Coffeeholic

[Dick Kobayashi]

Well, I am one. Can anyone tell me if the following is feasible. Get a small inverter and use it to power a small (not more than 32 oz) water boiler. Objective: to quickly boil water for coffee without firing up the Origo. I suppose the main thing is knowing how many watts the water boiler draws. Any safety issues here. This is contemplated for a 25D.

[Russell]

Things that generate heat generally take pretty high wattages. I cannot say for sure what one would take, but I am willing to bet a lot and a bigger inverter then you will want.

Why not a coleman camping stove that uses the little propane bottles? Use it in the cockpit rather then down below if concerned about the propane. Propane generates tremendous heat and is cheap.

[Oswego John]

Dick,

Maybe someone can confirm this. To use a resistance element to make heat, can't you use straight DC power instead of converting battery supplied DC into AC?

I remember that there were one cup immersion heaters for your auto that plugged into the lighter socket. These heaters were straight DC.

Just thinking.
O J

[jerryaxler]

12 volt immersion heaters can be bought on Amazon for $7-$17. We are a tea versus coffee couple, so I know the drill.

[Oswego John]

I guess a better way of asking is, -----do you need an inverter for this?

O J

[Cathy Monaghan]

You do know that you can get a 12V coffee maker right? You can get anything from a single-cup model to one that'll brew 10 cups. Click on the links below for 12V coffee makers.

12 Vot Travel: http://www.12volt-travel.com/12-volt-co ... -c-92.html

RoadTrucker: http://www.roadtrucker.com/roadpro/12-v ... at-979.htm

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Rally-7271-Portab ... B004UR16R0

West Marine: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sku=106304

There are lots. Just GOOGLE "12V coffee maker".

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[jerryaxler]

Hate to be a sob, I use a French press no need for a brewer.

[jerryaxler]

Oops!! I meant to say snob. Kind of puts a different meaning to the post.

[Russell]

Hate to be a sob, I use a French press no need for a brewer.

So do I, but one still needs a way to heat the water!

[Maine_Buzzard]

Try a 12V immersion heater.

If the 12V heater draws 10A, you get 120W of heat. How long will a 120W light bulb take to boil a cup of water put on it. About a half hour, my guess...

Any higher wattage, or using an inverter to get AC and then a small 500W coffee pot will simply waste time and money.

I suspect that a backpacking stove in a home made gimbal would be a better choice...

How about an Esbit solid fuel stove? No messy gas...

http://www.amazon.com/Esbit-Solid-Fuel- ... -1-catcorr

[Neil Gordon]

If you'd have fired up the Origo, the coffee would be done by now.

[Warren S]

Good point Neil! I brew coffee for 4 cups every morning on the alky burner. Takes a while that's why I start that first before cooking breakfast.

To OJ: it shouldn't matter AC or DC, since power calculations from AC, in many cases, starts by determining RMS (root-mean-square) of the sine wave. Essentially treating it as DC.

[Paul D.]

I use my 95 year old father's 60 year old aluminum cowboy coffee pot. There is a feeling only aluminum, time amd a few grounds in your cup can produce. Priceless.

[Trawler Joe]

I have a 500w hotpot and a 1000w black-and-decker inverter that I bought for $49, plus another $15 for the remote inverter switch. The combination works great for my french press in the morning.

I haven't kept this blog up for a long time, but details are here: http://maintenance.mariner2.net/2009/08/inverted.html

-Joe

[Oswego John]

Maybe someone can confirm this. To use a resistance element to make heat, can't you use straight DC power instead of converting battery supplied DC into AC?

I remember that there were one cup immersion heaters for your auto that plugged into the lighter socket. These heaters were straight DC.

Just thinking.
O J

I guess a better way of asking is, -----do you need an inverter for this?

O J

Good point Neil! I brew coffee for 4 cups every morning on the alky burner. Takes a while that's why I start that first before cooking breakfast.

To OJ: it shouldn't matter AC or DC, since power calculations from AC, in many cases, starts by determining RMS (root-mean-square) of the sine wave. Essentially treating it as DC.

*****************************************************************************

At this point of my life, I've come to the conclusion that one of the worst methods of creating heat is by the use of electricity when compared to oil and gas. In my mind, this applies to home heating, using the clothes dryer, cooking and baking with the stove or heating domestic hot water. Yes, it is practical, very practical. It doesn't involve cutting and splitting firewood or shoveling coal or removal of ashes. Unless you are living in the southwestern part of the country, heating with electrical power can be more expensive than by heating with other sources.

I agree with the fact that there can be, and probably are, variations on any theme. Different viewpoints are valid under various circumstances. When I envision the thought of waking up in my rack on a cramped sailboat, my thoughts are being anchored in a remote harbour far from the normal hubbub that is humanity. My body cries out for java, a cup-a-joe, mud, black bellywash. It must be black as onyx and unadulterated. If it should need sweetener, I'll dip my little finger in it. And one mug won't put the fire out. Once my case of the jingles subsides a bit, then I can begin to act in a more human manner.

In those first waking moments, from when I first arise to when I savor that wonderful taste of the nectar of the gods, time is of the essence. There is absolutely no time to ignite kindling to fire up the percolator. An alcohol stove is too slow to ease the pain of a man who is hanging from the yardarm by his thumbs. At a time such as this, there must be blistering, lightning fast speed. Damn the cost, we need coffee and we need it NOW.

Getting back to the thread, yes, I agree that using AC electrical power to heat water might be practical if the boat is tied up at a dock or slip with AC power readily handy. But suppose that you are lying at anchor in that idyllic harbour half way to nowhere. Are you packing a Honda or Homelight generator on board your CD 25D?Getting back to my original question, if you feel strongly about heating water, or general cooking for that matter, with electrical power, why do you feel that it has to be that the battery power has to be converted to AC power. Most AC electrical utensils are rated for 110-120 volts. So now, we are talking about taking DC battery power and converting it to AC power. Next, depending, we might have to use a step-up transformer to raise the innverted 12V AC to 120V AC.

So let's see where we are now at. We departed from a beautiful straight line 12V DC and now have a half wave sine curve that it's not very useful peaks are clipped. Every time that you mess with and do something to the normal flow of electricity you are creating losses, whether they be hysteresis, reactance or a myriad other losses that the average person can't spell.

In my mind, it is so much quicker, easier and less hassle to turn a gas valve and flic your bic. Aaah, I can smell the coffee brewing now.

O J