So me being a n00b who hasn't even seen the inside of his first truck yet (that comes this weekend), I have a question about inverters.
I see on Amazon and elsewhere that there are some inverters you can plug in to the cigarette lighter. Do these things work worth a ####? The impression I get from reading your conversations is that a real inverter is hooked up directly to the battery.
Inverters
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by ExtremeUnction, May 3, 2016.
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A cigarette lighter inverter will work but you're limited to what you can do with it. 150 watts max. Good for a CPAP (without heated humidifier, laptop charger, etc)
Bigger inverters need to be hard wired because the load will exceed the circuit rating for the auxiliary outlets and you'll either blow a fuse or melt things.ExtremeUnction Thanks this. -
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I have used a 12 volt inverter for several months without issue. All I run on mine is my phone charger my tv and DVD player. Never had an issue as it shuts down if it hits a certain load. Paid 30 bucks or so for it at wal mart.
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Look at what you might be planning on doing in the next 2 years, buy a good quality inverter to fit those goals. Also, look into the differences between a "True Sine Wave" inverter, and a "Modified Sine Wave" inverter. It's important.
Last, you can buy a small one now and upgrade later. The plugin inverters make great gift items.ExtremeUnction and Riffman Thank this. -
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The factory inverter that Volvo uses is made by Xantrex. HF Freedom 1800 I think. 1800 watt max. It costs about $500 but it doubles as a battery charger if connected to shore power.Starboyjim Thanks this. -
Laptop runs just fine off of plugin inverter. Mine handles my laptop and a cell phone charger, tablet as well.
I'm looking for a better one because I want to be able to power things like a vacuum, hotplate, whatever. Those would never run on my plugin inverter. -
I got my last 2 inverters at PFJ, Road King, (I can't really remember their make right now, the yellow ones) I had about 10,000 points, then waited for them to go on sale, and got a $199 inverter for about $50. I had to buy an install kit, but inverters are easy to install, you can do it yourself even with minimal mechanical aptitude.
One note. If you do the install, don't forget to disconnect the negative battery cable (black one) before doing the work. Don't worry about your ECM, it knows what to do since any battery service will require disconnecting the power source.
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