@@alexchan163 Ah sorry Alex, totally forgot to mention this. Basically these all came from Amazon and have them in my ultimate Amazon list (if you scroll through this, you’ll find all the items in this vid) www.amazon.co.uk/shop/myhobbiesovertheyears/list/3JBR3ACLRMWTR?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_aipsflist_6VAPM0NBWKFA03XG1BQ6&language=en_US
I used to have a van life site for the UK (because most sites were for the US). Then the pandemic came and everyone had to stop traveling, so I left it lapse. Maybe this is a sign that I should revive it. 😊 I too just bought a few nifty 12/24 V gadgets and I am looking forward to using them. Among other things, I got a small kettle, so boiling won't take that long. 75 watts. In fact, I bought two. One for my coffee... and one for food. 😎
I have been using a 12v kettle for over 5 years car camping & roadtrips to heat water to make pour over coffee when I stop in rest area. I put in 2 mugs of water into kettle & turn it on, set up a #2 filter into a collapsible silicone cone where coffee grounds are placed. Then I go use the restroom & do a bit of a walk/stretch. By the time I’m back the water is hot enough to pour the hot water over. Then I pour the coffee into my travel mug to drink & pour the 2nd cup through while I finish drinking the first cup. Then 2nd cup is usually ready to be transferred into the travel mug & put in front for sipping while back on the road. Then I clean up & toss the grounds in filter into trash can at rest area. Also, I have been using a 12v version of a HotLogic Mini to cook meals on travel days (think slow cooker) so I get a hot lunch (especially on cold days). You can cook frozen vegetables, but it only takes 45 minutes to cook raw broccoli florets with about 2 tablespoons of water for it effectively cook. Most of the time I will cook broccoli or asparagus with precooked organic chicken sausage links sliced up with the broccoli in a 3 cup Pyrex pan for at least 45 minutes, or as long as 4 hours (it really doesn’t over cook). Sometimes I’ve cooked raw boneless chicken thighs or salmon or a pork chop, but raw meat must cook for a minimum of 1 hr and 45 minutes to get up to a safe temperature, but I always let it go over 2 hours. If you have any doubt get one of those pokey needle meat thermometers to check the meat’s internal temperature. Thanks for suggestion of starting with previously boiled water in a thermos & pour that already warm/hot water into the kettle to speed up the process. I will try that on my next trip.
@@karinhart489 thanks for the epic reply Karin. I get the feeling I do need to give my lunchbox a couple more try’s before I relegate it to the never to use pile and pleased my little tip may help you 😃
Gas all the way for me. Windows cracked, boil time 2-3 mins in a shallow Firemaple non-stick pan. Takes the edge off the chill during those few minutes, then close up the windows again and a hot coffee awaits within 3-4 mins (with a little added Whisky to taste!). You can even sponge down the windows afterwards, squeeze it into the pan and make a second cup!!! ie. it can get a bit damp. 😜 Swings and roundabouts....
@@allieandmaria hi ya, that’s the 2nd firemaple vote in the comments now, Will have to take a look :) Sadly for me I can’t use gas in the car - I always used to, until I realised that’s what was causing my monster migraines 😭 Even with Windows Fully open when cooking made no difference 😭 This is why I love my electric cooker ❤️🚗
@@Trappedlabrat hi ya, defo yes…. If you go into knowing what it’s like, then actually they are really good. I only upgraded after 2 years to a proper kettle as my power bank grew, but otherwise this was perfect for me :)
I find 12 volt to slow , I have the fire maple gas cooker ( similar to jet boil but a lot cheaper ) it is much faster and you can get an adaptor to sit a small fry pan on the flame . Enjoying your videos keep them up .
