interior power?

[Terry Tyler]

hey, i was wondering about how to get 110v power in a car...

i know i seen this guy with a 400watt unit that had a wire that ran to his battery...there were two plugs, you know...where you put the camera charger, or laptop charger in...

as you can probably tell by my description...i dont know what its called...i just need some information on some of the brands out there and what kind do yall reccomend...

 

[John Diel]

Do a forum search on "Power Inverter" and you'll get plenty of results.

 

[Terry Tyler]

thanks man, i appreciate it

 

[J Kinkaid]

I have 700 watt model that peaks at 1800 that I use while out on the road.

 

[Joe Stuart]

power inverters can be relatively cheap and do work quite well, my chase partner has, I believe it is a 400w model and we do sometimes have issues with it if we are driving slow or have alot of electrical stuff running (probably a weak alternator) but it works great on the open highway.

Here is a good website that will help out in choosing a model right for you.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/dashboarding/Power-Inverters.htm

 

[Mikey Gribble]

What are you wanting to power? If you just want to power a laptop, a 300watt inverter would be plenty. Be careful of what brand you buy though. You really get what you pay for on power inverters in my experience. I just had a 1,000 watt power inverter installed in my car and wired directly to the battery. It wouldn't even power one of my laptops, but I could take that same laptop and power it off of my 300watt inverter when it was plugged into one of the cigarrette outlets. I need to take the thing back and ask them what the problem is. I am planning on doing that this weekend. Anyways, my 300 watt is just a radio shack power inverter, but it has worked pretty well.

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

The ones at Wal-mart, in automotive next to the car batteries, work really well. I have the 400 watt inverter. If you dont have the motor running it will make a loud noise, because it just doesnt have enough to go off just the battery. That is only when the car is off. Other than the annoying alarm on it, it is great. It just runs off the cigarette outlet and keeps my laptop, cell phone, cameras and just about anything else i might use fully powered. I picked the 400 watt to be sure i would always have enough power and i wanted one with 2 outlets on it, and the 400 isnt oversized like the 750 watt (i think that is the next size).

 

[Justin Turcotte]

If you are running an inverter from the cig lighter socket be sure to carry a couple spare fuses. I blew one fuse while running my inverter but fortunately while not on a chase. A 300-400W inverter will power most chaser items without problem. A duel plug model can be had for under $50.

 

[David Drummond]

I have used power inverters for years and I am so used to them now I don't think I could go without one. I always have run a dedicated power/ground from the battery and never had any trouble really. Any of them over about 100w you definitely need a dedicated line from the battery. The wiring for the cigarette lighter outlet is not meant to accomodate the bigger ones. At best you will be blowing fuses. At worst you could start a fire.

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

I havent blown a fuse yet and i have been using it for a year, but that could just be luck. I use that inverter year round. I prolly use it more when its not chase season just keeping my phone charged. It is just really handy to have.

 

[David Drummond]

You haven't had any fuses blow or problems because you haven't used that anywhere near it's full capacity yet. When you try, you WILL blow fuses. By Ohms law, if you ran that at it's full capacity of 400watts you would be pulling around 30 amps depending on the battery/alternator voltage at the time. The wire running to that outlet is NOT rated for that.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't care to risk burning my vehicle to the ground because I was too lazy to run an extra power wire from the battery for something like that.

Maybe you will never hit that point, but is losing your car and everything in it worth it?

Those outlets are only meant to maybe run a single item like a cell phone charger or a cigarette lighter that pull a minimal amount of amps. Most are only fused 10 or 15 amps. Changing the fuse to 25-30 amps is begging for a fire (something many people do) Adding multiple devices to one outlet is also asking for problems. I am telling you this from someone who was an ASE Certified Technician in automotive electrical systems, so I do have some idea of what I am talking about.

 

[mrobinett]

Most are only fused 10 or 15 amps. Changing the fuse to 25-30 amps is begging for a fire (something many people do) Adding multiple devices to one outlet is also asking for problems. I am telling you this from someone who was an ASE Certified Technician in automotive electrical systems, so I do have some idea of what I am talking about.

I was just thinking that, Ive had friends do that, "oh its blowing a 15, Ill just stick a 30 in it, thatll fix it!"
I ran a heavy gauge wire to my inverter in back, I noticed its getting worn out, I recently replaced it with a 750 watt model and checked the cable to the battery just to make sure it wasnt worn or burnt in case it got too near an exhaust part, watch where you route your wiring to the battery, make sure it stays clear of anything hot.\

 

[Dan Robinson]

Big inverter (at least 750w) hardwired to the main power line up front is the way to go. In some cars (like mine) getting through the firewall is too much trouble to get all the way to the battery, so I used the main power terminal under the dash. That way it's still fused.

Once you get an inverter, you will probably start using it for other things besides just a laptop - so getting a larger one would be smart. Camera chargers, your passengers' laptops, cell phone chargers, radios, etc.

A 750-watt model from Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowe's works just fine. They are not all that big, and run $60-$70.

 

[Gaetan Cormier]

For just running a Laptop does a 300w model sufficient? I know nothing about electricity. And is there any threat for doing this from the lighter plug?

 

[David Drummond]

Big inverter (at least 750w) hardwired to the main power line up front is the way to go. In some cars (like mine) getting through the firewall is too much trouble to get all the way to the battery, so I used the main power terminal under the dash. That way it's still fused.

Once you get an inverter, you will probably start using it for other things besides just a laptop - so getting a larger one would be smart. Camera chargers, your passengers' laptops, cell phone chargers, radios, etc.

A 750-watt model from Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowe's works just fine. They are not all that big, and run $60-$70.

It is a pain to get through the firewall and sometimes the only thing you can do is drill a hole and get a grommet from Lowes or Home Depot. Wiring up to the main terminal under the dash is problematic as well Dan. While there are heavier main wiring coming in to that, it's all being distributed to everything else through the fusebox. In other words, it's rated for that stuff and nothing more. Another potential fire maker or at the very least blowing the main fusable links/circuit breakers/fuses (depending on what your vehicle used and shutting down EVERYTHING.

Seriously guys, unless your running a really small inverter and maybe only running a laptop off it, the only proper way to wire an inverter is directly from the battery, and fused where you attach it.