Date: Sat, 8 May 2010 14:20:37 -0700
Reply-To: "Mike \"Rocket J Squirrel\"" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Mike \"Rocket J Squirrel\"" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: 12V Slow Cooker Tests
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
---- Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Ran into this while snooping around the Internet for something else
>
> http://www.roadgiant.com/roadprorpsl-35012-volt15quartslowcooker.aspx
> It caught my attention because some time back there was some
> discussion on using a small 110v AC crock pot, w/inverter, while
> driving and then having a
> hot dinner waiting when you stopped at night. this just might do
> the job. If I were using it I'd only use it while driving, it's
> going to suck a lot of juice if the engine is off. That site has
> several other such 12v cooking appliances.
I got one of those and have done a bit of testing to see how hot it
gets. Hot enough to make things like rice and beans? Let's find out!
<Puts on Mr Science lab coat>
I poured 3 cups (abt. 750ml) of room-temperature water into the crock,
put on the lid, and turned it on. The unit draws about 6 amperes.
Using a metal-probe thermometer, I got these results:
After 30 minutes the water was at 95F (35C)
After 60, it was at 120F (50C)
After 90, it was at 130F (55C)
After two hours, it was at 140F (60C)
The ambient temperature in the van was 60F (16C)
140F is at the upper limit of the food temperature danger range. Below
140F, bacteria happily grow; from 141 to 165F bacteria don't grow, but
they don't die, either. Source:
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/safetysanitation/a/dangerzone_tab.htm
Household slow cookers operate at higher temperatures, from 170F to 280F
(77C - 138C) (source:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Focus_On_Slow_Cooker_Safety/index.asp
) which is plenty hot enough to kill your E. coli and friends.
Eating food that's been sitting at 140F for a few hours could be risky.
Now if the air temperature was warmer, say 70F, then I reckon the food
would be 10 degrees F warmer, too. There may be a temp limit switch on
this thing to cycle the power on and off if it gets above some setpoint,
but I didn't see it cycling and the "manual" doesn't say anything useful
about that.
So on a nice warm or hot day, the thing would probably not be a bacteria
growing factory, but on nice warm or hot days I'm seldom in the mood for
stews or other typical "slow cook" meals.
To determine whether the crock pot could be made hot enough to get into
the bacteria-killing range, I wrapped it with a thick bath towel. The
outside gets nowhere near hot enough to cause combustion. After 1 hour,
the water was at 170F (77C), which is at the low end of where household
cookers operate, but hot enough for food safety.
I don't know if 170F is hot enough to cook anything interesting, though
(YMMV).
Total duration of testing, 3 hours, consuming 18 ampere-hours. A quick
Google for slow-cooking recipes turns up several that call for cooking
at the "low" setting for six to eight hours. That would be 36 to 48
ampere-hours.
To me, the usefulness of this cooker is questionable. It could even be
downright dangerous in the hands of someone unfamiliar with food safety.
I don't think I'll be adding it to Mellow Yellow's galley. Anyone want
to buy mine? Lightly used (once, 3 cups of water). Still have the
shipping box.
$20 + postage, first-come first served. P-mail me, tell me where you
live so I can calculate postage.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Bend, OR
KG6RCR
