Power draw of Nespresso type coffee machine.

[notz]

Originally Posted by ben373

A good morning which is always better with coffee of course. Thinking it may be simpler to use a small pod machine like Nespresso DeLonghi. The ones I have looked at are 1250 watts or so.

I have a 1200w inverter. Has anyone used a unit / brand with less power draw? I appreciate they don't draw power for long.

I also appreciate there are lots of other ways to make coffee but think this will be simpler for me with space limitations.

I have a Nespresso moderate sized machine on board, but I also have 600 amp hours of LiFePO4 batteries and a 3000W inverter. It draws a ton especially on startup to get the boiler hot and pressurized.

However, on my previous boat, a sailboat, I used Nanopresso which only requires hot water and some elbow grease. Admittedly, it was a bit challenging first thing in the morning simply because I had to not scald myself with the hot water, and then pump the thing, but it had the lowest power draw of any solution I could find for Nespresso stuff.

I use it more now when I travel or am camping, but I still think it is a great way to have espresso in low-power situations.

[izzyforreal]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Devil's advocate.

You just need to figure out how to boil water.

https://www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-.../dp/B07B1S1G83

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Class.../dp/B072N3RF2B

Slightly smaller than a full 12-cup pot,

super sturdy unbreakable thermos, hot coffee for 2-3 hours.

Ideally paired with a hand grinder.

He's trying to make espresso, not french press.

[izzyforreal]

Originally Posted by wingssail

At home, or even at the dock, in the US or a lot of countries, you have dock power and the ability to go to a store and buy more Nespresso modules.

We've gone to the opposite end, the simplest approach:

Boil water, grind the beans, use a Miletta filter: quick easy and bullet proof. (we carry a spare grinder). The whole beans are in the freezer after opening the bag. We grind only the amount needed for the next pot.

Some of our neatest adventures have been finding whole, roasted, coffee beans in far away places. I cannot imagine finding Nespresso cups in some of the places we've been to.

It's NOT espresso.

[Dave52]

Originally Posted by ben373

A good morning which is always better with coffee of course. Thinking it may be simpler to use a small pod machine like Nespresso DeLonghi. The ones I have looked at are 1250 watts or so.

I have a 1200w inverter. Has anyone used a unit / brand with less power draw? I appreciate they don't draw power for long.

I also appreciate there are lots of other ways to make coffee but think this will be simpler for me with space limitations.

We use the smallest single cup kerig. I think it draws 800- 1000 watts.

[david78212]

I'm not familiar with that particular brand and am not interested enough to look it up. HOWEVER. One thing that you do need to consider is I have both a Keurig and a Bunn that both do the same thing and that's keep water in a tank and keep it at a certain temperature EVEN when the unit is off... this makes the time for when you do turn turn them on just seconds and not minutes.

Unplugging either machine and plugging them back in when ready for use results in 3 to 5 minutes of a sort of "boiling" sound from both.

A "mystery" current that may warrant more looking into before you decide on ANY coffee machine and not just sticking a pot on a stove for ten minutes.

[Xlantic]

I find the Aeropress to be great way to make coffee on the boat.

It can make excellent coffee (out of the right beans), both "espresso style" or "americano", it is cheap, easy to use and clean, hard to break, ...

[Nicholson58]

There are electric French Presses that are less than 1000 W. I think I saw one around 750 W.

Theoretically, you should be able to run a resistant heater device on DC. The formula is E=IR.
E voltage
I current
R resistance

This says it works but the current will be large. Wires may be too small. I’m chicken.

[LaBrisa]

We had a nice small espresso machine which we ran on our 2000 watt inverter. Only operated for a few minutes so overall drew very little amperage from the batter bank. The problem with the Nespresso is waste and on a boat there is little space to be had. As well, environmentally, Nespresso machines are bad.
The one we had was the Breville Cafe Roma. Great little machine.

