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

islandannie

xueta-Never ever ever try to draw more than 150w through the lighter socket.

Unless you wish to fry your wiring loom.

Premier_2

Taken from the Caution supplied with the Inverter.

WARNING: If more than 150 Watts of AC power are required from the Inverter, DO NOT connect the Inverter through the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket. THIS WILL OVERHEAT THE WIRES AND COULD CAUSE A FIRE. When using the devices that require a TOTAL of 150 Watts or more, connect the Inverter directly to the vehicle's battery terminals using the Battery Clip.

The Battery Clip is a short extension lead with 2 crocodile clips at one end (for connection to the batter) and a cigarette lighter socket at the other.

Note that the unit has a maximum continuous load of 300W - higher than this and the unit may cut out due to thermal overload or blow the protective fuse (a spare fuse is also included)

xueta

islandannie wrote:

xueta-Never ever ever try to draw more than 150w through the lighter socket.

Unless you wish to fry your wiring loom.

I wasn't going to.
The point is that you could attempt to draw more than this current through a 300W inverter which you can't with a 140W one!

Premier_2

xueta wrote:

I wasn't going to.
The point is that you could attempt to draw more than this current through a 300W inverter which you can't with a 140W one!

You could try :eek: (best not to though!)

If you tried to pull 250W with the 140W Inverter, you would either blow the Inverters fuse (probably not - it is 25A on the 140W model, 35A on the 300W model), trip the thermal cut out, or more likely blow the car's fuse protecting the cigarette lighter.

Pull 250W from the 300W Inverter and you will blow the car's fuse that protects the cigarette lighter (unless you bypass the fuse and connect directly to the battery as instructed )

(Both units also claim to have overload protection - but I'm not sure if this is just thermal overload or whether there is an additional protection to prevent overloading.
Or it may be related to the input voltage exceeding 15V also trips an overload protection)

buggu

xueta wrote:

Thank You!
Does that still mean you shouldn't plug anything greater than 150W in through the cigar lighter?

I,m guessing thats true . I,m thinking of buying THE 300W, having a wiring setup for more power hungry items wont be a big problem.

Pulse

So, to clarify for me, and perhaps other users...

If I plugged in, for example, a laptop, which needs 95w, will it EVER go above that? (i.e. spike), which could then !!!!!! up the car? As there seems to be no sure way to protect the car from setting alight, I think I'll put mine on eBay instead!

scanner_2

If you order from them, then you should also consider the following product:

Belkin Under Monitor Surge Protector @ £8.21.

The cheapest I found at other places is £32.90, so its a bargain. Here is the link:

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/bargains/detail.asp?ProductID=1783&CategoryID=252&SubCategoryID=

Premier_2

Use of either model Inverter to power a laptop rated at 95W will not cause damage to the car (assuming there is no fault either either the Inverter or the Laptop)

You may pull more than 95W the instant the laptop is turned on, (this is referred to as the start up load ) but that will almost instantaneously subside. Any danger with relation to the car is through thermal overload of the car's wiring should you continuosly pull in excess of 150W. However, even then in the worst case (and this includes the possibility of a fault developing in either the Inverter or the Laptop) you will not cause damage to car as the circuit will be protected by a replaceable fuse (about 20p) that will blow to pevent damage to the car's wiring. The fuse will not blow instantaneously, but will blow very quickly to protect the car's wiring from overheating. Even if the fuse blows, it will not prevent the car running, but will prevent you using the cigarette lighter until you replace the fuse (depending on the model of the car, it may also protect a few other non-essential circuits, earlier in this thread I posted that the fuse in my car that protected the cigarette lighter also protected the interior light and radio, etc.)

Should you connect the 300W unit directly to the battery with the crocodile clips, hence bypassing all the car's fuses, then the Belkin if fitted with overheat protection and it's own fuse that will prevent any significant damage to the battery being caused.

To be honest, I would be more worried about causing damage to your laptop rather than to your car. Whilst the Inverter is designed to work with both the engine running or stopped (obviously limited time only, else the battery will flatten) starting the engine with the laptop plugged in is not recommended as that could induce a power dip or surge - neither will affect the car but it could damage the laptop and/or charger.

Remember also that the voltage output from the Belkin is 220-240V, and combined with the current deliverable is more than enough to electrocute you

xueta

Premier wrote:

... Pull 250W from the 300W Inverter and you will blow the car's fuse that protects the cigarette lighter (unless you bypass the fuse and connect directly to the battery as instructed )

Tee hee ... Or some bright spark's gonna say, "B***er this! The fuse keeps blowing!!", and then change the fuse for a higher rated one and then do some seriouus damage!

gromituk

Pulse wrote:

So, to clarify for me, and perhaps other users...

If I plugged in, for example, a laptop, which needs 95w, will it EVER go above that? (i.e. spike), which could then !!!!!! up the car?

Not in any way that you could worry about, no.

As there seems to be no sure way to protect the car from setting alight, I think I'll put mine on eBay instead!

Don't - your fears are unfounded. There will be a fuse to protect the wiring loom in the worst case, and if you connect a laptop power supply, which is under 100W, you will have no trouble at all.