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I have a 75AH Leisure Battery and a 300W converter. My first question is, can I realistically run such a system or do I need a stonger battery? I'd only be watching the occasional hour or so of TV, or chargeing a mobile etc.
Secondly, the batery is in a box accessed from the outside of the van. The connecters for the 12V system are those 'clip on' one that cover the whole of the battery terminal, so attaching the croc clips for the inverter is a bit tricky..I managed to just about clip the croc clips onto the back part of the clip on terminals and the inverter seems to work to some degree..however its saying 'low battery' straight away. I think the battery is about 75% charged. Is there a better way I could attach both the inverter and normal 12V system to the battery terminals? Is that likely to be making a difference or am I being a tad optimitic with the power supply of my current set up?
An inverter is the most inefficient use of power and is only really viable for a very short period of time or if you have solar panels / move on regularly.
Mobile phone? Get a 12v cig lighter charger, £2 off eBay or the market.
TV? Does it have a 12v input? Maybe consider one that does. Our van came with a 3 year old 75ah battery - we could get 8hrs out of the telly before the battery light went 'amber'.
Laptop? You can get a 12v charger for this also, we use on daily and in fact ran the laptop from it for 24hrs while downloading some files from home and it didn't even make a dent.
You should be able to run an inverter on that rig but it is best with a fully charged battery.
We replaced our (I think) 80ah battery with a 100ah one and this coped well using a 250w inverter to charge stuff which didn't have a 12v adapter and to run the TV.
Our inverter has various connections including a 12v cigar lighter plug and we use this.
On a 'bangs per buck' calculation it would be cheaper to upgrade your battery than to replace your TV if your TV does not have 12v input.
Likewise, for my Dell laptop the 12v adapter is over £60 so I have used the inverter thus far as it seems more versatile than buying specific 12v adapters for each device.
Likewise, for my Dell laptop the 12v adapter is over £60 so I have used the inverter thus far as it seems more versatile than buying specific 12v adapters for each device.
What model Dell? We have two 12v adaptors from eBay for ouir Dell's about £10 each and have used them every day the last 6mths without issue. They are the fixed kind not the mutli-voltage mutli-tipped sort.
We actually fried our Dell transformer on an inverter - they get frighteningly hot unless it's a pure sine.
Likewise, for my Dell laptop the 12v adapter is over £60 so I have used the inverter thus far as it seems more versatile than buying specific 12v adapters for each device.
What model Dell? We have two 12v adaptors from eBay for ouir Dell's about £10 each and have used them every day the last 6mths without issue. They are the fixed kind not the mutli-voltage mutli-tipped sort.
We actually fried our Dell transformer on an inverter - they get frighteningly hot unless it's a pure sine.
It is an M1530 XPS and the power supply is allegedly 90W (19.5 volts * 4.62A) although I seem to recall it being reported at about 110W somewhere.
A link to a 12v power supply for £10 would be very welcome
Likewise, for my Dell laptop the 12v adapter is over £60 so I have used the inverter thus far as it seems more versatile than buying specific 12v adapters for each device.
What model Dell? We have two 12v adaptors from eBay for ouir Dell's about £10 each and have used them every day the last 6mths without issue. They are the fixed kind not the mutli-voltage mutli-tipped sort.
We actually fried our Dell transformer on an inverter - they get frighteningly hot unless it's a pure sine.
It is an M1530 XPS and the power supply is allegedly 90W (19.5 volts * 4.62A) although I seem to recall it being reported at about 110W somewhere.
A link to a 12v power supply for £10 would be very welcome
These are what we have:
Copy and paste these item numbers into eBay:
130486554642 - HK Seller (£12)
170522135073 - UK Seller (£16)
I'm sure if you manipulate the titles you might find a cheaper option - mine were £9.99 from the UK.
(I'd have posted links, but I'm using the eBay app and posting this from my phone in Slovakia!)
Thanks for the tips..I have n't got any 12V sockets though..apart from the ciggie lighter which obviosuly runs off the van battery.
Ran an inverter in my old van with little difficulty, but it did have a bigger battery bank.
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