As an added advantage - you'll end up with a much nicer cup of coffee then you would ever get from an Nespresso and its fun to use.

[Robert Jansen]

Here's a simple way to clean up the output waveform from a non-true sinewave inverter: add an isolation transformer. It's an old trick used back in the analog days when you wanted a separate AC source that wasn't grounded or simply wanted to clean up stray inductive spikes. They're apparently still widely available (Grainger, among others, stocks them). Of course, when you factor in all costs, it might be more economical to simply purchase a true sine wave inverter.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Xlantic

I find the Aeropress to be great way to make coffee on the boat.

It can make excellent coffee (out of the right beans), both "espresso style" or "americano", it is cheap, easy to use and clean, hard to break, ...

Another Aeropress fan. I've had one for 15 years. Warning though - keep everything together. One trip we forgot the black strainer... fortunately we were in a flotilla we could mooch coffee from.

Also, the Aeropress can be fiddly in the morning when you're not yet firing on all cylinders...

For short trips we now use a collapsible cone filter thing. It's just one thing plus a bag of filters: boil some water, grab a filter, two scoops of coffee, pour water... watch. Repeat. Saved our marriage




I expect that I will never own a Keurig or Nespresso-sized boat.

[s/v Jedi]

If one is a fan of Nespresso then there are few options that will taste better. I can think of three:

- A real espresso machine
- The Bialetti Moka Express from Italy https://www.bialetti.com/coffee/stov...-c-1_7_22.html
- the best drip coffee machines: Technivorm Moccamaster is the only machine that is allowed to state it makes a Moka like the Bialetti. There are other good ones better suited for use aboard: the Zohirushi comes to mind.

Key is to provision the boat with whole coffee beans and grind them just before making coffee. Doing this by hand gets old but a grinder like the Breville makes it easy.

I like all of these methods. Aboard Jedi we have a French press, a Bialetti and soon a Zojirushi. We have a Technivorm as well and although it makes the best coffee of all, there are too many loose parts for use aboard. When underway in rough seas, we use the French press.

[timb7734]

I apologize as I did not read the entire thread, but I would caution you regarding Nepresso machines as in addition to the power issues these machines are notorious for being unreliable, notwithstanding making excellent coffee, just have a backup.

[Wanton]

Originally Posted by ben373

A good morning which is always better with coffee of course. Thinking it may be simpler to use a small pod machine like Nespresso DeLonghi. The ones I have looked at are 1250 watts or so.

I have a 1200w inverter. Has anyone used a unit / brand with less power draw? I appreciate they don't draw power for long.

I also appreciate there are lots of other ways to make coffee but think this will be simpler for me with space limitations.

Ben I cannot believe that I am reading this post. Electric coffee maker on a yacht? I love my cappuccinos but I love my sailing life better, so I take a normal on stove espresso maker and stir the milk in with a spoon. If you like the milk froth you can either use a spoon and stir the warm milk vigorously until it froths or you can purchase a battery operated milk frother. : I can only assume that you are not on your boat to get away from the hassles of modern life. Because worrying about making a coffee with an electric coffee maker is certainly not thinking about keeping it simple. Mate you got to get a life and keep it simple.

[Tillsbury]

The beauty of the Nespresso type machines is the speed at which you can get things done on an angle. When single handing upwind I can hop down below and put a coffee on in 30 seconds, then go back down again a couple of minutes later and it’s done. No other way of making coffee is simpler if you’re making coffee for one and busy sailing at the same time.

Pod storage isn’t too bad — the boxes fit in very out of the way places and are waterproof so safe in the bilges. I built tracks in the galley to store forty or so on an otherwise useless space. And price wise buying in the right place and at the right time makes the pods half the price. Nz50c a cup is ok with me — sure beans and grinding are cheaper but not by much. I can’t be doing with all the faffing around in the morning for the sake of saving 10-20c.

[Pete7]

Looks like the nano also comes in yellow, is that so you can pack one in the grab bag