power invertor and a coffee pot.

[len19070]

I think your trying to lower the river instead of raising the bridge there my friend!

You've got a propane stove, get an old style Percolator. Easy to use and they make great coffee.



These are Yard Sale items.

Put in the water & coffee, bring it to a boil, turn down the flame and perk for 5 minutes. Then shut it off.

Happy Trails

Len

[Redneck Teepee]

That's right Len...some of the old stuff is still the best. Got several of these in the stainless steel versions and they still make the best cup of coffee ever.

[teamredjeep]

In our motorhome we had a 1000 watt invertor that struggled to run full size coffee maker even though it was over the wattage rating of coffee maker. Figure you need at least double the coffee maker wattage to be trouble free. BTW our 1000 watt invertor had battery cable size leads and connected to two deep cycle batteries. Propane stove, an old coffee pot and cowboy coffee (a few grounds in your cup) is what camping is about. A coffee maker is cheating, LOL

[MtnDon]

We use an inverter to operate an electric kettle, a toaster, a one cup coffee maker. You need nothing less than two series connected golf cart batteries IMO. One of the keys to success is the wire size and length from batteries to inverter. Using the recommendations of the inverter maker can be marginal. Excessive voltage drop is a killer and leads to unhappiness. I use 'way oversized' cables and do not have any issues of operating devices that are rated close to the inverter capacity. That may vary too between inverter brands. When comparing capacities make sure the figure used is the continous run watts, not the surge.

[jstrubberg]

A percolator is definitely the simpler solution here.

If you want to get rid of the grounds in your cup, just drop some crushed eggshell into the pot before you serve. All the grounds will settle to the bottom of the pot. Pour slowly and you won't get any in your cup.

[jstrubberg]

A French press is another good grounds-free option, but it leaves you with more to store. You have to carry the press to make coffee and some way to heat the water as well.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Mike anytime you're converting electricity to heat (especially 12V) it takes quite a bit of power. As others have said, even to run the smallest household coffee pot, you're going to need a few batteries and some heavy gauge wire.

430W @ 120VAC = 3.6A.
430W @ 12VDC = 36A.

If you don't want to take up room on your stove, then you better just build a fire to boil some water. Or spend some $$$ and get a propane coffee maker.

[Kharn]

You would only get 4-6 (at 15 minutes each) uses of the coffee maker out of a deep-cycle battery before you would need to recharge it, not accounting for other electrical systems (fan, lights, etc). I think propane would be a much more efficient way to go, especially if you go through a lot of coffee or will be using the tear for more than 2-3 days at a time.

[jonw]

I have an Aroma 7 cup tea kettle for heating water when on shore power, which quickly makes hot or boiling water for drinks and washing dishes and ourselves. I wouldn't use it on an inverter, though.

One thing you might want to look into (I have started to...) is a 12V tea/coffee pot that truckers use on the road. My guess is it will work with much less battery drain. The ones I've seen seem to go for around $25.

Good luck!

[citylights]

I use a tiny stainless 5 cup percolator that goes on the propane stove. No need to rush. I am the cook and I get my coffee before I make everyone else eggs! Easy solution.

I like the idea of a French press and have thought about going that way too.

[tony.latham]

Good God, Slow. I'm sooooooo disappointed. I thought you Wyoming guys all made cowboy coffee? My entire universe has just inverted....

Tony

p.s. we use two of these: http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Insulated-P ... B008LWVI6E

[sagebrush]

C'mon Slow Just place the coffee beans in a clean dirty sock, crush them with your revolver butt on the saddle horn, then boil the sock and crushed beans in a rusty tin can 'til a horse shoe will float in your brew Now THAT'S REAL COFFEE We don't need no 'lectric coffee fanglements!

See you all in about 3 week

Will

[Kharn]

I have an Aroma 7 cup tea kettle for heating water when on shore power, which quickly makes hot or boiling water for drinks and washing dishes and ourselves. I wouldn't use it on an inverter, though.

One thing you might want to look into (I have started to...) is a 12V tea/coffee pot that truckers use on the road. My guess is it will work with much less battery drain. The ones I've seen seem to go for around $25.

Good luck!

I wouldn't trust the trucker coffee pots to be very energy efficient, since they usually count on the truck's alternator (or the APU) constantly providing power instead of running off a battery.

[teamredjeep]

We have tried a truckers 12v drip coffee maker in our old RV...it takes forever... maybe 40 minutes for 4 cups off two deep cycle batteries. Truck alternator probably makes a difference and having driven truck the batteries and charging system are at a different level than the average RV.

BTW Slow we have a little Mr Coffee drip coffee maker we used last weekend because we had shore power visiting relative. It was quick to set up by not having to break out a stove but it actually did not brew enough coffee for me and the wife, I had to run it twice. The good old pot on the stove is always plenty for us.

Thanks for starting a fun thread.
Mike

[tony.latham]

I acutally dont handle my coffee that well and I dont drink more than one cup and a extra for a freind this new one is pretty small more like a 3 cup machine. and its old from the 70s and is a perk type like a normal perk type pot with a electric bunrer underneath it is nothing like todays coffee makers.

and its much like old bob hnerys huge 24 cup machines.

it was 3 bucks at a junk store.

most of my attempt at this tread was acutaly to get info on the useage of power invertors when camping.

slow

Slow:

We keep an inverter in the 'drop. I don't recall the amperage but it's about the size of four decks of cards. We used it the other day to charge up our dog's shock collar. The collar's charger is 12v that has a two prong 120 inverter so you can plug it into the wall at home. So at camp the other night, we plugged it into our 120/12v inverter and then into our 'drop's 12v cig receptacle. Make any sense? It doesn't to me. 12v to 120v to 12v. HMMMMMMM.

Our inverter has heat fins and an internal motor with a fan. What does that tell you about efficiency?

Tony