# Inverter Help Please !



## kazzzy (Apr 9, 2006)

I am looking at buying an inverter as we spend a lot of time away from hook up, I only want one to run mobile phone chargers (saves having to buy a car charger for each of our phones) and for charging up a portable DVD player so it is not going to be powering anything too large, I am not sure how to work out what wattage I need to be looking at can anyone help me please 8O


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

We got a 150 watt inverter from Maplins recently when they were on special for £15. It will do the charging of phones / lap tops etc. and also run the TV if required. Not sure if they are on special at the moment though.


Richard...


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## 97984 (Mar 5, 2006)

150 watt inverter will be fine for your requirements. Ours runs Laptop & charges mobile phone at same time with no problem.

Chris


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## 88735 (May 9, 2005)

Tesco also do them, we got ours from maplins 150 watt and more than amble for charging laptop and phone, although i have only ever charged them whilst on the move. I wouldn't know what drain on the battery would be while parked up.


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## teckie (Feb 25, 2007)

*Inverters...*

Hi there.. i too use an Inverter for charging my mobile phones, Cooling fan and small Vac Cleaner in the Motorhome... Mine is 1500 watt.. A friend has 2 he wishes to sell very cheap... one is 600 Watt and the other is 800 watt... both are in good working order, The reason he is selling is because he has now bought a 2000 watt to power his Mirowave and kettle and toaster. I might post them on the Forum for him.

Cheers Teckie.


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## 101825 (Nov 18, 2006)

We initially tried three different modified sinewave inverters and, although they did charge our devices, the charger for my laptop became very hot. Almost too hot to touch. Furthermore, the battery on the laptop also heated up. This tells me
a) it's not good for my laptop
b) I am draining my leisure batteries too quickly

I read elsewhere that charging laptops from modified sinewave inverters reduces the battery life of the laptop. I don't know how true that statement is. Initially I thought it was nonsense until I realised how hot my laptop battery became. Furthermore, two modified sinewave inverts I have tried gave warnings of overload when charging laptop with a flat battery and that was in use.

I realise that true sinewave inverts are much more expensive than modified sinewave, but for me the expense is worth it.

Rog


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## Jean-Luc (Jul 21, 2005)

I'm going to bang my old drum again on the issue of power for 'gadgets'. Why waste precious battery power going up to mains voltage only to bring it back down again. Use a 12v car car charger for the phone, a variable (1.5v to 12v) cigar lighter thingy for all the other stuff (MP3 player, walkie talkies, etc., etc.) and a dc to dc voltage stabiliser for the laptop see www.amperordirect.co.uk/products/Amperor_CPS-65DC.asp They also do a unit for LCD TV's

Regards
Colin


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## 101825 (Nov 18, 2006)

Colin, I agree with you that for regularly used devices one should attempt to use adaptors that use 12v. We have a generic laptop charger, mobile phone chargers, ipod chargers etc. They are more efficient than going 12v -> 220v -> 16v (or whatever the item needs) and you get more time out of your leisure battery.

However, on the odd occasion you either don't have a compatible 12v adaptor or you need power for a once-off. This is where I recommend you have an inverter just in case. A 150w true sinewave costs anything from £50 to £150. I paid £50 for mine. You could also buy a modified sinewave for as low as £15 (perhaps even lower). But, as I said above, I don't like modified sinewave inverters.

Roger


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Jean-Luc said:


> I'm going to bang my old drum again on the issue of power for 'gadgets'. Why waste precious battery power going up to mains voltage only to bring it back down again.


Hi Colin,

you are right regarding all devices that require voltages of up to 12 volts for charging/running. So with mobile phones etc. it is more a matter of convenience, because with an inverter you don't need to buy and carry so many different 12v chargers.

However, if your device requires a voltage above 12 volts, then this is different. And practically all laptops require voltages of arount 19-20 volts. In this case, even the dedicated 12-volts-charger *contains an inverter*, and normally a rather primitive one with efficiency below 80%. So here it might even be better to use a (good) external inverter and the standard mains charger.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## Jean-Luc (Jul 21, 2005)

Hi Gerhard,
I have an inverter for things like the blender and sky box. About a year ago when the pros and cons were being discussed I tester the theory by putting an amp meter in circuit and running my tele via the power supply from Amperor and using its own unit plugged into the inverter. I can't remember the exact figures but using the inverter consumed about 3 amps more ( the inverter is a 250 watt Modified sine wave)

Regards
Colin


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## johnandcharlie (May 2, 2007)

ivys said:


> We initially tried three different modified sinewave inverters and, although they did charge our devices, the charger for my laptop became very hot. Almost too hot to touch. Furthermore, the battery on the laptop also heated up.


That's interesting. I've been running my Toshiba laptop off my 150w modified sine wave inverter for about half an hour and the power supply is pretty warm. I've bought a 12v-19v converter, but it's at my brother's house waiting for me to collect next week.

The other thing to watch, that I found out last week, is that the wiring to the 12v sockets in the van may not be large enough to run the inverter. Mine has a label on it saying "Max 4 amp". I'm on a CL with no hookup tonight, so am using the van battery at the moment.


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## kazzzy (Apr 9, 2006)

Thanks for all of your help and advice, normally I would agree with most of the coments about why an inverter why not just get 12 V adaptors. Well there are 4 of us with mobile phones me my wife and 2 sons, and as is normal every one is a different make this means the purchase of an aditional 4 12 v chargers for these alone, then add to this a charger for the camcorder, the digital camera, laptop etc when we are away touring for long periods and the 12V chargers all of a sudden become a very expensive option.
I managed to get a 150W Inverter from maplins as suggested above for £20.00 this morning and I have tried it out, it works with all the items I need to charge and as it will only be used very infrequently (when away I am away so not glued to my laptop for work etc) and camera etc only needs charging occasionally then it works for me, current draw on the leisure batteries is minimal and it will be mainly used whilst driving around so wont affect my power consumption to any large degree.


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