TV power - 230v ac or 12v dc: does it matter

[MikeA]

Hi,

We have just taken delivery of our first ever TV for the caravan. It was part of the deal when we bought the new van. It is capable of being used on 230 volt ac or 12 volt dc. I have just tried them both in turn and it seems to work fine on both.

We almost always stay on sites with an electric hook-up so we have the choice of power sources for the TV. Swift have provided sockets for both so it is just as easy to user either. So, does it matter which power source we use? Will it perform better on the 230v? Anybody know the answer?

Cheers

Mike A

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mike

The TV should perform equally well on either 230 or 12V, however if you use 12V, it will be putting the caravans 12V power supply and battery under greater load, so if you are on a site with a mains hook up, then I would choose to use the 230V,

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Mike A you have paid for your hook up make use of it and use as much as you can .

Save your battery and charger .

Happy Viewing

Sir Roger

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Ditto - Caravan 12V supply may also carry interference or spikes from pumps etc.

If available we plug it into the mains but notice no difference on 12V.

One less transformer to carry though if you remain on 12V.

 

[lohr500]

There was a previous post on this with one point of view strongly advising against using TV's with the 12 volt input.

The reason being that th 12 volt output from the mains transformer supplied with the TV is regulated and filtered.

It was suggested that by using the caravan's 12 volt supply, voltages fed to the TV could rise close to 14 volts if the on board "smart" charger was working at maximum output voltage to restore full charge to the caravan battery. This in turn could damage the TV circuitry. And also that the output from the charger would not be pure DC, which again could damage the TV.

Having said all that we used our Humax 17" flat panel TV on the 12 volt socket for three years, and last year did the same with a slightly smaller Matsui flat panel TV in our new caravan.

Neither appear to have suffered as a result and it does save carting the transformer around with you.

 

[MikeA]

Thanks everybody. Refreshing to see such unanimity of advice - 230 volt it is then.

Mike A

 

[Mikey1]

If you say the tv can run off both 12v and 240v it will have a circuit built in to stop the voltage fluctuation.The not run on 12v was related to tv that had a 12v transformer.

As for putting extra load on the charger and battery you are only pulling approx 4 amps ,its like leaving 4 12v lights on for an hour?

The charger is producing current battery used or not.

 

[xtrailman]

Mike A

Over the last two years i had two power cuts, in the middle of a formula1 race, the other a manu match.

From that i bought a 150watt inverter, so that is always on standby, so don't misplace your 12volt lead, you may need it sooner than you expect, wouldn't want you to miss a world cup match.

 

[David_374554808]

Hi Mike

Although the manufacture has gone bust if you purchased through a dealer then they are responsable for the guarantee, under the sale of goods act 1979. If the sellers are washing their hands of the problem then you might like to down load a template letter from www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/complaints/letters.

Regards Dave H.

 

[David_374554808]

Hi Mike

Although the manufacture has gone bust if you purchased through a dealer then they are responsable for the guarantee, under the sale of goods act 1979. If the sellers are washing their hands of the problem then you might like to down load a template letter from www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/complaints/letters.

Regards Dave H.

Sorry posted on wrong subject

Dave H