car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

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Date: 17 Jul 2006 12:28:19
From:
Subject: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?

1. You prefer cold drinks when camping.
2. You make sure the campsite has AC power so you bring 110AC
equipment.
3. You go to the nearest gas station.
4. You use a propane stove.
5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
heater/immersion coil (ever heard of such a beast?).
6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)

I was mostly thinking of option 5. But when I search for "electric
kettle" and "car" together, the search results contain mostly UK
websites/newsgroups. So I was wondering if that's a terminology issue
or those things are just not popular in the US.

What I have now is this:

1. A 12V DC electric kettle (tiny & slooooow)
2. A 500W 12DC-110AC inverter (not powerful enough to attach any
standard 110V equipment).

So I was wondering if there is something in between available in the
US. I was thinking of a low power (<500W), low capacity 110AC electric
kettler/heater/coffee machine/whatever so I could take advantage of my
inverter (obviously connecting it directly to the battery). I don't
need high performance stuff, yet I am not very happy with that 12V
thingy. I couldn't find anything of the kind on the web. Looks like
most modern electric kettles draw at least 1000W...

Thanks.

Date: 17 Jul 2006 15:40:42
From: St. John Smythe
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?

> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)

While on the one hand I've gotten so picky about coffee that I'll rarely
even order it in a restaurant any more, on the other, I'm perfectly
happy with "cowboy coffee" when caping. <shrug >

--
St. John
But soft you, the fair Ophelia:
Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws,
But get thee to a nunnery -- go!
-Mark "The Bard" Twain

Date: 17 Jul 2006 21:01:45
From: Brian Colwell
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

"St. John Smythe" <sinjen@n4vu.com > wrote in message
news:e9gp3q$3o9$9@n4vu2.n4vu.com...
> materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
>> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
>> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>
>> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
>
> While on the one hand I've gotten so picky about coffee that I'll rarely
> even order it in a restaurant any more, on the other, I'm perfectly
> happy with "cowboy coffee" when caping. <shrug>
>
> --
> St. John
> But soft you, the fair Ophelia:
> Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws,
> But get thee to a nunnery -- go!
> -Mark "The Bard" Twain

On a cold, rainy morning, option 6, can taste pretty good !! :-))

BMC

Date: 17 Jul 2006 20:11:10
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Caveat wrote:
> materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> >Caveat wrote
> >> It's a technology issue. As you note, electric pots draw huge amounts
> >> of power. Twelve volts is too wimpy and those pots that are sold for
> >> such use (as you found out) are "tiny & slooooow." A 120v pot would
> >> require a large inverter that would drain your car battery very
> >> quickly.
>
> >I was under the impression that the battery should be fine as long as
> >the engine is running...
>
> IMO, it's a bad idea to run the engine to heat up a cup of water.
> Gasoline is expensive, and the exhaust is no fun to breathe in a
> campground (nor is the noise very nice).

Agreed.

> If the large inverter pulls less amperage from the battery than the
> alternator can put in wile running (at idle) it might keep the battery
> from going dead. But this is like using an atom bomb to kill a fly. A
> small, inexpensive, quiet propane stove is a far better alternative in
> my view.
>
> >I am not sure how much a small propane stove may cost, but I believe
> >that's the best solution for those who also use it for cooking. I
> >don't.

>
> Here are a dozen or so small stoves (less than the size of the
> inverter) for less than $40 USD:
>
> http://shop.lycos.com/camping_hikinggear/cookware_stoves--stove/products__att259818--34400-5923__att360726--296498-.html
>
> A few such devices have a built-in pot and are designed specifically
> for boiling water -- not the general cooking of foods.

Yeah, just tonight I checked out a couple stores and I totally agree
with you. I've seen some real small single burner cookers basically
the size of the tank for about $30.

So, a 1000W inverter is definetely an overkill to make a cup of coffee
;)

Date: 18 Jul 2006 10:11:34
From: Keith W
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

<materazzidane@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:1153192270.324772.119030@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>

>
> Yeah, just tonight I checked out a couple stores and I totally agree
> with you. I've seen some real small single burner cookers basically
> the size of the tank for about $30.
>
>
> So, a 1000W inverter is definetely an overkill to make a cup of coffee
> ;)
>
>

Or you can buy a hexamine stove and 24 tablets for 10 bucks

http://www.davebensoncaravans.com.au/page.asp?parentid=129&parent2id=141&parent3id=252&parent4id=278&productid=185

Keith

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Date: 18 Jul 2006 05:25:18
From: Doug Smith W9WI
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> So, a 1000W inverter is definetely an overkill to make a cup of coffee
> ;)

Amps = watts/volts. 1000w/12v = 83 amps, assuming your inverter is 100%
efficient. (it isn't) So at full load you'd have to draw 83 amps from
wherever you connect your inverter. That isn't going to be the
cigarette lighter, nor the interior fuse box, neither of which can
provide anywhere near that much curent. A 1000w inverter is going to
have to wire directly to the car battery. For that matter, so is a 500w
unit. If you've got a 500-watter that claims it can plug into the
lighter, I'm betting it can only suppor 500w for a second or two.

