12 volt hot water kettles

Used the elchepao type sold on Ebay etc about 30 years back, worked ok but will take about 30 minutes to boil half a litre.

There is also Power Hunt who specialise in 12V appliances but you'll need to install suitable cabling to power these and have suitable battery capacity.

Cheers

I had one years ago. I could have gathered grass and twigs, rubbed two sticks together lit a flame and then boiled the kettle whilst the 12 volt kettle was just starting to warm up.

Having said that it was about 15 years ago so maybe things have improved!

Have a read through this from 2012 as a starter.
Exploroz 12V kettles (click here)

I had one in the past (cheapy from Supercheap) for the boat, it tended to be slowish and power hungry with cold water which was a pain. So I went back to the flask of hot water, reheated by the kettle, then just the flask.

Newer 12volt kettles may be better.

Basic law of the universe 1 litre of water at 15c needs 600w (50A) to boil in 10 minutes without losses. Or 50 minutes at 120W. Unless you have heaps of spare DC go with gas.

Buy a Jet Boil and a spare canister and this will boil water in a couple of minutes and packs up to fit in a sock.

Forget the 12v Kettle takes ages to boil.

Our daughter lent us hers to take when we went to Tasmania. She said it takes for ever to come to the boil. We never tried it, simpler to use the kettle for a few minutes on the gas stove.

We've been using the 12 volt kettles for 30 odd years, they work well. Sure they take 30-50 minutes to boil, depending on wattage, but when you're driving for hours on end, what's the problem.. We use ours all the time, not just when caravaning but also when travelling from one side of the city to the other or just out on a Sunday drive. In short they work well, you just have to remember to keep them filled and turn them on in plenty of time.
Don't use them unless the engine is running, they are quite power hungry. Cheap or expensive, there's not a lot of difference. Our last (from Supercheap) is five plus years old, has seen a lot of use and took just over 30 minutes to boil. It still works great but we replaced it with a more traditional looking kettle, takes longer (about 50 minutes) but it looks nice.

The thing to remember is heating anything with 12 volt electricity is a fools erand.

Heating with electricity is slow and inefficient at the best of times, even on mains electricity.

There simply is no substitute for burning something for heat.

The new (suposedly safer) gas cartridge stoves are cheap and effective .... and they will boil water in a few minutes.

Just about any 12 volt heating applianace is a waste of time and money.

cheers

Forget 12V for heating anything. Even 12V soldering irons are a PIA.

24V, you do stand a slightly better chance of producing some decent current - particularly if it's coming from a couple of 200 A/H batteries!

The solution to a quick cuppa is right here ....

Hexamine stove with 8 tablets for $9.95

With one of these, you can boil a litre of water in not much more time than it takes to stop, stretch your legs and take a leak.

They served us well, camping in the J in Vietnam! - I can't see any problem with them on the road!

Cheers, Ron.

You should always experience something before offering an opinion, without that you are simply making assumptions based on preconceived ideas. The 12 volt kettle is a very efficient item; it will heat water whilst you are driving and cost neither time nor money in the process... Heating water on portable gas stoves, Hexamine stoves, the caravan stove or simply building a small fire to heat said water work fine and are quick but one has to stop to do it. If you don't want to stop then a 12 volt kettle will suffice. It may take 30-50 minutes to reach the required temperature but if you are stuck in the car driving anyway, what is the problem? As for having boiling water in a moving vehicle, the answer is quite simple, put the kettle in a suitable container away from anywhere it could cause harm in the event of a sudden stop or accident. Most have mounting clips so you can clip the kettle to the plastic container or use the handle to secure the kettle in the plastic container as I do. Most have screw on lids so the lid coming off is not an issue. If you are involved in an accident, I think you will have more serious things to worry about than a little hot water dripping from the kettle's lid. I keep mine in a plastic container behind the seat or in the luggage area behind the rear seat of my SUV, when I'm ready for a cuppa I simply plug it in and wait for it to reach the required temperature. Coffee satchets, teabags, sugar, etc, I keep in the same container and the milk in the fridge behind the rear seat. If you are that worried about having hot water in your vehicle then don't let it boil. A 12 volt kettle takes considerably longer than 30-50- minutes to boil water as it would in a 240 volt kettle, but it's plenty warm enough after that 30-50 minutes.. We could all wrap ourselves in cotton wool and cry safety hazzard, safety hazzard, but realistically the vehicle itself represents more of a safety hazzard than half a litre of hot water. A thermos is another great idea, I quite often carry a thermos of hot water for a cuppa, also on my bicycle, dangerous I know, after all if an imbecilic motorist were to run me over the hot water could cause me pain.

I enjoy stopping for a brew too, that is probably why I do. How many amps do you think these kettles use?