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Old 04-18-2008, 10:35 AM   #1
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12v appliances and gadgets?

Does anyone use any of the 12v appliances/gadgets from this place?

http://www.12voltaccessoryoutlet.com...?idCategory=65

They have 12v frying pans, hotpots, blenders, slow cookers, even microwaves and coffee makers. Not to mention GoLights, heaters, fans, etc...

I would think these would be a good idea for taking along in an RV, but what do I know?

Are these products a good buy, or a good idea? Do they drain the battery quickly? Are they durable or break easily? Etc....

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Old 04-18-2008, 10:52 AM   #2
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We have a 12v toaster. Got to have toast with eggs and bacon. And good for toaster waffles. When not using shore power, we run the engine during toaster time. Yes, bad for environment, but good for battery (we don't have solar).

We have a little 12v analog B/W TV that works nice with the concealed antenna option. Man, does that thing drain the battery though. Good for watching the news, but not a movie. We ran out of battery juice for the fridge.

My wife wants a small 12v crock pot that will ride in the kitchen sink so she can cook something while we're driving.

Mike in Charlotte
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Old 04-18-2008, 10:52 AM   #3
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Think about how much electricity each appliance uses....things like a microwave and anything that makes heat needs a lot of electricity. Even though they are 12v, they are still going to need a lot of power and pull a lot of amps or they will be very inefficient. The amount of power used by an appliance is measured in watts, just like light bulbs. Watts equals voltage times amps. So, a 1200 watt hair dryer for example, pulls 10 amps at 120 volts (1200/120); if you have an older house, it is likely that the circuit breaker for the bathroom where you are using that hair dryer is a 15 amp circuit and the hair dryer is taking 2/3rd of it. If you have a 1200 watt hair dryer that runs on 12 volts, then it will need 100 amps to produce the same amount of heat. That would deplete a battery very quickly. So, to make a hair dryer that runs on 12 volts, the designer would probably reduce the wattage by a whole lot. The result would be a hair dryer that would take for ever to actually dry your hair.

Just because an appliance runs on 12 volts doesn't mean that you're going to get the same performance that you'd expect from a standard appliance which runs on 120 volts. You're better off installing an inverter and using 120v appliances since they are more efficient and figuring on using shore power for them.
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Old 04-18-2008, 11:41 AM   #4
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I have a 110v toaster oven for the van. My gluten free bread requires toasting to be edible, which required an invertor and dual 4d AGMs. I have about 3 days dry camping before I'm below where I should be on batteries (in theory). I don't think running the alternator is enough to run the 1300w toaster, so starting the van for toast is a losing prospect.

The 12v toasters I looked into seemed really inefficient (not that all toasters aren't) and since it's a lifestyle for me I went with the floor model.

Anyway, the only thing to really do is get the wattage off a crockpot that's approximately the size you're thinking and go from there. Cooking for 6 hours while you drive may well put you in camp with flat batteries regardless of how you set it up, all depending on the wattage of the appliance.
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Old 04-21-2008, 02:11 PM   #5
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I have / had a 12volt coffee maker, its sloooooooooow and the coffee tastes terrible, it no longer lives in my van.
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Old 04-21-2008, 02:19 PM   #6
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The problem with high draw 12 volt appliances is that they are all designed to work from a standar cigarette lighter plug. These are only designed to deliver 15 amps or less of power. If you do a little math 15 amps x 12 volts is only 180 watts. Now compare that to the 2000 watts delivered by your inverter and you can begin to see why thse appliance will all perform poorly when comparred to 120 volts appliances.
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:48 PM   #7
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I've read good things about the 'lunchbox' portable stove. Gets fairly hot, but can be slow if cooking something large.

As for gadget...I like my coffee fast, hot and strong.
- I bought a Lilypod for the Microwave. Makes POD coffee in 2 minutes. Put in hot water for best results.
http://www.singleservecoffee.com/archives/003978.php
- I also bought a mini-espresso maker for the stovetop...popular for camping too... http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/store ... _010=15773
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Old 04-21-2008, 09:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mmocken
I've read good things about the 'lunchbox' portable stove. Gets fairly hot, but can be slow if cooking something large.

As for gadget...I like my coffee fast, hot and strong.
- I bought a Lilypod for the Microwave. Makes POD coffee in 2 minutes. Put in hot water for best results.
http://www.singleservecoffee.com/archives/003978.php
- I also bought a mini-espresso maker for the stovetop...popular for camping too... http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/store ... _010=15773
The lunchbox portable stove? Is that the one that Alton Brown on the Food Network got all excited about on his show where he travels the country on a motorcycle?


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Old 05-20-2008, 08:22 PM   #9
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One of my favorite cookbooks is "Manifold Destiny" which has instructions on how to prepare one dish meals triple wrapped in foil and placed on the manifolds or other engine parts (truckers did it first) and the cooking times are listed in miles.
The best I could do to replicate this was to buy a very small (2 quart) slow cooker. It makes dinner while I drive so it's ready when I am. I put the ingredients in the cooker, put the cooker in the sink with some silicone hot pads underneath, plug it in and drive. In a couple of hours when I've pulled over, voila, a glass of wine, and dinner is served!
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Old 05-20-2008, 10:40 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Joanna
One of my favorite cookbooks is "Manifold Destiny" which has instructions on how to prepare one dish meals triple wrapped in foil and placed on the manifolds or other engine parts (truckers did it first) and the cooking times are listed in miles.
The best I could do to replicate this was to buy a very small (2 quart) slow cooker. It makes dinner while I drive so it's ready when I am. I put the ingredients in the cooker, put the cooker in the sink with some silicone hot pads underneath, plug it in and drive. In a couple of hours when I've pulled over, voila, a glass of wine, and dinner is served!
I've wanted to pick up a copy of Manifold Destiny for quite a while, but the lowest I've seen it going for is about $70 on eBay. I'll just have to hold out for a flea market find I guess.

Here's what I have attached to my Bronco's exhaust pipe. Makes for a nice lunch when out wheeling. nicely made out of stainless, and well sealed so you don't have to worry about exhuast fumes getting into your food. They seem to be used primarily by snowmobilers, attached to their mufflers.

http://ad-discountperformance.com/index ... bb0508435f


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