Look Ma, I'm Self Heating! - Drinks Without External Heat.

Not Much RV Stuff Going On!

    It used to be, when you had no propane nor electric power and you wanted a hot meal or beverage you were out of luck. Well, you could build a fire, but that's not usually feasible or desired inside your RV, or outside, if it's raining. Believe it or not, there is a solution. I found self-heating beverages and meals! No kidding, they really work. Taste, on the other hand... well you'll have to try them and be the judge. They aren't all that inexpensive. Usually a dozen cans cost around $40.00, so figure around $3.00 a can. Not bad once in a while or in an emergency, but too expensive for regular use.

One Brand Of Beverages

First I found self heating beverages, these are 7.1 ounce cup/cans. Let me explain. Wrapped in a nice foam label is a metal can with a pull tab on one end and a plastic housing on the other. The plastic end has a foil cover. The way it works is relatively simple. First you give the beverage a shake. Then flip it over so the plastic side is "up." next you pull off the foil and press down on the plastic "button" underneath. Flip the can back over and set it down on a handy horizontal surface. I gave it a couple of extra shakes to get things going. Probably doesn't need it... but who knows! Now wait about 8 Minutes. After that, pull open the can "pop-top" just like the ones on a can of soda. There you go, instant hot beverage! It's pretty cool, and surprises everyone who sees it.

See What's Inside

The beverages come in a few different flavors. I've found Coffee with milk and sugar, Hot Cocoa, Chicken soup and Tomato soup. The Coffee (probably the most important test!) was OK. Not great, but would do in a pinch. the Hot Cocoa... ummm... was "different." It sort of tasted like a traditional hot chocolate, but had some weird chemical taste. Not a favorite. The Chicken soup was simply awful. I am a bit spoiled, my Mom will make home-made Chicken soup once in a while when I go over to her house, so comparing it to that isn't really fair. The Tomato soup tasted like, well... tomato soup! It would have gone well with a grilled cheese... hmmm... maybe someone makes a self heating grilled cheese??



How does this work? It's really simple chemistry. The plastic side of the housing contains water. Just above that is Calcium oxide also known as quicklime in solid form. When mixed, you get an exothermic reaction. That's just a fancy way of saying it heats up. There are other chemicals that can be used, but this seems to be the most common. Pretty cool use of basic science!

Speaking about meals. There are a couple of varieties of self heating meals on the market. In a later article I'll try a few and let you know the results! I may not be the best judge of flavor. After all, I like airline meals and MRE's! (Meals, Ready to Eat... courtesy of the US Military).

Be Seeing You...Down the Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com