Crock Pots and stuff?

[Gaunt Dusk]

Hey, I'm just starting to pawn things off so I can have more space, getting rid of things I don't needor have had in the attic forever but I was wondering what cooking things I should hold onto. I'm planning on using this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YR00MI...TF8&colid=2JM9FLKZN0NRM&coliid=I2956N2Q89ZECD for electricity in the short term but I'm wondering if I should huck my crock pot or keep it. I'm wondering if the electricity draw is feasible for an item like this. I'm going to be a student while in the van so I thought it might be nice to set the crock pot on and go to class and let some stew cook but I'm afraid the draw would be unreasonable for the pot. It's also possible that I could study for hours in the library and bring the crock pot with me (although that would be very strange I confess). All in all I'm not really sure if I should keep the crock pot or pawn it.
I also have a rice cooker and someone has already noted that a rice cooker is fine for this. Same with a blender so I might keep both since I like spaghetti and I have an okay blender.
I even have a one burner electric stove I got from target and a toaster oven but I can't tax the thing too much so I'll probably have to get rid of most of them, but what do you think is reasonable to keep and reasonable to ditch with this power supply?

 

[Hereandthere]

There's an interesting thread going on now about cooking with thermal cookers... it would be something to buy but it could work well for you. See especially the link to Bob's blog article about his wonderpot.

 

[LeeRevell]

The electric cooking items will be only really useful if you have access to shore power. They'll flatten your house batteries PDQ.

 

[akrvbob]

That Jumper Pack will only offer you minimal electrical usage, a light and maybe charge your phone. No way could you do any kind of cooking off it. It's hard to imagine being able to use a crock pot in a library. They smell too good!

Can you afford $200 for a solar power system?
Bob

 

[decodancer]

I can't imagine living without my crockpot or my toaster oven. You may not be able to use them much now but aren't there times when you will have access to power? The price to replace is much higher than what you'd get for them, that's for sure.

 

[Zil]

While a student, I had many friends living in off-campus apartments and houses. If I had a crackpot and a cheap cut of beef, I could have been the dinner hour hero.

 

[cyndi]

I traveled with my crockpot and toaster oven for a year and finally got rid of them. Never used either, even once. In the house, I used both more than the regular stove and oven.

I do thermos cooking if I want a slow cooked meal

The thread on thermos cooking:
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=2276&highlight=thermos

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

I will be honest, I have 200 dollars but right now I need to spend it on other things. (also I need a safety cushion of money just in case something happens, which I don't think WILL happen but still) I'm currently moving into a van and deciding what to chuck out. Besides, a girl said she use that to cook noodles in a rice cooker just fine so it has some power capabilities. She also mentioned she charged her laptop with it and stuff so for what she stated it could do, it would suit my needs fine. Give me light, keep my phone and laptop charged and maybe make me rice and/or spaghetti. Also winter is going to come soon, buying a solar panel when it's snowing makes absolutely no sense. Although it will be smart to buy one when I move to texas. I won't lie, it makes no sense to me, to lug around things I'm not going to use for two school semesters unless I have plenty of space for them. Would it cost more to replace later? Well yes, but that's why I'm torn. I'll end up buying them again later. I suppose I could test the limits of the 26 amps of storage and try to cook something in a crock pot with it. I've also considered the purchase of a 12-volt crock pot, which would probably work better with that.

Guess I could try thermos cooking.

 

[Zil]

a crock pot is not practical unless you have a large battery bank and the means to recharge. There are some free opportunities to plug into the grid for the few hours needed, but not many.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

A general rule of thumb is that ANY kind of electric cooking, whether direct heat, induction cooking, convection oven, microwave, whatever, requires:

A shore power connection

A generator

A HUGE battery bank and powerful recharging system.

Lacking access to one of those three, resign yourself to cooking over a propane or liquid fuel stove.

Giving up sticks and bricks - and the automatic connection to the power grid that comes with them - requires major changes to your life.

Regards
John

 

[akrvbob]

There is another much cheaper option to solar that will give you the power you need (but not to cook with), and that is getting a marine battery and hooking it up to your starting battery so it is charged while you drive. The battery will be about $70 and the wire and solenoid another $60. If you can't install it yourself, you would probably have to pay a mechanic to do it.

You may not be able to afford it but it will charge a real battery every time you drive. Something to save for.
Bob

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

I confess that setting up a battery to hook up to my starting battery is also something I'm considering.
There's a problem though, there's no step by step instructions on how to DO that. I haven't been able to find anything that will walk you through exactly how to hook up a second house battery. I've seen videos of people who've done it and diagrams but people who've done it and diagrams does not an instruction manual make. It's quite irritating. I've seen one picture that IMPLIES you use the fuse box underneath your steering wheel but also indications I'd have to drill through the hull of the vehicle to wire something from the starting battery to the second battery, something I'm none too enthused about with all that heat that can radiate from the engine and melt any wires I'm using.
Since you're suggesting something I'm already considering, do you know of any detailed instructions that I can at least improvise from to do that?

 

[highdesertranger]

well I see this thread has been derailed but it is by the original author so that's cool. but back to crock pots. coleman made a propane one not sure if they still do. I had a chance to use one, I seemed to run to hot, since it wasn't mine I wasn't able to play around with it to see if could be made to work like an electric crock. I use a dutch oven for a crock pot works great. however if you are under fire restrictions then you have to use on a stove top. kinda defeats the purpose of saving propane. I really like the idea of the thermal cookers and plan on getting one in the future. highdesertranger

 

[akrvbob]

It sounds like you are not in a position to be able to get enough electricity for the crock pot. I'd suggest getting rid of it. They are so cheap that if in a year you get the electricity problem solved you can get another one very cheap.

Like you said, not worth dragging around for a year and never using it.
bob

 

[GotSmart]

I confess that setting up a battery to hook up to my starting battery is also something I'm considering.
There's a problem though, there's no step by step instructions on how to DO that. I haven't been able to find anything that will walk you through exactly how to hook up a second house battery. I've seen videos of people who've done it and diagrams but people who've done it and diagrams does not an instruction manual make. It's quite irritating. I've seen one picture that IMPLIES you use the fuse box underneath your steering wheel but also indications I'd have to drill through the hull of the vehicle to wire something from the starting battery to the second battery, something I'm none too enthused about with all that heat that can radiate from the engine and melt any wires I'm using.
Since you're suggesting something I'm already considering, do you know of any detailed instructions that I can at least improvise from to do that?

You might find the help you need on this thread. Stearnwake and Bob have excellent advice in it.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9654