@@peterhewitson71 cheers Peter 😀 Yeah 12v defo is super slow compared to what I have now, but when I had the J240, they were awesome. Well except the lunchbox, but that’s still a work in progress 😂
Just be careful with those window demisters. I used one in my van when the blowers were broke. It overheated, melted the plug & I suspect was close to setting on fire. Supposedly CE marked too
I am on the whole giving up on buying 12v stuff now that I have my lifepo4 battery. I have let all that power go to my head and...... an inverter!😆 Low wattage 240v all the way now. I can look back on my 12v days as a necessary apprenticeship on volt and watt conservation and management. A nice little vid to answer lots of the questions that keep coming up in groups :)
Cheers dude, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, 12v is good when you’re looking to save watts… then as the watts grow, the level of “low wattage” Is raised 😃
@@SettingTheHookUK thanks dude, wellll…. I filmed this all crossed legged 🕺💃 Defo heading the right way dude. Still not able to run yet, but hopefully not tooo much longer ❤️
Thanks Matt. My biggest disappointment in the car was the thermotube heater I bought, to heat around me during bedtime. Despite only being 20 watts, it was pretty capable if warming the air in the curtained environment I set up for it, but it drained my small power pack in about 2 hours 😕 I've replaced it with a 'snuggle suit' thingummy now, and that's been great 👍
My Mrs bought a 12v hair dryer, it was useless & dangerous, the only thing that got hot was the cable! A low wattage 230v & power bank is the way to go. DC when you can, AC has a small inverter co version loss.
@@ghunt9146 hi ya, yeah I’m not too surprised to hear this - hair dryers are the polar opposite of low wattage and I’ve defo found that 12v is normally low Wattage. A power bank is defo the way to go, but the problem for some people is that the more Powerful ones can be quite expensive :(
@@tonygrant3062 thing is it does sound backwards, but worked really well for me (couldn’t afford a bigger power bank and can’t use gas as gave me migraines).
@@zafiracamper we went sure about getting them to begin with. Normal price is around £350 for the pair and that’s with a finish on them, like a coating, but we got them as just plain plywood and varnished them at £150😃😃
@zafiracamper It does give a little off, but I wedge it under the front passenger headrest and sleep with my head at the tailgate...that bit of heat does not travel well. Put it on before your kettle and have a little nap for at least 40 minutes Matt
First love the subject of low wattage cooking. There is a 12 V kettle that heats fast off the power bank, Kowaku Electric Car Kettle. Also try using the warming lunch box as a hot water cooker not a hot surface cooker. It heats up liquids better and that heat is more even. Another thing is the Thermo is a kind of slow cooker two. I remember some old guy on You Tube doing Thermo soups. Thermos Cooking Vacuum Reviews PC edition th-cam.com/video/RDB2yVfPtxY/w-d-xo.html Interesting subject for everyone not just car camping.
@@shampoovta hi there and many thanks for the comment - ooh that’s a good idea for the lunchbox and goes along with my thinking that I wasn’t using it right. Will defo check that vid out, something I’ve never thought of before too :)
@@ButFirst_LoveLife tbh I haven’t used Ali for a while, but guessing pretty much same as Temu and Banggood :) all places I’ve used and defo bargains to be had 😎
The sad part of all my gadgets it that you have to run the engine when using them or you risk draining battery ....so i park on a hill and carry on . Lol
Some nifty gadgets there, but I find my power station drains fairly quickly just charging phones etc and the compressor fridge etc. If you use gas for cooking and making tea it warms up a small space nicely. The game changer though is a 2kw diesel heater which fits under our front passenger seat in our Berlingo.
@@jamesbrook16 Hi James, yeah I did use to always cook on gas in the car, so defo can vouch for this…. But for me I had to stop using gas in car as I realised I got monster migraines the next day :( As soon as I stopped using gas in car, the car camping migraines Stopped too 😃
@@jamesbrook16 I think tbh I have a predisposition to migraines (even with co2 alarm and windows :( ) Hehe I did a kind of xmas meal too years back 😃 th-cam.com/video/uyHWNNhTvRw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=aK8o_Qb3ffzrR9BQ
I’ll have a look at that later. Thank you. Where did you go? Ours is in two parts. Parked at Ravenscar and talked about ‘the town that never was’. Full Christmas dinner, then visited Robin Hood’s Bay the next morning.
