Just purchased a new inverter for our van. Purchased extra wire to hook the inverter up direct from the battery.
Had to run the wiring thru cupboards and then under the bed then thru a small hole in the floor of the van then to battery. Our battery is in a separate compartment under the boot.
Works a treat. Very proud of my work. Great what one can achieve when one tries.
We still have a smaller inverter which has a Cigarette lighter connection to same similar connection in van. So should be able to us both at one.... Right...????
Jay&Dee
madaboutled said
12:19 PM Apr 1, 2015
All I'm gunna say is.... Cigarette Lighter sockets were not designed to put out the current needed by an inverter, it may work but that don't mean its OK.
-- Edited by madaboutled on Wednesday 1st of April 2015 12:20:27 PM
03_Troopy said
10:00 AM Apr 2, 2015
JayDee it would be better to post this type of question in the techies corner. I agree with Steve about ciggy socket type inverters, most cigarette lighter sockets are rated to between 10A and 15A max and they tend to get pretty warm drawing a lot less than that. Inverters should really be mounted as close to the battery as possible using a minimum length of heavy cable. For the 360W I'd use a minimum of 6B&S and try to keep it to under 3M.
hako said
08:40 PM Apr 4, 2015
Jay and Dee - your question is whether you can run both at the same time......the experts will give all 'ifs' and 'buts' however the bottom line is that if the new inverter is fused at the battery and the ciggy lighter connection is fused then no problems. If not then the ciggy lighter fuse will blow and the new inverter may switch off if the wiring cannot carry the load - but only when working at near max output.
Sounds good to me and I agree you can do a lot if you put your mind to it coupled with common sense.
Good Luck.
JayDee said
09:43 PM Apr 13, 2015
Denis, Yes to both the units re the fuses. So as you say should be ok.
Thanks for your info.
With winter approaching we are hoping to run our electric blanket. Just thought though, I guess that I will need to check to see how many amps it draws. Is that correct??
Jay&Dee
Bruce and Bev said
08:09 AM Apr 15, 2015
360w invertor may struggle with electric blanket - maybe on the lowest heat setting - would be a good idea to check before you really need to use it. It might tell you initial current draw on the packaging box if you still have it
03_Troopy said
04:15 PM Apr 16, 2015
hako wrote:
Jay and Dee - your question is whether you can run both at the same time......the experts will give all 'ifs' and 'buts' however the bottom line is that if the new inverter is fused at the battery and the ciggy lighter connection is fused then no problems. If not then the ciggy lighter fuse will blow and the new inverter may switch off if the wiring cannot carry the load - but only when working at near max output. Sounds good to me and I agree you can do a lot if you put your mind to it coupled with common sense. Good Luck
OK.. never mind..
-- Edited by 03_Troopy on Thursday 16th of April 2015 04:16:55 PM
Dav4Cris said
06:46 PM Apr 16, 2015
Only problem might be the drain on the batteries using both at once, otherwise why not.
hako said
09:19 PM Apr 20, 2015
JayDee wrote:
Denis, Yes to both the units re the fuses. So as you say should be ok. Thanks for your info. With winter approaching we are hoping to run our electric blanket. Just thought though, I guess that I will need to check to see how many amps it draws. Is that correct??
Jay&Dee
Not easy to check how much the blanket draws without proper measuring equipment, however this work has already been done for you at the link below - they tested the Aldi double bed electric blanket and found at max power with both sides on it consumes 140 watts which is well withing the capabilities of your 360 watt inverter. You will not run it on max except for initial warmup.
Just purchased a new inverter for our van. Purchased extra wire to hook the inverter up direct from the battery.
Had to run the wiring thru cupboards and then under the bed then thru a small hole in the floor of the van then to battery. Our battery is in a separate compartment under the boot.
Works a treat. Very proud of my work. Great what one can achieve when one tries.
We still have a smaller inverter which has a Cigarette lighter connection to same similar connection in van. So should be able to us both at one.... Right...????
Jay&Dee
All I'm gunna say is.... Cigarette Lighter sockets were not designed to put out the current needed by an inverter, it may work but that don't mean its OK.
-- Edited by madaboutled on Wednesday 1st of April 2015 12:20:27 PM
Sounds good to me and I agree you can do a lot if you put your mind to it coupled with common sense.
Good Luck.
Thanks for your info.
With winter approaching we are hoping to run our electric blanket. Just thought though, I guess that I will need to check to see how many amps it draws. Is that correct??
Jay&Dee
-- Edited by 03_Troopy on Thursday 16th of April 2015 04:16:55 PM
Not easy to check how much the blanket draws without proper measuring equipment, however this work has already been done for you at the link below - they tested the Aldi double bed electric blanket and found at max power with both sides on it consumes 140 watts which is well withing the capabilities of your 360 watt inverter. You will not run it on max except for initial warmup.
http://negergy.com.au/blogs/news-reviews/5842592-what-is-the-power-consumption-of-an-electric-blanket
Good Luck.
-- Edited by hako on Monday 20th of April 2015 09:21:44 PM