Inverter help

[Outta here]

Anybody have ideas on the best way to have a coffee maker in the truck? Don't have an APU and just want to use a small inverter for a regular household coffee maker. Don't want to use a 4 cupper 12 volt unless they make a 12 Volt 10 cup maker. I've got a 20 amp 12 Volt plug available in a '09 Cascadia.
Haven't researched it so I'm looking for the best solution. I only go overnight night at a time and then am at home the next night. Don't need much as this is all I'd use the inverter for, no laptop/printer or anything else. And it's a company truck.
Generally I stay at a truck stop and just buy coffee but there are times I stay at a rest areas where it isn't available and it would save a stop. Or isn't it worth the mess. I carry gallons of water anyway for drinking. Any ideas?

[allan5oh]

Stop drinking coffee! That stuff is bad for you anyways.

Start with the coffee maker itself, get the wattage or amperage draw. Convert amperage to wattage.

Pick an inverter that can put out that wattage plus a safety margin. If that inverters max amp draw is larger than what your truck interior can supply, you need to run wires straight from the battery.

[Outta here]

Thanks for the reply Allan. I've cut down quite a bit already but can't go without that 1st-2nd morning cup.
I thought somebody might have a specific plug in inverter that they used enough to handle a coffee maker. I can't wire anything in permanent. Just thought a quick 15 minute brew of coffee and then unplug it.
Most times I just buy a cup or two at the truck-stop.
Thanks again.

[MichiganDriver]

The biggest inverter that will work with a cigarette lighter plug is around 300 watts. The smallest wattage 110v coffee maker that I was able to find a few years back was 500 watts (and it failed to work with a hard-wired 600 watt inverter). I think you're stuck with a 12v model and I've tried one of those and I wasn't too impressed. Sorry. You can always get a butane stove and a coffee press. I did that for awhile and it does work.

Allan - most of the news lately is that coffee is good for you.

[Bigmon]

What about having an extra battery on the floor and hook the inverter to it ?

[azcardnlz]

I have seen 10 cup 12 volt coffee makers (Road Pro, I think.) Count on them taking about an hour to brew a pot.

[Musicman]

I brew my coffee in a 12 cup percolator, but I have a 2,500 watt inverter and it’s my truck so that is an option that won’t work for you. What might help you is what I do with the coffee after it percolates. I have a 12 cup stainless steel urn that is easy to pour, never spills, has never tipped over and keeps the coffee hot for many hours and even warm til the next morning. I brew my twelve cups in the morning and have hot coffee all day and night sitting next to my seat. I think most of the truck stops only charge a couple bucks to fill an urn like mine. You could fill it up at some point during the day and still have warm (if not hot) coffee waiting on you in the morning.

I will add that if you’ve never had properly percolated coffee, it is a life changing experience. If you are a true coffee connoisseur, you will never be able to tolerate anything else once you’ve started brewing your own, so it might be worth getting a 1500 watt inverter and a percolator.

Additionally, there is new research published this year by the Harvard School for Public Health that finds…

“Men who drank the most coffee, six cups or more daily, had a 60 percent lower risk of developing lethal prostate cancer — and 20 percent lower risk of developing any form of the disease, according to the study published in the online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”

Just sayin’.

[BanditsCousin]

Is this the special "owner operator only" inverter?

[MichiganDriver]

Well there you go Outta Here. All you need is a percolator and a heat source.

This one gets good reviews and it's cheap:
Amazon.com: Farberware Classic Yosemite 8-Cup Stainless Steel Percolator: Kitchen & Dining


I bought one of these 4 years ago and it's served me well:
Amazon.com: Max Burton Mr. Max Table Top Burner (Black): Sports & Outdoors

IIRC the butane cartridges are around $3.50 a piece and you can get them from Walmart, Meijers or T/A.

[Musicman]

I use an electric model manufactured by GE that I bought at walmart. I think it set me back between forty and seventy bucks. It sucks a lot of juice, but brews 12 cups in under ten minutes. My inverter easily powers the percolater and my 1100 watt microwave simultaneously, but like I said in my previous post, I have a good sized inverter.