@@jamesbrook16 ah this was just a lil park up on Isle of Sheppey, turned out to be a really popular site I’ve found out since… so much so council seem to be bringing in charging now, it was free :( I’ll defo check out your channel Dude :) saw your sub comment on here so made mental note to check :)
@@rap36case hi ya, yeah I didn’t go into it in this video, but has been said on a lot of old car camp vids…. Basically I can’t cook on gas in car anymore as it gave me monster migraines (even with windows down 😭)
![[Sub Thai] APT. - ROSÉ & Bruno Mars](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bYjhzP8x_uc/mqdefault.jpg)
Can you list the items used and where you got them from. thanks
@@alexchan163 Ah sorry Alex, totally forgot to mention this. Basically these all came from Amazon and have them in my ultimate Amazon list (if you scroll through this, you’ll find all the items in this vid)
www.amazon.co.uk/shop/myhobbiesovertheyears/list/3JBR3ACLRMWTR?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_aipsflist_6VAPM0NBWKFA03XG1BQ6&language=en_US
I used to have a van life site for the UK (because most sites were for the US). Then the pandemic came and everyone had to stop traveling, so I left it lapse. Maybe this is a sign that I should revive it. 😊 I too just bought a few nifty 12/24 V gadgets and I am looking forward to using them. Among other things, I got a small kettle, so boiling won't take that long. 75 watts. In fact, I bought two. One for my coffee... and one for food. 😎
Thanks!👍@@zafiracamper
Ok, wow. I am totally jealous of that massive camping closet!! 😂
@@dianeschmiane 😂 hey you and yessss…. It’s my monster car camping closet
Come man cave😂😂
Yes, 12v is our future! Really love this idea and buying all the time everything what is works from 12 v 🥳👍▶️
I have been using a 12v kettle for over 5 years car camping & roadtrips to heat water to make pour over coffee when I stop in rest area. I put in 2 mugs of water into kettle & turn it on, set up a #2 filter into a collapsible silicone cone where coffee grounds are placed. Then I go use the restroom & do a bit of a walk/stretch. By the time I’m back the water is hot enough to pour the hot water over. Then I pour the coffee into my travel mug to drink & pour the 2nd cup through while I finish drinking the first cup. Then 2nd cup is usually ready to be transferred into the travel mug & put in front for sipping while back on the road. Then I clean up & toss the grounds in filter into trash can at rest area.
Also, I have been using a 12v version of a HotLogic Mini to cook meals on travel days (think slow cooker) so I get a hot lunch (especially on cold days). You can cook frozen vegetables, but it only takes 45 minutes to cook raw broccoli florets with about 2 tablespoons of water for it effectively cook. Most of the time I will cook broccoli or asparagus with precooked organic chicken sausage links sliced up with the broccoli in a 3 cup Pyrex pan for at least 45 minutes, or as long as 4 hours (it really doesn’t over cook). Sometimes I’ve cooked raw boneless chicken thighs or salmon or a pork chop, but raw meat must cook for a minimum of 1 hr and 45 minutes to get up to a safe temperature, but I always let it go over 2 hours. If you have any doubt get one of those pokey needle meat thermometers to check the meat’s internal temperature.
Thanks for suggestion of starting with previously boiled water in a thermos & pour that already warm/hot water into the kettle to speed up the process. I will try that on my next trip.
@@karinhart489 thanks for the epic reply Karin. I get the feeling I do need to give my lunchbox a couple more try’s before I relegate it to the never to use pile and pleased my little tip may help you 😃
Gas all the way for me. Windows cracked, boil time 2-3 mins in a shallow Firemaple non-stick pan. Takes the edge off the chill during those few minutes, then close up the windows again and a hot coffee awaits within 3-4 mins (with a little added Whisky to taste!). You can even sponge down the windows afterwards, squeeze it into the pan and make a second cup!!! ie. it can get a bit damp. 😜 Swings and roundabouts....
@@allieandmaria hi ya, that’s the 2nd firemaple vote in the comments now,
Will have to take a look :)
Sadly for me I can’t use gas in the car - I always used to, until I realised that’s what was causing my monster migraines 😭 Even with Windows
Fully open when cooking made no difference 😭 This is why I love my electric cooker ❤️🚗
Might be worth trying to cover your 12v kettle with a cosy. Traps the heat and speeds it up to boiling point
@@xtc2v a proper old school tea cosy effect ❤️
best way to make a good cupa , ive seen the same issues with kettles lots of negitive reviews so now i know the better way and taper my expectations
@@Trappedlabrat hi ya, defo yes…. If you go into knowing what it’s like, then actually they are really good. I only upgraded after 2 years to a proper kettle as my power bank grew, but otherwise this was perfect for me :)
I don’t camp but still found that video worth watching.
