Quickest way to boil a kettle, in a car?

But Tim did specify that this was a no-no ("Because of the potential of severe midge attack, this may literally have to be done in the car with the windows closed (so no gas or other naked flame suggestions please")

Mary

Hi,

Are they so bad you can't put a stove outside on the ground and shut the door til a kettle boils?

How about a couple of rectangular no-see-um screens that fit the front windows when they are lowered 4 or 6", or run the fan on high when using the stove, plus a £25 CO alarm from Argos which has a built in meter.

cheers, Pete.

Most mothers come already equipped with apparatus for dispensing baby milk at the correct temperature. :-)

Oh stop being a wuss. Get a Sungas cooker, best "camping" stove going. You won't be able to run a 1.5kw kettle from an inverter because

Your battery will go flat Your cigar lighter fuse will blow You will burn out some wiring You will need a second auxilliary battery and suitable charge controllers. The alternator will never handle the load.

Depending on how you try to do it of course.

Why not? run the car fan: That sucks air in and blows it out of vents SOMEWHERE.

The mossies won't get past the pollen filters, and they can't crawl back past the draught.

A 3kW kettle will take 3000/12 amps from a 12 volt battery, that's 250 amps. It's for a short time but I doubt the battery will like it.

The current you worked out is the current needed to take that much power from the battery over an hour, if you can wait an hour for you tea it might be OK!?

No they detect when the battery is getting low and shut off

For heavier loads you connect straight to the battery with the supplied leads

See previous

only if the engine isn't running

Yes it will, unless its a toy one

Of course you could just buy a couple of stonking great big SLAs (or NiCads if you are feeling rich) and stick them in the boot. Some are designed to take fairly deep and frequent discharges without damage.

Graham

I'm glad somebody else said that!

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in news:42279a9b$0$2653$ snipped-for-privacy@master.news.zetnet.net:

Sorry about thread drift - I wasn't trying to reply to the OP as I've nothing to input.

I was following up NP's post, only without Caps lock. I don't think his contribution was entirely serious either.

Merely corroborative detail intended to add verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

mike

I think the OP should stop running where there are midges or get another slave.

I realise that and it amused me :-)

Don't be too sure about that ...

There's no answer to that - but do continue, I like it

Mary

Thats about what the starter motor takes. ;-)

I never said Use a 3KW kettle. use a 500W immersion heater..

I was doing battery depletion calcs, not peak current calcs.

Actually, it was.

It is perfectly possible to use a small camping gaz stive in a closed vehicle, provided you do it on a fireproof surface, and have the vehicle fan running.

The floor of an estate vehicle is as good as it gets.

Hmm, good point. With the fan turned up full there's no shortage of through draft. With the rear seats removed there's plenty of space to set up a stove. Might reconsider that one.

Thanks.

Tim

Some of them do, not all, and they shut off at 10.6V to prevent damage to the battery, this does not leave enough reserve to crank the engine.

Note that I did state "Depending on how you try to do it of course."

Note that I did state "Depending on how you try to do it of course."

Not so, the alternator will not be able to sup[ply sufficient current.

No, it won't see comment about damage to wiring. For a 1Kw load the inverter will draw around 100A.

So have I, it ran great when connected to my Land Rover PTO.

And if your beloved forgets to turn on the fan, or its not fast enough ....

OK for yourself, but to risk CO poisoning of another is not on.

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Lets pretend for a moment that she's an intelligent adult capable of judging the risks for herself. In fact, no pretending required.

Tim

Yeah, but if she was that intelligent she'd be sat at home enjoying a nice bottle of wine and a dvd instead of driving around Scotland supporting you on some 24 hour Highland race! ;-)

Colin