Installing 12 v power port; Question

Ron3rd wrote:
I'm going to install a 12v power port for a small 10-130 watt inverter to run a small LCD TV. I can conveniently pick up the power off an LED light fixture nearby. Would this be adequate to power the inverter, or is it too small of a circuit?

Instead of messing around with an inverter and the problems you will have with that, buy a TV set that will run on 12 Volts. Most of these only draw 2 or 3 Amps which is much less than an inverter will draw.

There are a lot of them on the market; they come with a detachable "wall-wart" power supply which you can use when you have shore power.

Thanks Roy, that's the info I was looking for. Might be best to come off the battery. What gauge wire should I use for an approx 10 ft run off the battery to the power plug?

Just keep in mind that your 130WATT INVERTER may draw more than 10AMPS of DC current.

I always run into problem using the standard "CHEAP" cigarette light type plugs when pulling more than 5-6AMPS. They tend to get hot and will melt solder connections due to poor connections between the 12VDC PLUG and SOCKET...

My INVERTER install started out at a 150WATTS and right away went to a 300 WATT INVERTER when we found out how neat this was running many of our low power 120VAC items like the HDTV, DVD, wall chargers, Desk Lamp, NOAH WX ALERT radio, etc.

I eventually ended up with a 600WATT PSW model INVERTER for my so called DUTY INVERTER CIRCUIT for toys...

This was installed directly off the battery terminals just inside the trailer for weather protection and properly fused protected on the 12VDC side. One the 120VAC SIDE I ran two extension cords, one going to the home entertainment items in the living room and the second one running to the night stand in the bedroom. Everything is installed out of sight using cable management items (LOWES). Only thing visible is the multi-tap 120VC receptacles mounted to the back of the cabinet top for easy access to plug in things..

All of my emergency power 120VAC low wattage items are now covered just fine. When we camp off the power grid we usually end up using around 250-300WATTS from this 12VDC circuit.

I also would highly recommend using a PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER if Electronics are going to involved. Then you NEVER have to worry about something going up in BLUE SMOKE....

Just my thoughts

Roy Ken

Give it a shot as it's hard to say for certain without knowledge of the variables involved. Inverters abhor any significant voltage drop which is why it is suggested to wire them close to the battery. The 12Vdc socket in my entertainment center made my inverter squeal loudly in non-compliance when I attempted to plug and play, no problem just ran wires direct to battery. My inverter is a bit larger than yours in order to run additional items along with our flatscreen, although we rarely exceed more than a 130 watts at any given moment.

Should be fine. If there's some way to test that with an existing socket, do that first.