12 volt appliances ??

[rustytoolss]

What's the view on using 12 volt appliances (over having an inverter) for things like flat screen TV, coffee maker etc. Are 12 volt items easier on your battery, than trying to operate 110 volt item / with an inverter ? (less amp draw ) ? Also what size & type LED replacement bulbs should be used (in place of the 1156 kind) for interior lights ??
I've seen some coffee makers that say 110volt with 12v adapter. And some TV's as well (I Think)

[troubleScottie]

Yes and no.

Inverters are inefficient (often only 80% efficient) and consume power even while not attached to a device drawing power. So going from 12V to 120V to 12V is a wasteful trip. The inverter is useful for items that have no equivalent 12VDC option or the extra/optional item.

They are limited in terms of power output. Often they cannot support high power items. Obviously you can pay for high power inverters. High resistance items eg heaters or devices that need "clean" AC eg motors are problematic. So heaters like coffee maker or motors like blenders can be issues. Then again, these items are problematic with batteries due to their power draw ( 10A @ 120V is 100A @ 12V ).

Many devices are available in 12V versions eg radio, TV, fans, frig/freezers, lights, usb ports, water pumps, computer. Thus are optimized to run at 12V. And therefore no need to have one device when you have AC power and one when you are living off battery power. When camping where AC is available, you can connect your converter/battery charger and run off it or at least start to recharge the battery. Many device eg TV and computers often have inverters in their power cords/bricks. You could plug directly into DC.

Lights can be incandescent or halogen or LED or several other types. Generally speaking LED is most efficient, whiter and apparently brighter with less heat. If you are going for a direct, exact replacement, you need to match up the lumens generated. Obviously 1156 is 12vdc. There are some LED bulbs that are socket compatible with their incandescent counterpart.

[Socal Tom]

What's the view on using 12 volt appliances (over having an inverter) for things like flat screen TV, coffee maker etc. Are 12 volt items easier on your battery, than trying to operate 110 volt item / with an inverter ? (less amp draw ) ? Also what size & type LED replacement bulbs should be used (in place of the 1156 kind) for interior lights ??
I've seen some coffee makers that say 110volt with 12v adapter. And some TV's as well (I Think)

It depends on cost an effectiveness of the appliance. Electric coffee at 12v would use lots of power, so I would not use electricity unless I had shore power. For a TV it would be based on price.
Tom

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[kudzu]

I prefer not to use an inverter, so some things I run on 12 volt. We got a 12 volt power supply for my dad's CPAP. Also, bought a 12 volt cord for my laptop. Both of those use noticeably less power when not run through an inverter. We charge phones, tablets & bike lights via 12 volt.

As someone already noted, heating water with electricity or running an electric coffee maker is a real power hog, whether 120 or 12v. For coffee I prefer to use propane. There are many options there. My first choice was a little moka pot, but near the end of last year I got a collapsible silicone dripper/filter holder for pourover coffee. This is basically the manual version of an automatic drip coffee maker. You put a filter & coffee grounds in the dripper, set it on top of your mug or thermos or coffee carafe, heat water on your propane stove & then slowly pour hot water over the grounds. I can have coffee made in under 10 mins this way with minimal effort. There are several coffee making other methods, including Aeropress & French press, that do not involve electricity. I am just a wee bit obsessed with coffee & have quite a collection of coffee making equipment. Only 1/2 of those involve electricity.

[rustytoolss]

I prefer not to use an inverter, so some things I run on 12 volt. We got a 12 volt power supply for my dad's CPAP. Also, bought a 12 volt cord for my laptop. Both of those use noticeably less power when not run through an inverter. We charge phones, tablets & bike lights via 12 volt.

As someone already noted, heating water with electricity or running an electric coffee maker is a real power hog, whether 120 or 12v. For coffee I prefer to use propane. There are many options there. My first choice was a little moka pot, but near the end of last year I got a collapsible silicone dripper/filter holder for pourover coffee. This is basically the manual version of an automatic drip coffee maker. You put a filter & coffee grounds in the dripper, set it on top of your mug or thermos or coffee carafe, heat water on your propane stove & then slowly pour hot water over the grounds. I can have coffee made in under 10 mins this way with minimal effort. There are several coffee making other methods, including Aeropress & French press, that do not involve electricity. I am just a wee bit obsessed with coffee & have quite a collection of coffee making equipment. Only 1/2 of those involve electricity.

The more I think about it, just using a camp stove makes a lot more sense . And buying a high watt inverter, might not be the right thing for me also. Just having an AC system and a 12 volt system might be a better plan. But I'm still interested in those AC/DC flat screen TV's. Could run on shore power or 12V. Would be nice if someone could chime in on how well the work on both power systems.

[Cosmo]

last year I got a collapsible silicone dripper/filter holder for pourover coffee.

