4 ms·

I recently won a water bottle in a raffle. It looked nice, stainless steel, big (probably 2 liters). When I unwrapped it, I saw a QR code that said "Instructio

I recently won a water bottle in a raffle. It looked nice, stainless steel, big (probably 2 liters). When I unwrapped it, I saw a QR code that said "Instructions." Weird, why would I need instructions for a water bottle? Then I saw a large rubber plug in the bottom. I realized with horror, it's a bluetooth enabled heating/cooling element controlled by an app I'm supposed to download. The heating element is huge, takes up half the volume of the bottle. So now this water bottle: 1. Needs power. 2. Needs an app. 3. Has less water capacity. All so it can just do the same thing as a normal insulated bottle and some ice cubes.

ConfusedDog 2y ago
Probably a heating element to reheat the coffee or tea. I have recently considered need something like a reheating lunchbox so I don't have to use the office microwave which is always gross. I just carry a huge Zojirushi insulted water bottle for my hot water need. I don't want to lose any water capacity...
- lm28469 2y ago
  > Probably a heating element to reheat the coffee or tea. People reheating coffee and tea should be put to jail
- ToucanLoucan 2y ago
  Why not just clean the microwave? Your coworkers would probably appreciate it.
  - sejje 2y ago
    That's gotta be someone else's job! --everyone
    - ToucanLoucan 2y ago
      I mean yeah but if you clean it, they won't think that. And if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to do it in the future. And, worse case scenario, you spend like 5 minutes occasionally doing it and now have access to a clean microwave, without needing to buy more e-waste and encouraging the production of cheap, stupid things like a water bottle with a heater in it.
      - inetknght 2y ago
        > if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to do it in the future Alternatively, if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to say that you're the one who cleans it.
  - ConfusedDog 2y ago
    When I got this job years ago, this microwave is beyond cleanable... I think everyone is just avoiding it at this point and go across the building to use a different microwave, which is also pretty gross tbh. I thought about cleaning it, but then again I don't wanna, you know, die.
  - godelski 2y ago
    I'm very much a "fix it yourself" kinda person but I might yell at you if you said this to me. Why? Because I'm cleaning up after you. Why don't YOU clean YOUR mess? Maybe it's one person creating most of the mess (Pareto is a bitch), make them do it. Or we pay cleaning staff, pay them more to do it, I'm sure it's less than you're paying me to do it. It's probably cheaper to buy a new microwave every month than pay me to clean it lol You pass responsibility to someone who isn't responsible. You don't recognize this function repeats and people become over burdened. Sure "It's not a big deal" but that's in isolation. That's one time, one task. These things don't just add up, they compound
bell-cot 2y ago
Reminds me of the first time I had a car with a slow-motion-open glove box. Maybe that's cool, if you're showing off how Old Money fills the hours of their do-nothing lives? Vs. if you have a job, a family, and often too-few hours in your busy days? NO. I don't travel in a horse-drawn coach paced by footmen, either.
- bdcravens 2y ago
  When I wash my car, I push the seat forward and backward to vacuum. I like having electrically adjustable seats, but that's one time I'd prefer the older-style lever. Similarly, I saw a self-defense video where if someone hides in your back seat and puts something around your neck, you can lean the seat back QUICKLY in an escape maneuver; impossible with electric seats.
  - vaidhy 2y ago
    I think if escaping from garrotting is something you should consider when buying a car, you are better off sitting in the backseat and let someone else drive you around :)
    - bdcravens 2y ago
      Better to have the knowledge and never need it :-)
bdcravens 2y ago
I don't know if I'd want that in a water bottle, since most high quality ones will maintain temperature for a long time. That said, I love my Ember "smart" coffee mug which keep coffee hot despite being open air. At the same time, I don't use any of the smart features. You can tweak things via Bluetooth, but I just keep it in default mode (ditto for my Oral-B iO9 toothbrush)
xg15 2y ago
It's a horrible product, but it also sounds like a fun thing to reverse engineer and possibly use in some maker project (without the app, of course).
the_snooze 2y ago
>1. Needs power. 2. Needs an app. 3. Has less water capacity. It's like someone looked at The Homer [1] and thought "that's solid engineering sensibility." [1] https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer
- buttercraft 2y ago
  It was the rack and peanut steering that sold me on it.
neilv 2y ago
> a normal insulated bottle Anyone who hasn't already experienced a good vacuum-insulated water bottle, you're in for a treat. Warning: Normally, when you pour hot coffee or tea into a mug, it cools significantly within a minute. But put it in an insulated bottle for the first time, and it might surprise burn your tongue half an hour later. (Or maybe I was the only one who didn't anticipate this.)
- jamiedumont 2y ago
  I have a small flask - about the volume of a cup of coffee - made by Kinto. It can deliver those surprise burns hours after filling. It’s almost too good, and has been relegated to long road trips or post-surf coffee where I know it’ll be >3 hours before I want to drink it. A large vacuum bottle with ice cubes on a hot summers day is hard to beat too.
- hooverd 2y ago
  I swear my Zojirushi travel mug defies the laws of physics.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  If you want to burn your tongue many hours later, prewarm the bottle by filling with boiling water before filling with your coffee.
- godelski 2y ago
  > might surprise burn your tongue half an hour later. A *good* vacuum-insulated bottle should be able to do this 90 minutes later. I have some non expensive ones that will keep my tea hot for over 10hrs. Not warm, I mean hot. Even a cheap $10 thermos brand thermos will do at least 6 hrs. They even frequently have cups as caps. I'm sensitive to heat and always need 5 minutes after pouring it into the cup, hours after making my tea. We're so good at keeping liquids hot it's crazy. If you can't either drink your liquid in 10 hrs or get to a microwave within that time, you're looking for a pretty niche product and a self heating bottle isn't it.

