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The Best Travel 12v Car Kettles
What is the best travel 12v car kettle so that you never have to miss out on a perfect cuppa, even when in the car. We go through some of the best car kettle options out there to see what works and what doesn’t.
Car travel kettles come in a few different sizes and shapes. We have reviewed 5 very different sized travel kettles, which hopefully has one that fits your requirements and space.
There are two normal shaped and familiar looking kettle types, the collapsible silicone kettle and the Streetwize 12v kettle. The collapsible silicone kettle is a mains kettle requiring 110v/120v but we have reviewed this because it is a travel kettle that you can pack away easily and takes up very little space, meaning when you arrive at your destination, you can get a cuppa on.
Then we have three vertical tall mug shape kettles, all 12v plug in kettles and should fit in your cup holders in your car comfortably.
Before we get going with the comparisons and in depth reviews of the 12v kettles and water heaters, You’ll need to think about how you are going to store water. We specifically use a 20L water container, like the one below, which stows away very easily and holds enough water, not just for boiling and the odd cup of tea, but for emergency situations too.
Below we will compare the best car kettles for different reasons, there are some fantastic options out there, lets see.
Table of Contents
- Overall Best Car 12v Kettle
- Best Commuter Thermos Mug
- Best Kettle For Big Families
- Best Travel Kettle
Overall Best Car 12v Kettle
The Spardar 12v water heater is perfect for a multitude of water heating tasks. If you need hot water whilst travelling with a baby, you can control the temperature that you will need to warm food or to add to a drink and you know you won’t be handing them boiling water. It doesn’t have the biggest volume and capacity for boiling water, at 350ml, but it’s more than adequate for a couple of small cups of tea.
The spardar was one of the fastest to boil at just over 15 minutes. To make two cups of tea, just have it ready 20 minutes before you arrive at your stop and rest point and you’ll have lovely hot water waiting for you.
The Easy Way Car Electric Mug is our second best car kettle. It has some technical features similar to the Spardar but is let down in boil time. It takes nearly 10 minutes more to boil the water and that means it isn’t the best car kettle.
What we really like about these two is that you can keep the water warm inside even after they have boiled. We talk more about their features in their individual reviews. You can boil your water well in advance and keep it at a temperature that you need for your journey.
Best Commuter Thermos Mug
Kingavon is the perfect commuters cup, if you are only going to require a warm or hot drink for a single journey each day, from home or the office, this cup can be perfect for you. It’s very simple, it doesn’t boil, it warms your thermos mug whilst a drink is already in it.
If you are a slow drinker and only use this for commutes, you can make your fave morning beverage and have it kept warm for your entire commute. This is especially handy through winter, when it is extra cold outside and you can get in to your car or van and have a hot drink not lose its heat as quickly as your start your commute.
You can keep the 12v lead for this mug in your vehicle and keep the mug with you separately. You can make your tea in your mug whilst in your own kitchen and then bring the cup to your car and plug it in to keep warm. We find that in the first few minutes of a journey, even in a thermos mug, our tea cooled too much for us. With the Kingavon and similar tech 12v cup warmers you don’t have this problem any more.
Best Kettle For Big Families
If you have a large family and all like a hot drink when stopping off for a break, or want a 12v kettle option for your camper van, then the Streetwize will handle your needs. It is a standard kettle design and can boil up to 1litre of water.
It does take a while to boil but if you begin the boil before you stop, you could time it well so that you don’t have to wait when your stationary.
Best Travel Kettle
If you want a kettle for your holiday destinations then the Burling collapsible kettle is for you. It can pack away smaller than any other kettle so this is by far the best kettle to travel with and use when at your destination.
| Rank | Buy | Title | Rating | Capacity | Boil time | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Buy @ Amazon | Review of Spardar Car DC12V Electric Kettle | 4.6/5 | 350.00ml | 16 minutes | £££ |
| 2 |  |
Buy @ Amazon | Review of Easyway Car Electric Mug | 4.4/5 | 350.00ml | 25 minutes | £££ |
| 3 |  |
Buy @ Amazon | Review of Streetwize SWK2 12v Large Capacity Kettle | 3.1/5 | 1000.00ml | 30 minutes | ££ |
| 4 |  |
Buy @ Amazon | Review of Kingavon Stainless Steel 12V Electric Mug | 4.1/5 | 400.00ml | 0 minutes | £ |
| 5 |  |
Buy @ Amazon | Review of Burling Mini Electric Travel Kettle | 3.9/5 | 550.00ml | 8 minutes | ££ |
Review of Spardar Car DC12V Electric Kettle
This is a review of the Spardar Car DC12V Electric Kettle. A water heating and thermos type water heater that looks the part, lets see how it does on the road.
Technical Details
The Spardar electric car kettle is a sophisticated looking 12v water heater. Its sleek design also encompasses the use of particular materials used not only for longevity but for safety. The kettle is made from a stainless steel that is excellent at being resistant to corrosion. The kettle once closed is vacuum sealed and insulated. Its detachable power supply also provides extra safety and ease of use. So when heating up, it just sits on it’s power supply base, and when in use can be detached and moved around your camper van or car where it is needed.
