I'm planning to bring a tin cup for making instant coffee, noodle, soup, etc... but that's assuming I have access to boiling water... like a microwave or kettle. I'm curious if anyone has used an electric immersion water boiler during travel. How useful is it?

Thanks!

Not worth the weight, in my opinion. You'll have to take a universal adapter as well, and that's assuming that there are plugs where you are going.

I wouldn't bring it.

I don't think "useful for travel?" is the right question. It's undoubtedly useful, I just don't think it's useful enough to justify carrying it around for months.

I usually ask myself, "Will I be miserable or unsafe without this?" Almost all of the stuff I take has to get a "yes" to that question.

I haven't used one myself...but it's one of the things on my "consider this if you can find a cheap/small one" for any future India or Asia trip just because it means you don't have to go out yet again if you only want a tea or simple meal.

I want to believe I saw someone with a thermos-type thing that boiled water. It didn't seem that big or heavy but I think she was planning on staying in one place for a while.

If you have links to any of these, I'd be curios to see them.

In the Americas, they're worth their weight in gold if you want to make tea or noodles and don't want to go out. They use the USA adapter. Most other places, all you need is a little two-pin to USA adapter, which doesn't weigh much.

I had two models. I had one huge one bought in Antiqua, and that boiled a quart of water in about 8 minutes. Then I had a tea-cup size one. I used the big one more, because everyone in my dorm liked tea too.

There are a few provisos with these lovely and useful things:

1. Never let a friend or acquaintantance use yours. Invariably, they find a way to bring the elements out of the liquid and thence short it out permanently. It is so fun to play with, and so delicate if it is not treated correctly.

2. Never use it for hot cocoa. I think the alkaloids in the chocolate eat through the casing around the wires that makes the heat.

Alas, I am without one now. I had one, but it now resides with my other things in a friends house in Holland.

quote:

Originally posted by mikeym:
I don't think "useful for travel?" is the right question. It's undoubtedly useful, I just don't think it's useful enough to justify carrying it around for months.

I usually ask myself, "Will I be miserable or unsafe without this?" Almost all of the stuff I take has to get a "yes" to that question.

Definitely not an essential item in terms of basic survival. I usually consume whatever the hostels serve each morning. Of the countries I've visited in Europe (in the 90s), Italian hostels served the worst coffee, least amount and cheapest breakfasts. I usually had to buy additional food afterward at a cafe or store. This seemed to be the opinion of many backpackers regarding Italian hostels. In such circumstances, I wonder if an immersion heater would start the day off in a nicer fashion.

quote:

Originally posted by whalewatcher:
Not worth the weight, in my opinion. You'll have to take a universal adapter as well, and that's assuming that there are plugs where you are going.

This one is dual-voltage. I'm guessing the weight to be around 10-12 ounces.

quote:

Originally posted by Tortuga_traveller:
In the Americas, they're worth their weight in gold if you want to make tea or noodles and don't want to go out. They use the USA adapter. Most other places, all you need is a little two-pin to USA adapter, which doesn't weigh much.

I had two models. I had one huge one bought in Antiqua, and that boiled a quart of water in about 8 minutes. Then I had a tea-cup size one. I used the big one more, because everyone in my dorm liked tea too.

There are a few provisos with these lovely and useful things:

1. Never let a friend or acquaintance use yours. Invariably, they find a way to bring the elements out of the liquid and thence short it out permanently. It is so fun to play with, and so delicate if it is not treated correctly.

2. Never use it for hot cocoa. I think the alkaloids in the chocolate eat through the casing around the wires that makes the heat.

Alas, I am without one now. I had one, but it now resides with my other things in a friends house in Holland.

Those are good tips. Why did you only find it useful in the Americas? My destination includes Europe, Asia (SE Asia, China, Tibet) and NZ.

Well, I just never had one in asia. Couldn't find one. My last one before that was ruined, of course, by a friend. It worked fine before that in Turkey. With the proper converter, you can use it just about anywhere. If you go upscale and get the dual conversion model, you'll be assured.

I just know about the 120v models, because they're lighter, and I bought them easily in stores. The good news is that in many countries in the east, 120v is the standard.

In europe they must be useful, because I bought one in Paris, of all places. It looked exactly the same as the one I bought in central America.

I consider my immersion heater almost an essential for travel. I use it to make tea, coffee, ramen noodles, cup o' soup, pasta, pudding, purify water, porridge and just about anything else that is small and requires heat or boiling water. I have cooked whole meals in train stations using my heater. I am thinking of producing an immersion heater cook book. Of course the manufacturer does not recommend using it to cook any of the above items.

My tips: Don't buy one in the US. The dual voltage ones require a plug adapter and they just don't seem to work real well. They have very little power in the US. You can get them all over europe in little electrics shops.

Don't use a tin cup. Use a plastic or lexan cup. It seems intuitive to use metal for cooking, but keep in mind that water can't get hotter than 100 degree C under normal conditions. If your cup can handle a boiling cup of tea it can handle an immersion heater. The tin cups take longer to boil water in (they radiate heat faster than plastic) and the handles get too hot.

Anyways, if you have never used one, they do seem stupid but once you use them a few times for a warm meal when the alternative was a snickers bar you will come to appreciate them.

I believe I got a dual voltage converter, but im not quite sure.

the listing that is stamped on the back says

"120V/125W
240v/500W"

I also have a canon camera battery charger and on the back it states

"input :100V-240V
0.12A(100v)-0.065A(240V)"

what do y ou guys think? you thing these are adaptable to a 220v system?

thanks

If I'm travelling with a regular suitcase then I find an immersion heater useful. You can make tea or noodles very easily. If I'm backpacking it then I don't bring it. Not only does the heater take up space and weight, but so does the food that you have to bring along. If I'm not bringing the food along and am going to the grocery store anyway, I'll just buy something that doesn't need the heater. Although I don't use the immersion heater much when backpacking, I have been known to make meals using the coffee pot in many hotel rooms. Noodles, kraft dinner, oatmeal, these all work well using a hotel coffee pot. I've also used it to heat up water to wash clothes in a hotel room sink when hot water doesn't come out of the tap...and of course it works well for coffee and tea!

quote:

Originally posted by snoobar:
I believe I got a dual voltage converter, but im not quite sure.

the listing that is stamped on the back says

"120V/125W
240v/500W"

I also have a canon camera battery charger and on the back it states

"input :100V-240V
0.12A(100v)-0.065A(240V)"

what do y ou guys think? you thing these are adaptable to a 220v system?

thanks

Yes, they will both be fine... Or at least, the second one will be for certain (it specifies a range, in which 220V falls), but I would assume the first one is as well..

with regards to a immersion coil - I wouldnt bring it again. I used it once - it was quite useful then, but every other hostel I stayed at had some sort of kitchen to boil water in, so it simply wasnt worth it... definitely bring a cup though!

for me, a cup of coffee in the morning is absolutely necessary, outside of the U.S. - the little shot glass of coffee served in most places just doesn't do it. I enjoy total control over my cuppa - so an immersion heater is worth its weight in my opinion.

I've used 'em in airports to combat price gouging for hot beverages, on overnight trains -- but only you really know what will work best for you.