ConfusedDog 2y ago

Probably a heating element to reheat the coffee or tea. I have recently considered need something like a reheating lunchbox so I don't have to use the office microwave which is always gross. I just carry a huge Zojirushi insulted water bottle for my hot water need. I don't want to lose any water capacity...

lm28469 2y ago
> Probably a heating element to reheat the coffee or tea. People reheating coffee and tea should be put to jail
ToucanLoucan 2y ago
Why not just clean the microwave? Your coworkers would probably appreciate it.
- sejje 2y ago
  That's gotta be someone else's job! --everyone
  - ToucanLoucan 2y ago
    I mean yeah but if you clean it, they won't think that. And if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to do it in the future. And, worse case scenario, you spend like 5 minutes occasionally doing it and now have access to a clean microwave, without needing to buy more e-waste and encouraging the production of cheap, stupid things like a water bottle with a heater in it.
    - inetknght 2y ago
      > if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to do it in the future Alternatively, if you mention you cleaned it, they'd be more inclined to say that you're the one who cleans it.
- ConfusedDog 2y ago
  When I got this job years ago, this microwave is beyond cleanable... I think everyone is just avoiding it at this point and go across the building to use a different microwave, which is also pretty gross tbh. I thought about cleaning it, but then again I don't wanna, you know, die.
- godelski 2y ago
  I'm very much a "fix it yourself" kinda person but I might yell at you if you said this to me. Why? Because I'm cleaning up after you. Why don't YOU clean YOUR mess? Maybe it's one person creating most of the mess (Pareto is a bitch), make them do it. Or we pay cleaning staff, pay them more to do it, I'm sure it's less than you're paying me to do it. It's probably cheaper to buy a new microwave every month than pay me to clean it lol You pass responsibility to someone who isn't responsible. You don't recognize this function repeats and people become over burdened. Sure "It's not a big deal" but that's in isolation. That's one time, one task. These things don't just add up, they compound

bell-cot 2y ago

Reminds me of the first time I had a car with a slow-motion-open glove box. Maybe that's cool, if you're showing off how Old Money fills the hours of their do-nothing lives? Vs. if you have a job, a family, and often too-few hours in your busy days? NO. I don't travel in a horse-drawn coach paced by footmen, either.

bdcravens 2y ago
When I wash my car, I push the seat forward and backward to vacuum. I like having electrically adjustable seats, but that's one time I'd prefer the older-style lever. Similarly, I saw a self-defense video where if someone hides in your back seat and puts something around your neck, you can lean the seat back QUICKLY in an escape maneuver; impossible with electric seats.
- vaidhy 2y ago
  I think if escaping from garrotting is something you should consider when buying a car, you are better off sitting in the backseat and let someone else drive you around :)
  - bdcravens 2y ago
    Better to have the knowledge and never need it :-)

bdcravens 2y ago

I don't know if I'd want that in a water bottle, since most high quality ones will maintain temperature for a long time. That said, I love my Ember "smart" coffee mug which keep coffee hot despite being open air. At the same time, I don't use any of the smart features. You can tweak things via Bluetooth, but I just keep it in default mode (ditto for my Oral-B iO9 toothbrush)

xg15 2y ago

It's a horrible product, but it also sounds like a fun thing to reverse engineer and possibly use in some maker project (without the app, of course).

the_snooze 2y ago

>1. Needs power. 2. Needs an app. 3. Has less water capacity. It's like someone looked at The Homer [1] and thought "that's solid engineering sensibility." [1] https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/The_Homer

buttercraft 2y ago
It was the rack and peanut steering that sold me on it.

neilv 2y ago

> a normal insulated bottle Anyone who hasn't already experienced a good vacuum-insulated water bottle, you're in for a treat. Warning: Normally, when you pour hot coffee or tea into a mug, it cools significantly within a minute. But put it in an insulated bottle for the first time, and it might surprise burn your tongue half an hour later. (Or maybe I was the only one who didn't anticipate this.)

jamiedumont 2y ago
I have a small flask - about the volume of a cup of coffee - made by Kinto. It can deliver those surprise burns hours after filling. It’s almost too good, and has been relegated to long road trips or post-surf coffee where I know it’ll be >3 hours before I want to drink it. A large vacuum bottle with ice cubes on a hot summers day is hard to beat too.
hooverd 2y ago
I swear my Zojirushi travel mug defies the laws of physics.
bryanlarsen 2y ago
If you want to burn your tongue many hours later, prewarm the bottle by filling with boiling water before filling with your coffee.
godelski 2y ago
> might surprise burn your tongue half an hour later. A *good* vacuum-insulated bottle should be able to do this 90 minutes later. I have some non expensive ones that will keep my tea hot for over 10hrs. Not warm, I mean hot. Even a cheap $10 thermos brand thermos will do at least 6 hrs. They even frequently have cups as caps. I'm sensitive to heat and always need 5 minutes after pouring it into the cup, hours after making my tea. We're so good at keeping liquids hot it's crazy. If you can't either drink your liquid in 10 hrs or get to a microwave within that time, you're looking for a pretty niche product and a self heating bottle isn't it.