Anyway, I do think that's far too much work for a cup of coffee!,
especially if there's an easier chemical alternative.

--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Date: 18 Jul 2006 01:19:01
From: Cliff Hartle
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Campmor coffee page

http://tinyurl.com/ahwgk

Date: 17 Jul 2006 17:17:55
From: garciyalater@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

I dont know the exact size of the thing, but I powered an X-box, a 17
inch lcd moniter a phone charger and my video cam recharging with a 40
dollar thing bougt at target.....

ran the moniter and the xbox for a couple hours at a time over the
course of a camping weekend, and never had a problem.....

started the car for a few minutes on occasion just to be safe.......

Chuck

Date: 17 Jul 2006 15:27:30
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)

Use your stove to make your hot water. Bring pre-ground coffee (of
your taste / economic status) in bag.

FRENCH PRESS

Makes DAMN good coffee, pretty quickly. Just did it Sunday morning in
the Uintas. Muy bueno.

Date: 17 Jul 2006 15:15:17
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Caveat wrote:
> materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> >I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> >what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks...
>
> Answer #4: a propane stove.
>
> >5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
>
> >I was mostly thinking of option 5. But when I search for "electric
> >kettle" and "car" together, the search results contain mostly UK
> >websites/newsgroups. So I was wondering if that's a terminology issue
> >or those things are just not popular in the US...
>
> It's a technology issue. As you note, electric pots draw huge amounts
> of power. Twelve volts is too wimpy and those pots that are sold for
> such use (as you found out) are "tiny & slooooow." A 120v pot would
> require a large inverter that would drain your car battery very
> quickly.
I was under the impression that the battery should be fine as long as
the engine is running... But I am guessing the type of
battery/alternator/wiring may be an issue at real high power levels
(how high?).

> And that combination would cost a lot more than a small pot
> on a small propane (or iso-butane) stove.

I am not sure how much a small propane stove may cost, but I believe
that's the best solution for those who also use it for cooking. I
don't. As far the inverter... First of all, I need one in the car
anyway, for things like laptop, cameras, etc. Besides, I already have
a basic 4 cup coffee maker that is rated, I believe, at 800W. So a
1000W inverter should do the trick. And I doubt it would cost much
more that the 500W one that I already have. I just don't want to buy
another one... Oh well.

>
>
> Caveat

Date: 17 Jul 2006 16:43:45
From: Caveat
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
>Caveat wrote
>> It's a technology issue. As you note, electric pots draw huge amounts
>> of power. Twelve volts is too wimpy and those pots that are sold for
>> such use (as you found out) are "tiny & slooooow." A 120v pot would
>> require a large inverter that would drain your car battery very
>> quickly.

>I was under the impression that the battery should be fine as long as
>the engine is running...

IMO, it's a bad idea to run the engine to heat up a cup of water.
Gasoline is expensive, and the exhaust is no fun to breathe in a
campground (nor is the noise very nice).

If the large inverter pulls less amperage from the battery than the
alternator can put in wile running (at idle) it might keep the battery
from going dead. But this is like using an atom bomb to kill a fly. A
small, inexpensive, quiet propane stove is a far better alternative in
my view.

>I am not sure how much a small propane stove may cost, but I believe
>that's the best solution for those who also use it for cooking. I
>don't.

Here are a dozen or so small stoves (less than the size of the
inverter) for less than $40 USD:

http://shop.lycos.com/camping_hikinggear/cookware_stoves--stove/products__att259818--34400-5923__att360726--296498-.html

A few such devices have a built-in pot and are designed specifically
for boiling water -- not the general cooking of foods.

>As far the inverter... First of all, I need one in the car
>anyway, for things like laptop, cameras, etc...

A small one is fine. I use a 120 watt model for my computer and that's
small enough not to require running the engine. But it won't heat
water.

