How To Get The Most From Your Battery With EcoSimmer

Hot meals on a trek make all the difference. There’s nothing like a morning coffee to invigorate you for a day on the trail or a warm cup of soup at the end of a foggy summit climb. Keeping your EcoSimmer up and running for longer treks can require some pre-planning to make sure your battery lasts as long as you do. 

Our top tips for getting the most out of your battery in the backcountry

Fundamentally, we’re still in the early days of battery technologies, and heater water or your favorite backcountry food and drinks requires a surprisingly large amount of energy. EcoSimmer is super energy efficient–at about 75% versus theoretical physics(!)--however, since the technology is in its early days, we’re here to provide a comprehensive guide on best practices to get the most out of your battery when using EcoSimmer. 

Heat Only the Water You Need

Heating water with EcoSimmer is linear. That means if you double the water, you double the power required and double the drain on your battery. So the easiest way to conserve power on the trail is to heat only the amount of water you need for your current meal. Waste not, want not as the philosophers say. 

Start with Warmer Water

The difference between the temperature of the water you start with and the temperature you heat it to directly affects the amount of power needed. So, taking water from a glacial lake that is just above freezing all the way to a boil will take a lot out of your battery. 

For better battery use, start with water that’s already warm. If you reach camp and the water in your Nalgene has warmed up through the day to room temperature, use that in your EcoSimmer and filter the fresh glacial water for a refreshing cool-down drink. Or if you arrived at camp early and aren’t planning to cook right away, lay your water bottle or bladder in the sun and let nature do some of the work. 

Keep the Lid On

When you’re heating up water in your EcoSimmer, keep the lid on it. EcoSimmer is all about efficiency, and when you leave the lid off, you’re literally letting heat and energy escape… Just like when you visited your grandparents and would leave the door open and suddenly hear “you think we’re trying to heat the whole world? Close the door!”, the same principle applies. I guess grandpa was on to something… 

Heat Only to Coffee Temperature

The perfect cup of coffee is an art as much as a science. And while we could nerd out about coffee all day, we’ll try to stay focused on batteries here.

According to the big names in the coffee world, coffee is best enjoyed at around 70°C (158°F). At this temperature, the full coffee flavor comes out and can be fully experienced since you won’t overheat your tastebuds. In fact, did you know that drinking the same coffee at different temperatures can noticeably affect the taste with the mid-temperature cup producing the best balance of flavor, acidity, and sweetness…..  Ahem… Sorry.

Anyways, bringing your EcoSimmer only up to 70°C, or to “coffee temperature” as we like to call it, will drastically improve your battery life and let you enjoy even more cups of coffee on the trail. Most just-add-water meals also work with below boiling water, so you can use this trick for meals too. They just might have to sit a few extra minutes before you dig in. 

So, how much battery do I actually need? 

There are many ways to answer this, and it depends on how thoughtful and efficient you are with your batteries, as well as the type of trip you are planning. Generally, EcoSimmer consumes about 48 Wh (Watt Hours) of energy to bring 2 cups of room temperature water to a boil. 

The story and table below provides a comprehensive real-world example for using EcoSimmer in the backcountry: 

EcoSimmer Efficiency in Action 

Meet Stan and Kyle, a pair of weekend warriors planning to take a half-day Friday and escape into the backcountry. They’ll have 2 nights on the trail and want hot dinner each night and coffee with their breakfast every morning. 

For meals, they pack their EcoSimmer with the power cord, two 100Wh batteries, two of their favorite just-add-water trail meals, coffee, and instant oatmeal. They also throw in various trail snacks for quick refuels at rest spots and photo-ops. 

After ditching work early on Friday, they drive to the mountains and hike to their first campsite. Kyle gets the lay of the land while Stan adds 1.5 cups of water to their EcoSimmer and plugs it in. While it’s heating, he and Kyle set up camp until they notice their EcoSimmer start to flash. They add the boiling water to their Chicken and Dumplings and enjoy dinner while watching the sunset before crawling into bed for the night. 

The next morning, Stan wakes up, rolls over in his sleeping bag, and plugs in the EcoSimmer they filled the night before with 2 cups of water. He snuggles back in for a morning doze and dreams about coffee until he sees the EcoSimmer hit 75°C. He unplugs it, steps outside, and makes coffee for both him and Kyle.

He adds another cup of water to EcoSimmer, plugs it in, and he and Kyle start to tear down camp. When the EcoSimmer hits 75°C again, he unplugs it, throws in 2 packets of instant oatmeal, gives everything a stir, and returns the lid. They finish packing up, add a handful of their trail mix to the oatmeal for extra goodness, and enjoy their hot breakfast while discussing the next leg of their trek. 

Saturday night, they repeat the process with the second battery and Pad Thai with Chicken for dinner. Sunday morning they enjoy more coffee and oatmeal for breakfast. By Sunday afternoon they’ve made it back to their car and head off to the local pub for a burger and well-deserved cold beer. 

Meal and Battery Usage Planning with EcoSimmer 

Let’s take a look at Stan and Kyle's meal plan and battery usage over their tip:

Note: boiling here is assumed to be 95°C, which is the case at ~4,500 feet elevation. Boiling temperature decreases as elevation increases. 

Like Stan and Kyle, if after you plan your trip, you realize you need some extra power, throw an extra battery in your back and *boom* double the amount of heating power! Considering most batteries weigh in at around 20oz and are fully reusable, they are a much more sustainable long-term option than packing in extra non-reusable fuel canisters. 

Check out our battery guide for our recommended batteries! 

Backcountry cooking with EcoSimmer makes hot meals easy, simple, and sustainable. With a little forethought and an extra battery, you can get the most out of your weekend treks with no flame, no fuel, and no dishes to wash. So go on, get out there. 

Get your own EcoSimmer now!