Charging can light in vehicle with invertor?

[shark.byte.usa]

So the other day I was getting ready to go diving and realized I didn't charge up my can light. I thought if I could get one of those invertors so I could plug it into my car, I could have got a good 2 hour charge by the time I was ready to dive.

Of course I don't want to mess up the light, so is there a problem with using one of these? Does anybody else use one?

-Garrett

 

[slimmydave]

I use an inverter in both my car and van. In the car I have a 600watt Radio Shack and in the van I have 1800watt that I got at a truckload tool sale cheap. I use them both for everything. We have a power strip plugged into the one in the van so the kids plug in laptops, ipods, our digital cameras, printer dock for pictures, chargers for rechargeable batteries for our dive lights, etc...

I charge all sorts of sensitive electronics and have never had a problem. The inverters put out normal 110 just like a home outlet...they just have to be strong enough for the item you want to plug in...bigger is better...get one that will handle more than you will ever need. Then, when the power goes out at home...run an extention to the car and be the only one on the block watching TV while the lights are out!

Inverters are cool...where were they when I was a kid?

 

[Dive-aholic]

Garrett, you shouldn't need to charge you light between every dive. The burn time on those things is about 4 hours. I charge mine after every dive day, but I get about 2.5-3 hours of burn time a day when in N. Florida.

I've charged my laptop through an invertor in my van, but I've found that the charge happens a lot slower than when I plug in the laptop at home. I also get fluctuations in the power when running the invertor. Maybe I just don't have a strong enough invertor, but it is the kind you can hook up directly to the battery. I don't remember the wattage and don't have it here with me. I'm thinking I need an invertor like slimmydave with the power strip!

 

[herman]

I have used them for operating a lot of devices. Just remember inverters have huge current requirements. An inverter rated for more than 100 watt needs to be connected directly to the battery and anything over 200 MUST be connected directly to the battery and don't skimp on the wire size, it needs to be big to safely carry the current load and not drop voltage. Use the biggest wire you can get your hands on and keep the runs as short as possible. And don't forget the circuit protection, a fuse or breaker as close to the battery as possible is very important. These fuses/breakers need to be properly rated. For a 100 w inverter a 15A should do and for a 200w I would use a 25A. A car battery is capable of a lot of current and a short in an inverter wiring will easily set a vehicle on fire. Also realize that most of the rating are somewhat bogus. Most of the time the listed ratings are INPUT power, not usable output power which means the actual output is going to be a good bit less than you might expect. In addition, many of the less expensive inverters are not very efficient so as much as 1/2 the input power can be wasted as heat. In short, buy an inverter at least 2 or 3 times the size you think you need, connect it directly to the battery with as big a wire as you can and install a properly sized fuse or breaker as close to the battery as possible. Modern inverters work well but they need to be installed and operated properly.

 

[PerroneFord]

Garrett, you shouldn't need to charge you light between every dive. The burn time on those things is about 4 hours. I charge mine after every dive day, but I get about 2.5-3 hours of burn time a day when in N. Florida.
!

The burn time on an 18w or 21w with the 4.5a canister is quite short.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I believe Garrett has a 10w.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Garrett, you shouldn't need to charge you light between every dive. The burn time on those things is about 4 hours. I charge mine after every dive day, but I get about 2.5-3 hours of burn time a day when in N. Florida.

Ya I know I don't, my burn time is about 4 hours, but I forgot to charge it before I went to the lake on Wednesday and after my weekender to SoCal (I didn't charge it all weekend), so I knew it didn't have much charge left. Was just thinking of future brain farts...

It's the Sea Elite 10w 4.5 amp HID. Charger switch is set on 1.8A. I don't plan on playing playstation or running a computer in my truck. Maybe recharging up my camera batteries and the can light when necessary, don't even have to do it at the same time. Just something to use in a pinch.

-Garrett

 

[Matt S.]

It should work fine for charging your toys. Inverters put out "dirty" power compared to what you get at home so some people are careful about plugging in delicate gadgets. (Technically I think cheap inverters put out a modified square wave instead of sine wave.)

 

[GDI]

The inverters do work but you want to make sure to check the battery heat (to the touch) as this is hapening. If the inverter does not have a good steady state power supply/frequency level it may cause the batteries to overheat and thus lead to thermal run-away. The condition of the batteries will play a factor as well. Over all though I have used this method when needed and as long as you monitor it and have a good quality inverter you should be good to go.

 

[CompuDude]

Matt is right. Only true sine wave inverters (a LOT more expensive) put out clean power that is equivalent to real AC. The mod square wave put out by your average inverter is not nearly as clean as regular AC power is, and could damage sensitive electronics. Your charger is not all that sensitive, however, so you should be fine. It will not charge as quickly as clean power, and may get a little hotter, so keep an eye on it. Regardless, you should certainly get enough juice for one or two normal duration dives if you have it hooked up for two hours.

Incidentally, you can plug up to a 400w (depending on the make/model) inverter into your lighter. Just keep an eye on things and don't leave it unattended for long. Over 400w at you definitely have to connect it directly to the battery.

Considering the current draw of a good charger, I would get a 400w or better. (I prefer the 400w due to the flexibility of connections) Get a decent one, not the cheapest one you can find.