>Besides, I already have
>a basic 4 cup coffee maker that is rated, I believe, at 800W. So a
>1000W inverter should do the trick.

Too big, requires to much power. I suggest you leave your coffee pot
at home -- where it were designed to be used.

>And I doubt it would cost much
>more that the 500W one that I already have. I just don't want to buy
>another one... Oh well.

Small inverters are cheap (~$40 USD). Big ones are not, and there is
an issue with heating with the larger units.

But it's your choice.

Caveat

Date: 17 Jul 2006 14:20:08
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

St. John Smythe wrote:
> materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> > I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> > what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>
> > 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
>
> While on the one hand I've gotten so picky about coffee that I'll rarely
> even order it in a restaurant any more, on the other, I'm perfectly
> happy with "cowboy coffee" when caping. <shrug>

I'd be perfectly happy, too, if that's not me who's making it when it
is cold and raining :)

>
> --
> St. John
> But soft you, the fair Ophelia:
> Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws,
> But get thee to a nunnery -- go!
> -Mark "The Bard" Twain

Date: 17 Jul 2006 13:44:13
From: Caveat
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
>I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
>what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks...

Answer #4: a propane stove.

>5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water

>I was mostly thinking of option 5. But when I search for "electric
>kettle" and "car" together, the search results contain mostly UK
>websites/newsgroups. So I was wondering if that's a terminology issue
>or those things are just not popular in the US...

It's a technology issue. As you note, electric pots draw huge amounts
of power. Twelve volts is too wimpy and those pots that are sold for
such use (as you found out) are "tiny & slooooow." A 120v pot would
require a large inverter that would drain your car battery very
quickly. And that combination would cost a lot more than a small pot
on a small propane (or iso-butane) stove.

Caveat

Date: 18 Jul 2006 17:00:52
From: Steve
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

On 17 Jul 2006 12:28:19 -0700, materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:

>I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
>what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?

Take a good hard look at this:
http://www.jetboil.com/Products/Technology

I bought one last year. It takes up less space that my Whisperlite,
packs into itself, and you can buy a french press plunger, (which
works)
One thing you didn't mention, which is of great importance to me, is
the boil time. The Jetboil brings water to a boil in less than 3
minutes, including the unpacking. 4 minutes of "soaking" and my 16ozs
of coffee are done in less that 10 minutes total..
My Whisperlite or my friend's stoves can't come close to that.
It is also remarkably fuel efficient.

Date: 18 Jul 2006 07:27:27
From: Omniryx@gmail.com
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Depends on what you mean by car camping and how often you do it.

I've been an inveterate backpacker all my life. Have done the
Apalachian Trail a couple of times as well as other trails in US,
Europe, and Asia. When packing, I drink tea. Any kind of coffee
apparatus is too much weight when you're carrying your world on your
back.

For campground camping, I heartily agree with the recommendation that
you pregrind and seal up as many portions of coffee as you need and use
a little french press. The coffee you'll get is so much superior to
"cowboy coffee" that you'll never consider it again.

I hope that you are green enough that you do not build campfires. Sad
to give them up ('Kumbayah, m'Lord...") but they've gotta go. And
using an inverter and running your car to power it is equally bad on
the environment. So get a propane or liquid fuel stove. If you camp
light and you do it a lot, get something like an MSR Whisperlite or a
Brunton Optimus. Saving money should not be your highest priority if
you camp away from easy access to the outside world.

If you camp heavy, I guess you get a Coleman monstrosity. I dunno, I
never camp heavy.

Oh, almost forgot. Hexamine stoves are very lightweight, inexpensive
and reliable. They also have extremely low heat output and will take
forever-plus-ten-minutes to boil your water. I know of no experienced
camper who uses them except, perhaps, as an emergency backup.

Drop me an email if you want to discuss stoves or "camping light" gear
in more detail.

