12 / 240 volt Power Inverters

[Parksy]

I'm hoping to buy a power inverter to convert the 12v power from my leisure battery so that we can have the tv on for a few hours while we are not on ehu at rallies.

My 110 amp/hour leisure battery is charged by an 80watt solar panel and my tv is an Acoustic Solutions 12v 3.25 amps 39 watt led flat screen model.

The electrical connection is via a normal 240 v 3 pin plug which goes into a transformer to convert the current to 12 volt.

Does anybody know what type of inverter I should go for without spending much money? I know that the start up power is 3 times the normal running power of appliances.

Is there anything else that I need to be aware of?

 

[PhilFraeHowMill]

Hi Parksy

Give your local Maplins a call, they`ll advise.

 

[Chris_374413356]

Hi Parksy, if your TV is 12 volt, why do you need an inverter.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi Parksy,

If your set is designed to run on 12V dc, then it may be possible to simply connect it to your caravans 12V system,

However not all LCDs are fully tolerant to the voltage range that can be found in caravans, but many people seem to have no problems so it may well be worth a try.

If you are not that brave, then there are plenty of inverters around these days 75W 150W and upwards that will easily cope with 40odd watts your set needs. Halfords or Maplin should be good high street suppliers.sometimes ALDI and LIDL have small ones.

Incidentally it is only inductive loads that need a surge to get them going, most LCD Tv's are mainly resistive so there should only be a very minor surge if any.

If you do go down the Inverter route. I suggest mounting it as close as possible to the battery, and if necessary extend the 230V out put using proprietary mains extensions rather than relying on long 12V wires.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Chris

The 3 pin 13 amp plug on the tv goes into a step down transformer at the other end via a 2 pin plug.

Thinking about it I wonder if I could buy a new lead from Maplins with a 12v socket on the end.

 

[Sproket]

Parksy

Have a look at 12v power problems & solutions, you can get a regulator on here.......

 

[Lutz]

Some equipment only works properly with inverters which deliver a pure sine wave current. However, really cheap inverters often only provide a modified sine wave which may not be adequate. To be on the safe side, I'd go for pure sine wave. Otherwise you need to check first.

 

[Chris_374413356]

Hi Parksy, I have a 15" LCD tele and like yours (no doubt) works very well on 12 volts DC, after all, why change 12 volts DC to 240 volts AC to change it back to 12 volts DC for the TV to work.

Inverters are very inefficient, noisy, generate heat and unless you buy an expensive one won't give a true AC wave form which in itself can give problems to the electronics.

In my opinion avoid at all costs unless you really really need 240 volts AC.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks for the advice guys

I think that the transformer fitted to our tv is to stabilise the 12v current and works in the same way that the regulator shown in Sprockets link works.

12v DC from a leisure battery is variable according to the amount of charge remaining which could vary from 12.5v to 13.5v.

I was hoping that with the correct inverter with the safety features such as soft start and low power switch off and modified sine wave I can watch the World Cup even when I'm on a non ehu rally without always having to go to the pub.

 

[Chris_374413356]

The TV will easily cope with 1 or 2 volts difference but if like mine when the voltage goes too low we lose video but still get audio.

 

[Gafferbill]

I have run a TV set up like the one you are proposing for several years without a problem.

In fact my inverter also powers a Sky digibox as well as the 14inch LCD TV.

Although my TV is 12 volt I retain the transformer for its stabilised 12-volt output which in my view is essential to avoid damage to the TV.

I use this 150-watt inverter from TLC.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLINV150.html
It has no noisy cooling fan and only gets slightly warm.

As JohnL recommends, I have a direct short 12-volt connection to the battery via a heavy-duty cigar lighter socket.

As long as your battery remains sufficiently charged this set up will work as reliably as if you had an EHU.

To this end I have a second 110 amp leisure battery permanently fitted to my Towcar which can be electrically connected to the leisure battery on the caravan to double the capacity.

 

[xtrailman]

I don't see the point in using a 12volt tv. Why not just use a 240 volt tv via an inverter?

The setup i use is for emergency only, having missed the end to the british f1 two years ago, then yet again bizarrely the start of another f1.

After that i bought a 150watt inverter from maplins on offer at

 

[Parksy]

We already own the 12 volt tv Ray, I only decided to try solar power last week after noticing so many solar panels on weekend rallies.

Thanks to all for the great advice, I will try to get a similar set up to that recommended by Gafferbill and I will use the heavy duty 12v socket fitted at the front of the caravan nearest the battery as suggested by John L.

 

[Steve L]

Hi Parksy.

I use a 150 watt inverter to power our sky plus box.I do this primarily to maintain program recording memory while the mower girl unplug's us to mow the grass. Without it we loose all our recording data everytime.

This size unit should power your TV without any worries.

I got mine for

 

[Parksy]

Hi Steve

For some reason Maplins and Argos are completely out of stock at the moment, there must have been a rush of non ehu caravanners in time for the World Cup.