A short survey on vacuum flasks

For one of our modules at uni we have been asked to come up with an innovation and show how we would take it all the way through from initial design/idea to getting it on the shelves with a whole lot of management speak in between.

This is part of the marketing section.
The idea we have come up with is to make a vacuum flask that has the ability to re heat itself. So say you made tea or soup in the morning and by the time it got round to having it the temperature of the liquid had dropped to an unacceptable level. With our flask you would have the ability to re heat it and enjoy it at the temp it was supposed to be enjoyed at.

If you could fill in this short questionnaire I would be most grateful.

Survey

Cheers in advance

How does it heat stuff up exactly?

also number 8 says 500-750ml as 3/4th pint and 500ml as 1 pint

also number 8 says 500-750ml as 3/4th pint and 500ml as 1 pint

Just got rid of Imperial units, realise they were not exactly exact

How does it heat stuff up exactly?

Well we are using the stuff found in hand gel warmers with the idea to make the reaction hotter, the method isn't entirely important. This is merely to gauge the interest in a potential product.

Well we are using the stuff found in hand gel warmers with the idea to make the reaction hotter, the method isn't entirely important. This is merely to gauge the interest in a potential product.

the method is really important as my interest goes up with how easy it will be to build a pint sized heat/ death ray out of the thing.

Well we are using the stuff found in hand gel warmers with the idea to make the reaction hotter, the method isn't entirely important. This is merely to gauge the interest in a potential product.

Sorry, you're just not selling it to me. Sounds like you're not even interested in it.

Ok, fair enough.

We intend to use the same idea as [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Gel-Reusable-Hand-Warmer/dp/B000MU4IJ2"]these[/ame], currently they only heat up to about 55C but we are looking to get it hotter, it will be placed inside the vacuum next to the liquid holding bit. They are reusable, so once used you can fill the flask with boiling water and it will put that energy into the warming gel, the reaction is started by snapping the silver element in the gel. We intend to have a button on the handle to cause this reaction.

I have an intermediary report that you can read if you want, it's 55 pages or there abouts, although a lot of it is appendices.

Bobby, I wasn't interested in putting up the technical details of it as I didn't think it was important, I guess I was wrong.

If you want anymore info please let me know.

Bern

PS, Thanks for taking part.

doesn't that kind of defeat the object of a vacuum flask? - i.e. that it keeps things hot for a v long time? People would probably prefer to spend a bit more money to get a decent quality vacuum flask (that works) then to buy a shit one which they need to reheat their beverage of choice in because the flask did not work.

tip - you could save money on your design by just having any old container which can heat your stuff rather than fannying around trying to needlessly incorporate a vacuum flask in complete contradiction to the intended functionality of the final product.

Simon you may be right but eventually all flasks, even the bloody good ones will lose heat, the option to reheat a liquid is a novel idea which is all we're going for at the moment. This is merely an exercise in innovation and product development, ergo we have to try and do something that hasn't been done before.

Will take your comments for my report though if that's ok, unless you have done the questionnaire and you left comments there.

Thanks for your input.

PS. didn't really answer your first point.

Not sure it defeats the purpose of a vacuum flask, the flask we are 'designing' is a vacuum flask, we haven't specified how it would perform next to regular flasks and will never know without doing some thermodynamic calcs (not necessary so will not happen, plus we don't have a final design). The re heating flask is supposed to give the user the option to re heat their liquid of choice, it is not a facility created because the flask performs badly. I realise flasks are designed to keep liquids hot (or cold) for a long time but having the option the re heat the liquid may interest people and may even change the way people use flasks.

Of course it might not have any interest what so ever and in that case our cash flow summary will look a bit dire!

the method is really important as my interest goes up with how easy it will be to build a pint sized heat/ death ray out of the thing.

Not sure about the potential for a death ray from our design, however there is a heating flask with a heating element which could work, it needs to be plugged in so your range would be limited.

sorry didn't mean to sound like a prick, just in a bad mood. anyway just to note, in case you haven't already covered it - if you are talking about reheating stuff that has been maintained at lukewarm temperatures for some period of time then there might be microbiological safety concerns also, depending on what it is. Have not done the survey - but will do. Good luck with it.

Cheers simon, good point on microbiological safety, will look into it, have written a bit more in my original reply for you as well. Thanks for your input, hope your mood improves.

Just got rid of Imperial units, realise they were not exactly exact

Science eh?