@@tonycharlton4296 ah many thanks Tony 🙏 Hope you found it useful?
I find 12 volt to slow , I have the fire maple gas cooker ( similar to jet boil but a lot cheaper ) it is much faster and you can get an adaptor to sit a small fry pan on the flame . Enjoying your videos keep them up .
@@peterhewitson71 cheers Peter 😀 Yeah 12v defo is super slow compared to what I have now, but when I had the J240, they were awesome. Well except the lunchbox, but that’s still a work in progress 😂
Just be careful with those window demisters. I used one in my van when the blowers were broke. It overheated, melted the plug & I suspect was close to setting on fire. Supposedly CE marked too
@@ourvan.ourway Cheers dude, yeah I see a lot of these comments on an FB group, I’ll defo be super careful when I use this 🙏
Nice one Matt, thanks for sharing my friend: Russ 👍🏼
Cheers Russ 😄
I am on the whole giving up on buying 12v stuff now that I have my lifepo4 battery. I have let all that power go to my head and...... an inverter!😆 Low wattage 240v all the way now. I can look back on my 12v days as a necessary apprenticeship on volt and watt conservation and management. A nice little vid to answer lots of the questions that keep coming up in groups :)
Cheers dude, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, 12v is good when you’re looking to save watts… then as the watts grow, the level of “low wattage”
Is raised 😃
Great video and very informative as usual matey. Enjoyable watch 😊
Cheers dude 😄
@zafiracamper meant to say, how's the knee?
@@SettingTheHookUK thanks dude, wellll…. I filmed this all crossed legged 🕺💃 Defo heading the right way dude. Still not able to run yet, but hopefully not tooo much longer ❤️
@zafiracamper aww wonderful to hear mate. Look forward to seeing a run video 😊
@SettingTheHookUK defo dude :)
Thanks Matt. My biggest disappointment in the car was the thermotube heater I bought, to heat around me during bedtime.
Despite only being 20 watts, it was pretty capable if warming the air in the curtained environment I set up for it, but it drained my small power pack in about 2 hours 😕
I've replaced it with a 'snuggle suit' thingummy now, and that's been great 👍
Cheers HB. Oh that’s interesting, I thought all people loved those Tubey heater things. What is this snuggle suit you mention?
@@zafiracamper It's a charity shop find...just a fake fur suit. As long as I can launder it, it will be a keeper 🤞
@@h.bsfaithfulservant4136Teddy blankets are also good.
My Mrs bought a 12v hair dryer, it was useless & dangerous, the only thing that got hot was the cable! A low wattage 230v & power bank is the way to go. DC when you can, AC has a small inverter co version loss.
@@ghunt9146 hi ya, yeah I’m not too surprised to hear this - hair dryers are the polar opposite of low wattage and I’ve defo found that 12v is normally low
Wattage.
A power bank is defo the way to go, but the problem for some people is that the more Powerful ones can be quite expensive :(
I've seen a Japanese girl use a rice cooker in her van. Have they made it over here as well?
@@LovelyFish-wg1dq hi there, yeah most definitely :) There’s loads of them on Amazon :)
Boil water to put in a flask to keep hot to put in a poor kettle to boil 😂
@@tonygrant3062 thing is it does sound backwards, but worked really well for me (couldn’t afford a bigger power bank and can’t use gas as gave me migraines).