I was wondering about those coffee makers. Is this what you have? How many holes are in the bottom of it where the coffee drips out?
Thanks

http://amzn.to/2j1G5lI

[chevyn0va1]

last year I got a collapsible silicone dripper/filter holder for pourover coffee.

I was wondering about those coffee makers. Is this what you have? How many holes are in the bottom of it where the coffee drips out?
Thanks

http://amzn.to/2j1G5lI

Check out any truck stops off the highway they have all sorts or 12v appliances.


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[mustangcats]

rustytools wrote

But I'm interested in those AC/DC flat screen TV's. Could run on shore power or 12V. Would be nice if someone could chime in on how well the work on both power systems. [/quote]

I have a Naxa 13.3" ac/dc TV and it works just fine on both shore power and 12 volt dc. I don't know how much drain it puts on the battery since I haven't used it for long periods of time on dc. Mine came with a dvd player, but it never did work too well and ended up scratching a few discs. I now play dvd's using my Jensen's stereo dvd player and run the video to the tv.

[bdosborn]

But I'm still interested in those AC/DC flat screen TV's. Could run on shore power or 12V. Would be nice if someone could chime in on how well the work on both power systems.

I went to Best Buy and bought a 27" house brand (Insignia) LCD TV. It has an AC power brick that runs the TV at 12V DC. I plugged it directly into my battery and have been running it from the variable DC voltage, anything from 14.4v down to 12V. I was pretty nervous about plugging it directly to the battery as I might have let the smoke out but I could have bought 2 or 3 of of the Insignias for the price of a "12V DC" version. YMMV...

BTW, I do have a very nice Morningstar, true sine wave inverter that is very efficient for a small inverter. I did some comparisons of the current draw at 12V versus using the AC connector. Yup, running it through the inverter doubled the current draw. It's just not very efficient to convert 12V to 120V and back down to 12V.

Bruce

[dancam]

Running off 12v is best because inverters are not efficient. However you get huge line loss with 12v. For any larger draw you have to be close to the battery or have huge wires. Nice thing with 120v is you can use things farther away from the inverter. I plan to have both. Bought a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter, but buying everything with small power draws in 12v. To heat water/make coffe just use propane. For lights you can get super bright high wattage led bulbs, watch out for those. I bought really bright 1156 reverse lights for my car that are led and take 80 watts each. But they cost a lot. How much do regular 1156 halogen and led's take? Would you consider led strip lights?

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[jandmz]

What we did is similar to what bdosborn's plan, except that we went with a 19 inch tv from WalMart. It is designed for 120V, but it uses a power supply brick with a 12V output to the TV, and came with an accessory 12V car cord with a cigarette lighter plug. Since the trailer has 12V outlets, we just plug it in using the car cord, and it works very well. In retrospect, I think we should have gone 17 inch because the 19 is a little big for the space.

As for lighting, we found LED "bulbs" that plugged directly into the trailer fixtures. Just find your bulb type and google "(your bulb type number) LED bulb" and you will get all kinds of options. We are using a couple different light output ratings, one for general area lighting, one for the makeup mirror (yes, I know, but...) and a brighter one for the reading light.

Unless we have shore power, the coffee gets brewed on the propane stove.

[kudzu]

last year I got a collapsible silicone dripper/filter holder for pourover coffee.

I was wondering about those coffee makers. Is this what you have? How many holes are in the bottom of it where the coffee drips out?
Thanks

http://amzn.to/2j1G5lI

No, I'm not familiar with that one. It's $10 cheaper than mine but design is different in at least a couple ways. Mine is a GSI that I bought at REI. It has a rigid bottom & rigid cover that can also serve as a trivet. There is only one hole in the bottom but I find my coffee drips at the appropriate speed. Works well for me. I've had a several coffee makers that didn't brew properly & wouldn't hesitate to toss out bad equipment. Am not a connoisseur, but am a little, um, well my family thinks I'm too picky.

Here's the GSI description. http://www.gsioutdoors.com/collapsible-java-drip.html
Though I could not, "S. Heisley" found it on Amazon. (Thanks, Sharon.) https://www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-Col ... B00CHGML4S Uh-oh. Looks like it's no longer available on Amazon & on a different retailer site it says on backorder. GSI may still have it.

[Munchbard]

I've been eyeing up this propane Coleman Coffeemaker for a while. https://www.amazon.ca/Coleman-10-Cup-Po ... man+coffee

On our last trip, we've gone with boiling water on the propane stove and using a french press. Great coffee, but having glass (breakable stuff) around and having to clean it is annoying with limited water.

[booyah]

I bring a smaller 400w inverter with me, but rarely use it. The exception to the rule is for the blender.

Mama needs her margaritas, so I better be able to provide!

Otherwise I've used it to help inflate someone elses mattresses, but thats the end of it.

[Socal Tom]

I have a 200w inverter and that is all I use. It powers the TV when boon docking. I use gas for coffee and no blender need( is be tempted to convert one to work on my 18v ryobi)


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