You have most probably experienced a power outage. Sometimes they may last for several hours.
Other times it could be days where you have no electricity (if there has been a natural disaster). That means that you have no way of heating the water.
When you are out camping, hot water can come in handy, Yet there isn’t an easy supply of it (aside from natural thermal springs) when you’re outdoors.
Whether you’re at home or in the wilderness, being able to have access to hot water provides you with a range of advantages. Though you may not have power by which to heat the water, there is a range of other options available. The most obvious ones are gas and fire.
Those times when you have no electricity don’t mean you can’t have your morning coffee or shower. Read on to find out how.
There may be affiliate links in this article. You can read more about this in my disclosure.
Why is hot water so important?
Hot water has a range of benefits for both your cooking and your health.
Whether you want to soak in a hot bath or have a quick shower, you will be amazed at how good you feel after. That’s because the heated water helps to:
- ease the tension in your muscles and body.
- lower blood pressure by widening our veins and arteries.
- release oxytocin, a chemical in your brain that is produced when you are hugged. That helps to decrease your stress levels.
- kill bacteria and germs on your skin.
In the kitchen, the advantage of using hot water are:
- it can speed up the boiling process which makes your cooking faster.
- allows you to clean your fruit and vegetables more effectively by removing dirt, bacteria, and bugs hiding in the produce.
- enables the dish soap to be more capable of attacking the grime and dirt from your kitchen plates and utensils.
- can serve as a natural disinfectant for your kitchen surfaces.
Drinking hot water may boost your health by:
- helping with your digestive tracts by cleaning out your stomach and intestines.
- increasing the activity in your central nervous system through boosting activity in the brain.
- flushes out the toxins within your body.
Hot water has a lot going for it. But when your power is out or the gas refuses to flow, then you may think you are missing out on the pluses hot water offers.
Don’t despair, you can still heat your water when you don’t have any electricity.
Ways to heat water without electricity
If the power is out and you have gas, you have an easy solution for heating water. So we will start this section by offering you the quicker methods and then introduce you to ways that require some patience.
1. Use your gas cooker
The power may be out, but the gas is still flowing. So take advantage of the gas supply and heat your water on the burners.
If your bathroom water supply is heated by gas, too, then you can have your shower or bath.
2. Take advantage of your camp stove
For those of you who love the rugged outdoors, you should have a camp stove laying around your home or garage. It could also be part of your emergency kit.
Don’t have a camp stove handy? Then you should buy one. They offer peace of mind and convenience when a disaster strikes.
Or when the power is cut. It’s an inexpensive piece of equipment.
You can grab this Coleman Portable Stove for just under $30.
[amazon box=”B00FGPXVSM” template=”vertical”]3. Make a fire
If you have a fireplace or outside fire pit, get a fire going. To heat the water you will need a stand to place over the flames.
Then simply place your pot or kettle on the stand and allow the fire to do its thing.
A wood-burning stove is an ideal backup. All you have to do is place the wood inside the stove and then you have the top on which to boil the water.
4. Get a rocket stove
Rocket stoves are fuelled by wood that is fed into the stove through an L-shaped chamber. Primarily they are used mainly in developing countries.
This type of stove is renowned to be energy efficient. They used up to 35% less fuel than standard stoves. How long a stove lasts from one piece of wood varies from model to model.
They are relatively inexpensive to buy and can provide a decent backup when you have no electricity. Of course, you will need wood for fuel!
Stainbroil has a portable model that you can use at home or when you’re out camping.
[amazon box=”B08GQXDY3Z” template=”vertical”]5. Use the Sun
Take advantage of nature’s powerhouse: the Sun.
Solar Thermal Heaters
Solar thermal heaters work by capturing the sun’s energy and transferring it to a 12V battery pack. The battery is then used to provide power to a thermal water heater which is placed into your pot or kettle.
Now you have hot water without electricity!
Solar Showers
Hang the shower up in the sun and wait a few hours (which is the downside to such showers). Typically they can hold at least 5 gallons of water and are very affordable.
Pick yourself up a solar shower for just under $12.
[amazon box=”B000VNITQS” template=”vertical”]Solar Cooker
These come in several styles such as a box cooker or parabolic cooker (which looks like a satellite dish).
You place your water into the solar cooker and then let nature take care of the rest. For this method of heating water, you need to be extremely patient.
It can take several hours for the cooker to do its thing.
They are a lot of variables that come into play such as:
- the time of day you use the cooker.
- the quality of the cooker.
- how much water do you are wanting to heat?
- how much sunshine is available.
You will need to constantly relocate the cooker to catch the sun as it moved across the sky.
[amazon box=”B07CJP52D6″ template=”vertical”]6. Heat the water with rocks
Place a decent number of rocks directly into the sunlight. They will absorb the energy from the sun and now you have a source of heat.
You can also place the rocks into a fire to heat them.
When the rocks are easy to go, drop them into your water source (clean the rocks first) and allow them to heat them. Filter the water to remove any leftover debris from the rocks and you’re ready to go.
7. Use firebricks
Firebricks can absorb heat at very high temperatures (1500° F) and then release it. That can equate to your water is heated very quickly.
If you have a furnace, you can pop the firebricks inside it for a while. Otherwise, leave them in the sun or place them in a fire.
When the bricks are heated up, take several out that you will use to heat your water.
The pot that you place the water in needs to be able to withstand being placed on a surface with high temperatures. Otherwise, look to offer some sort of protection between the bricks as the base of your pot.
[amazon box=”B000UEYZ4S” template=”vertical”]8. Try candles
Okay, this might not be an attractive choice for heating water. But if you don’t have any electricity, gas, or wood and you do have plenty of candles, it’s worth a try.
The ideal type of candle is a tea-light candle. That’s because they are small and so you can squeeze a few into a small area.
[amazon box=”B081F742CT” template=”vertical”]For this method of heating water, you want to use a baking tin (you’ll want one that has a smaller diameter than the pan you intend to use).
- Light your candles (you want to use as many as possible to create heat).
- Place the candles inside the baking tin.
- Take your pot of water and put it on top of the tin. You’ll want the bottom of the pot to be close to the flames of the candles.
- Wait patiently for the water to heat up. Place a lid or tight covering over the top of the pot. This traps the heat in, making the process all that much faster.
Proceed with caution
Apart from the methods we mentioned that use the sun as a source of energy, there are inherent safety issues when heating water with gas or fire.
For gas, you should check that there are no leaks in the pipes. Portable gas stoves should be used in well-ventilated areas.
When using fire, check that no potential fire hazards are laying around the area. Never leave a fire or open flame (such as a candle) unattended. Extinguish all burning embers of the fire with dirt or any unused water.
Keep an eye on any children or pets. You don’t want them being hurt by the fire or burnt from the hot water.
Conclusion
When the power goes out, that doesn’t leave you without access to hot water. You just need to flick over to alternative means of heat.
Gas and fire are the main choices. However, you can utilize the power of the sun through solar thermal water heaters, solar showers, or rocks.
You might not have electricity, but you can still enjoy your hot shower and a nice cup of coffee.