Hot Logic... thoughts for use in my Prius camper?

[GypsyJan]

I use a 12-volt immersion coil to heat water in the RAV4 on rainy days. In my "coil kit" I have a metal cup, spoon, and thermos jug. After I make breakfast (coffee or cocoa, hard boiled eggs or oatmeal), I fix lunch (i.e. ramen, soup, or hot dogs) and put that in the thermos for lunch.

 

[Jcblue_]

Thank you for the idea!

 

[nature lover]

JC blue. Watch running that inverter off your cigarette lighter because some of the cigarette lighter wiring from the factory is not really heavy enough to carry that on a regular basis. Doesn’t take much to rewire it with better wire.

This thread has got me to thinking about it. right now between the two (road pro and hot logic). I am leaning towards road pro. More energy consumption and less time so compared to the hot logic with less energy consumption and more time it looks like the energy consumption would be similar. So I lean towards the road pro because of the convenience of less time. Comments welcome I haven’t bought either yet but I want one or the other.

 

[VanFan]

You do understand that  unless your Prius is in "Ready" mode, you will be drawing from your itty-bitty 12volt battery and not the traction battery, right?  I can't imagine you'd want to leave it unattended in Ready mode (where the engine runs intermittently).  Just checking...

 

[travelaround]

It might run off a lithium battery like a Jackery. You could charge that at home and take it on your trip so you wouldn't be draining your Prius battery.

 

[jonyjoe303]

The hot logic (4 amps) should easily run off a jackery or similar powerpack. I run my roadpro (12 amps) off of a 10ah lifepo4 (13.1 volt) batterypack and also ran it off a li-ion 26ah 11.1 volt batterypack. Your not limited to just using your start battery or house battery.

The ultimate question is speed, you want your food fast or you got time to wait an hour or 2, This weekend I had a leftover burrito and cooked it with a can of beans, 20 minutes later it was steaming hot. Putting a little water under the aluminum foil helps cook it hotter, I can see the water boiling.

Whichever you get roadpro or hotlogic just replace the cheap 12 volt plug, I see too many reviews on both units of them stop working after a few months, its always the plug. I opened up my roadpro, and there is no circuitry except for a led red light and a 15 amp fuse ( mine still has the original fuse) and wires that go to the heating element. In other words, nothing electrical/electronic to fail, they should last a long time except for the cheap plug. Also replacing the thin wires with thicker wires will make the cooker cook hotter since all the power will go to the heating element instead of wasted heating the wires.

I use the roadpro almost everyday for years. Its a workhorse. The plastic latch broke but its not a big deal since I never have it cooking while I'm driving. The roadpro would be more for one person, for me it cooks enough food at one time to fill me up. I can cook one medium 20 oz can of beef stew and put a 16 oz can of corn, pour both of them on the aluminum foil and it will be done in 20 minutes. And you can put bread on top of the cooking food to warm it up. The best part of using the roadpro and aluminum foil is that there is no clean up, since I eat the food from the aluminum foil, no dishes to wash, its rare that food gets on the actual heating surfaces, if it does just wipe with a wet paper towel.

 

[Jcblue_]

Still learning how to navigate this site & been busy working on our build, but thank you to everyone for all the replies. It's so appreciated to get the unique views of you All ?

 

[Thorpedo]

On the subject of cooking in a car, I've been happy using a small 600W (cooking power) microwave that draws 950W. I initially used it with my 1000W solar power station, but then found it ran fine directly off a Harbor Freight 750W/1500W inverter wired up to the Prius' 12-volt battery. When I use the inverter I usually have the Prius on, so the gas engine will start if the battery requires recharging.

For heating the car, I also find using the inverter in combination with a space heater to be a much more gas-efficient solution than heating the car by using the gas engine to heat the coolant system. Albeit, I find for initially heating up a cold car (was in the 30F overnight this last weekend) also using the built-in climate-control's gas engine-heated-coolant route is better to get the Prius up to an initial state of warmth.
That being said, this thread has awakened an interest in investing in one of those 12-volt slow cookers, given people's experiences with heating up those frozen dinners, related above. Also, I see Bob posted a new video a few days ago, just on this subject: where he tests "The Road Pro vs the Hot Logic 12 Volt Ovens!"

 

[vanbrat]

It might run off a lithium battery like a Jackery. You could charge that at home and take it on your trip so you wouldn't be draining your Prius battery.

I have a mid-sized jackery and LOVE it. It runs a small microwave (really small) for me as well as all the other small stuff for the van and tons of other small jobs around the house when power is out (that happens a lot here). It charges with solar and while we drive in the cig lighter, as well as at home. There is no danger from a microwave. And it heats everything. As well as a rice pack for bed etc. to warm me/it on cold days. It also powers my little fridge ice chest thingy.

 

[frater secessus]

It runs a small microwave (really small)

How small is really small? Can you tell us what the rated cooking wattage and actual wattage are?

 

[Walt]

On the subject of cooking in a car, I've been happy using a small 600W (cooking power) microwave that draws 950W. I initially used it with my 1000W solar power station, but then found it ran fine directly off a Harbor Freight 750W/1500W inverter wired up to the Prius' 12-volt battery. When I use the inverter I usually have the Prius on, so the gas engine will start if the battery requires recharging.

For heating the car, I also find using the inverter in combination with a space heater to be a much more gas-efficient solution than heating the car by using the gas engine to heat the coolant system. Albeit, I find for initially heating up a cold car (was in the 30F overnight this last weekend) also using the built-in climate-control's gas engine-heated-coolant route is better to get the Prius up to an initial state of warmth.
That being said, this thread has awakened an interest in investing in one of those 12-volt slow cookers, given people's experiences with heating up those frozen dinners, related above. Also, I see Bob posted a new video a few days ago, just on this subject: where he tests "The Road Pro vs the Hot Logic 12 Volt Ovens!"

Which microwave are you having success with? Do you boil water in the microwave?

 

[Walt]

I have a mid-sized jackery and LOVE it. It runs a small microwave (really small) for me as well as all the other small stuff for the van and tons of other small jobs around the house when power is out (that happens a lot here). It charges with solar and while we drive in the cig lighter, as well as at home. There is no danger from a microwave. And it heats everything. As well as a rice pack for bed etc. to warm me/it on cold days. It also powers my little fridge ice chest thingy.

Which is the "mid-sized" Jackery? The 500w model?

 

[vanbrat]

Which is the "mid-sized" Jackery? The 500w model?

900w I think the 500 is the smallest and the 1500 is biggest they make...... but not really sure. I could only afford a 900 would have liked the 1500 It would have done more for power outages and powered the induction burner. 900 doesn't power the induction burner.
The microwave is 700 watts and yes it does boil water. Takes a bit longer than my house one but not by much.

 

[JDub]

I love my little Hot Logic oven. Really works well to heat food and not dry it out. Keeps it at a nice temp. I don't use the vehicle 12v power plug for it though. I use one of my solar batteries. Works great and it's regulated power so it doesn't fluctuate or overheat from too much draw. I highly recommend. Just toss something in in the morning and by noon it's hot and ready to go. Or start at noon and dinner is ready when you want it. I actually did a review on it here but I can't find it anymore.

Cheers!

 

[WanderingRose]

What JDub said.

I love mine for reheating leftovers and have even done a few ready-made entrees from the store in there.

Food gets nice and hot, evenly so, and the microwave doesn’t need to be emptied to heat something up.