Inverters in your wagons

[CovKid]

I use 12v throughout with a 240v-12v drop-down where I have mains. So much around that runs on 12v, not worth the bother of an inverter.

[The Bobdogs]

Took a chance on fleabay the other day...
1200w (peak2400w) inverter , brand new £20 plus £10 postage from China...
Paid for it on 13/9 ...turned up today. will have a play with it at the weekend and report back.
Seller has 97% positive feedback so hoping it's OK. At 30 quid it's a steal!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

[The Bobdogs]

I was going to hard wire one into the van, Then i bought one of the 150w can style ones for £20, seems to work well for charging my little ones Ds via the usb output. I did run my laptop of it aswell, and It may be coincidence but shortly after my battery on the laptop has given up the ghost and doesnt hold a charge.

So that's converting 12v DC to 240v AC to come back to 5v DC....
This might be easier....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT
Just bought one and it's not a bad bit of kit for a quid!

[CovKid]

Yes, those are good, I bought two, cut off the main plugs, fitted longer cable and now have one up front and one in the rear near my home-made kitchen. Lot to be said for 12v.

[The Bobdogs]

Just had a play with the fleabay cheapo inverter and it actually works! (no one more suprised than me!) Will even power Julie's hairdryer on the low setting...
Cooling fan is a little whiney but other than that a nice unit. Comes with croc leads and cig lighter connections.

[dansimpson]

Took a chance on fleabay the other day...
1200w (peak2400w) inverter , brand new £20 plus £10 postage from China...
Paid for it on 13/9 ...turned up today. will have a play with it at the weekend and report back.
Seller has 97% positive feedback so hoping it's OK. At 30 quid it's a steal!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWNX:IT

I might have the maths wrong on this, but if this is a 1200w output, then would you need 1200w input? which is 100amps at 12v, and this doesnt account for losses. So on a 100ah battery you got max 1 hour?

I'm not the brightest of sparks ( ) but I wouldnt want to draw that out of me ciggie lighter socket
Dan

[Mr Bean]

Yes the current drain gets well out of hand if running anything more than chargers, computers or smallish TV'S. But we have five individually switched compact mains fluorescents dotted around our van which are plugged into one of the sockets on a twin socket outlet connected to a 300W converter. We can use the second socket for the TV, a laptop or chargers. We have a second circuit with more socket outlets for use when on hook up. The inverter socket is moulded in red plastic and only used when no hookup is available. Our 80AH leisure battery lasts out well for our touring type use and has a fixed charger which we can switch in on hook up or run from a generator when permitted. The reason for the number of lights is our disdain for the poky dim lighting conditions seen even in some of the larger more expensive campers. Our classic hate being ceiling mounted spots.
Cheers
wolfie