Using an Electric Tea Kettle to Save Propane ?

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Ocean Roads

A smaller inverter should power a small tea kettle. I will have back up propane, but the goal is to conserve.

We have an electric french press that boils water (110 VAC 1500 watt) in a very short time. Big power suck for a short time but only the water is heated. Definitely have a small inverter if your primary inverter is large. BOB https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/ has a lot to consider & some good help. His best choice is Morningstar sine 300. Inverters have a parasitic loss proportional to their size. If you only need a small inverter for most needs it may save power in the long run. Propane heat for boiling water is not so efficient. Lots of the available energy heats the cabin. You can also think about a direct solar cooker for those days at anchor with tropical sun. You can do a search on these but here is one example. Hot Pot Solar Cooker

[svBeBe]

We bought a small electric kettle, thinking it would be faster and save energy. But that thing uses 9 amps on 230v. That is a lot! Granted, it uses 9 amps for only a short time; but that is a big draw. At electricity rates of .35 euro per kwh, that seems a tad expensive. Propane is cheaper than electricity where we are currently docked. Don't think we will be using this electric kettle when at anchor unless the generator is running. But it will be nice to have when we are back in the tropics again. Hate heating up the entire saloon with the stove.

Judy

[captain58sailin]

Perhaps you could install a heat exchanger under your solar panels to preheat the water and lessen the amount of time = amp hours used to boil the water for tea.

[nitpik]

I don't like making too much use of the inverter - if I have it, I will use it, and I will use it for more and more things, 'til I run my batteries down.
However, I agree with using it for boiling small amounts of water, especially in warm climates. I just did a little semi-scientific experiment with small coffee makers. (I got excited when I found one that is rated at only 550 Watts) The results indicate that it doesn't make much difference how powerful the unit is.
Melitta 1000W - makes one mug in 1.8 minutes, using 30.0 W.hrs. of energy.
B&D 800W - makes one mug in 2.25 minutes, using 30.0 W.hrs. of energy.
Cuisinart 550W - makes one mug in 3.2 minutes, using 29.97 W.hrs. of energy!
So that is about 2.5 amps to make a full mug of "wake-up" (plus a bit for inverter losses) Seems to me like a good deal, rather than firing up "el diablo".
I agree with prior post that it is not the best idea to use a 3,000W inverter for a 600W appliance.

[nitpik]

Just did another quick calculation. If two people are on board, and they each have just 4 mugs of coffee a day, that translates into almost 20 A.hrs. a day, just for coffee!
That's 4 to 5 hours of sun beating down on my little solar panel, just for my coffee. - doesn't sound very economical to me. So, I either get bigger solar panels so I can have my coffee (hey, some of you guys would get more solar just to have cold beer!), or I use my little iso-butane camp stove to make coffee.
The electrical implications of inverter use hit home!

[capn_billl]

Get one painted black, and leave it in the sun a while before plugging in, that will save half the energy. Another option is to preheat on top of engine.

[meuritt]

I am trying to get shore power off my boat, and minimize any electric use. As it sits dockside now, only the battery charger is on shore power, and I don't really even need that. I've removed the too small fridge and the electric coffee maker.

For my less electric dependent goals I would be looking at fire, I have propane, as do you, it is inexpensive and reliable, I would add another bottle, if I were to go away from where that fuel is readily available. I would either get more propane storage or look to other fuel choices, a small alcohol or kerosene stove comes to mind. Being portable you could take them on deck and not have any of the heat and humidity from the boiling water inside.

If you look up the pepsi can stove you will find instruction on building a very handy back packer style stove out of, you guessed it, a pepsi can. I haven't done that, and probably won't because propane is convenient and cheap around here. But I would at least experiment with something like the PCStove before I increased the demand on the electrics.

I would also find a way to preheat any water via solar. Something as simple as a 2 gallon clear, collapsible drinking water container would be the simplest, transfer that into a thermos when the sun goes down.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by meuritt

I am trying to get shore power off my boat, and minimize any electric use. As it sits dockside now, only the battery charger is on shore power, and I don't really even need that. I've removed the too small fridge and the electric coffee maker.

