12 volt appliances

[tdappleman]

Has anyone used one of the 12 volt coffee makers, blenders, hair dryers that are on the market? Wondering how they actually work....

 

[Quint4]

I have a 12v coffee maker, it is okay. It takes about 20min to brew.

 

[tdappleman]

Thanks Quint - for about $35 I figured it was worth a shot. I have a french press as well but it brews a little stronger. As long as the coffee is hot and wakes me up 15-20 mins is ok with me!

 

[Quint4]

It does draw a good bit of amperage, so be prepared to blow a fuse if the 12v outlet & wiring is undersized.

 

[Four Suns]

You are not going to get energy savings by it being 12v... It takes so much energy to heat up a hair dryer or coffee maker so a small inverter will do the job just as well as a 12v version of an appliance. As Quint4 said, you will suck a lot more Amps at 12v than you better make sure the wires/breaker can handle that.

 

[tdappleman]

I'm looking at this since I don't have a genny or an inverter - the few nights aboard a year on this boat wont be worth that investment. Will the stock 12 volt outlet handle it? It's not labeled or anything as to what the max draw it can handle. The outlet in the back of my truck says 20amps max on it but I've looked and can't find a rating anywhere on the boat.

 

[fc3]

Look at it this way, your home appliances are 1000 to 1500 watts for coffee makers, hair driers and the like. You can get all of 240 watts from a 20 amp outlet. What do you think?

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Quint4]

It will probably handle it but I'm not sure. I put my own 12v outlets in and used 10g wire to minimize problems. I put 7.5 amp fuses in the fuse block I installed for these circuits ( all I had on hand at the time ). My first time making coffee it blew the 7.5 amp fuse in a hurry. I replaced it with a 15 amp fuse and all is well.

 

[bobnlee2007]

Basic DC electronics says
Power(watts)= Voltage X Amps.
So, 12v X 20a=240 watts.
I bought a Coffee pot/water heater from Big Lots for $12.00.
The wattage for it is 90Watts. Mmmm 90/12=7.5Amps
This unit has a cigarette lighter plug with a built in fuse.
So plug it into a outlet line fused for 15Amps.
Hot water poured into a cup of instant coffee, cocoa, or thru a filter with
real coffee.

I was looking at one of those tiny Mr. Coffee inroom unit you find in Hotels.
The Thrift stores seem to have an abundance of them. Some have clock/timers.
It doesn't look like a big draw wattage wise. Couldn't find a wattage info label.
You would have to plug it into at least a 250+W inverter
and maybe wake up to a fresh pot of coffee. And maybe a dead battery?

 

[bobnlee2007]

Okay, I checked the wattage for one of the Black and Decker 4 cup coffee makers
I saw at Wal*&^t for $20.00.
650Watts at 120VAC. 650/120=5.41amps.
So any inverter would have to be rated at least 700 Watts or better to run one of
these little coffee makers.

 

[schnarel]

I bought a 4-cup 12v coffee maker this season. I don't have an inverter and don't want to run the genset early in the morning because of the noise. The coffee maker plugs into a standard cigarette lighter socket and brews in about 15 to 20 minutes as others have mentioned. I haven't had any problems with fuses or wiring. Other than being slow I'm satisfied with the coffee. - Chip

 

[tdappleman]

Thanks Chip - I knew it wouldn't be a 120v replacement or anything but it sure would be nice to have the coffee by spending only about $30. Which model did you get?