Would a smaller inverter last longer?

From everything I can find the max power usage for the PS4 slim is 150W.

An inverter will only use the power it needs, to run a system or for a coffee maker etc. So no, getting a smaller one won't make your battery last any longer.


Ed

 

Here's a reference I use for my consoles. I'd much rather have my PC on my truck for gaming, but my rig uses about 1500 watts sustained and would add about 170lbs in weight and a whole lot of needed space

http://www.tpcdb.com/list.php?type=12

 

I don't know for sure. But I will tell you this, if you get a smaller one, don't get a cheap one from the truck stops. I used to run those 300 watt ones, the yellow ones (road pro?) ran the fan all the time, whether you were pulling power from it or not, so it's constantly soaking up at least some power. The thing was so loud that it kind of made it difficult to watch tv shows on my laptop without headphones that blocked out the outside noise. I was hesitant to get a bigger one because of the noise, I assumed a bigger one would be louder.

However, I bought a larger one that was of a better quality (kreiger?) because I wanted to run a coffee maker. That thing made almost no noise at all, and certainly didn't make noise when I wasn't using it. Shortly after that I got moved to a brand new truck that had a built in inverter (which is nice because there are 110v outlets throughout the truck rather than having to get cords over to the inverter.) That also makes almost no noise.

So whatever you do try to stick with a higher quality inverter. The one in your truck is probably much better quality than the junk you find in the truck stops, so you probably won't see any real benefit from a different one unless it's really a pricey one.

 

Every AC electrical device has a data plate somewhere near where the power cord goes into the body of the device. It's usually the place where the UL is stamped. That data plate is required to list the power requirements of the device. It will always list the required voltage, and it will also list either the watts required or amps at maximum draw.

Watt = voltage X amps. If you see that data plate multiply the amps times the voltage to see watts. Or, if watts are listed, divide by voltage to see how many amps. If the device has a motor, the device will typically draw about twice the rated watts for a brief instant when turned on. Inverters are typically listed with normal and surge or peak draw. For example an inverter might be listed as 200watts/400 w peak.

 

an inverter draw will depend on the load demand.
The unit will have a small amount of overhead to actually turn it on, charge the caps and fields. basicaly prepare it for work.
this will be a very small amout over the demand load.
in other words if your demad load ( stuff plugged in ) is say 150 watts, your actual use from the batteries would be like 225 watts. Moving to a smaller inverter may reduce the overhead use, but in the long run, no real gains from it.

Installing an inverter in the truck is not that hard to do. just make sure you use good lead cables and a fuse as close to the batteries as possible. In this case bigger is better.
I use 0 gauge cables for all installs, no matter the run.

on sizing an inverter. Most inverters have a peak or surge rating. ( A 3000 watt unit says 4300 surge or peak watts)
Never trust that number, the testing for this is not well standardized as of yet. unless the unit is ETL or UL listed, stick to operating watts.

consider all the items you would have plugged in and running at one time. add together the power draw for those items.

that is your nominal draw. it should be no more than 80 percent of the inverters output power rating.

drawing beyond that level start creating a lot of heat, that leads to higher load draw an eventually failure or worse.


I have purchased products from this company. They seem to have a good quality products and prices.
theinverterstor

 

Inverters have an idle current, which is really small, so it don't really matter, it is when they are being used that does. Most of the time the smaller ones are not as efficient as the larger ones. AND with the advent of the power inverter controller on a chip, they've gotten cheaper, more noisier and really a poor choice to run stuff on.

That said, get a good one, spend the money if you are going to buy one and get a pure sine wave model made by a company that actually makes them - not a company that markets them.

 

I've had mine for about 13 years and it's still going strong and made in the United States

 

For any expensive electronix that I would be plugging into an inverter I would not be using a Modified Sine Wave inverter, they can play havoc with electronix and don't last for very long. If you can afford it get a Pure Sine Wave inverter and possibly save urself a lot of headaches and expenses from your expensive electronic equipment crapping out.

 

Ps4 uses about 140 watts while gaming source
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_4_technical_specifications
Yes it is wiki but I am a computer guy and it does sound about accurate I know the Xbox 360 power brick has a max rating of 230 watts assume 80% efficiency and then 10% headroom Microsoft would of expected no peaks higher than 180ish on that power supply. Source my self and the many systems I have built