Also the popular BYD Shark electric ute (plus hybrid range extender), and some towing options. At Everything Electric Melbourne.
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A peek inside the Geely EV
Nice interior of the Geely EV, at Everything Electric Melbourne. So many EV options available now.
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A flipping, rolling cat robot at Everything Electric
Dancing, flipping, rolling cat robot at Everything Electric Melbourne was a crowd pleaser. No litter box!
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Goodbye Gas, helping homes electrify
Nice to see some services (like Goodbye Gas) available to help homes get off has, upgrading to electric. Better for health, monthly bills, and clean air. At Everything Electric, Melbourne.
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Two-wheel EVs at Everything Electric Melbourne
Some of the many scooters, motorbikes and e-bikes at Everything Electric Melbourne.
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Electric police cars at Everything Electric
A Tesla Model X and Kia EV6, I think.
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Behind the wheel of an electric big rig
Big wheels keep on turnin’, electrically! Trying out a big rig at Everything Electric show Melbourne
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Arriving early at Ayers Rock Campground
We arrived a day ahead of schedule at Ayers Rock Campground. We had booked a powered site, starting from tomorrow, but none were available tonight. The staff offered us the unpowered overflow campground area. Our original plan was to charge the car at our powered site, while also running the air conditioning and accessories. Without a powered site tonight, we had to charge up the car a bit first, so we could just run it off the giant battery. We used the auto inflate button on our Snuuzu mattress, added pillows and doona. We moved the baggage to the front seats, so the bed wasn’t obstructed. While car camping in Coober Pedy a few days ago, we discovered that even with our portable wheel ramps the car’s bed floor still leans backwards too much. So, we backed the car up a small hill as well. We used our fold up spade to fill in a couple of holes from previous campers. We set the Tesla to “camp mode”, so we could sleep in the back of the car at 20°, while it was 3° outside, overnight.…
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A toasty stop at Lake Nillahcootie, heading home
Rest stop at Lake Nillahcootie, near Bonnie Doon. On our way back home from the Off-Grid Living Festival and Corowa, crossing back over the border into Victoria. To our pleasant surprise, coffee and toasties were on offer from the Kalari Kafe van in the car park by the lake. Unfortunately, the generators powering the van filled the area with noise and some fumes. Hopefully V2L EVs will soon become so common place and accessible that more food vans will be able to use them.
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Strolling the Off-Grid Living Festival, Chiltern
Strolling around the Off-Grid Living Festival today, in Chiltern, Victoria. Such a wide range of exhibitors. Excellent food options, but very little shade. Lots of dust, which destroyed the car wash we did a couple of days ago. Very thankful for a smoothie from the Barefoot Blender. Most of the site seems to be powered from solar, or from V2L EVs. Great to see. Less smelly and noisy generators. Even the security motorbikes are electric. Nice!
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Any power point becomes a charging station, in Corowa
Any power point is a charging station. We drove from eastern Melbourne, Victoria, north to just over the border in Corowa, NSW. We can walk down the road and see Victoria on the other side of the Murray River. We were in Queensland earlier this week 🤪. We’re staying at an Airbnb house for a couple of days, while we attend the Off-Grid Living Festival in Chiltern, tomorrow.
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Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs
Imagine driving an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for the first time, coming from EVs. April 5: We drove in a couple of ICE cars around town (Airlie Beach and Cannonvale) for a few days. It reminded me of a couple of years ago, hopping back in our Mazda CX-5, after owning an EV. Here are my observations: 1. You can’t charge it up while parked at home, or at a shopping center. You have to go to a special “fuel station” to recharge the car. You can’t just leave the car to recharge – you have to stay with it, holding the recharge nozzle. 2. It smells. And the fumes are carcinogenic. The fumes come from the nozzle, but also out of the back of the car while driving. 3. When the car has enough charge (fuel), you put the nozzle back in the pump. But then you have to walk into the service station to pay at the counter. It’s not automatic at the pump, or it’s too complicated for most people to bother that way. 4. There’s a possibility of fire. The fuel is highly flammable. And the car…
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Talking road trips at the Off-Grid Festival
Road tripping through Europe gave us a glimpse into the future of EVs and road trips in Australia. Border Regional Electrification Events invited us to talk about it in the Electrification Tent at the Off-Grid Living Festival, in Chiltern, Victoria (30 minutes from the NSW border). The audience asked some excellent questions. Thanks to all those who attended. Some of the slides from our talk, included here.
