coffee and sat radio

[RWS]

I have a 21 on order. Does anybody have any advice on using a drip coffee maker and how to run it? I see there are a few 12 volt units out. Also I listen to xm sat radio a lot. I use a boombox and power station now when camping, it works great, anybody have one hooked into their trailer?

[Sally P]

I read that the 12 volt units are terminally slow. I got the solar and 6 volt batteries just so I could have my coffee in the morning!

[gbaglo]

For coffee, a Melita cone filter holder and a thermal carafe. Boil the water on the stove and pour it over the grounds. Mine uses #4 filters and makes four real cups of coffee ( not cups as described by manufacturers ).
See: http://realgoods.com/shop/melitta-8-...ProdSKU=R19145

I have Sirius satellite radio that fits into a holder in the car, plugs into 12V and delivers sound through the car radio. In the trailer, it fits into a Sirius Executive dock. I've had it several years and suspect mine has be discontinued and new ones offered. I can move the dock outside ( using 12V extension cords ) or place it next to my pillow if I want to fall asleep to "The Shadow".
I have TV, DVD player and iPods, but they rarely are used. Too easy to just tune in the Sirius XM.

[Brian B-P]

While a 12V heater (in any appliance, such as a coffee maker) can be as powerful as desired, in practice they do tend to be very small, so that the appliance can run on an outlet limited to 10 amps or so.

I agree that the practical solution is to boil the water on the propane stove, then use any one of the many kinds of coffee maker into which you pour hot water.

An interesting alternative is an "Italian" style coffee maker, such as the classic Bialetti Moka. These go directly on the stove. While sometimes referred to as espresso pots, the amount of water can be adjusted to make a more typical coffee strength. Bialettis are not the cheapest - more economical alternatives are readily available.

[cpaharley2008]

Get yourself a stove top percolator, makes great coffee. As far as satellite radio, I have internet radio on my iPhone and use blue tooth to broadcast to an Oontz blue tooth speaker- everything runs off 12v

[JimJ]

Our coffee brewing process is the same as used by Glenn. It produces a great tasting cup.

[gbaglo]

BTW. Using the cone filter, you wet the grounds and then allow the boiled water to cool for a minute or two before beginning the brew pour. You don't want to pour boiling water on the grounds.

[Jim Bennett]

Lots of great ways to make coffee without the need for electricity. Put simply all you need is hot water to extract the coffee out of the ground beans. Easy to make hot water without electricity, and lots of great brewing methods.

Here is a thread with lots of discussion about coffee.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f7...mmmm-1273.html

[Vermilye]

While there are many ways to make coffee without 120v AC and I have used many of them, I still prefer my 5 cup drip coffee pot, enough that I installed a 1000 watt inverter just to run it. I believe an inverter is now an option available from Escape. Well worth it since adding one requires rewiring the connections between it and the batteries. You will find many other handy uses of the inverter once you have it.

As to XM radio, I have a receiver I added to the tow vehicle. I purchased an extra antenna, and move it to the trailer the few times I can't get a cell connection for my iPhone. I use a Sony radio with a iPhone and aux input that works well with the XM tuner.

[Minnie]

We have a stove top percolator and a sirius satellite radio. Both are perfect for our little 5.0. If we don't have power for the radio we sometimes actually have to talk to each other ....... :-)

[CADreamin]

We normally use a Melita and thermal carafe setup as well. Not only is the coffee good, but cleanup is easier with a filter. At home, we like our French Press (CoffeeGeek - How to Use a Press Pot) but I don't want to deal with loose grounds while we're out and about.

We opted not to get the radio, nor we will have one I suspect; however, I'm sure the satellite TV and my iPod will be used quite often.

[Kountrykamper]

We use a 4 cup drip coffee maker and have an inverter I just hook straight to the truck battery and run an extension cord if we are remote. That way it gets charged during the day and no drain on the trailer battery. All we use it for is coffee. For music we use Pandora, TuneIn radio, Itunes radio, or music on our phone and connect the iPhone Bluetooth to a Logitech Bluetooth speaker. Sounds great. Wires are a thing of the past with the advancement in Bluetooth the last few years. Amazon.com: Ultimate Ears MINI BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker/Speakerphone - Black: Computers & Accessories

[Ray N]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

For coffee, a Melita cone filter holder and a thermal carafe. Boil the water on the stove and pour it over the grounds. Mine uses #4 filters and makes four real cups of coffee ( not cups as described by manufacturers ).
See: Real Goods | Shop - Melitta 8 Cup Pour-Over Coffee Brewer with Stainless Steel Carafe
.

Ditto for the Melitta recommendation!
You can use any size of filters. We usually use the #4 size for a large mug for each of us.
Melitta® Coffee Perfection® Cone Filter 10-Cup Manual Coffee Maker - BedBathandBeyond.com

[gbaglo]

Only problem I have with that one is it's not a thermal carafe. For some reason Melita stopped making them. But, there are others to be found searching the net.

[Jim Bennett]

You can adapt most pour-through cones to work on lots of different carafes if you want. I have a friend who uses a Thermos. He did some funky little mod to the bottom of the cone, and it works great for him. Probably much better heat retention too.

[techfan]

Klean Kanteen makes a wide mouth thermos that works. Also you could get a Hydro Flask which also has a wide opening. Both stainless double wall.

[Bruce Wray]

I've always used a large Lexan french press -- Amazon.com: GSI Outdoors Java Press Coffee Maker: Sports & Outdoors

I have yet to camp anywhere -- from KOAs to boondocking -- where I can't find a thirsty bush that needs fertilizing and watering. A couple of fill-and pour cycles cleans it easily. And it makes excellent coffee.

Bruce

[Greggo]

I had the factory build a shelf that bridges the dinette seats under the table. Our XM sits on the shelf and plugs into the 110V or 12V (using an inverter). We clip the antenna to the window covering.

My next project is to get a roof or outside mounted Omni-antenna I can just plug into.

Greg

[Donna D.]

What am I missing? I've got a Mr. Coffee that has a permanent position on the countertop. Are you saying, unless you're "hooked up" I can't use it (or a SatRadio)?? Won't the battery(ies) handle a pretty simple coffee machine..... I understand battery drain and why folks go with interior LEDs... but really?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Are you saying, unless you're "hooked up" I can't use it (or a SatRadio)?? Won't the battery(ies) handle a pretty simple coffee machine..... I understand battery drain and why folks go with interior LEDs... but really?

I don't have an electric coffee maker handy, but a quick web search found a spec of 900 watts, and a six-minute brew time... that's a big inverter and 90 watt-hours or 7.5 amp-hours (plus inverter losses) per brew. That's a large chunk of a battery's capacity or the entire day's output of 15 peak watts of solar panel for a single pot of coffee; the satellite radio uses very little in comparison.

This can certainly be done on battery power, but to save putting a kettle on the stove and pouring the water into the coffee filter... really?

You can also use the Coleman stovetop or standalone propane drip filter machine (or equivalent). That just seems like a big appliance for little benefit to me, but if a drip machine is important, it would probably work well.