Some interesting gadgets there, some that I didn’t know existed 😊
@@JustForTheWeekendVanLife I do love my gadgets 😂
@@zafiracamper true, it’s the little things that make a difference. We’re always trying to find how to utilise spaces as well 😊
@@JustForTheWeekendVanLife that reminds me, love your back window cupboard things too :)
@@zafiracamper we went sure about getting them to begin with. Normal price is around £350 for the pair and that’s with a finish on them, like a coating, but we got them as just plain plywood and varnished them at £150😃😃
@@JustForTheWeekendVanLife oh sweet- nice discount :) I use Tommy equivalent space as a table, but know
Mrs H will like that type of thing :)
Useful information
@@92redferrari many thanks Red
Nice video dude!! Surprised there was no 12v lighting!! Especially now it's always dark !!! 😊
@@ChillVanlife cheers me dears, you know what, I’m surprised too - I have sooo many lights 😂
@@zafiracamper sort it out for part 2 😁😁
Alas I fear no part 2 - there’s nothing more I actually need 😂
Got one of those heaters. I thought it would warm the berlingo up after setting the boot jump up late on a cold night this week. I think i need two🥶
Oh no, did it at least take the edge off? That’s all I’m really hoping for, not full on nice and toasty…. Just a little less
Icy :)
@zafiracamper It does give a little off, but I wedge it under the front passenger headrest and sleep with my head at the tailgate...that bit of heat does not travel well. Put it on before your kettle and have a little nap for at least 40 minutes Matt
@Papillion-Man ah that’s good to hear then, that’s basically exactly what I was hoping for :) A kind of teasmade heater 😆
Be OK to keep for the summer, as the fan is ok 👍
@@Papillion-Man ah yes, I totally missed the whole cold air part off the vid 🥹 from memory the cold fan only draws about 5w, so super efficient 😃
First love the subject of low wattage cooking. There is a 12 V kettle that heats fast off the power bank, Kowaku Electric Car Kettle. Also try using the warming lunch box as a hot water cooker not a hot surface cooker. It heats up liquids better and that heat is more even. Another thing is the Thermo is a kind of slow cooker two. I remember some old guy on You Tube doing Thermo soups. Thermos Cooking Vacuum Reviews PC edition th-cam.com/video/RDB2yVfPtxY/w-d-xo.html Interesting subject for everyone not just car camping.
@@shampoovta hi there and many thanks for the comment - ooh that’s a good idea for the lunchbox and goes along with my thinking that I wasn’t using it right.
Will defo check that vid out, something I’ve never thought of before too :)
Great views, well deserved
@@STTC cheers dude 😁
@@zafiracamper 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@STTC 🤫
@@zafiracamper If you know,,,, you know
@@STTC 😭
Or Aliexpress
@@ButFirst_LoveLife tbh I haven’t used Ali for a while, but guessing pretty much same as Temu and Banggood :) all places I’ve used and defo bargains to be had 😎
The sad part of all my gadgets it that you have to run the engine when using them or you risk draining battery ....so i park on a hill and carry on . Lol
Ah so yours are all 12v? I was going to put in a line to that affect but forgot :(
👍👍👍
@BonesAndButtons cheers dude 😁
Some nifty gadgets there, but I find my power station drains fairly quickly just charging phones etc and the compressor fridge etc.
If you use gas for cooking and making tea it warms up a small space nicely.
The game changer though is a 2kw diesel heater which fits under our front passenger seat in our Berlingo.
@@jamesbrook16 Hi James, yeah I did use to always cook on gas in the car, so defo can vouch for this…. But for me I had to stop using gas in car as I realised I got monster migraines the next day :( As soon as I stopped using gas in car, the car camping migraines
Stopped too 😃
, we’ve managed and not had headaches. Obviously a carbon monoxide alarm is a necessity.
We even managed to make Christmas dinner using gas!
@@jamesbrook16 I think tbh I have a predisposition to migraines (even with co2 alarm and windows :( )
Hehe I did a kind of xmas meal too years back 😃
th-cam.com/video/uyHWNNhTvRw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=aK8o_Qb3ffzrR9BQ
I’ll have a look at that later. Thank you. Where did you go? Ours is in two parts. Parked at Ravenscar and talked about ‘the town that never was’. Full Christmas dinner, then visited Robin Hood’s Bay the next morning.
@@jamesbrook16 ah this was just a lil park up on Isle of Sheppey, turned out to be a really popular site I’ve found out since… so much so council seem to be bringing in charging now, it was free :(
I’ll defo check out your channel
Dude :) saw your sub comment on here so made mental note to check
:)
Why not get a real camp stove with propane?
@@rap36case hi ya, yeah I didn’t go into it in this video, but has been said on a lot of old car camp vids…. Basically I can’t cook on gas in car anymore as it gave me monster migraines (even with windows down 😭)
@@zafiracamper I'm a chemist. God no don't use a propane stove without ventilation! Camp stoves have wind shields. Use on a tailgate or card table.