#Car power plug install#

If you're looking at getting a larger power inverter that runs off the battery, it's important to verify your vehicle's electrical system can handle the strain. Some power inverters feature an audible 'low-power' beep or shut off when low power is sensed. Yes, and it's important to keep an eye on the battery charge level or keep the vehicle running. Do power inverters drain your vehicle's battery? The devices you plug into wall outlets use AC, although some of them, such as phone chargers, convert that back to DC. In short, a power inverter changes 12-volt direct current (DC) from your vehicle's cigarette-lighter port to 120-volt alternating current (AC). Keep that in mind, and make sure it doesn't melt delicate surfaces or those road-trip chocolate chip cookies. A side effect of this is heat, and the devices can get piping hot if powered on for long periods of time. Heat: These little devices work hard to put out the power you need. There's nothing worse than taut cords reaching from every seat like a spider's web. Power-cord length: If you need devices to reach the inverter from the back seat, it's important to take the power-cord length into consideration. They're all a bit different, and it's important to double-check that an inverter has the ability to handle what you need. Number of outlets: Check to see how many USB and AC outlets the power inverter offers. If you need to run a high-wattage device, consider getting a power inverter that hooks directly to the vehicle battery-which can handle a lot more juice than the 12-volt cigarette lighter. If you demand more, you run the risk of starting an electrical fire. That entire circuit, including the size of the wiring, is rated for no more than 20 amps.

#Car power plug install#

The easy solution is to just install a larger fuse, right? Wrong. By doing the math, that circuit can handle 240 watts. Compare that to the wattage rating of your power inverter, and that'll tell you if it can handle the draw.Īnother thing to check is your vehicle's fuse rating for the 12-volt port-the fuse on our test van was 20 amps.

Multiply the voltage (5 volts for USB, 12 volts for cigarette lighter, and 120 volts for an AC) by the amperage of your device to get the wattage. All it takes is some simple math to know if an inverter can handle what you want to plug in. Wattage rating: This might be the most important factor when it comes to buying a power inverter. Which one do you get? To make your power-inverter party run smoothly, here are some things to consider. There are a whole bunch of different power inverters out there, each with different wattage ratings. And finally, we took notes on the usability of each inverter.

We then measured the power-cord length from the base of the inverter to the end of the plug.

We counted the number of USB and AC ports each inverter had, along with the weight via a mail scale. We then took notes on how much each inverter could take and which fuse blew first for our surge protection test. We stacked these devices in ascending watt-usage order until the internal power inverter fuse popped or, in two cases, the 20-amp vehicle fuse blew.

Blender: 290 watts at peak, 125 watts continuous.

Here's the power draw for each device we measured with a Kill-A-Watt: Our first devices were iPhone and iPad chargers, then we progressed through a Milwaukee battery charger, a blender, a dual-action polisher, and finally, a hair dryer. Gear Team Tester Katherine lent her dependable 2001 Ford E-150-affectionately known as Rhonda-for this test, and it was a true vehicular champ.įor our main supported devices test, we plugged in various gizmos starting at the lowest wattage and working our way up. The no-brainer test ended up being, 'If I plug this in, will it work?' While this was the main parameter we wanted to try, we included other valuable data in our test results. We wanted to test power inverters in the same way most people would use them.