[Malaki86]

I'm in a company truck as well and can't put any inverter in larger than can be plugged into a lighter socket, so that sticks me with 300watts as well. What I do for my coffee is this: I have a 1/2gal Stanley thermos. This thing will fill 4 LARGE cups of coffee. The price to fill it at every truckstop I've ever been to is the exact same price as one cup of coffee. With both me and my wife as coffee drinkers, it saves a fortune. Also, the thermos keeps coffee hot for roughly 8hrs.

[Copperhead]

Stop drinking coffee! That stuff is bad for you anyways.

Not according to recent studies. Coffee ( of course in moderate amounts) has been shown to also reduce risks of various cancers. Not that anyone really takes any studies seriously one way or the other.

That being said, I have used a single burner propane camp stove to heat water and just used instant coffee. Fill a thermos and a mug, then head down the road. Been doing it this way for almost 30 years. Never can find any truckstop coffee I care for that much, whereas I can make a batch up in the truck just the way I want it.

[Musicman]

Not according to recent studies. Coffee ( of course in moderate amounts) has been shown to also reduce risks of various cancers. Not that anyone really takes any studies seriously one way or the other.

I prefer to believe the studies that support my positions and disregard those that conflict with my views.

That being said, I have used a single burner propane camp stove to heat water and just used instant coffee.

Instant coffee? SACRILEGE!!!

[repete]

Just about every things been covered except one, I too wasn't allowed to hard wire an inverter so I did the next best thing bought a good heavy set of jumoer cables cut one end off and installed lug terminals. When I wanted to use my microwave I just poped open the side box pulled out the clamp ends of the cables and hooked them to the jump start connections on the truck. I was qustioned about this by my company and showed them and they didnt have a problem with it cause it wasn't hard wired and not subject to haveing the cables worn thru on sharp edges.

[One]

I would try a coffee press and butane burner like Michigan said...its much better than any machine u can also try this camping coffee pot that got lots of thumbs up on my last camping trip GSI Enamel Coffee Pot - 6c in Camping, Cookware available at any outdoors shop. maybe its better than a glass coffee press that may break. u could even set up on your catwalk and brew! Aaaah morning coffee and fresh air!

[Outta here]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to continue to just buy from the truck stop until I get my new truck within the month. Hopefully it'll have a generator or I'm leaning towards the separate batteries with larger inverter.

[MichiganDriver]

My situation has changed and now I'm apu-less. So last week I ordered the percolator from Amazon I was talking about:

Amazon.com: Farberware 50124 Classic Yosemite Stainless Steel Percolator: Kitchen & Dining

I just tried a test run at home and I think I'm going to like it. It feels like quality anyway. I'll just fire up my Burton Mr Max butane stove and I'll have coffee in a few minutes. I bought some basket filters at Walmart and I was going to ask if there's anything better out there but I just noticed:

Amazon.com: Melitta U S A Inc 628354 White Disc Coffee Filter: Everything Else

Damn, I should have ordered some with the coffee pot.

One question I do have is do I need to buy a special grind for percolator use or will the standard drip grind coffee be ok? Anyone got a favorite coffee for percolators???



Edit: Amazon rocks. I just ordered these - a nickel apiece, free shipping and no mess in the truck.

http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffee...8113907&sr=1-1

[Outta here]

It appears I'm getting a new Volvo 670. The fleet manager can't quite pull the trigger on an APU so besides the coffee making situation I'll want to look into the stand alone batteries under the bunk with an inverter wired direct. I'm sure it'll have to be completely separate from the truck electrical system.
I'm thinking of 2 truck batteries wired together with a large inverter wired direct with the outlet accessible to plug in a microwave for use to heat something such as soup or stews or dinners pre-made in Tupperware.
So anyone have ideas how they did their setup? I saw one somewhere explained in detail. Thanks in advance!
Also, it sounds like we're getting the Wabasto bunk heater and Nite air-conditioning system. Any thoughts on these systems. I know we have had good luck with the Wabasto bunk heaters.
Thanks again.

[GMAN]

I have a friend who has one of the bunk heaters. He loves it. The heater keeps his truck as warm as toast, even on the coldest nights. I don't know about the a/c unit.

[firebird_1252]

why not do what was said above just get the inverter with the hooks that go directly to the batterys? i'd think that'd be a lot easier.

also i hear the nite system is aweful.