Simple solution to boil water while camping

Fine-tuning the gear for upcoming "grey nomad" adventures. I have an alcohol stove, also a small gas cylinder with screw-on burner; these are for "one pot" cooking, probably twice a day.

But also want to make two cups of tea and one coffee per day, and it might turn out to be a chore to boil water 3 times per day in addition to cooking 2 meals. Had a think about it, and decided why not purchase a tiny electric kettle.

This is my lithium power box:

https://bkhome.org/news/202601/bluetti-ac70-power-box.html

It has a 1,000W sine-wave inverter, rated at 2,000W surge. Little mains-powered portable kettles that draw only 300W are available.

There are 12V kettles, that run off the cigarette-lighter socket in a car; however, I think that they overly stress the current limit of the fuse, socket and cabling in the car.

Checked them out; those 12V kettles. To limit current draw to something safe, they are very low power. Looked at one, just 96W ...how long is the user expected to wait for the water to boil?! Found another that boils fast, but draws 31.5 amps!!!!

I bought this, Balabulala 500ml 240V 300W:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/257394510124

...the phone wide-angle lens distorts the image somewhat, giving the false impression that the diameter tapers out toward the top.

I was going to buy two kettles, one other type for a comparison report. This one, Focustar brand, 400ml 300W:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Focustar-Portable-Electric-Temperature-Protection/dp/B0BFHYHY1L/?th=1

...not from those particular vendors. I ordered it on eBay, then canceled the order after discovering their misleading postage details.

A thumbs-up to the Balabulala vendor; they shipped it by Australia Post tracked parcel, and it arrived 6 days after ordering, shipped from the other side of Australia.

The Focustar is considerably cheaper, but reviews are very mixed. The 400ml for example; some reviewers say that you should put in less than 300ml -- one reviewer said 275ml -- if intend to bring it to the boil. Also, there is no digital temperature display.

The Balabulala does hold 500ml, with a marking at 400ml; no more than 400ml must be put in if the water is to be boiled. I don't have a measuring jug, but do have a Toaks 450ml titanium mug, and was able to judge approximately that the Balabulala claimed capacity is correct.

400ml took about 6 minutes to boil. So, three cups of tea and coffee per day, that is about 30Wh per cup, 90Wh per day. The Bluetti battery is rated at 768Wh, so happy with that.

Bearing in mind though, will be running a 12V fridge, LED lights and laptop. Solar panel puts out about 150W, so should be OK.

An interesting point to note: the Balabulala has a diameter of 80mm, same as the Focustar, and is 215mm high, 15mm higher than the Focustar -- which is to be expected, given its larger water capacity. But the Balabulala is still pleasingly small, easy to pack away somewhere in the car.    

Tags: nomad