Pure Sinewave Inverter
Discussion
Hi
Has anyone fitted a pure sine wave inverter. Want to install a low power one so that the kids can run a mains games console or a video streamer in the SUV. Would really like to know if this setup would kill the car battery so that I would need to install a secondary leisure battery as well.
If anyone knows of any really good automotive electrical fitters that would be really useful. I am in the South East.
Thanks
John
Has anyone fitted a pure sine wave inverter. Want to install a low power one so that the kids can run a mains games console or a video streamer in the SUV. Would really like to know if this setup would kill the car battery so that I would need to install a secondary leisure battery as well.
If anyone knows of any really good automotive electrical fitters that would be really useful. I am in the South East.
Thanks
John
Have a look here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Streetwize-SWPP5-Power-Pa... for an inverter.
I would also imagine that most kids' devices will charge straight off 12V in the fag socket, no?
You're on the own for a motorhome! Mind you Mrs battered is talking about getting a little camper. I tried getting a little camper once, but got my head kicked in. Mind you, it was the 80's, people were less tolerant back then.
I would also imagine that most kids' devices will charge straight off 12V in the fag socket, no?
You're on the own for a motorhome! Mind you Mrs battered is talking about getting a little camper. I tried getting a little camper once, but got my head kicked in. Mind you, it was the 80's, people were less tolerant back then.
I used to use invertors a lot when G/F had a thing for sleeping in fields. Horrible, Horrible.
The 200 watt plug in the cupholder ones work for powering laptops and so forth, as long as the current draw doesn't pop the cigar lighter fuse. 10 amps, on my car.
Where this gets exciting is if invertor is plugged into front cig lighter, and a huge coolbox is plugged into the rear. Both are wired to the same fuse on my car, resulting in woe.
Ok for a couple of hours without draining the battery too much. But that depends on how big the battery is.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverter-Cigarette-Lighte...
The 200 watt plug in the cupholder ones work for powering laptops and so forth, as long as the current draw doesn't pop the cigar lighter fuse. 10 amps, on my car.
Where this gets exciting is if invertor is plugged into front cig lighter, and a huge coolbox is plugged into the rear. Both are wired to the same fuse on my car, resulting in woe.
Ok for a couple of hours without draining the battery too much. But that depends on how big the battery is.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inverter-Cigarette-Lighte...
OP - do you want something with an accurate mains output for some specialised purpose, or do you want some thing that delivers mains power to small consumer electronics?
If the latter, then look at the wattage of the electronics and get an inverter a bit bigger. Halfords or similar, you can get 50W "coke can" ones that sit in a cup holder and run from the cigarette lighter for a few quid.
Battery life - 50W at 12v is about 5 amps, your battery will be fine after a few hours, but don't run it overnight.
If you want a really accurate simulation of mains, so precisely 50Hz and a proper sine wave rather than a noisy block/triangle thing, then that is more specialised. I have a 1800 W Xantrex ProSine thingy in my Landrover, which kills the battery in about 10 minutes if the engine isn't running. To need this, you have to be running sensitive equipment - computers, radio gear and the like. Consumer electronics is remarkably tolerant of voltage and frequency.
If the latter, then look at the wattage of the electronics and get an inverter a bit bigger. Halfords or similar, you can get 50W "coke can" ones that sit in a cup holder and run from the cigarette lighter for a few quid.
Battery life - 50W at 12v is about 5 amps, your battery will be fine after a few hours, but don't run it overnight.
If you want a really accurate simulation of mains, so precisely 50Hz and a proper sine wave rather than a noisy block/triangle thing, then that is more specialised. I have a 1800 W Xantrex ProSine thingy in my Landrover, which kills the battery in about 10 minutes if the engine isn't running. To need this, you have to be running sensitive equipment - computers, radio gear and the like. Consumer electronics is remarkably tolerant of voltage and frequency.
If you're just running switch mode power supplies (so most if not all laptop chargers / games console chargers) then you could opt for a much cheaper modified sine wave inverter. They're a lot cheaper and mostly work fine.
Although the other option is to investigate a decent 12v to USB adaptor, get several of those plus a cigarette lighter splitter. Works fine for charging tablets, phones etc and a whole great deal more efficient so it won't muller your car battery as quickly if you're all plugged in with the engine off.
Although the other option is to investigate a decent 12v to USB adaptor, get several of those plus a cigarette lighter splitter. Works fine for charging tablets, phones etc and a whole great deal more efficient so it won't muller your car battery as quickly if you're all plugged in with the engine off.
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