The kettle is also made using a food grade silicone and an anti slip base. Its slim shape does not make it particularly sturdy but makes it fit into cup holders, which is probably the best design for car travelling as you don’t really have any large flat spaces to place things in a vehicle. There is even a carry handle to the top of the kettle to for ease of transportation and passing it around.
The main point in question is how well does it boil? Well after a speedy 16 minutes your kettle will have boiled. Its not quite the same as your home kettle, at home you’ll have a 2000w kettle running on 220volts. However for heating via your cigarette lighter at 12 V, 16 minutes is rather good and we were very impressed.
Its intelligent ability means it does not just boil to 100c, it has an LED temperature gauge to the front of the kettle so you can stop the boiling process at any temperature you want. It is simple to use simply pour in the water (no higher that the safety line). Then press the Thermometer sign and set the kettle to boil, it is not particularly noisy and its non slip base will make sure it will not fall over in the process of boiling. Once boiled if you press the heated cup button this will keep the water heated till you are ready to use. Fantastic. I would just make sure you remember which button to press.
The kettle holds 350ml allowing for two cups of tea or coffee or even works well for cups of soups or noodles. There is also an auto off function so that if there is no water inside it will not turn on. The Spardar electric kettle is the most pricey car kettle we have tried out however it has many positives.
Pros
- Made using high standard materials
- Easy to use
- Made with convenience in mind
- Fits in a cup holder
- 16 minute boiling time
- Has an auto off safety feature
- Digital temperature display
- Next day delivery with Amazon Prime
- Great for both drinks and soups/pot noodle
Cons
- More expensive than others available
Verdict
The Spardar electric 12V kettle is an exceptionally well made and functional travel kettle, built for road trip adventures of all kinds.
Review of Easyway Car Electric Mug
This is a review of the Easyway Car Electric Mug, an electronic and technical car kettle, lets find out more.
The Easy Way electric mug is a sleek and sophisticated water heater. It is shaped much like a flask with high tech features.It can hold up to 350ml of water inside.
It has a built in micro computer temperature gauge, which is streamlined within the rest of the mug. With this mug you have a multitude of options and know what is going on inside the mug with the temperature display.
Inside the mug is a 304 stainless steel insulated liner. Providing further insulation and making it clean. The outside of the mug is made from a hard plastic material.
You will need to place the kettle onto the charging dock for it to start boiling. There is an on and off switch to the top of the mug. Flip the lid with the button above it and pour in the desired amount of water (up to 350ml). The switch is very convenient for keeping the mug sealed until ready to use. It roughly takes about 20-25 minutes to boil the water.
The control pad to the front is also very easy to use. There is an up and down arrow to allow to set the heater to the the temperature that you want. It has the ability to detect when there is no or very little water in the container and will not heat up. In addition to temperature there is a functions setting. This gives you four different settings “Boil” “Insulation” “Brew Milk” and “Make Tea” options. The same function button can be used when the temperature is between 3 degrees and -20degrees it will begin an thawing process. Quite a few features for a kettle and if you use a kettle normally for multiple reasons then this car travel kettle will be an absolute gem.
This car kettle comes with a tea strainer that fits inside when everything is closed and sealed. However, we didn’t use this feature because we don’t drink tea with loose tea. Another reason for not trying this feature is that if you put the loose tea in and warm the water up with it, you will have to pour out the tea exactly when it has stewed.
If you wait any longer, it will continue to get stronger and may not be palatable. For this reason, we used our own tea bags and coffee and it was used solely to warm up water to create a variety of hot drinks.
Pros
- Intelligently controlled heating preventing heating when the cup is dry.
- High quality materials used
- Uses either 12V or 24V therefore suitable for most cars, vans, SUVs and trucks.
- Choice of heating options
- Choice of three colour mug options
Cons
- Holds max 350ml
- Not the fastest heating travel cup
- Slow delivery
Verdict
The Easyway Car Electric Mug does not just warm, it boils and does even more than that! Sleek and fabulous if it had a next day delivery I’d buy many of these as presents.
Review of Streetwize SWK2 12v Large Capacity Kettle
This is a review of the Streetwize SWK2 12v Large Capacity Kettle. This is more of a standard house kettle, but smaller and one that you can run from your cigarette lighter in your car.
Technical Details
The Streetwize SWK2 12V kettle, looks like a standard basic kettle but in a smaller travel format. It is made from a hard plastic material. The plug also is not detachable from the kettle.
It can hold 1 litre of water which is a huge amount of water in comparison to other travel kettles on the market. You will be able to get 3 cups of your favourite hot drink and means everyone in the car can get a hot drink when you stop off for a tea break. When the kettle is boiling you’ll find a red light comes on and you’ll know its ready to pour.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to boil when you have about half filled it. What I did find was that when you full it to its 1 litre capacity your looking at least double the time of 30+ minutes, which I did not realise, at first we thought it wasn’t working. It is worth waying this up as with a quicker boiling kettle you could have made enough for the capacity it holds in a quicker time.
