Inverter 12Vto 240v 300w Belkin £15.26 inc VAT

Premier_2

I believe the unit has an alarm and auto-power off when supply voltage falls to 10.6V to prevent the car battery from being completely drained.

Edit: it does!

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Product_Id=135034

buggu

harddrive wrote:

I may just be fitting my Xbox in the car as soon as these arrive.

Just what i would like to do ( games, movies, mp3 on the move). morgans are just round the corner so would only cost me £15.26.


Basically you can use this for any portable device ( i cant see anything using more than 300watts) just need to carefull if trying to use household items (say a vacuum cleaner to clean the car).

The scan offer works out £25.25 inc vat & delivery, not worth it.

gromituk

seth wrote:

The power rating of 300w is correct and this is the peak, the sustain able load is 140w. This is due to the nature of AC power the RMS power quoted on hifi works that same way it is Power RMS, these units are fine for Laptops.

Actually it's nothing to do with peak or RMS: it's simply to do with how much thermal inertia the device has.

seth wrote:

Do not buy a 100w unit this IS NOT SAFER it will be rated at around 55w and will overheat, the thermal cut out on the unit will cut it.

It all depends on how the ratings are expressed. I have never seen one of these inverters being marketed as dishonestly as this before. If the continuous rating is 100W, it should be OK, but I agree it will have no room for manoeuvre.

seth wrote:

If you want an inverter for a laptop get one of at lest 300w. You will have no problems with fuses on modern cars (<7 years old).

Unfortunately you can't generalise like this, because these values are not fully qualified. "Peak" power can be sustained for nanoseconds or minutes.

With low batteries most unit !!!! down when the volatage from the car fall below crank value (needed to start the engine) this is to leave enough power to start the engine should you leave somthing plugged in

Yes, although I wouldn't rely on it - the unit has no idea of the condition or capacity of the battery, or how much power and for how long is needed to start the car, so there is no guarantee that your vehicle will start once the inverter reaches the cut-out voltage.

Pulse

So I'm unclear now, because it looks so clear cut from the outset, but with seth coming into play, this is getting confusing.

Lets generalise things, and put the items that people will want to use the product for, and someone, anyone, can answer the questions. Simple yes or no will suffice.

Laptop
Hoover
Television (14")
MP3 Player
A light (for working inside your car)
A dab radio
A mobile phone charger
Anything else which you would like to add

mike_paterson

Anything rated up to 150W or so should be fine - with peaks up to say 250W.

As you will know if you have been in an electrical shop recently similar items from different manyfacturers can have vastly different energy efficiencies (hence the energy efficiency labels) so it is not possible to genaralise and say that all 14" TV will be fine (though they probably will). Look at your own devices and see what power they are rated at. Only this will tell you if they will work.

gromituk

Laptop - yes
Hoover - no
Television (14") - yes
MP3 Player - yes
A light (for working inside your car) - yes
A dab radio - yes
A mobile phone charger - yes
Anything else which you would like to add - simply look at the rating plate. All appliances have them. Anything that consumes more than 100W you should start to be worried about.

Pulse

See, nice and easy for everyone now

xueta

Pulse wrote:

See, nice and easy for everyone now

I'm confused now !!!!

Are there 2 Belkin models? I see microdirect list a 140W model and a 300W model at different prices.

I went into Morgan today and asked for a 300W power inverter, didn't check the box and paid £9.99 + VAT (total £11.74). On getting home I realise it states 140W on the box (although it also states it is rated for 300W peak and 140W sustained). Is this the best rating for a laptop?? - I note that the Morgan flyer only lists a 300W model BUT it is priced at £12.99 + VAT (£15.26 incl) i.e. more than I paid.

I will take this back if a higher rated adapter is going to be more flexible, but I'd be a wee bit embarrassed. I only slunk out of the shop pdq because the assistant behind the counter was trying to sell me much "weirdness" - if anyone from the New Oxford Street store is reading this, you know who you are !!!

Anyway, 140W will be ample for my laptop and be less likely to fry my circuits, right?

Pulse

Xueta, that is the correct inverter, as mentioned earlier in the thread, it has 300 peak and 140 sustained. Dont worry, you've gone and got yourself a bargain!

And yes, that 140w will be fine for your laptop. I just had a look at my sisters fairly high powered and battery consuming laptop, and it came to 90ish-w, so you'll be fine

Jay_Wiseman

bit more info if anyone wants it:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Product_Id=135034

Got me one of these too, now I can plonk me laptop on the back seat (with the polite computerised lady voice barking out sat nav instructions), and not worry about the batteries going!

Sorted.