My 12 volt coffee solution - tested and works

[stefman]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Sorry, but you lost me at Keurig. It is great if it works for you, and you can accept the taste of coffee not freshly ground, then all the power to you.

Love my Keurig for my morning cup of coffee. I used to have a Tassimo - threw it away or gave it away - can't remember - their coffee flavors were terrible. I own an espresso machine at home. I fire it up when I want a great cup of coffee but it takes forever and is worth waiting for when time permits. Keurig coffee is sealed in their k-cups right after grinding. I find it to be fresher tasting than almost every other convenient method of making a fast coffee. You need to find the right flavors of Keurig coffee if you want something that doesn't taste like swill (Tim's or McD's). I always buy the Timothy's coffee for my Keurig in the bold varieties. Midnight Magic, Parisian Nights, Rainforest Expresso, Etc. I find they hit the spot perfect whenever I want a cup of coffee that doesn't taste like dishwater.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

We heat the water for coffee outside if it is warm out. I bet I can make two cups with the AeroPress in near the same time, and I would gladly compare the cupping of the two.

On a humid day, when it's raining, I'm not so tempted to go outside for coffee. As far as time the Aeropress takes - challenge accepted. I don't know how fast you can boil water and then let it cool for about a minute (according to my instructions with my Aeropress) but I'll bet I have a coffee for me and the wife in the same amount of time.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Kai mentioned instant coffee. Made me throw up a little bit in the back of my throat.

AGREED!

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Coffee for me is a VERY important part of the day, and is one of those things I will do whatever I need in order to have an enjoyable cup (or two, or three).

AGREED! Everybody has their own idea of what good coffee is. I have been all over the world and had everything from a Turkish coffee that had the consistency of roofing tar but was absolutely wonderful to coffee that I swear tasted like boiled shoe laces. (I actually believe that shoelaces would have tasted better). I drank it anyway to be polite as it most likely cost the family a day's wages but I more than made it for it.


At the outset of my original post I knew I'd get a lot of opinions and counterpoints to my method.

To quote myself:

All I am presenting here is my solution to making good coffee in the morning without firing up my propane stove, or having a huge battery bank and a huge voltage inverter and enough solar panels to light up a house.

I have a small trailer, as many of us do. I don't rely on shore power for anything although it is nice to have. I don't have a microwave or Television or built in heating system or A/C. The only conveniences I have is a 3 way fridge, a 2 burner stove and some led lighting. I just wanted to make coffee without having to 'heat up the trailer' or use stove top space needed for cooking, or adding another deep cycle battery and huge inverter just for a convenient way to make coffee - THAT IS ALL!

I hope my post just shows that there are easy ways to make 'decent' quick coffee.

Cheers
Stef


Sidenote - tried my inverter hooked to my Rav4 battery without engine running. Made 8 cups of hot water with the Keurig and the vehicle started without hesitation. My battery is 2 years old. This is just for info purposes in case someone doesn't have a battery on their trailer.

[John in Santa Cruz]

a 1200 watt electric coffee pot run off an inverter will draw about 100 amps out of a 12V battery (ignoring efficiency). if its just for a few minutes, thats OK... my Bonavita home coffee maker is 1500 watts, so thats even more juice from the battery, about 150 amps if the inverter is 85% efficient....

If your RV battery is of the marine/rv type, its probably OK to draw that sort of current off it for a few minutes. if its a true deep cycle, 150A is rather higher than you really should draw even for a short period. absolutely, that inverter should be on the shortest practical really heavy gauge wiring, like 0 or even 00 gauge, and DIRECTLY attached to the battery. its much easier to use a 120V extension cord, than try and run the DC any distance.

[stefman]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

a 1200 watt electric coffee pot run off an inverter will draw about 100 amps out of a 12V battery (ignoring efficiency). if its just for a few minutes, thats OK... my Bonavita home coffee maker is 1500 watts, so thats even more juice from the battery, about 150 amps if the inverter is 85% efficient....