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XPeng G6 — second test drive
We took another test drive of an XPENG G6, this time from a new dealership in Berwick, Victoria, which is closer to us. Nice interior, comfy seats, great tech. The handling wasn’t bad on some windy roads, but not as sporty as the Tesla Model Y. Disappointing storage. The auto driving hesitated quite a bit around bends. The lack of full stop on one pedal driving is annoying, but they will reportedly solve that in a few weeks via an OTA (over the air) software update. The G6 includes auto parking and lane change, which costs extra in a Tesla. It has vehicle to load, but it requires some adapter plug into the external charge port, which wasn’t available. We had a chance to play with Apple CarPlay, which is great to have. But the XPeng doesn't seem to support pinch and zoom in Apple Maps, which makes it very limited. Acceleration was terrible (doesn’t move for a second), until I turned in “launch mode”. I couldn’t figure out how to enable launch mode and regenerative braking (x-pedal) at…
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The final stretch of a 4000 km road trip
The final stretch of this 4000km road trip, to get home. We stayed last night in Gobbagombalin (near Wagga Wagga) with our grandson (oh, and his parents 😉). Just a couple of bakery stops, in Holbrook and Yea. The first cafe in Holbrook was closed, so we looked through the window like lost puppies. While parked, we kept the car in Camp Mode, with the air con on, to keep our camp fridge going and our food cool. No exhaust or additional heat.
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Electric utes and trucks at Everything Electric Sydney
We spotted a few utes and trucks at the Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show), in Sydney. Some conversions, some plug in hybrid (PHEV), and one large battery swap unit for a semi, in just 3 minutes. We sat in the huge frunk of the F150 Lightning, made possible because no engine is needed. Some electric utes have been popular for mining operations, so as not to poison the air in the shafts, and to avoid the need to truck in fuel to remote sites. On the way out, we spotted a BYD Shark (PHEV) parked at a fast charger on the street. Frustratingly, they hadn’t plugged in. There were a couple of parking cops who were hopefully about to post an infringement notice. Chargers are for charging, not just parking 🤦♂️.
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Electric vans at Everything Electric Sydney
Checking out electric vans at Everything Electric (from Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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The Cybertruck, big and ridiculous, in Sydney
At The Everything Electric Show in Sydney (by the Fully Charged Show), checking out the Tesla Cybertruck. Impressive, but ridiculously big, like most oversized utes.
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Wrapping up Everything Electric Sydney, past a V8
The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) wrapped up in Sydney for another year, but will be back, for the first time, in Melbourne in November. In the car park, we walked past four guys standing around the open bonnet of a V8 ute, saying “we should have gone electric”. Very fitting end. Amber showed off her Tesla Tripping tote bag, as we said goodbye. 3000km done and 1000km to go. Car fully packed again, with the addition of four old computers we had left behind when we moved from the Central Coast, two years ago. One of the sharp iMacs showed its abandonment issues by cutting my bare foot. Next stop, for dinner, in Campbelltown. We shared a roast and dessert. Then on to Mittagong for tonight’s accommodation, booked at the last minute, as usual.
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Some classic conversions to electric, in Sydney
A few of the electric converted vehicles at The Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney.
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Electric motorbikes, including Savic, at Sydney
Just a few of the electric motorbikes at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. Including locally built Savic Motorcycles.
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V2L in action: DJs, coffee machines and TVs
Portable power. A few V2L (vehicle to load) examples at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show). Including an EV DJ, coffee machine, large TV, and power tools. Most EVs now include V2L, so you can plug just about any household appliance into your car, and power it without running an engine, so no heat, exhaust and noise. Tesla, however, does not currently offer this feature, except on the Cybertruck. Very disappointing.
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The Deepal E07: hatch meets ute tray
Great to see some innovative new EV designs at Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. This Deepal E07 has a hatch that’s kind of like a small ute tray. Full cabin plus a tray/boot. Opens electronically. You can even extend the tray length by folding down the rear seats (unlike the Cybertruck). Australian pricing and release expected at the next exhibition, I think in April.