Well sonny Jim, if imperial units were good enough for we Bulldogs, and metric units had already been adopted by France, why then did Napolean lose confidence in them, and abandon them 3 years before the Battle of Waterloo? Doesn't that say anything?

Third World sang "96 Degrees in the shade", but they could have opted for 35.555555 Degrees Celcius in the Shade? Fahrenheit is easy to understand, when referring to temperature felt on the skin in normal weather.

We speak of automotive speed in terms of mph, even though the Europeans have bought into the French kph.....which is best when referencing astronomy? That's what I think.

In summary, I fear Bernard that you are a tad unpatriotic, and would have sold us out to the Krauts. If only all of them were like Oliver, then that would be fine, but sadly twas not so. Some are like Boris Becker, who takes all the nice girls!!

I won't take part in your survey, as I feel Winston Churchill wouldn't, Chuck Yeager wouldn't, and Usain Bolt's had his successes in miles per hour, and failures. AND the humble thermos was invented here, in Blighty, in 1892, where measurements are still recognised in imperial measurements [weight, speed, land dimensions].

This whole piece is a work of nasty, subversive and traitorous behaviour. It has the faintest whiff of Vichy France.

That will be all.

It seems to me that this is a product that is trying to cover a very small and to a point none existing niche. After 8 hours in the winter the drink from my flask is always still warm enough to be considered a hot drink. Not many people need a thermos to keep a drink warm for longer than that. If I was going out for longer than that I'd take a small stove, which would be lighter than a thermos flask with chemical had warmers and do a better job at heating my drink and allow me to cook a small hot meal which would be well wanted if I am out all day in the cold.

I know your not actually going into production with this because it's a uni project but it's a point to consider is the size of your niche which you are working with, good luck with you project though.

Top post GA2G :)

Do Dyson make a flask?

It seems to me that this is a product that is trying to cover a very small and to a point none existing niche. After 8 hours in the winter the drink from my flask is always still warm enough to be considered a hot drink. Not many people need a thermos to keep a drink warm for longer than that. If I was going out for longer than that I'd take a small stove, which would be lighter than a thermos flask with chemical had warmers and do a better job at heating my drink and allow me to cook a small hot meal which would be well wanted if I am out all day in the cold.

I know your not actually going into production with this because it's a uni project but it's a point to consider is the size of your niche which you are working with, good luck with you project though.

I completely understand your points and we have picked the product/concept to far more bits than has been by you guys but coming up with something novel seems to be a bit tricky, it is a bit like solving a problem that isn't really there. (please ignore this post if you are taking the survey)

Science eh?

Well sonny Jim, if imperial units were good enough for we Bulldogs, and metric units had already been adopted by France, why then did Napolean lose confidence in them, and abandon them 3 years before the Battle of Waterloo? Doesn't that say anything?

Third World sang "96 Degrees in the shade", but they could have opted for 35.555555 Degrees Celcius in the Shade? Fahrenheit is easy to understand, when referring to temperature felt on the skin in normal weather.

We speak of automotive speed in terms of mph, even though the Europeans have bought into the French kph.....which is best when referencing astronomy? That's what I think.

In summary, I fear Bernard that you are a tad unpatriotic, and would have sold us out to the Krauts. If only all of them were like Oliver, then that would be fine, but sadly twas not so. Some are like Boris Becker, who takes all the nice girls!!

I won't take part in your survey, as I feel Winston Churchill wouldn't, Chuck Yeager wouldn't, and Usain Bolt's had his successes in miles per hour, and failures. AND the humble thermos was invented here, in Blighty, in 1892, where measurements are still recognised in imperial measurements [weight, speed, land dimensions].

This whole piece is a work of nasty, subversive and traitorous behaviour. It has the faintest whiff of Vichy France.

That will be all.

Must spread some rep around:(

Can someone rep GA2G for this excellent post?

survey done.

Would it not be easier to leave the flask stock and make something akin to an immersion heater element that depends from the cap?

i.e. something that would hold your heating gel that goes into a tube that is then held in the centre of the liquid due to being a part of/attached to the cap.

In fact thinking about it you could just make a water/gel proof container and drop it into any old thermos?

That way you re-use any thermos but can guarantee piping hot soup/tea/whatever with the simple addition of your fiddled with hand warmer gel product.

Dammit, that is a bloody good idea, is it alright if I use that for my report?

Go for it.

Cheers, will probably be part of the future products and R & D section.

Do Dyson make a flask?

Yep, it sucks.