Pros
- Cheap and cheerful price
- Standard kettle design
- Next day delivery with Amazon Prime
Cons
- Takes a while to boil
- Cumbersome
- Plug not detachable
- Not suitable for trucks
Verdict
The Streetwize SWK2 is a simple travel kettle that does what it says on the tin, providing you with a lot of water for hot drink making as long as your happy to wait a while.
Review of Kingavon Stainless Steel 12V Electric Mug
This is a review of the Kingavon Stainless Steel 12V Electric Mug, a simple yet practical car kettle. There are many like this car kettle where many companies have rebranded it.
The stainless steel travel mug by Kingavon is a simple and easy travel mug. I have to say I have owned a few similar to this n the past, just without the 12v connection. They are incredibly cheap, but you can’t buy them via Amazon Prime so you have to wait a few days for delivery. An important factor with this mug is it is not a kettle, you add your hot water when at home and this mug will then keep your hot beverage warm.
This makes it a great day tripping mug or to use for long days at work where you want your favourite hot drink at the ready and warm.
It is made from stainless steel with a hard plastic lid and a fairly long cable to go into your cigarette lighter in the car. The detachable power supply means it turns from a heating mug to an easy drinking mug that can happily sit in a drinking holder. It has a non slip base to the mug and the lid has a sliding opening to drink from the lid or take the lid off. My main gripe with this mug is it needs regular cleaning and I tend to find your hot drinks after a while taste a little plastic/metallic. It is hard to describe but similar tastes come from other mugs that we have had previously that look the same and use similar materials.
Whether you will like this product or not is dependant on your version of “warm” and if you like that version. As there is no temperature gauge it is best to imagine that you have left your tea or coffee standing for about 10 minutes I would say. For some this may be perfect. I felt it worked well at keeping it warm but then it depended on your length of time away from your vehicle. If you are about to drink it as soon as the vehicle has stopped then you have the best deal here. Either way you really have not paid a great deal for an item that could brighten your day especially if it is a cold day.
That is where this mug comes in to its own, on a cold winters day, like now, you know that your tea or coffee will last more than a few minutes, even in a cold car. Look forward to a drink that takes a lot longer to cool, so if you have a long commute, this could be the perfect accompaniment to your daily drive.
Pros
- Simple and easy to use design
- Non slip base
- Cheap
- Stainless Steel material
Cons
- Does not boil
- Depends on your definition of “warm” whether you will be happy with it.
- No temperature gauge.
- No next day delivery
Verdict
The Kingavon travelling mug is a heater and not a kettle. Perfect for those journeys where you enjoy a nice warm drink sat in your car or van after a good long hike, bike ride or dive.
Review of Burling Mini Electric Travel Kettle
This is a review of the Burling Mini Electric Travel Kettle, a small silicone and collapsible travel kettle you can use when you get to your destination.
This kettle does not have a 12v cigarette lighter fitting and we used this when we arrived at our holiday and travel destination because it packs away small compared to a normal size kettle.
The collapsible travel kettle by Burling has a clean and fresh design. It weighs 517g without water and has a capacity of half a litre. It fills up easily like a normal kettle with an opening top lid and spout. Its handle to the side is strong and sturdy. When you first buy it you will find it neatly compacted down, don’t expect it to go completely flat as it cannot due to the electrics and base of the kettle which are used with heating the water. Literally just pull the top up and it will spring right up and when you’re plugged in, will be ready to use.
I did have initial concerns over it being collapsible as well as holding boiling water but there is no need to be worried. The walls are made from a sturdy food grade silicone and does require a little force to compress. As it also does not compress flat the amount of water that it holds means if the top did compress down the water will effectively stay contained in the bowl at the base and not escape, as long as its not near the lid.
To switch it on there is a red button to the front to switch it to either the on or off position this will also include a red indicator light. This travel kettle is also CB, CE, EMC, GS and RoHS Certified, to give you peace of mind you in your buying of the product. It has an auto shut off ability if there is no water to heat inside.
Its ability to collapse down really makes the difference with this kettle. It means that it gives you endless travelling options for where to store it while in your car, campervan or on holiday.
Pros
- Made from food grade silicone and stainless steel
- Collapsible and portable
- Easy to use
- CB, CE, EMC, GS, RoHS Certified
- Has a large 500ml capacity
- Ideal for busy family road trips
Cons
- Lead not detachable
- May need an adapter
- Needs a little bit more care when filling.
Verdict
The Burling electric travel kettle is a brilliant stow away kettle to pack away for when you need that cup of tea or coffee on your journey. It is bright, fun and easy to use as you would a normal kettle, just take a little care in remembering it has the ability to collapse.
