Boiling water from 3rd Gen 400w bed outlet?

Does anyone use an electric hot plate or other device to boil water using the factory 400w outlet in the bed? I’m planning on potentially doing some truck camping in mild weather with some very basic necessities for a little getaway. Hoping I can get by using some type of hot plate to heat water for making coffee in a French press. It seems like most hot plates are rated for more watts but, would a ~500w plate on a low setting get the job done even if slowly?

 

No, a 500W hot plate won’t work with a 400W outlet. It may work somewhat but would take a long time to heat to boiling if ever. Just get a single burner propane or butane stove and be done with it. The stove will be much more versatile, you can heat water and most everything else.

 

Buy a jet boil

 

3.3A is all you get.
It’s ok for charging batteries and stuff.

Personally, I can’t say I’ve used mine more than 3 times.

 

It might work, depending on the hot plate low power setting being less than 400w

That said, 400 watts is about 1/7th the power of a backpacking stove. You’ll need to be patient waiting for your coffee.

 

JetBoil will get your water hot in about 100 seconds.

 

Another vote for Jetboil for quick heating; mine lives in the back of my truck even though they kinda suck to actually cook on (the newer models are supposedly more adjustable). Bonus is that you can get a French Press piece for it. Even one of the $15 Chinese stoves will work though.

If you plan to actually cook meals a better option is a true camping stove (having two burners can be really nice) or one of the single burner butane stoves from the Asian grocery stores. Being able to brew a cup of coffee or tea on the side of the road is great, but being able to make an actual meal while camping is even better.