Good luck and good coffee,

Will (who knows more about camping than about coffee)

Date: 18 Jul 2006 10:03:43
From: Keith W
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

<materazzidane@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:1153164499.522757.244850@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>
> 1. You prefer cold drinks when camping.
> 2. You make sure the campsite has AC power so you bring 110AC
> equipment.
> 3. You go to the nearest gas station.
> 4. You use a propane stove.
> 5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
> heater/immersion coil (ever heard of such a beast?).
> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
>
> I was mostly thinking of option 5. But when I search for "electric
> kettle" and "car" together, the search results contain mostly UK
> websites/newsgroups. So I was wondering if that's a terminology issue
> or those things are just not popular in the US.
>
> What I have now is this:
>
> 1. A 12V DC electric kettle (tiny & slooooow)
> 2. A 500W 12DC-110AC inverter (not powerful enough to attach any
> standard 110V equipment).
>
> So I was wondering if there is something in between available in the
> US. I was thinking of a low power (<500W), low capacity 110AC electric
> kettler/heater/coffee machine/whatever so I could take advantage of my
> inverter (obviously connecting it directly to the battery). I don't
> need high performance stuff, yet I am not very happy with that 12V
> thingy. I couldn't find anything of the kind on the web. Looks like
> most modern electric kettles draw at least 1000W...
>
> Thanks.
>
>

Forget it.

The simple reality is that boiling a pint of water requires
more energy than a car battery stores. Use a small camping
stove powered by propane or solid fuelled hexamine tablets.
The latter are available from army surplus stores and are
small enough to fit in a pocket.

Keith

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Date: 18 Jul 2006 10:32:21
From: Andy Schecter
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Keith W wrote:
> The simple reality is that boiling a pint of water requires
> more energy than a car battery stores.

A pint of water weighs about a pound. Heating a pound of water from 50F to
212F takes 162 BTUs. Depending on how much heat is lost to the environment
while the water is heating, it could be around 200 BTUs.

A typical car battery stores 1500-3000 BTUs...

--

-Andy S.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_s/sets/

Date: 18 Jul 2006 17:33:08
From: SMS
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?

<snip >

See "http://nordicgroup.us/bikecoff/brewgrind.html"

I use a 12 volt coffee grinder, but I boil water on a camping stove.

The 12 volt water boilers are very slow.

See "http://kitchenemporium.com/cgi-bin/kitchen/prod/16at06938.html"

Date: 18 Jul 2006 21:22:13
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

In alt.coffee materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)

I make vac pot coffee over the campfire, using a stainless steel Nicro pot
I got on eBay.

Yum.

--
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
--Edward R. Murrow

Date: 18 Jul 2006 21:59:14
From: Danny
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Date: 18 Jul 2006 21:03:31
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

There's only ONE way to make coffee when camping. Get a big ol' one gallon
enamel coffee pot & fill it with spring water (for you city folk, that's
where the bear pees), bring that to a boil & dump in a handful of grounds.
Let this sit for five minutes then toss in a couple of cracked raw eggs &
stir. Let this settle for a minute & then enjoy coffee made the way my
ancestors did in the 'good ol' days of Texas.

Of course it'll taste like shit but it'll make you appreciate what the
cowboy went through just so the folks in Chicago could enjoy their steak.
--
Robert (duck & cover) Harmon
http://tinyurl.com/pou2y
http://tinyurl.com/fkd6r

"Danny" <danny@nospam.gaggia-espresso.com > wrote in message
news:4i50a0F27e16U1@individual.net...
> materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
>> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
>> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>>
>> 1. You prefer cold drinks when camping.
>> 2. You make sure the campsite has AC power so you bring 110AC
>> equipment.
>> 3. You go to the nearest gas station.
>> 4. You use a propane stove.
>> 5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
>> heater/immersion coil (ever heard of such a beast?).
>> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
>>
>
> Or, get a Kelly Kettle. Are they available in the US? Great old tinkers
> solution. Ebay (UK) for them occasionally).
>
>
> --
> Regards, Danny
>
> http://www.gaggia-espresso.com (a purely hobby site)
> http://www.malabargold.co.uk (UK/EU ordering for Malabar Gold blend)
>

Date: 18 Jul 2006 20:55:42
From: Danny
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>
> 1. You prefer cold drinks when camping.
> 2. You make sure the campsite has AC power so you bring 110AC
> equipment.
> 3. You go to the nearest gas station.
> 4. You use a propane stove.
> 5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
> heater/immersion coil (ever heard of such a beast?).
> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
-snip-

Forget 12v. I prefer the old fashioned stoves, such as
Optimus, Primus etc, but the Coleman twin fuel (Petrol) has
to win for efficiency and ability to find fuel easily, since
I don't like propane/butane appliances (old fashioned).

We went on a picnic this weekend and I took an old Brexton
picnic hamper with china cups, saucers, plates etc, and old
Optimus stove and we had strawberries and clotted cream,
sarnies, black pudding and a pot of tea - we're English.

In the past I've taken the hamper and my old silver flambe
lamp (Methylated spirits) and a Gingham check tablecloth.

