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Not actually Erin. Used with permission. |
There are times when you lose hot water but still have some kind of electricity: when your water heater breaks; after a disaster like a hurricane where utilities are down but battery backups powered by solar panels provide you with power; or you're car camping and want a hot cup of coffee, but don't have the time or energy to make a fire to boil water.
Regardless of the specifics, it's not an improbable, edge-case situation to need hot water and still have power, and in those cases the immersion heater shines. Invented in 1924, an immersion heater is little more than a shielded metal coil that quickly heats up from the electricity running through it from a conventional wall socket, and just as quickly cools to the touch when unplugged. It is fast, efficient, and far more portable and convenient than heating water in a kettle or over a fire.
I bought this 300W immersion heater for $16.50 on Amazon, and I use it to heat a cup of water for rinsing my teeth after brushing (my teeth are sensitive to cold water) rather than wasting water by letting the faucet run until hot water arrives from the other side of the house.
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| https://amzn.to/3CzsFIf |
I don't need the water to be very hot, so a minute is all it takes for it to go from 70° at the tap to 100° in my 12 oz. (1.5 cups) mug.* This is less time than it takes me to brush my teeth, so when the water is hot enough (through practice I can determine this based on the amount of bubbles on the heating element and confirmed with touching the water with a finger) I unplug the heater to allow it to cool. When I'm finished brushing and ready to rinse, the heater is cool to the touch and can safely be removed and placed on a towel to dry.
* I haven't needed to boil water with it yet, but I can tell you that after 2.5 minutes the water is 125° and that's hotter than anything I'd like to drink.
It's essential that you always immerse the heater in water before plugging it in, and submerge as much of the heating element as possible. If you hear the sound of something boiling over, too much of the element is uncovered, so add more water or push the heater deeper if possible.
It's also essential to always unplug the immersion heater and let it cool off in the water, even if that water is boiling, for 30 seconds before it is safe to remove. Doing otherwise could result in burns to yourself or heat damage to objects.
I would only use an immersion heater in glass, Pyrex, or similar materials. A metal container could result in burns from touching it if the water reaches boiling, and I would be concerned about the heating element melting a plastic cup.
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| https://amzn.to/3CzsFIf |
If you are a car camper, long haul trucker, or just want to warm your coffee during a long commute, there is also a 12V DC version (currently $11 on Amazon) which uses a standard automobile power port. Again, be mindful to prevent burns or scalds.
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| https://amzn.to/3ANu4uf |
Larger immersion heaters also exist, suitable for heating up buckets or even bathtubs full of water. After being very happy with my cup-size heater, I bought this larger heater for $25 on Amazon.
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| https://amzn.to/48QEVQL |
I haven't tested this one yet because I haven't needed to use it; my planned use case is if I need a lot of hot water post-hurricane, and I will use a battery bank to power it. Given its efficiency, and that I very much doubt I'll need to boil gallons of water at a time, using this heater shouldn't drain my battery too much and I ought to be able to recharge whatever is lost via solar panels.
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| https://amzn.to/48QEVQL |
As with the smaller unit above, observe the safety protocol of fully immersing the heater before plugging it in, only use it in a safe container, and always unplug it and allow it to cool before removing it.
Despite being 100 year old technology and a niche product, an immersion heater deserves a place in any prepper's supplies to provide fast, efficient, convenient, and smokeless hot water practically on demand.
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