12v Mattress heating pad woes
Last night was kinda chilly. An hour before climbing into bed I, plug my 'watts up' meter inline with my mattress heating pad, crank it up to 7, check out the amp draw, and see it is only half of n...
Forum Discussion
I'm a great fan of the low-power appliances in RVs being 12V powered, and I consider a ~75 watt heating pad as still being in the low-power category. My preference is especially true for those of us who drycamp - either occasionally or a lot - in our rigs or who when out and about in our rigs and at least want to be ready any time for drycamping in the most efficient way possible.
To help put things in perspective: A 75 watt heating pad that may take only 6 amps when powered directly though a 12 volt outlet could consume up to 7.5 amps when powered through an inverter, depending upon whether it's a modified sinewave or pure sinewave inverter. This 1.5 amp difference is about the consumption of a good old incandescent RV lamp - which all good drycampers try nowadays to get rid of by switching to LED lighting.
So, if you drycamp I'd recommend staying with a 12 volt heating pad ... just buy a new (top-of-the-line) one to replace your busted one. You might wind up with one that is more rugged and with improved electrical construction. If you don't drycamp and have a small inverter, just pickup a less expensive 120V AC heating pad, IMHO.
To help put things in perspective: A 75 watt heating pad that may take only 6 amps when powered directly though a 12 volt outlet could consume up to 7.5 amps when powered through an inverter, depending upon whether it's a modified sinewave or pure sinewave inverter. This 1.5 amp difference is about the consumption of a good old incandescent RV lamp - which all good drycampers try nowadays to get rid of by switching to LED lighting.
So, if you drycamp I'd recommend staying with a 12 volt heating pad ... just buy a new (top-of-the-line) one to replace your busted one. You might wind up with one that is more rugged and with improved electrical construction. If you don't drycamp and have a small inverter, just pickup a less expensive 120V AC heating pad, IMHO.
