Immersion Water Heaters

I’ll be honest, immersion water heaters used to scare me. I have a hard time believing I’m the only person in the world that doesn’t find it natural to plug something metal into an outlet and then submerge it in a cup or mug of water. Call me old fashioned. While I thank Ben Franklin for tying his keys to a kite fashioned from his silk handkerchief, a couple of sticks and some string in order to prove lightning and electricity are the same thing, you’re not going to catch me flying a metal-laden kite in a thunderstorm anytime soon.

I guess I’m simply saying metal, water and electricity together frighten me, but I’ve come around recently. A simple immersion water heater with a travel bag is a nice addition to your suitcase for a tea drinker or ramen eater. I work in hostels quite often, so I’m happy when I succeed in using a kettle to boil water and return to my room with a cup of tea, hopefully not getting tempted by an invitation for a beer from a fellow traveler.

An immersion heater solves this problem by simply keeping me in my room and getting me that caffeine boost to keep working without the aforementioned danger of the hostel kitchen. While you can find them starting at about $3 on Amazon, I think $15 is safer. Again water, electricity and metal.

You can also buy immersion heaters that allow you to make a cup of tea when caught in traffic for about the same price.