If your RV battery is of the marine/rv type, its probably OK to draw that sort of current off it for a few minutes. if its a true deep cycle, 150A is rather higher than you really should draw even for a short period. absolutely, that inverter should be on the shortest practical really heavy gauge wiring, like 0 or even 00 gauge, and DIRECTLY attached to the battery. its much easier to use a 120V extension cord, than try and run the DC any distance.

And that is why, as stated at the start of this thread, I bought a 700 watt Keurig coffee maker to avoid all the heavy gauge wiring and hookups.

[John in Santa Cruz]

700W at 85% conversion efficiency is still like 70A, you probably should be using 4 gauge from the inverter to the battery and keep it to no more than a few feet of wiring. 700W will take just about exactly twice as long to boil the same amount of water as 1400W.

[minke]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

700W at 85% conversion efficiency is still like 70A, you probably should be using 4 gauge from the inverter to the battery and keep it to no more than a few feet of wiring. 700W will take just about exactly twice as long to boil the same amount of water as 1400W.

I can't tell you how happy I've been since the invention of fire.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by minke

I can't tell you how happy I've been since the invention of fire.

Wow! You don't look that old in your avatar. Must be the coffee.

[CarlD]

I would worry that the battery voltage might affect the taste of the coffee.

[stefman]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

700W at 85% conversion efficiency is still like 70A, you probably should be using 4 gauge from the inverter to the battery and keep it to no more than a few feet of wiring. 700W will take just about exactly twice as long to boil the same amount of water as 1400W.

I'm just using the wiring the inverter with the supplied 8 gauge clip on wiring it came with. Another one of my original goals was to keep this simple. I would go with heavier gauge if I was camping for more than a few weeks total a year and I was going to mount the inverter in a more permanent manner. Right now I'm happy with just clipping on to the battery and running the extension cord inside for morning coffee. The 'extension cord' will become more permanent to bring the 110v inside but the inverter will just be put near the battery where I can keep it dry and of course 'cool'. I will store the inverter in the trailer closet when not being used or towing.

[gordon2]

As we all know, addiction in the US is at record levels. Opioid , nicotine, caffeine addiction are all well known issues, and now we must add to that list, Keurig Addiction. Fortunately, people do not rob and steal to feed a Keurig Addiction like they do a heroin addiction (for example), and the risks of manufacturering are somewhat less than running a methamphetamine lab.

In fact for campers, Keurig addiction seems to cause no more compulsive and obsessive behavior other than going to the trouble of purchasing and transporting the needed equipment (“the works”), going outside in any kind of weather and making electrical connections to a box full of acid that sometimes vents explosive gas (also called a battery), running an extension cord to the actual Keurig machine, and monitoring the battery and recharging it as needed. The addiction does however produce a waste product, specifically little plastic cups that are a concern to many environmentalists.

How quickly one becomes addicted to Keurig coffee is not well known, but the best advice might be to never take that first hit.
--------------

Hopefully my above attempt at humor will be appreciated. I’m only on my first cup of (non-Keurig) coffee so I might have missed the mark, humor-wise. I’m happy to see that Stefan is able to enjoy good coffee, but I for one will stick with using shore power or the propane stove.

[DeadEyeDan]

I love posts like this. It's like asking for directions, everyone seems to have a different favorite way of getting there, and it starts a heck of a conversation every time.

We use a Bunn brand Keurig cup machine at home (hotter water, stainless steel boiler), and an Aeropress in our trailer.

We boil water in an electric pot when hooked up, and stovetop in a cast iron pot when not hooked up.

Morning coffee is an important morning ritual, and an important part of a balanced breakfast.

[Cliff Hotchkiss]

Originally Posted by minke

I can't tell you how happy I've been since the invention of fire.

Me too[emoji106] [emoji41] [emoji106]

[Mikmay]

Originally Posted by gordon2

As we all know, addiction in the US is at record levels. Opioid , nicotine, caffeine addiction are all well known issues, and now we must add to that list, Keurig Addiction. Fortunately, people do not rob and steal to feed a Keurig Addiction like they do a heroin addiction (for example), and the risks of manufacturering are somewhat less than running a methamphetamine lab.

