The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Do it Yourself Discussion! => Topic started by: beav80 on May 23, 2012, 10:41:52 AM
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Anybody looked at the potential savings from thermal cookers? Seems like a potentially good investment, even if it was just to keep something warm from lunch that you planned on having for supper that night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yopJP7fGA54
http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=pd_sim_k_1
I'm interested and I've put this on to one of my long-term purchase lists, just wondering if anyone has tried this or made something similar.
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Am I missing something or is this just a portable haybox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haybox)?
Seems awfully expensive for what you get. You can try out thermal cooking by wrapping a hot pot in a sleeping bag or any other good insulator.
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I guess my only thing is that I probably wouldn't use a sleeping bag or a box of pillows regularly whereas if I invested in one of these I would definitely use it. If it saves you cooking or reheating even one or two meals a week it would pay for itself in a year according to the average costs of cooking a family meal based on the new peak hours (0.90 cents for a family meal whatever that means).
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I can't imagine a meal I would want to keep hot continuously from lunch to dinner and still enjoy eating it. Maybe there is some, but not many. Plus the safety issue, once you have opened it to eat lunch it won't be all that hot by dinnertime. You have to maintain a certain heat to avoid bugs.
As far as actually cooking the meal in it, seems like a pressure cooker would do the same thing, minimal use of energy to cook the intended food. Just put the food in, heat until pressurized, then let sit until it's done. Wrap with a towel if it's going to be so long that you need to insulate it. Or use a crock pot for longer meals, and wrap in a few towels.
If I knew someone who used it regularly and could explain why it's worth having I might be open to the idea, but I can't think of why I would want it at this point, especially for $180. (I'm at work so I can't watch the video, maybe that would help...)
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No, but I'm waiting for the badassery post where some Mustachian explains how they do all their meal cooking (once a month) on the block of their engine, placing the food in tin foil there after they return from Costco.
I have in all seriousness considered trying to roast, e.g., brussel sprouts bundled in tinfoil on the hot engine of my parked car in the summertime. But I haven't done it yet. Will report back if I do.
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I remember Alton Brown tried to cook a stew on the manifold of his bike in one of the Feasting on Asphalt episodes... He said it was good?
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$200 is ding dang expensive. It's energy efficient, but it'd never pay for itself. And like James said, a cheap pressure cooker will cook for similar small energy requirements and also save a ton of time.
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A little comparision shopping will show much cheaper versions.
I think it's a neat concept, I just don't see myself using it.
Here we go, 50$ on google shopping...
Sunpentown ST-60B Stainless-Steel Non-Electric 6-liter Thermal Cooker