Forum Discussion

deppeler's avatar
deppeler
Explorer
Jan 05, 2015

Run TV off inverter?

Hi,

I have a 2015 Kodiak TT with a 12v DC 8 amp outlet (winegard amp plug).
I have a 120v 29" LED TV that has an output of 42 watts.
My question, can I plug an PSW inverter into the 12v DC outlet to power the TV?
If so, what would be the maximum size inverter I could use in the 12v outlet?

Thanks
Paul

14 Replies

  • 2112's avatar
    2112
    Explorer II
    A 100W MSW inverter plugged into the 8A socket has worked fine for me powering our TV and sat receiver.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    We do the INVERTER thing as well but elected not to use the 12VDC DC source coming from the Antenna Wall Plate Panel. We have NOT had good luck using the cheap cigarette lighter connections in the past with just pulling 5AMPS of DC current.

    There is also the issue of after hooking up the HDTV to the Inverter you end up wanting to add a few other like items that is part of your home entertainment center. The HDTV, DVD, WX ALERT RADIO, Charger for cell phones, charger for computer, maybe a small desk lamp and fan etc are some of the 120VAC small wattage items we also wanted to run when camping off the power grid.

    We ended up installing a 600WATT AIMS PSW Inverter ($149 AMAZON) directly off the battery switch and running two 120VAC drop cords from the two 120VAC Inverter Receptacles. One drop cord went to the home entertainment area and the second drop cord went to the bed room night table location.

    We usually only run about 300WATTS with the other small wattage 120VAC items we have and the remaining 300WATTS is just reserve power to use if we need it. A 120VAC Bean Coffee grinder is one item we sometimes use for a couple of minutes...

    Our Battery Bank has 255AHs capacity and does just fine for the one day/night run off the battery bank. We always use our 2KW Generator connected to the trailer shore power connections using a RV30A-15A adapter to re-charge our battery bank each morning. This allows the on-board smart mode converter/charger setup to recharge our 50% charge state batteries back up to their 90% charge state in just a three hour generator run time starting at 8AM each morning. Now we can do this all over again for the next day/night run off the batteries.

    Using the Antenna Wall Plate may work just fine for you. Just keep in mind the cheap 12V cigarette lighter connection may over heat for you. Probably a good idea to keep check the plug connection as you use it. I would use a PURE SINE WAVE Inverter for any electronics you want to power up. Blowing the 12VDC FUSE for the antenna wall plate will turn off the pre-amplifier mounted in the head of the BATWING antenna. You may have other 12VDC items on the same circuit.

    Just passing on what we did for INVERTER power for our Home Entertainment items plus a few other low wattage items as well when camping off the power grid.

    Roy Ken
  • 8 amps 12 volts = 96 watts. Stay a bit under for best results.
    Or wire in an inverter to the regular outlets.