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First look at the new Model Y 'Juniper'
Checking out the new 2025 Tesla Model Y “Juniper”. Easier for passengers to get in and out, compared to our lower Model 3. Love the ventilated seats. So much room in this thing, more than any other competitor vehicle, it seems. And the most efficient. I’ve added photos of Phil lying down in the back of another Tesla Model Y (not Juniper), on a Tesla mattress, to show how much space there is with the seats down Still no vehicle to load (V2L) or Apple Car Play, like most competitors have. At Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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XPeng G6 — first look at the Everything Electric Show
The Xpeng G6 is a strong competition against the Tesla Model Y. We viewed both at The Everything Electric Show (Everything Electric) in Sydney. A few weeks earlier, we took a G6 for a test drive at the XPENG Port Melbourne showroom (also pictured). The Xpeng G6 and Tesla Model Y both have great tech, great efficiency, ventilated and heated front seats. The G6 doesn’t have frunk storage, has small subtrunk storage, smaller boot, no glovebox, but has a bit more rear passenger room and probably more comfy seats. It has Apple Maps and Vehicle to Load (V2L). It is $10k cheaper, but requires paid regular servicing and and has longer warranty. It includes auto lane change (extra purchase on the Tesla). The Tesla has faster acceleration, sportier handling, one pedal driving comes to a full stop without the brake, and has more fast charging options. It has a screen for rear passengers and powered rear seat folding. It has much more storage overall, including huge sub trunk, boot and frunk. It…
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Central Coast farewells, off to Everything Electric
Great memories, spending some time with family on the NSW Central Coast. Tomorrow: Off to Everything Electric (by Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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Thai and pizza at Erina Fair, again
A couple of visits to Erina Fair, while we’ve been staying nearby, this week. Pineapple fried rice at Thai Thyme. Teriyaki pizza at GPK. Tomorrow we’re off to the Fully Charged Everything Electric Show in Sydney.
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Dog Mode, for Clare the visitor
Dog Mode engaged. We’re minding our sister Helen’s dog, Clare, for a few days. Our cat, Archie initially hissed a few times at the interloper, but seems to have now accepted (or at least tolerated) her. We took this fine old doggie out for a drive to Loch. We limited the G forces of acceleration and cornering so as not to plaster her on the back seat. We had a delicious lunch with friends at the Loch & Key cafe, while Clare slept in the car, in air conditioned Dog Mode comfort. We checked on her a few times using the in-cabin Sentry Mode camera. Then out for a long walk around the town of Loch.
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Past The Big Shovel, ending at Yack's Bottom Pub
We stopped by “The Big Shovel” as we left the Off-Grid Living Festival in Chiltern. Francis tried to make a friend out of a skittish young bull. We finished up back in Yack, this time at the ”Bottom Pub”, complete with appropriate (or inappropriate) photo.
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Slides from our EV road-tripping talk
Some of the slides from our presentation on EV road tripping at the Off-Grid Living Festival, in the Border Regional Electrification Events electrification tent.
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The vibe at the Off-Grid Living Festival
Great vibe at the Off-Grid Living Festival. Street musician and entertainers, cuddly animals, amazing artwork, lots of delicious food options. No disposable plates! Impressive.
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Marvin meets Husqvarna at the Off-Grid Festival
On our way out from the Off-Grid Living Festival, we checked out some of the displays in the Border Regional Electrification Events area. We had a chat with Paul about the Husqvana robot mower that was quietly cutting a patch of lawn next to us. All Seasons Garden Solutions: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091464130556 We chatted with Matt from Clenergy about a possible portable battery for camping, which can charge from the Tesla car’s 12V supply and from portable solar panels, to then use it for high power cooking such as induction stove tops. It pains me that this is needed because our Tesla doesn’t have vehicle to load (V2L) which could power the stove directly. Other EVs have this feature.
Formerly: Tesla Tripping
Come along on our EV road trips around Australia and Europe, and follow as we progressively electrify our home in Emerald, Victoria.
Join us on the road. We set off in late 2022 and drove eastern Australia in our Tesla Model 3 — Sydney, Dubbo, Armidale, Brisbane, Cape Tribulation, then down through Queensland and back. We've since upgraded to a Model Y.
We've kept exploring — Uluru, the Snowy Mountains and Gippsland, and a longer run through Europe in 2024. There's plenty more on the map, so come along for the next leg.
At home in Emerald, in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, we're progressively electrifying everything: rooftop solar, a home battery, a hot water heat pump, air conditioned heating and cooling, and EV charging straight from the sun. We're going fully electric, off the gas.
Got questions, or insights of your own? We'd love to hear them — please drop a comment on any post.