NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
Just a sooper cheep 120W, cigarette lighter inverter. I got it at Wal-mart for $8.98 ... actually bought two they were so inexpensive.
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NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
NoMadYesHappy said:
Let me know if any of y'all have one of these. I'd love to hear how they work in the real world. I just used mine for about an hour the one time in the Wal-mart parking lot ... hardly put it through its paces.
saracatherine
Active member
I have something like this but have only used it while actually driving. I’m very paranoid about draining my car battery (dodge caravan), but I’ve been curious about if and how long I could safely use it without the engine running and without winding up with a dead battery. I may just have to try it at home sometime when I can easily get a jump from husband’s car if I do drain it.
I’m thinking on my next trip I could use it to run rice cooker or crockpot on a long drive and have hot dinner all ready when I get to wherever I’m going...
I’m thinking on my next trip I could use it to run rice cooker or crockpot on a long drive and have hot dinner all ready when I get to wherever I’m going...
NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
Update ...
I recorded another video in my Santa Fe today, and I had the 120W inverter running. The fan was SO loud, it over powered the voice audio and I had to retake. It was really an annoying "whir" ... But, it DID charge all my stuff!
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ydlW_I5OGfk
I recorded another video in my Santa Fe today, and I had the 120W inverter running. The fan was SO loud, it over powered the voice audio and I had to retake. It was really an annoying "whir" ... But, it DID charge all my stuff!
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ydlW_I5OGfk
saracatherine
Active member
Weight said:
Yeah, after posting that I did a bunch of research - while a small crock pot is said to use 200W (which is what my inverter is), a rice cooker needs about 700 during the time it’s actually reaching a boil to do the active cooking. It could run on the “keep warm” setting for under 50. A 5-quart Instant Pot would need 900.
The whole idea of my dinner cooking while I do a day of driving does appeal to me. If I ever felt inclined to spring for a 1500W inverter that would probably cover me.
For now, the 200w one I do have is a good solution for keeping my phone & ipad going on the road as my vehicle doesn’t have in-dash USB charging like newer ones do.
BigT
Well-known member
saracatherine said:
Wow, 700W - 900W? I was going to ask how much power a rice cooker consumed. I wouldn't have guessed that much.
As for USB charging. Does your car have cigarette / Acc. outlets in the dash? If so, those little USB adapters are great for charging small electronics.
I charge my phone on one of them all the time.
https://www.amazon.com/Charger-RAVP...74293&sr=1-5&keywords=usb+car+charger+adapter
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Almost There
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saracatherine said:
I use a 120W Black and Decker inverter that I bought in Home Depot for under $20. - no fan btw to make loud noises.
I can attest that I have charged my laptop and my cell phone (using a 12V charger for it) for 3 days while parked and started my van. The 4th day required a boost...
So now I know the limits on MY battery - it is a good battery and in excellent shape. YMMV.
If you want to cook meals while going on down the road, take a look at a Road Pro 12V cooker, a lot of RVrs and truck drivers recommend them. I don't multi-task that way....
saracatherine
Active member
BigT said:
Well, the high wattage on the rice cooker is only during the actual boiling phase of the cooking - which isn’t that long but long enough to make it a no go.
My aforementioned 200w inverter (500w peak, Bestek) is plugged into the cigarette lighter. It has 4 USB ports and two AC outlets, and a long cord so people in the back seats can use it not too awkwardly. I got it when I was a Lyft driver for two minutes as an amenity for passengers, before I figured out that was not how I wanted to spend my time!
https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Inverter-Adapter-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B01LCJBF4C
saracatherine
Active member
Almost There said:If you want to cook meals while going on down the road, take a look at a Road Pro 12V cooker, a lot of RVrs and truck drivers recommend them. I don't multi-task that way....
Oooh just looked that up, that is cute!
I have noticed I am often just not that into setting up cooking stuff at the end of a driving day, especially if it’s dark out. Baking a couple of potatoes or even warming up an already prepared stew or something while I drive sounds cozy and bertter than the cold glove compartment dinners I often resort to at end of day!
(Part of my problem is I’ve not done it all enough to have established an efficient setting-up-camp routine, but now I’m getting off topic...)
NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
Weight said:
Whew! Good thing I didn't buy that rice cooker!
For a start, with frugal power goals, 120W will do me for a bit. Rest assured, I plan to darken the sky with solar in the not too distant future...mostly for refrigeration. I can cook on wood or some sort of gas/fuel. I've actually been thinking about a small wood burning stove for heat and/or cooking ... so many ways to go, and every stinkin' one of them makes me wanna come out and play!
NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
Almost There said:I don't multi-task that way....
I'm still working on mono-tasking!
NoMadYesHappy
Well-known member
saracatherine said:
I think I'd want to pull the 12V off of somewhere way upstream of the cigarette lighter. I don't know what it's [the lighter] rated at, but I gotta think that anything much over a couple hundred watts will risk the car's wiring? "Say, is that melting plastic I smell?"
Yah, this [dinky 120 watter] is just a stop gap to keep my phone, laptop and camera charged until I can realize my grander dreams!
BigT
Well-known member
Almost There said:
I've read mixed reviews about that Road Pro cooker, and it has my wondering.. If you plan to cook your meal while going down the road, why not just get a cheap inverter and a 110V crockpot? From what I've been reading, it sounds like a 110V slow cooker only uses 180 to 250 Watts.
(The poor reviews were mainly that the unit either didn't get hot enough (130*), even over several hours, or that the Acc. plug got so hot it melted).
I never considered cooking my dinner in a crockpot while doing a 500+ mile road trip, but I have to say it sounds like a pretty neat idea that I'll have to try sometime.
I just have to figure out if I can safely shut off the engine, for gas / rest stops and such, and not kill my tiny, 75Ah AGM battery.
I'm guessing there a mathematical formula for figuring out how many Amps per hour a particular device sucks out of a battery?
Trebor English
Well-known member
A simple approximation is to divide the watts by 10. The 180 to 250 watt range is 18 to 25 amps.
Theoretically divide watts by 12 volts. Then the inverter loss of about 20% means multiply amps by 1.2. Your inverter has a different loss and the voltage with the engine running is more than 12. Divide by 10 is probably close enough and easy enough arithmetic to calculate mentally.
Theoretically divide watts by 12 volts. Then the inverter loss of about 20% means multiply amps by 1.2. Your inverter has a different loss and the voltage with the engine running is more than 12. Divide by 10 is probably close enough and easy enough arithmetic to calculate mentally.