--
Regards, Danny

http://www.gaggia-espresso.com (a purely hobby site)
http://www.malabargold.co.uk (UK/EU ordering for Malabar
Gold blend)

Date: 18 Jul 2006 14:45:02
From: =?iso-8859-1?B?VHLlLUJ1bPY=?=
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Date: 19 Jul 2006 15:14:53
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

Before posting my reply earlier today I decided to remove alt.coffee
from the group list. Then I realized that you probably wouldn't see my
message. So I am re-posting it.

Danny wrote:

> Forget 12v. I prefer the old fashioned stoves, such as
> Optimus, Primus etc, but the Coleman twin fuel (Petrol) has
> to win for efficiency and ability to find fuel easily,
> since
> I don't like propane/butane appliances (old fashioned).

> We went on a picnic this weekend and I took an old Brexton
> picnic hamper with china cups, saucers, plates etc, and old
> Optimus stove and we had strawberries and clotted cream,
> sarnies, black pudding and a pot of tea - we're English.

> In the past I've taken the hamper and my old silver flambe
> lamp (Methylated spirits) and a Gingham check tablecloth.

Wow, interesting. I had to google a couple of terms though to make sure

I understand what you are referring to ;)

Now that you mentioned tea... In addition to coffee, we also love loose
teas. In addition to the grocery store varieties, we occasionally
order some real good (albeit somewhat expensive) stuff on the web. I
just don't really like the idea of adding milk to my tea :-)

I like the idea of dual fuel. However, based on the current oil market
situation, Coleman should consider adding vegetable oil as another fuel

option for their stoves ;)

Another thing is I occasionally fly somewhere and then go camping. In
that case, the propane stove is out of the question.

As for the Kelty Kettle you mentioned in another post, I don't think
they have a dealer in the U.S. Ebay is probably the only option.

> --
> Regards, Danny

> http://www.gaggia-espresso.com (a purely hobby site)
> http://www.malabargold.co.uk (UK/EU ordering for Malabar
> Gold blend)

Date: 20 Jul 2006 05:10:11
From: Danny
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:

> Another thing is I occasionally fly somewhere and then go camping. In
> that case, the propane stove is out of the question.
>
>
> As for the Kelty Kettle you mentioned in another post, I don't think
> they have a dealer in the U.S. Ebay is probably the only option.
>

Coleman stoves run for ages on a small amount of unleaded fuel.

I really will have to buy a Kelly kettle and try it myself. I can't
imagine they weigh a great deal, so shipping to the US wouldn't be
extortionate. Have you read up on them yet?

--
Regards, Danny

http://www.gaggia-espresso.com (a purely hobby site)
http://www.malabargold.co.uk (UK/EU ordering for Malabar Gold blend)

Date: 25 Jul 2006 13:32:14
From:
Subject: Re: car coffee maker / electric kettle / water heater?

I sometimes use a 12v pot I found in the JC Whitney catalog in the RV
section. Heats enough water for 2-3 cups comes with a metal hanger for
mounting to the door while heating and has its own plastic cup. Heats
water real fast

materazzidane@gmail.com wrote:
> I have a question for car (not RV) campers in the U.S. When camping,
> what's your favourite way of making coffee or any other hot drinks?
>
> 1. You prefer cold drinks when camping.
> 2. You make sure the campsite has AC power so you bring 110AC
> equipment.
> 3. You go to the nearest gas station.
> 4. You use a propane stove.
> 5. You bring some kind of a portable coffee maker/electric kettle/water
> heater/immersion coil (ever heard of such a beast?).
> 6. Other (plain pot over a campfire (ouch), etc.)
>
> I was mostly thinking of option 5. But when I search for "electric
> kettle" and "car" together, the search results contain mostly UK
> websites/newsgroups. So I was wondering if that's a terminology issue
> or those things are just not popular in the US.
>
> What I have now is this:
>
> 1. A 12V DC electric kettle (tiny & slooooow)
> 2. A 500W 12DC-110AC inverter (not powerful enough to attach any
> standard 110V equipment).
>
> So I was wondering if there is something in between available in the
> US. I was thinking of a low power (<500W), low capacity 110AC electric
> kettler/heater/coffee machine/whatever so I could take advantage of my
> inverter (obviously connecting it directly to the battery). I don't
> need high performance stuff, yet I am not very happy with that 12V
> thingy. I couldn't find anything of the kind on the web. Looks like
> most modern electric kettles draw at least 1000W...
>
> Thanks.