[pct-l] Plea for Fire Safety 2014

[Dan Welch]

I'd love to learn more, but I'm doubtful this could work on a practical
basis while thru hiking.  Most hikers struggle to keep batteries charged
while thru hiking just for a few electronic devices.  By comparison,
electronics are very  minor energy users compared to heating water. 

As an example, A standard AA battery can store about 4 watt-hours.  The
energy in this single battery would heat 1 lb (about 2 cups) of water by
about 14 degrees.  So to get 2 cups of 40 degree water up to 180F water - in
a perfect world with no heat losses - would take 10 fully charged AA
batteries.  Throw in some heat losses, a real world heater (rather than a
theoretically perfect heater), and the fact that you have to heat your pot
up as well - probably a minimum of 15 AA batteries.   You only want one cup
of heated water per day, rather than two?  Then you'll only need 7-8 AA
batteries charged.  Charging 7-8 AA batteries each day from completely dead
to fully charged can be done, but it would be a challenge for most solar
panel arrangements that thru hikers use.

There are a lot of commercially available, little immersion heaters you can
use in a cup or mug for such an arrangement, but I'm not sure where to get
one that will work at low voltages (5-12 volts rather than 120 volts).  But
I'll bet it's out there somewhere!

Timberline
  

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Marian Harmon
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 12:14 AM
To: Diane Soini
Cc: PCT-L
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Plea for Fire Safety 2014

I wish I had requested more details at the time... but I met a guy once, I
think he called himself "Nugget" who was using a portable solar system on
the back of his pack to charge batteries, which he then rigged to make an
immersion coil so he could boil (or at least heat up) water in a cook pot.
It looked very McGyver-like and he said it was an old prison trick that a
friend of his taught him. I have no idea about the electronics involved...
but I can affirm I saw him do it to make a cup of warm tea. Anyone good with
electronics know how this can be done... SAFELY? I know plenty are already
carrying solar charging panels for phones and batteries anyway.
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