For my less electric dependent goals I would be looking at fire, I have propane, as do you, it is inexpensive and reliable, I would add another bottle, if I were to go away from where that fuel is readily available. I would either get more propane storage or look to other fuel choices, a small alcohol or kerosene stove comes to mind. Being portable you could take them on deck and not have any of the heat and humidity from the boiling water inside.

If you look up the pepsi can stove you will find instruction on building a very handy back packer style stove out of, you guessed it, a pepsi can. I haven't done that, and probably won't because propane is convenient and cheap around here. But I would at least experiment with something like the PCStove before I increased the demand on the electrics.

I would also find a way to preheat any water via solar. Something as simple as a 2 gallon clear, collapsible drinking water container would be the simplest, transfer that into a thermos when the sun goes down.

I think you're not roughing it enough yet... better do away with the toilet too which means you can get rid of the holding tank. Out with the engine, outboard etc... it's all stuff you don't need and which keeps you dependent on fossil fuels. Propane? no way, a fire from some wood burns the same and is free and it frees you from refill station dependancy.

We'all've become a bit weak... must man up and rough it out aboard our boats!



ciao!
Nick.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I think you're not roughing it enough yet... better do away with the toilet too which means you can get rid of the holding tank. Out with the engine, outboard etc... it's all stuff you don't need and which keeps you dependent on fossil fuels. Propane? no way, a fire from some wood burns the same and is free and it frees you from refill station dependancy.

We'all've become a bit weak... must man up and rough it out aboard our boats!



ciao!
Nick.

Cold coffee & warm beer.

Gotta love sailing...

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Cold coffee & warm beer.

Gotta love sailing...

how about sun-tea and bilge temp beer?

Makes a strong case for the solar cookers.

[stevensuf]

much cheaper to use battery power to boil water in an electric kettle than to use propane, same for a microwave an many things, eg jacket potato few mins inc microwave, hour in oven, chicken? using electric from an inverters in many aspects is much cheaper than propane/butane!

[downunder]

Originally Posted by meuritt

I am trying to get shore power off my boat, and minimize any electric use. As it sits dockside now, only the battery charger is on shore power, and I don't really even need that. I've removed the too small fridge and the electric coffee maker.

For my less electric dependent goals I would be looking at fire, I have propane, as do you, it is inexpensive and reliable, I would add another bottle, if I were to go away from where that fuel is readily available. I would either get more propane storage or look to other fuel choices, a small alcohol or kerosene stove comes to mind. Being portable you could take them on deck and not have any of the heat and humidity from the boiling water inside.

If you look up the pepsi can stove you will find instruction on building a very handy back packer style stove out of, you guessed it, a pepsi can. I haven't done that, and probably won't because propane is convenient and cheap around here. But I would at least experiment with something like the PCStove before I increased the demand on the electrics.

I would also find a way to preheat any water via solar. Something as simple as a 2 gallon clear, collapsible drinking water container would be the simplest, transfer that into a thermos when the sun goes down.

Unbeliavable. You can always go back to cave man days if you so choose. Go for it.

[stevensuf]

he does have a point on using a solar shower to preheat to save on power!

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by downunder

Unbeliavable. You can always go back to cave man days if you so choose. Go for it.

As the thread has already started drifting.........

.........Apart from minimising use of Electrikery, funnily enough I am also mulling over (and will likely try) an open wood fire for cooking (free fuel over here ) when I move aboard (March / April) as my mooring won't be in range of shore power.....not on the boat , but on the shore - the nearby Napoleonic Fort (upgrade during WWII, by the Germans!)....plenty of nooks and crannies and no one around (permanently) to get upset.

Probably not to simply boil a kettle for a cup of tea , but if I am cooking up something suitable - and I have SFA better to do .



Later I will probably buy a microwave and 200sq foot of Solar .....or a 2 mile electric extension cord .

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

the nearby Napoleonic Fort (upgrade during WWII, by the Germans!)....

Oh my, you're in France! I believe they record TV series there all the time, you can't go and cook there as they would start screaming and jumping with camera's rolling and before you know it you end up in the evening news as some kind of Mad Max era caveman that has been discovered living in the ruins of man kind


Nick.