In fact for campers, Keurig addiction seems to cause no more compulsive and obsessive behavior other than going to the trouble of purchasing and transporting the needed equipment (“the works”), going outside in any kind of weather and making electrical connections to a box full of acid that sometimes vents explosive gas (also called a battery), running an extension cord to the actual Keurig machine, and monitoring the battery and recharging it as needed. The addiction does however produce a waste product, specifically little plastic cups that are a concern to many environmentalists.

How quickly one becomes addicted to Keurig coffee is not well known, but the best advice might be to never take that first hit.
--------------

Hopefully my above attempt at humor will be appreciated. I’m only on my first cup of (non-Keurig) coffee so I might have missed the mark, humor-wise. I’m happy to see that Stefan is able to enjoy good coffee, but I for one will stick with using shore power or the propane stove.

Forget it already addicted to my Keurig so much so that that if the batteries dead and there’s no shore power I can always pull out the generator which I bring with me just for that reason or maybe I need an intervention !

[Tom 72]

You aren't alone. Search Keurig Inventor regrets invention, and you may get:
"Keurig Green Mountain bought and produces Sylvan’s invention. The company made $4.7 billion in revenue in 2014. The company even has plans to expand the empire to cold beverages, including Coca-Cola products. But as The Atlantic reported 13 years later, the inventor of K-Cups regrets ever dreaming up his invention."

My understanding is that his regret is based on the cups containg multiple plastics that don't break down or recycle easily. I hear they are working on the problem.

[DeadEyeDan]

....and now that the inverter is installed, we had coffee at a rest stop on this trip and heated the water in the electric pot with no problem. Quick and easy.

[Natalie21]

I bought K-Mini. After I read some comment and feedback I thought it's great. But sadly, it isn’t all positive as there are certain flaws with this product. For instance, I don’t particularly like the fact you have to refill the reservoir after every brewing cycle. And since this a single-serve model, that means after every cup. There also was a reoccurring complaint about the noise operation being a little excessive in the customer reviews, which was a bit disappointing. Aside from those two things, there isn’t much you can complain about regarding this product.

[Ceceoh]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I grew up in the 1960s in San Francisco with bohemian parents, who got whole bean coffee weekly from a coffee importer (Freed, Teller, & Freed), ground it fresh, and used a melitta ceramic pot, or a french press, or one of those stove top italian espresso makers for special occasions.

First time I tasted commercial American coffee I couldn't believe anyone could make coffee that bad.

Nowdays, we get our coffee beans from a local wholesale roaster, and mostly alternate between Moka Java, Kenya, and Tanzania, all light to medium roast.

At home we use an electric mill and BonaVita electric coffee maker which has a thermos carafe and uses Melitta filters...

For camp and travel, I have a HandGround mill and an Aeropress, and make one or two cups at a time.

I ain’t got time for that. Need coffee!

Actually, I brew my morning coffee with a 10 year old plastic Melitta cone, with knock-off paper filters, because I am cheap. I have been known to use paper towels in a pinch.

I’m getting ready to buy my first trailer, and have decided to not get a microwave. I’ll either get an electric water kettle or dig out my old whistling kettle.

[Glenn Baglo]

Kettle on a propane stove works just fine. Just remember to open a vent, or the steam will set off your smoke alarm.

[Joe MacDonald]

what you use depends a lot on what you have room for.
My brother uses the coffee bags, primarily because he travels on a 65 Harley, and doesn't have room for much more than a pot, a mini-stove and coffee bags
Joe

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Joe MacDonald

what you use depends a lot on what you have room for.
My brother uses the coffee bags, primarily because he travels on a 65 Harley, and doesn't have room for much more than a pot, a mini-stove and coffee bags
Joe

i traveled quite a lot camping off a BMW motorcycle. I carried a jetboil, ground coffee, one-cup cone, and melitta #4 filters. the jetboil was also used to boil water to prepare dinners as I usually packed 3-4 backpacker freezedried meals, since they have the best food to weight ratio of anything.

[David Tilston]

I am a savage. I like instant coffee, hot or cold, preferably with milk, or not.

Get your pitchforks!