DC to AC inverters????

[jangles]

Hello again.. just saw in the back of camper and bus magazine an advert for " AC - DC Inverters"
"use an inverter connected to your battery and get 240v wherever you are"!!
Has anyone else heard about this - sounds great!
anyway just running past the experts :mrgreen:
Rowan,

 

[Guest]

Maplin is coming down with them and they are cheap as chips too. handy if you want to run something like a laptop or something

 

[super-craig]

we use to use them in back of stretch limos to power karaoke machines , dvd players , play stations etc but to get the best from them you need to have the engines running . they have come down in price quite a bit in the last few year and can be found for around £25 for an 800w one , but you do get what you pay for , its best to go with a recognised brand , but not all the cheap ones are bad , ring do some good ones for the money . they are quite easy to fit , got one in my garage at minute and on about fitting it in the 68 8) but if you are hardened campers a small generator may be a better option and they can be pick up for not too much aswell these days , seen some for around £100

 

[faux]

I have had one for about 4 years in my campers, they will run a flat screen TV and Playstation2 for about 6 hours (depending on your leisure battery). I bought mine from Halfrauds for £30 and it just plugs into a cigarette lighter.

Easy!

 

[jangles]

so if i wanted a tv, lap top and a few lights then the DC AC would do it? - but worth getting a more top of the range one?
How big (in size) do they get!!?

Do you get much usage out of them when the engine is switched off for the night -for example- could you watch eastenders omnibus, send a few emails and read your book with the light on for an hour or so??!

Do you know any decent brand names so i can do some research - my mums renting her house out for 3 months and setting off in the camper for a trip round UK music festivals and buddhist meetings, anyway shes leaving in about 3 weeks so need to get some interior lights, lap top plug in. proper curtains sorted.. etc

Thanks for your help again guys :mrgreen: much appreciated

 

[Graham L]

Jangles

Is that you setting off to do the festivals or your mum :mrgreen:

Just need to make sure you size up the inverter based on what you want to power, look at the power draw of everything you want to use first, I think most are sold in a watts rating so if you cannot find this out times the amps x volts to get watts drawn.

For instance a laptop usually draws between 1 - 1.5 amps so anywhere between 240 & 360 watts.

Hope this helps (and is correct)

 

[jangles]

its my mum - its always been a dream of hers plus to be honest the camper is in her name as she has pay'd for most of it - the plan is that i look after it, sort it all out for her and slowly buy it off her over the next 3/4/5! years :mrgreen: my mums cool though so its always "our camper" :mrgreen:
plus i've just finished painting my 1983 mk1 golf gti that was a barn find in november - so looking forward to enjoying that while the camper is chugging round England. I know its totally different from driving a camper but i do love the mk1 golfs :roll:

So thanks for that good advice - see what i want to power first - do you know anywhere that sells nice small lights that are keeping with the original feel of the interior... something i can screw into wall as a bed side light??

thanks grayham L, Faux, super craig and Johnny for your help.. :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

Jangles, i wouldnt use an inverter to power lights... you can buy 12V lights that wire into the vans leisure battery. They are more than bright enough. You can get 12v TVs/DVD combi players not that expensive etc. worth looking into. You can easily run your full entertainment system DVD/TV etc (bar a laptop) and lights on the leisure battery as i do. If your using campsites it would be better to get a 240v hookup installed instead.

I have a 12v flatscreen with a digital and satellite reciever and integrated DVD player and a few speakers whcih work perfectly for my needs. I also recharge the batteries using a solar trickle charger also available from maplins or most good camping supliers. All my lights are wired into the leisure battery too

 

[Clarkson46]

Remember the bigger the inverter the more it will take from your battery so it will discharge quicker. Today, for £2.99 you can buy 3 LED stick on lights that run for days on a couple of AAA batteries. Most things today are available with 12 volt options.

 

[jangles]

So sounds like you can do a lot with a leisure battery - if your buying 12v tv/dvd etc - thats great,, but would i still be able to survive with a leisure battery if i wanted to use a laptop?? The lap top for me would be the main use of battery plus 2 x 12v lights..
Is it because the lap top needs 240v???

thanks again for your ideas and help :mrgreen:
Rowan.

 

[Guest]

A laptop uses around 65W of power, and the thing is that the power supply steps 240v down to 5V to run the laptop. Depending on the laptop you may be able to buy a car charger accessory that steps down from 12V to 5v which would use alot less power. The 240v adapter will use alot more power due to inefficiency and heat loss, both in the inverter and the laptop power adapter. You would get a much longer running time this way.

What brand of laptop have you got?

 

[jangles]

looking into getting a hook up.. but dont want to cut a hole in side of van - have been told you could just have the plug in the engine bay and leave the engine lid slightly open... ????

Can anyone explain how a hook up works pls?

Thankyou everyone :mrgreen: